Jazz Bass build.

[clintfraser]

Hi,


I am currently undertaking a Fender Jazz bass build, my original plan was to design my own body, but I am hoping building a body based on a standard design for a few reasons, laziness included! I plan on buying a pre-made bolt on neck.

I was able to take a .pdf fender manual, and rip the vector drawing into autocad, which I will use to cut the body out on a CNC router table I use at work.

Yesterday I purchased a nice slab of african mohogany from a local shop, big enough to allow me a single piece solid body. Pretty exciting!

Before I finish the drawing and start cutting, I have a few questions about rear routed control cavities? I would love to not have to use a front control plate or pickguard, and hopefully enjoy the beauty of the wood!

I was wondering if anyone had any tips on laying out such a cavity, what difference would there be in the parts I would need (i.e. pots, etc.)?

How deep do I need to go with the rear cavity to accommodate the hardware, and how are these typically installed? Is there somewhere I can order rear route jazz bass electronics kits?

Thanks!

 

[clintfraser]

Hi, new to posting on forums but I've heard this thread is useless without pics before!

So here's what I've got so far, haha... a chunk of wood, a cad drawing and some ambition.

 

[clintfraser]

but this is what I came up with as an illustration of what I'm hoping to achieve...

 

[purpletornado]

Nice! good luck!

 

[clintfraser]

I am assuming that the lack of 'rear mount' wiring kits is because the pots are suitable for both applications. I think I am just going to order regular pots and maybe add a thin piece of metal or plastic to the bottom of the rear routed control cavity to ensure I don't crack the remaining wood.

Sorry if i'm asking any really basic questions, this is my first build, and will be my first electric guitar.

 

[Musiclogic]

Long shaft pots from Stew Mac are what you need. A quick call and they will get you the correct stuff for your build.

Rear cavity...1/4" shallower than the finished thickness of the body for proper pot mounting. See stickies for faq's

 

[Rocky McD]

On my custom, I routed the body completely through because I wanted a P bass style pickguard, with the electronics mounted on it and I also have a full opening on the back side with a plastic cover so I can do quick repairs easily. But if you are going with the no pickguard style, then you need the long shaft pots.

 

[dremy2006]

How deep do I need to go with the rear cavity to accommodate the hardware, and how are these typically installed? Is there somewhere I can order rear route jazz bass electronics kits?

Thanks!

......I get mine from here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Jazz-Style-bass...emQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item5638aad94a


Just remove the pots from the plate..and there you have it....the depth of the cavity depends..well I wont say.... well yeah, I can say....depends on the thickness of ur Bass Body and how much of the shaft you want sticken out......so lets say.. my body is 1.75 (1 3/4") thick I would route the cavity 1.625 deep and that would leave me 0.125 (1/8")...or 3/16"..or 1/4".thats how I DO IT....IMO... now; many season builders here ..just my 2 cent...............................................and that guy on ebay ship fast too

 

[clintfraser]

Hey helpful people!

In a couple days I will have most of the parts I need, can't wait!

I ended up ordering a Jazz Bass neck from Warmoth, a 'basic' maple/rosewood neck with stainless 6230 frets.

I bought Seymour Duncan SJB-1's 'Vintage' pups, black Hipshot Ultralight 'Y' tuners, a black Hipshot Vintage bridge, black hardware and black classic jazz bass knobs and a 'vintage' wiring kit with waxed cloth wire.

I am planning on finishing the neck and body with Beechwood Casey's Gun Stock Oil and wax. Anyone had good experiences with these products?

I am waiting until I have absolutely everything on hand before I start cutting into my mahogany, so I can double check my hole sizes and locations on my 'ripped off from fender' autocad file.

One thing that's been on my mind lately is worrying about drilling the holes from my bridge and pickup cavities to the control cavity for routing wiring.... I have seen pictures of people using a brass tube to guide the bit without damaging the body.

Can anyone share any tips on drilling these holes? Any feedback on my plan so far?

I will preface my next question by saying, yes I am aware of the search function, but I have yet to find an clear answer on the value of shielding my control cavity.. Any input on shielding? Copper tape vs. the more readily available aluminum tape?

THANKS!

 

[clintfraser]

Hi,

received all of my parts in the mail today! with the exception of neck screws... doh!

I have been scouring the interwebs and finding as much info as I can on neck and pickup depths. Forgive my noobness, but it seemed fairly obvious to me that I should I should route the neck pocket so that the extended fingerboard rests on the face of the body. I stumbled upon a couple of posts where people vaguely mentioned the importance of the relative heights of the frets, pickups and bridge heights.

Should the neck be set so the frets are at the same height as the saddles?

Can anyone shed any light on this matter? If not I think I will just route everything 3/4" deep for simplicity's sake.

 

[clintfraser]

Okie dokie, we've been having a few headaches with our router table at work, so I've been unable to get my body cut out! Tonight I finally took the plunge (literally and figuratively).

Here's a few pics of the cutting.

*You can see my trial run MDF mockup in the first picture*

 

[clintfraser]

I've really been obsessing over the details of this bass, and despite the way it may look, getting this from thought to process was anything but automatic!

I routed the pickups to match my Seymour Duncan SJB pups, with a little bit of slop.

In the 2nd pic you see the strange path the software chose to cut the neck pocket out. The shape looks odd because I chose to extend the cut past the body to simplify set-up in the CAM software.

 

[clintfraser]

Here you see the bass taking shape.

And the hole being drilled for the bridge, pickups and neck.

 

[clintfraser]

My boss was waiting for me to finish, so in my hurry I cut my finger on the silly plexi guard around the spindle while changing over to the drill bit. No blood on my wood!

Hopefully I will be approaching the end of this process next week, so I'll post more pics then.

Thanks!

 

[clintfraser]

wooohhoooo! body is finished, as far as the CNC is concerned. I tell ya, I was nervous cutting it out, such a relief to move onto more manual methods!

Here's a couple pics of the body...

2nd pic shows my control route and cover I cut out of the offcut! I was worried about this step! I left about 1/4" of the face, and although the mahogany had cut very well up until then I was terrified of screwing up the face by accidentally ploughing through the front!

 

[dremy2006]

niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[RNV]

Are you keeping all the CNC data? If this works out, would you cut the same thing out of piece of wood shipped to you along with a money order or check? I have always wanted a rear routed Jazz body made from a beautiful chunk of tree. I can't wait to see the end product, and please tell us of any problems you have had along the way.

 

[Willicious]

subscribed, and very interested.

 

[neil933]

Great job! Your work looks great. What kind of neck will you be using? Neil933

 

[joeyl]

if you are going with rear routed cavity, I would make it larger for ease of wiring, no point to make it as small as a top rout