Beautiful bass! Did MJT tell you that ash would be the lightest in weight? Could you break out how much your body and neck weigh? I've thought about DIY but without neck numbers it's hard to tell how much my finished product would weigh.
Well....I was in the middle of a custom order with them as I wanted a light bass made from ash and I had seen them sell several online that were just a little over 4 lbs. I had an early 70's neck with a narrow heel that did not fit any body I had ever bought so I sent it to Matt and he test fit it to one of their off the shelf bodies. It fit great but the bolt holes did not align and left a large gap at the heel. "No sweat", they say and order me a body from their supplier that must be under 4lb. 4oz, ash and fit my 70's neck. They sent the first one back (too heavy) and the next one was only 4 lbs.! Yahtzee!
Result of that work is here -
MJT Sherwood Green Precision (snow day build)
While waiting for that one, an even lighter body showed up 3 lb. 7oz. in ash. I bought it immediately since I had this gold bass project up next anyway. I bought a real nice Musikraft neck from the classifieds but it was over half a pound heavier (nearly 3 lbs with vintage tuning machines) than all the necks I had in my inventory and those were already too heavy for such a light body.
The neck I used, I just found in the classifieds a few days ago, typical TBer, did me a great deal and also shipped it really fast. The CIJ neck is a jazz and is very light (did not weigh it, sorry) but it is obvious as soon as you pick it up. It also has small machines (funny since it is supposed to be Japan's version of a '62 RI) and these saved critical weight at the most critical point. I'd guess that it was closer to 2 lbs. than 2.5. I had some Hipshots (love those guys!) on stand by but I did not use them. Would have had to drill the bushing holes anyway as the CIJ necks have much smaller holes.
As noted, I actually used the heaviest tone/vol knobs I had to put weight where I needed it. Usually as I look to shed some ozs., I use the old 70's mystery metal knobs or the new AV RI aluminum ones. I could make this bass lighter but it would mean removing weight from all the wrong places. Right now, it is perfect.
For your project, I'd use the rule of thumb of body-weight plus a skosh over 4 lbs. in "other bits" for a P bass. 4 lb. body gets you a bass that is wee bit over 8 lbs but well under 9.
And ash is not reliably the lightest wood. It is just what I wanted for these two basses. I had a Fender ash body that weighed over 7 lbs stripped! One of the prettiest that I'd every owned but an 11 + lb. bass, I did not need!
