HELP!! building my dream bass under $1500

[St Drogo]

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.

You CAN find P/MM pickup combinations, but they arent common!

Nice, me likey. Does Tom do solid colors or burst finishes at all?

 

[DevinF]

I checked out his stuff. It's amazing, but my budget is actually more like 1200 now that I know exactly what my old basses are worth

 

[interstatejoe]

I think $1200 is realistic for what you want to build. My Delano loaded Warmoth Jazz ran me about $900-ish complete, assembled in my garage and setup by my local tech. Granted, the neck is raw and I did a truoil finish on the body but the cost of my chambered korina body should be right in there with what a painted solid alder or swamp ash body would run, and a Warmoth finished birdseye maple neck wouldn't be too much more than my unfinished bubinga... You can get a pretty high gloss finish with a bottle of truoil, some steel wool, a couple packs of 400-800 grit wet/dry sandpaper, a bit of elbow grease and a week or so.

My Warmoth J:

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on my next Warmoth which will be similar to the one you're planning...swamp ash J with wenge neck...already got the Delano J+MM set (JMVC4 FE/M2 & MC4 AL) sitting on my workbench...staring me down

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[SanDiegoHarry]

Warmoth made me a P-body with the MM in the sweet spot, as well as a MM in the neck...

I'll bet they can do what you want - perhaps just use a P body...?

 

[DevinF]

How do you like the Delano's? I REALLY want the hybrid system.

I'm trying to make my bass as classic as I can. Even though it'll have a big ol humbucker at the bridge, I wanna keep it with the jazz at the neck.

 

[interstatejoe]

How do you like the Delano's? I REALLY want the hybrid system.

I'm trying to make my bass as classic as I can. Even though it'll have a big ol humbucker at the bridge, I wanna keep it with the jazz at the neck.

I originally had them wired to a Delano Sonar 3 pre and they sounded great, but then I tried them passive and they sounded HUGE so I popped the Sonar 3 out. I've got a set of Barts here that I was thinking of swapping with the Delanos just to hear the difference. I just recorded some tracks with this bass the other day, I'll see if I can figure out how to post them up in the next few days....

The JMVCs are a modern sounding pickup...but looks like the Hybrid is geared toward that classic sound you're looking for. Too many knobs for me. There's a Hybid on eBay selling for like $145 shipped....

 

[derridiandrift]

This sounds like a really cool project. I had very similar criteria when I set about building my Warmoth J and I came in well under your target budget. I even had Warmoth build a blocks and binding board on a birdseye neck and a 3 colour burst. They do great finish work, though I regret not getting someone to do nitro for me.

 

[DevinF]

that's a beauty. Is that a Fender neck? or just a waterslide decal? because i was thinking about putting a waterslide on mine, but a lot of people seemed to thing that didnt seem right if it was a warmoth...

 

[derridiandrift]

It's a complete work of fiction. An interpretation of a classic with one too many frets, a fretboard that hangs over the end of the neck, no serial number, one too many pearl blocks on the fretboard, wrong species of rosewood, birds-eye maple neck, not to mention the wrong kind of fret wire. I've no intention of fooling anyone, but the script needs to be there to complete the classic look.

 

[DevinF]

That's what I was thinking about doing too. Did you finish the neck yourself?

 

[derridiandrift]

I had Warmoth finish it, and they did a great job. If I were to do it over I'd spray the neck myself, but only because mine has a rosewood fretboard. You're planning on doing a maple fret board; I wouldn't want to finish that myself.

 

[Margus Alviste]

Delanos are not super versatile. At least for my ears. They have very specific sound. Perhaps someone likes them but I guess they are not my cup of tea. Try Nordstrands or Bass Culture instead of Delanos.

 

[DevinF]

I had Warmoth finish it, and they did a great job. If I were to do it over I'd spray the neck myself, but only because mine has a rosewood fretboard. You're planning on doing a maple fret board; I wouldn't want to finish that myself.

Did you respray the headstock yourself after applying the decal?

 

[DevinF]

Delanos are not super versatile. At least for my ears. They have very specific sound. Perhaps someone likes them but I guess they are not my cup of tea. Try Nordstrands or Bass Culture instead of Delanos.

I have not heard many samples (if any) for any pickups. I have been having trouble finding good sound clips. Mostly, the whole idea of the Hybrid system seems really cool to me.