NBD.....Something Fender should have built.

[B-Mac]

View attachment 4410108 Hey there...this is my first thread. (above-Klaus Voormann in the studio 1973)
MY SUMMER PROJECT.......
Back on June 23rd I decided that Klaus Voormann (Who's Klaus Voormann???https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Voormann) played a very nice looking bass back in the 60's into the mid-70's on many great albums by John, George, Ringo and others. Why hasn't Fender paid homage to this wonderful German bassist? So on that day I decided that I would build a Klaus Voorman Tribute Precison Bass. I ordered the ash body from Warmoth 6/30 and waited over a month to get it. I slowly ordered all the parts like pickup, bridge, pickguard etc. When I got it I had to prepare it for painting so that meant sanding and filling the pores and two coats of shellac. Then I shipped it off to Aurora, IL to my artist friend Sara Gauthier who did an amazing job recreating Klaus' bass from the the scarce photos we found on the web. I got it back and then had to spray 3 coats of nitrocellulose satin lacquer on the body and waited 14 days for it to dry. Finally I put all the parts including the expensive Fender neck in the new brown case and brought to luthier Jerry Pietrzak who skillfully assembled and setup everything within a week. All in all it took 12 weeks to create this very cool bass. It plays/sounds awesome! I'm very pleased with how it came out! I took many photos but the best ones were taken today by my photographer friend Frank Little. Also, I decided to include a portfolio in the case just like Fender Custom Shop guitars get and that was made possible by Kim Thornton. This bass is essentially a Fender American Original 60's Precision except for the body. All the other parts the same Fender parts of that bass. View attachment 4410112 View attachment 4410116View attachment 4410118 View attachment 4410119View attachment 4410122 View attachment 4410123

Wow! Just Wow! Very nicely done.
Never heard of him, but I guarantee you that since you posted this I will certainly find out all I can!

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

Here's the original again...in black and white

Very enthusiastic about this thread because Klaus was such a cool cat and a great player.

Manfred Mann My Name Is Jack - YouTube

 

[5StringBlues]

I dig Klaus.

 

[B-Mac]

Now you have to learn the intro A min arpeggio for You’re So Vain.

Time mark 3:23


Now I’m starting to remember who Klaus is.

 

[Eilif]

It actually does note it. The way I approached this whole project was I imagined I could step into a parallel universe in which Fender actually made a Klaus Voormann bass. A thing that Fender likes to do is put signatures on their guitars. The Geddy Lee bass has it on the back of the headstock. The Noel Redding bass has it on the headstock and some have his actual signature on the pick guard. The Sting P-bass has it on the 12th fret and both the Jaco and Tony Franklin basses have a signature on the neck plates. I'm aware Fender didn't always do this in every instance but I kind of liked the idea. I wanted to "Fender it up" as much as I could. My brother recently got a Custom Shop guitar which comes with a black leather portfolio with COA and build sheet. That inspired me to make something similar (not leather) with a 5x7 photo and a build sheet. Once again I wanted this bass to be special and seem as "legit" as possible as if I walked through a door from that other universe with the bass in my hand.

I love the amount of thought you put into the entire experience of the bass. Really well done.

 

[kesslari]

That's amazing. Enjoy, and play great music on it.

 

[JoeThomas]

Groovy!

 

[Mustang Surly]

(MIA) Starcaster semi-hollow bass re-issue.

 

[jd56hawk]

The thing is, this is far better than if Fender had run off a hundred or two.
I'd rather have the only one made.

 

[barbarbass]

Gorgeous -- always love it when a graphic seems to complement the actual contours of an instrument. The way the flames go out from the sun-burst all over the body is organic and elegant. Bravo!

 

[B-Mac]

View attachment 4410108 Hey there...this is my first thread. (above-Klaus Voormann in the studio 1973)
MY SUMMER PROJECT.......
Back on June 23rd I decided that Klaus Voormann (Who's Klaus Voormann???https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Voormann) played a very nice looking bass back in the 60's into the mid-70's on many great albums by John, George, Ringo and others. Why hasn't Fender paid homage to this wonderful German bassist? So on that day I decided that I would build a Klaus Voorman Tribute Precison Bass. I ordered the ash body from Warmoth 6/30 and waited over a month to get it. I slowly ordered all the parts like pickup, bridge, pickguard etc. When I got it I had to prepare it for painting so that meant sanding and filling the pores and two coats of shellac. Then I shipped it off to Aurora, IL to my artist friend Sara Gauthier who did an amazing job recreating Klaus' bass from the the scarce photos we found on the web. I got it back and then had to spray 3 coats of nitrocellulose satin lacquer on the body and waited 14 days for it to dry. Finally I put all the parts including the expensive Fender neck in the new brown case and brought to luthier Jerry Pietrzak who skillfully assembled and setup everything within a week. All in all it took 12 weeks to create this very cool bass. It plays/sounds awesome! I'm very pleased with how it came out! I took many photos but the best ones were taken today by my photographer friend Frank Little. Also, I decided to include a portfolio in the case just like Fender Custom Shop guitars get and that was made possible by Kim Thornton. This bass is essentially a Fender American Original 60's Precision except for the body. All the other parts the same Fender parts of that bass. View attachment 4410112 View attachment 4410116View attachment 4410118 View attachment 4410119View attachment 4410122 View attachment 4410123

@canuckshort should check this out. His wife painted some basses that turned out great.

 

[B-Mac]

That's amazing. Enjoy, and play great music on it.

Today’s the big day!!!!

 

[canuckshort]

@canuckshort should check this out. His wife painted some basses that turned out great.

That looks great!

 

[ryco]

Built for a short while and discontinued

Jazz 5 string fretless with a two octave board.

 

[Daddy-R]

Wasn't he old man Voormann's kid? I think we used to go to different schools together

 

[jnottoli]

Incredible!

The actual Fender parts - neck, neck plate, KV's "signature", your build papers make this look like a real tribute bass - which it actually is. Yours.

The Warmth body wood grain is awesome for the artwork. The neck seems to fit the pocket well. It was meant to be.

No one else has one, except Klaus himself. Fender should never do this. This is so much better than any mass-marketed bass.

This is so unlike MY character & the instruments *I* would play. Would I play this? Absolutely! In front of as many as possible.

Go take a German vacation. Find KV with the bass and a Sharpie. I think there's a little room on the back for a bigger signature!

If he's on social media, post your pics.

 

[aureliab20gt]

View attachment 4410108 Hey there...this is my first thread. (above-Klaus Voormann in the studio 1973)
MY SUMMER PROJECT.......
Back on June 23rd I decided that Klaus Voormann (Who's Klaus Voormann???https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Voormann) played a very nice looking bass back in the 60's into the mid-70's on many great albums by John, George, Ringo and others. Why hasn't Fender paid homage to this wonderful German bassist? So on that day I decided that I would build a Klaus Voorman Tribute Precison Bass. I ordered the ash body from Warmoth 6/30 and waited over a month to get it. I slowly ordered all the parts like pickup, bridge, pickguard etc. When I got it I had to prepare it for painting so that meant sanding and filling the pores and two coats of shellac. Then I shipped it off to Aurora, IL to my artist friend Sara Gauthier who did an amazing job recreating Klaus' bass from the the scarce photos we found on the web. I got it back and then had to spray 3 coats of nitrocellulose satin lacquer on the body and waited 14 days for it to dry. Finally I put all the parts including the expensive Fender neck in the new brown case and brought to luthier Jerry Pietrzak who skillfully assembled and setup everything within a week. All in all it took 12 weeks to create this very cool bass. It plays/sounds awesome! I'm very pleased with how it came out! I took many photos but the best ones were taken today by my photographer friend Frank Little. Also, I decided to include a portfolio in the case just like Fender Custom Shop guitars get and that was made possible by Kim Thornton. This bass is essentially a Fender American Original 60's Precision except for the body. All the other parts the same Fender parts of that bass. View attachment 4410112 View attachment 4410116View attachment 4410118 View attachment 4410119View attachment 4410122 View attachment 4410123

Looks great!

 

[onebasstwobass]

View attachment 4410108 Hey there...this is my first thread. (above-Klaus Voormann in the studio 1973)
MY SUMMER PROJECT.......
Back on June 23rd I decided that Klaus Voormann (Who's Klaus Voormann???https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Voormann) played a very nice looking bass back in the 60's into the mid-70's on many great albums by John, George, Ringo and others. Why hasn't Fender paid homage to this wonderful German bassist? So on that day I decided that I would build a Klaus Voorman Tribute Precison Bass. I ordered the ash body from Warmoth 6/30 and waited over a month to get it. I slowly ordered all the parts like pickup, bridge, pickguard etc. When I got it I had to prepare it for painting so that meant sanding and filling the pores and two coats of shellac. Then I shipped it off to Aurora, IL to my artist friend Sara Gauthier who did an amazing job recreating Klaus' bass from the the scarce photos we found on the web. I got it back and then had to spray 3 coats of nitrocellulose satin lacquer on the body and waited 14 days for it to dry. Finally I put all the parts including the expensive Fender neck in the new brown case and brought to luthier Jerry Pietrzak who skillfully assembled and setup everything within a week. All in all it took 12 weeks to create this very cool bass. It plays/sounds awesome! I'm very pleased with how it came out! I took many photos but the best ones were taken today by my photographer friend Frank Little. Also, I decided to include a portfolio in the case just like Fender Custom Shop guitars get and that was made possible by Kim Thornton. This bass is essentially a Fender American Original 60's Precision except for the body. All the other parts the same Fender parts of that bass. View attachment 4410112 View attachment 4410116View attachment 4410118 View attachment 4410119View attachment 4410122 View attachment 4410123

The level of detail and dedication you've put into this bass cannot be understated.

This is a work of beauty and you should be very, very, very proud.

Two thumbs way, way up.

 

[Marauderman]

Incredible build…really nice job!!

 

[eadg98005]

Excellent!