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HELP!! building my dream bass under $1500

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DevinF

Jun 16, 2010
105
1
#1
So recently I decided I wanted to sell my Ibanez BTB400 and MIM fretless j bass (still for sale btw. Haha), and build my dream bass with mainly Warmoth products.

Here's the dilema:

I want a Jazz bass body in a classic color (currently leaning towards surf green or light yellow)

I am planning on having a standard J pickup at the neck and an MM in the sweetspot, but Warmoth does not offer the sweetspot placement on a top routed J Bass. (though Dan from Warmoth said I could put "sweetspot" in the notes at check out and they'll do it..I have yet to find a place for notes at check out...)

I'm definitely getting a Birdseye maple neck/fretboard because I just love em, but am unsure if I wanna shell out the extra $100 for them to finish it. How practical is doing it myself?

And finally, I play all kinds of music and wanted a super versatile bass, which is why I went for the sweetspot and j neck pickup. I saw the Delano Hybrid, and the full set up with the pre amp and J neck pickup is expensive and just has too many knobs from my understanding, considering I have room for 3. Any suggestions as far as good pairings (on board pre-amp and/or j pickup) for the Hybrid that will sound good?


So basically, my number one goal is to make a versitile, bad ass, great sounding, custom shop/classic looking J bass for less than 1500.

Am I dreaming?


Thanks,
Devin
 
#2
With maple, you could do your own rub-on finish on the neck, easily. Either tung oil, or tru oil.

Unless you want a crazy set of exotic woods, I don't see why you couldn't do it for well under that amount.
 
#3
I priced out a Warmoth parts bass not too long ago and it was under $1500 - that's assuming you're going to assemble and set up yourself. I like Warmoth's paint work, so I'd go with a painted body - and they have some cool colors. Regarding the neck, I've had some success with Minwax satin clear spray, so I'd get the neck unfinished and do it myself. You mention a maple neck / board. I've never finished a maple board, so maybe it's worth it to have them spray it. Have you considered the "dinky J" body? I think it's a little more sleek - like a Sadowsky. The J / MM pup idea is good - works for Lakland and they have made that a popular combo. I thought Warmoth would route any pup configuration you want. As long as "Dan" said you could specify, then you're probably good. Regarding preamps and controls, there are so many options! Remember, if you're going to use the stock Jazz control plate, you can have the jack routed on the edge and then you have 4 holes for controls on the plate. A lot of J style basses are set up like this including current Fenders. If you need another control, you can make one of them a stacked pot. I've been looking at Nordstrand pups lately - they make a MM and J pups. Preamps - maybe Aguilar 2 or 3 band. Just my $.03.
 
#4
I'd shell out the cash to get the neck finished just because they do such a good job. Like bwoodman said, I'd also prefer looking into a Dinky J body style due to the better look (subjective, I know) and possibly less weight and it's designed with a preamp in mind. I was thinking about building a similiar bass, but with a Single Coil P-bass pickup at the neck and the MM in the sweet spot. Good luck, and don't forget to check the Showcase deals!
 
#6
bassnyc1 said:
If you haven't already done so, I suggest you check this out:

http://www.atkinsonbasses.com/index.htm

You might very well be able to get what you want within your budget. :bassist:
Click to expand...

+1

I forgot about Atkinson. I don't know how he does it for the price he does. Lots of good reviews on his basses. I think you COULD get a bass the way you want and keep it under $1500 - and not have to do any of the work!
 
#8
Thanks for the input. My main concern about finishing the neck myself is that I love the feel (for some reason) and look of a high gloss neck. I also wanted the vintage amber finish, but I have heard a high gloss lacquer can take weeks if not MONTHS to dry completely.

Oh, and before I forget, do you guys think reverse headstocks are still cool? I know I do, and will probably get one. I'm just curious about what you guys think about it.

Conce, the reason why you never find p-bass and MM sweetspot pickup combos is because the sweetspot placement for each pickup overlap by 3-5 mm. As I'm sure you can tell, I considered this for a while as well. BUT I heard a Warmoth with a 51 p bass body that had an MM sweetspot and old school p bass single coil that sounded Amazing. Great slap tone, picking tone and fingerstyle. It also had looks to kill.

P.S. The pricing section on the Atkinson site was down, but those basses looked pretty sweet.
 
#9
DevinF said:
Thanks for the input. My main concern about finishing the neck myself is that I love the feel (for some reason) and look of a high gloss neck. I also wanted the vintage amber finish, but I have heard a high gloss lacquer can take weeks if not MONTHS to dry completely.

Oh, and before I forget, do you guys think reverse headstocks are still cool? I know I do, and will probably get one. I'm just curious about what you guys think about it.

Conce, the reason why you never find p-bass and MM sweetspot pickup combos is because the sweetspot placement for each pickup overlap by 3-5 mm. As I'm sure you can tell, I considered this for a while as well. BUT I heard a Warmoth with a 51 p bass body that had an MM sweetspot and old school p bass single coil that sounded Amazing. Great slap tone, picking tone and fingerstyle. It also had looks to kill.

P.S. The pricing section on the Atkinson site was down, but those basses looked pretty sweet.
Click to expand...

if you want a j sized nut and a 7.25" radius, i would go with USACG for the neck over warmoth. warmoth's necks are significantly heavier because of the steel reinforcement bars. if you don't care about ultra vintage specs, get one from allparts. their necks are super cheap. You can buy nitrocellulose lacquer clear finish in an AEROSOL from stewmac, as well as the neck tint ('amber'). pretty cheap and very easy to do. they have so many instructions on their website too. check it out.

as far as the electronics go, i would try to pair the pickups/pre from the same company. always a good idea to do so. I could never get used to the esthetics of a J/MM combo, and i don't really care about MM basses, so i never really looked into that, but i'm sure it would be very versatile. I favor JJ>P>PJ>MM>J/MM in that order.

Unless you really want to assemble/finish yourself, check out atkinson. i think a completed NITRO finished body with vintage hardware is ~$900 NEW!!! lead time is about 4-6 weeks i think. good resale too! Of course, i liked doing it myself, so i saved some bucks and did it myself. But it's all up to you. Good luck!
 
#10
I had a friend of mine finish a bass neck for me, and he said that maple fret boards are a PITA. I'd let Warmoth finish the neck, and see how much you can have someone route the body for.
 
#12
Devin,
Check out the bass in my avatar, its a Tom Clement custom. J body with SD QP P and SD MM pickups. There are some better shots in the Clement Club thread but I cant remember if I re-posted them in the latest edition.:o

You CAN find P/MM pickup combinations, but they arent common!
 
#13
so you want a birdseye neck but say nothing about quartersawn wood...

...Uand ntil you stop asking other people if they like your 'dream' bass you'll be dreaming like a fool.

As long as you make sure that your neck wood is quartersawn,the rest will all work out if you take your time
 
#14
kjpollo said:
Devin,
Check out the bass in my avatar, its a Tom Clement custom. J body with SD QP P and SD MM pickups. There are some better shots in the Clement Club thread but I cant remember if I re-posted them in the latest edition.:o

You CAN find P/MM pickup combinations, but they arent common!
Click to expand...

Wow Ken, that is one gorgeous bass!
You're right, they aren't common at all, i was merely stating that the traditional "sweetspots" for a MM and P Bass overlap. Which i probably why they are so uncommon.

But wow, that Tom Clement is one AMAZING bass
 
#15
newbold said:
so you want a birdseye neck but say nothing about quartersawn wood...

...Uand ntil you stop asking other people if they like your 'dream' bass you'll be dreaming like a fool.

As long as you make sure that your neck wood is quartersawn,the rest will all work out if you take your time
Click to expand...


I'm not entirely sure what quartersawn technically means (but would like to know). I am only going for birdseye because I love the look of it under a high gloss. And since it is far easier to upgrade things like pickguards, knobs, tuners and even bridges long after i have built my bass, i am willing to splurge ($$$) a bit on a beautiful neck that will stay with the bass forever.

Thank you though for pointing out the patience aspect though, it's very true and it is the one thing i lack right now.
 
#18
DevinF said:
Wow Ken, that is one gorgeous bass!
You're right, they aren't common at all, i was merely stating that the traditional "sweetspots" for a MM and P Bass overlap. Which i probably why they are so uncommon.

But wow, that Tom Clement is one AMAZING bass
Click to expand...

Yeah, they probably arent in the traditional sweetspots, but I like the sound I get. Though in hindsight, I probably should have opted for a lower-output P than the Duncan QP. It definitely overpowers the MM when I have the blend set flat. To get a relatively equal sound from the pickups, I have to actually slightly favor the MM on the blend knob.

And yeah, Tom does some phenomenal work. He just doesnt do color, but he finds some amazing topwoods to make up for it.
 
#20
Yeah, the top on mine is a really unusual piece of burled redwood with the almost-white sapwood in the middle.

You might just want to check out Tom's website- except for a solid colored finish, he can do just about everything else on your wish list and be very close to your budget figure. Plus he's a super guy to work with.
 

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