Geeze, not another one of these things...

[stevensivak]

Unless you want to glue two pieces together, I don't have 6" wide material-
The material is regular Limba, not black Limbo so the match would not be
acceptable to me- but it might be fine to you... contact me privately...

 

[Sushi Box FX]

The pickguard is on the CNC now, but it will probably have to finish in the morning. Next time I do a build, someone please remind me how much of a pain milling an aluminum pickguard is.

In the meantime I got the control plate drilled out and mounted the preamp where it's going to go so I could line up where the slots and cutouts need to be on the pickguard.

Controls are, in no particular order: Gain, Volume, Bass, Mids, Treble, Neck Pickup On/Off, Bridge Pickup On/Off, Preamp Active/Bypassed, and Power On/Off.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Question for Sushi-Box, why aren’t you winding some custom pickups to go with this build???
Seems like you could take advantage of the close proximity of the preamp and match some very low impedance pu’s.

Not sure how I missed this question earlier, but I can answer it now, the answer is pretty simple: I don't wind pickups It's one of those things people tell me isn't that hard if you have technical knowledge and I have friends that do it, but I'm worried that if I started winding pickups I wouldn't be able to stop, and I would just have to stop sleeping altogether to make time for everything I want to do.

 

[S-Bigbottom]

Ooooh... part two.

 

[MVE]

Not sure how I missed this question earlier, but I can answer it now, the answer is pretty simple: I don't wind pickups It's one of those things people tell me isn't that hard if you have technical knowledge and I have friends that do it, but I'm worried that if I started winding pickups I wouldn't be able to stop, and I would just have to stop sleeping altogether to make time for everything I want to do.

Maybe you can work that into the “tube bass mk 3”!!! Lol

A custom lowZ pickup/SushiBox Preamp “system” would be something very special….hmmmm?.?.?

Now just thinking about that is going to keep you up at night. Lol

 

[actualbeaunz]

The pickguard is on the CNC now, but it will probably have to finish in the morning. Next time I do a build, someone please remind me how much of a pain milling an aluminum pickguard is.

In the meantime I got the control plate drilled out and mounted the preamp where it's going to go so I could line up where the slots and cutouts need to be on the pickguard.

Controls are, in no particular order: Gain, Volume, Bass, Mids, Treble, Neck Pickup On/Off, Bridge Pickup On/Off, Preamp Active/Bypassed, and Power On/Off.

View attachment 5072491

Any chance you might offer a short run of these onboard preamp pcb's for sale? Looks like a really fun project....

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Any chance you might offer a short run of these onboard preamp pcb's for sale? Looks like a really fun project....

So the PCBs I could absolutely share, but I would have to leave the woodwork to you as it's not my forte and not something I would want to do for pay. I have 4 spare sets of boards on hand right now, but the controls were designed to fit on a jazz bass control plate so it pretty well would only work in a jazz body or similar.

 

[Beej]

... but the controls were designed to fit on a jazz bass control plate so it pretty well would only work in a jazz body or similar.

Hold my beer.

 

[klattman]

I was just thinking if this was done with a furthermore, the bass would use a DI XLR out. So could phantom power work, or is there not enough current?

 

[Videojunkie]

Hold my beer.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

I was just thinking if this was done with a furthermore, the bass would use a DI XLR out. So could phantom power work, or is there not enough current?

Nope, phantom power can only supply a handful of mA, nowhere near enough to power a tube.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Got the pickguard cut out today and got the battery level meter dry-fit in. Tomorrow I'll try to get all the holes countersunk and get the guard powdercoated, then I can start looking at next steps.

 

[klattman]

Well I have a UA and lots of room under this pickguard….tempting.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

It occurred to me tonight that because I pulled the neck off my previous build for this one, I don't have a usable bass until this is done, so I should probably pick up the pace.

I got the pickguard countersunk, powdercoated, and engraved tonight, as well as finishing up the wiring for the preamp. After that it didn't take much work to get everything all buttoned up and make sure the battery level monitor is working with the preamp. All it needs now is knobs, strings, and a jack plate (keep forgetting to order one) and it's done. For some reason anytime I make a jazz pickguard there ends up being a gap with the control plate, but I'm still happy with how this came out overall.

 

[klattman]

For some reason anytime I make a jazz pickguard there ends up being a gap with the control plate..

View attachment 5075273 View attachment 5075274

Nearly every fender I’ve seen doesn’t have a perfect fit with the control plate either, so don’t worry about it.

 

[ardgedee]

It occurred to me tonight that because I pulled the neck off my previous build for this one, I don't have a usable bass until this is done, so I should probably pick up the pace.

I got the pickguard countersunk, powdercoated, and engraved tonight, as well as finishing up the wiring for the preamp. After that it didn't take much work to get everything all buttoned up and make sure the battery level monitor is working with the preamp. All it needs now is knobs, strings, and a jack plate (keep forgetting to order one) and it's done. For some reason anytime I make a jazz pickguard there ends up being a gap with the control plate, but I'm still happy with how this came out overall.

View attachment 5075273 View attachment 5075274

That looks wild! What does the engraving say?

 

[Sushi Box FX]

That looks wild! What does the engraving say?

Thanks the engraving is the Mongolian national anthem written out in traditional Mongolian script. I'm not Mongolian, but I lived there for a few years, speak the language fluently, and married a native, so Mongolia is a big part of my life.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Still need to to get knobs on it, and it's in desperate need of a setup, but it has LaBella white copper tapewounds on it now and it works and sounds fabulous. Oh and also I somehow forgot straplocks, so I'm sitting down for now.

 

[MVE]

Ok, this thing is wild.

I absolutely love it.

Great Job!!!

Is the preamp just clean gain or does it have some SushiBox drive or is it voiced any specific way?

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Ok, this thing is wild.

I absolutely love it.

Great Job!!!

Is the preamp just clean gain or does it have some SushiBox drive or is it voiced any specific way?

The preamp is an Underground Accelerator, no mods were made to it, so it can get into a mild overdrive. It feels generally Fender-ish which is appropriate for the build. I made the mistake of playing too long with the preamp on, now when I turn the preamp off it sounds dead and anemic. The Underground Accelerator is an excellent nominee for an always-on circuit.