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NBD: A Warmoth P-Bass Build

#21
melloncollie said:
How do you like the pax? I’ve been interested in that pickup but there’s no good demos.
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So far so good, though I'll confess that I've only got about 5 minutes or so of playing through an amp, as I finished the bass up quite late and I didn't want to piss my girlfriend off. It has a nice warm, p-bass sound as you'd expect, but with a slightly hotter signal than usual because of the active circuitry. I will chime back in tomorrow once I've been able to jam a bit more thoroughly. I can take some quick sound samples as well - I ran into the same problem when choosing these, I pretty much just guessed that I'd dig the PAX.
 
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#23
You are a tastemaker. I ordered a P bass in Satin Black with tort and rosewood from Mod Shop, was hoping Santa would finish it but I think It'll be late January-ish before it magically shows up. Yours looks great and better pictures than you get from the Fender site. I wasn't sure how good it would look, yours looks great so I feel like copying your idea was a smart move. I'll post when it arrives.

Enjoy your new bass brother from another. Wait, my mom is from Cleveland, this is getting real.
 
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#24
my-man_o_1937775.jpg


Post yours here when you get it man - you obviously made the right choices! I was heavily inspired by the standard black/tort fender basses with Rosewood fingerboards just like this one:

Fender69PBassBlk37440_2.jpg


I am also a huge fan of the Fender "chocolate" basses that have full Rosewood necks and headstocks too - those are beautiful but well out of my price range! :)
 
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#25
TonyRo said:
It is! Probably not for everyone, but I love the added sustain, tighter sound and the slightly tighter right hand feel. This is my second KSM, and I have a thread about my first here: My Experience with the KSM Foundation Bridge
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Ill check it out.
My knowledge goes as far as putting on a Leo Quan Bridge on my Jazz Bass many years ago.
And it changed the sustain of my bass a lot.
KSM looks massive.
 
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#26
TonyRo said:
So far so good, though I'll confess that I've only got about 5 minutes or so of playing through an amp, as I finished the bass up quite late and I didn't want to piss my girlfriend off. It has a nice warm, p-bass sound as you'd expect, but with a slightly hotter signal than usual because of the active circuitry. I will chime back in tomorrow once I've been able to jam a bit more thoroughly. I can take some quick sound samples as well - I ran into the same problem when choosing these, I pretty much just guessed that I'd dig the PAX.
Click to expand...
Some sound clips would be great! I was looking for something that married some of the clarity you get with an emg pickup plus the typical p-bass sound and the pax seems to fit the bill.
 
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#29
TonyRo said:
I wish I would have used a jazz neck instead of a p-bass neck, but that's okay. Wenge neck /Wenge FB never disappoints, at least to me. Hipshot USA Ultralights, Hipshot Xtender, and a Hipshot string retainer.
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Gorgeous bass!! Congrats, and welcome to the builder club LOL.... you'll build more TRUST ME!

I finished up my Warmoth dual P recently by adding a Warmoth P neck (1 & 11/16 nut width). I know what you mean by saying you wished you'd gotten a J neck. The Warmoth P neck feels massive: thick and wide! I also had them install the Tusq nut, like I assume you did. The nut string spacing was too wide for me. I was hoping for more of a 1.625" nut string spacing kinda feel. Instead, Warmoth used all the width and the E and G were practically over the binding. Not complaining, as the binding is really thick, and the spacing is technically "in spec". But, I couldn't play it like that! I popped the Warmoth nut out and made my own with the same narrower spacing as my MIJ Fender P. Making a nut without all the proper tools and subpar slotting files, is a real chore and nut fun (see what I did there? Sorry LOL). Later, I got the nerve up to start reshaping the neck. I started with rolling the fretboard binding edge, to make it feel a bit narrower and less sharp. I shaped the fret ends too. Then, I got REAL brave and took sandpaper to the back of the neck, removing the poly finish and some of the wood. I shaved it down, taking 1/8" off the entire playing length. Then, I put a tru oil finish on it. No one would ever know that it wasn't a factory job. If you want to reshape your neck, it should be much much easier than what I had to do. I had to protect the binding and blend the poly and tru oil edges. All you'll need to do is sand the wood. PM me if you want details. In the mean time, enjoy that P!!!

Oh, I also used the PAX pickup in mine, and the 18 volt setup. Great minds LOL.
 
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#37
Simplicity is elegance. Nice choices, and those pickups with 18v will be very smooth.

I think Warmoth (and others, including the aftermarket pickup builders) are sort of up-in-the-air regarding 5-string P Basses in that there is NO consensus in the industry as to whether the pickups will be in a shorter-half/longer-half 2+3 pickup shell shape, or if both halves' shells will be the same size.
 
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