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Jaco Tribute Bass Build

bassgod76

bassgod76

Garbage bassist, but I love this goofy instrument
Mar 13, 2003
5,329
1,133
South Florida
#1
I've always been interested in the Bass of Doom. Whether it was her worn condition or missing pick guard, something about it seemed so appealing. With this in mind, I began looking.

Jaco5.jpg


I came upon the Fender Relic, but the $4,700 price tag scared me off. Plus, after talking to Kevin Kaufman, it appears that the Fender version of Jaco's bass is not very similar in reagrds to neck feel and fingerboard craftsmanship.

So I began to gather parts.
First, I found the neck. Stratosphere on Ebay had a Roadworn MIM Jazz neck with 60's specs. It came with relic'd tuners, so it felt like a perfect addition.

JacoNeck1.jpg


JacoNeck3.jpg


JacoNeck2.jpg
 
#3
After gathering the neck, I had to take a break. Even though it came with relic'd tuners, it still set me back almost $500.

After a few weeks, I began to acquire small hardware items.

I had an old neck plate that I relic'd. It looked like such a great fit.

bassneckplate.jpg


Then, I sought out a vintage bridge. After, seeing the insane prices people want for a vintage or relic'd bridge, I decided to get a new one.

BassBridge1.jpg


Finding three knobs is difficult. Luckily, Stratosphere had some knobs from a NOS Jaco bass, and I quickly snatched them up.

Jaco11.jpg
 
#5
The body kind of had me scratching my head. I was in over my head with this finish. Thank God for Dan Atkinson. He gave me a great deal, and finished the body in his signature distressed nitro style.

Raw wood.
Jaco8.jpg


After initial colors.
Jaco9.jpg


Check out that red ring similar to the vintage sunbursts of that day!
Jaco10.jpg


Time for some relic love!
 
#6
Dan comes through with some awesome relicing. He is never fond of Fender's relic style, equating it to belt sanding. He uses this subtle approach which looks finely aged. He even remembered to add the drill holes not only from the pick guard but the string mutes, as well. You go Dan!

I sent him my bridge. He will relic that along with the control plate I purchased from him.

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IMG_0771.jpg


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#14
im beginning to think that all of us bass players are crazy..............lol.
the other option would be buy a bass then play the heck out of it....lol
imagine how much music we'd make if we took Jacos's approach to music vs basses.
i met the man and hung out with him,he never talked about basses only music.
oh well, where would the fun be in that........lo0l
i'm interested to see how this story turns out and what cd it shows up on....the ultimate goal of bass is music
 
#15
kerrycares said:
im beginning to think that all of us bass players are crazy..............lol.
the other option would be buy a bass then play the heck out of it....lol
imagine how much music we'd make if we took Jacos's approach to music vs basses.
i met the man and hung out with him,he never talked about basses only music.
oh well, where would the fun be in that........lo0l
i'm interested to see how this story turns out and what cd it shows up on....the ultimate goal of bass is music
Click to expand...

Along with music, I like to build stuff. It inspires me. After a long day of crunching numbers, a few hours in the garage is like heaven, to me.
 

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