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Low End PJ Build (With Pics!) Complete with Questionable Squier DNA

#61
Pleasant Update!

As I was tinkering with the wiring which was excessively noisy, I decided to swap out the pots that I had previously substituted into the Squier VM Jazz body (from whence came the neck) that I now have lying around. These pots are 500k across the board as opposed to the 250k I started with in the PJ. And holy **** what a difference.

Now there are a few things at work here- I don't recall the value of the cap, all I remember is that it's the small stock green chicklet cap from the VM Jazz. The wiring job may be cleaner, and to be frank the volume pot might even be 250k, but the blend and tone pots are 500k. To my ears, it sounds like the swap has "opened up" the pickups, or allowed a broader range of signal to be picked up- specifically some higher ones. The bass sounds crisper and has a touch more of a sizzle to it. I'm diggin it :cool:

I don't know what would contribute more to the increase in tonal range but the swap also seemed to even out the volume discrepancy between the pickups even more so; go figure.
I may give her a test run this Friday at our gig....

...:bassist:
 
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#62
Thanks for sharing this rehab build.
It's right up my alley with all the technical challenges. I keep telling myself "no more parts build, no more refins", but I'm hooked in spite of the drama.
 
#63
Bit of a resurrection here since it's been so long since I posted, however there's been an update to this thing's life.

After setting this build aside with the iffy electronics partially as a result of frustration and being infatuated with the Sire V7 Vintage I picked up, and two Stingray Specials I bought then subsequently returned since we just didn't bond, I decided to replace the pick ups with EMG's... decidedly NOT Squier.

I'm really bad at soldering, as previously admitted. I can do it, but not cleanly, and I also suck at electronics in general. I wanted to go solderless so I could jut put a bow on this build for now and get it to a solid and steady state of gig readiness, even though I've not been in a band for months. The only think I may explore doing later on is getting a roasted maple neck because I think they're sharp, and I think it would look fantastic on this bass.

But for now, she's pretty much where she's going to be for a while. I shouldn't have even spent the money on the pickups, but I had a moment of weakness and a need to bring SOME project to relative completion. I'll toss up a new picture or two later today- she's sharp looking without the pole pieces. I dig it!
 
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#64
As promised, a few more shots with her new guts:

3A53013A-2367-4C63-BDA5-20C8B06EA92D.jpeg



E15DC11B-FCC3-4AAA-BA52-8D7A3A7FCFC5.jpeg



FAB485AD-3E9D-49BE-86D6-F649B4BD1DAA.jpeg
 
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#66
HubbardsFate said:
I don't peruse the Luthier's Corner too often, but I'm glad I did tonight...what a cool project, and cool bass...this is the sort of thing I want to get into myself someday...:cool::bassist::drool:
Click to expand...

Appreciate the kind words! Thanks for taking a quick peek at the project.

Very random day for me to have posted, so I’m glad the stars aligned and you happened upon the thread.

It was great fun. I’d love to get the proper tools to be able to actually build a bass from scratch, but that’s many many dollars and square feet away from now :laugh:
 
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