I built a kit bass

[wish i was]

It was a positive experience

I was surprised by the fit and finish of the routing. Including shipping, the aniline dyes, waterfall decal (a pinup girl for the headstock), and clear coat I’m in to this bass for about $140.
As expected, the pickups, electronics, and hardware are pretty cheap. The pickups, especially the P, are terribly weak; the hardware is good enough I guess. After a good setup it is a comfortable and easy-playing 9.8lb beast. I’ve been playing it exclusively for a couple of weeks and I think that, with new pickups, it will be a better bass than I am a player. 'Course that's not saying much...
I had never soldered anything before and I was disappointed when I plugged it in and nothing happened. With my head hung low, I took it to Elderly’s repair shop – turns out one of the tabs on one of the tone pots was bent and was grounding out the signal. Elderly diagnosed and fixed the issue AND gave me a good education. On top of all that, they cleaned up my messy soldering work… all at no charge!
Great folks at Elderly.
Overall, I had a good time building it. I’d definitely build another one.

 

[Duder]

Is that an Alston kit?

 

[MrMerrey]

Looks nice, not sure about the green and red myself, I'd probably swap the pickguard for a black one, but looks a solid build from here.

I've currently got an SR 5 string kit being painted. I found a car garage to paint it for less than would cost me to do. but its been test strung and plays nicely.

 

[wish i was]

Is that an Alston kit?

It is from Albatross Guitars - I bought the kit from etsy.com.

 

[Duder]

Oh, okay. It looked like this kit.

 

[MonkeyRump]

I'm current working on a kit bass as well - this: Invalid Link Removed. And, like you, I found that the hardware is cheap - I'm buying my own hardware. It is fun, I already want to do another after this.

 

[wish i was]

Probably is the same chinese kit through a different vendor... if it is, it was a bit cheaper through Etsy. I only paid $95 plus $20 shipping.

 

[Duder]

Good to know, thanks!

 

[Antisyzygy]

Cool! I want to try a totally from scratch build one of these days. Normally what I do is just buy a neck + body of some sort that's already finished then strap it all together.

 

[wraub]

IMHO, that green is great.
The pickguard is less so, especially with the green. Black 'guard FTW!

Looks good, though.

 

[awilkie84]

The kit looks good...the colour combo...not my taste! lol

 

[M0ses]

That green reminds me very strongly of an overly eutrophicated pond.......

 

[Malak the Mad]

I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with your kit-build. Well done, sir!

As for the colors…well, when red and green are put together, it's often associated with Christmas. (Seriously…do a Google Images search for "christmas colors". There's a whole category titled "Red and Green".) But that's what's great about pickguards…you can always change them up!

With my head hung low, I took it to Elderly’s repair shop – turns out one of the tabs on one of the tone pots was bent and was grounding out the signal. Elderly diagnosed and fixed the issue AND gave me a good education. On top of all that, they cleaned up my messy soldering work… all at no charge!
Great folks at Elderly.

That's not only great customer service, but it's also making an investment for the future. Either way, good on them!

 

[Sixgunn]

I like the colors!!

 

[Dec1975]

+1 for what looks to have been a fun DIY build. +2 for Elderly- one of the best online shops around.

 

[edencab]

a black or white pearloid PG would look good

 

[AndyII]

Careful! Building basses is highly addictive. It's easy to build way more than you can justify having because the process is so rewarding.

Also, the green and red is way cool. Different, but way cool.

 

[moody]

I'm current working on a kit bass as well - this: Invalid Link Removed. And, like you, I found that the hardware is cheap - I'm buying my own hardware. It is fun, I already want to do another after this.

I'm also building the same bass. I'll work with the hardware provided and only Change it if it doesn't perform.

 

[hufe]

Nice going, like the green

 

[Lo-E]

Nice job. You're off to the races!

How are you liking the MM/P pickup combination?