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NBD: Warmoth Fender Precision JJ Jazz

darwin-bass

darwin-bass

Supporting Member
Mar 29, 2013
5,437
9,113
Salem OR
#1
This is the fifth bass I swore I'd never have. Four basses is enough. I don't need five. And yet, here we are.

My other four are a pair of 32" scale P's, a fretless 32" scale Stingray and a 34" scale Stingray. Actually they are all 100% Warmoth so the 'Rays are not actually MusicMan basses, but you get the idea.

This one is a hybrid. I had some goals:
  1. Passive J sound
  2. P body or similar for reduced size and no lower bout.
  3. J width neck
  4. As light as I can reasonably make it. Goal is under 8.5 lbs. 7 Lbs would be fabulous.
Parts used:
  • Fender Am Performer Precision body
  • Warmoth J birdseye maple neck
  • Wilde J45 pickups
  • Passive VVT
  • Gotoh Res-O-Lite tuners
  • Hipshot aluminum B bridge
I started by ordering a Warmoth P body with JJ route but it ended up being too heavy at 4.9 lbs despite me paying for light weight. I sent it back for a refund.

Ended up getting a USA American Performer Precision body off e-Bay. Lake Placid Blue, 4.4 lbs as delivered. I did some work on it
  • Drilled some swiss cheese weight reduction holes.
  • Routed a place for the neck J pickup
  • Routed a better truss rod access channel.
After the weight reduction activities, the body weighed 4.19 lbs. So I saved about .2 lbs.

PBJ-01.jpg


I choose the Gotoh GB350 Res-O-Lite tuners for their light weight and low cost but they are for a 9/16 hole not the 11/16 hole in the headstock. I fixed that by making spacers from trailer spring bushings. The bushings were too big so I cut a slit in them so they could squeeze into the headstock and it formed a pretty good fit around the tuners.

PBJ-03.jpg


PBJ-02.jpg

The final result turned out pretty good. It plays great and sounds different than my P or 'Ray basses. Slap is fabulous on this thing.

PBJ-04.jpg
PBJ-05.jpg
PBJ-06.jpg
PBJ-07.jpg
PBJ-08.jpg



Oh, and the final weight? A nice light 8.2 lbs.
PBJ-09.jpg
 
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#3
darwin-bass

Who cut your pickguard?

I'm in the process of also assembling a P Bass with J pickups. If and when I get it done, it'll look like the classic 3 tone sunburst P Bass with a tort guard and rosewood fretboard.......but with J pickups. (I'm gonna try to order a custom P tort guard with a J neck hole from WD.)

Great job! Fantastic looking bass! Quite original too! Thanks for sharing.
 
#7
bassist4dalord said:
Very nice! If it were me, I would have sourced a Fender Jazz neck from The Stratosphere (probably who sold you the body).
Click to expand...
Yea, but you see, I have a problem. Its me. I am addicted to Warmoth necks. I love the smooth even note volume they produce. Dead spots are defeated. Sadly they're heavier.

And in this case I scored a birdseye maple neck as one of their screaming deals so I got it "cheap".
 
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#8
bassdude51 said:
darwin-bass

Who cut your pickguard?

I'm in the process of also assembling a P Bass with J pickups. If and when I get it done, it'll look like the classic 3 tone sunburst P Bass with a tort guard and rosewood fretboard.......but with J pickups. (I'm gonna try to order a custom P tort guard with a J neck hole from WD.)

Great job! Fantastic looking bass! Quite original too! Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...
The PG came from Warmoth. I got it with the Warmoth body and kept it when I returned the body,

The PG fit the body perfectly. Mounting holes and neck pocked lined up great. But there was one problem. The opening output jack hole (tone pot for me) was closer to the mounting screw the the Fender PG is. The Fender body didn't have a big enough opening to fit the tone pot so I had to route out more of the control cavity to get things to fit. So while Warmoth's PG fit great, I think the control holes are not drilled in exact Fender locations.
 
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#11
BALANCE - I forgot to talk about that. Neck heaviness is something I don't tolerate. The instrument has to balance well and not require some wide, grippy strap to stay in place.

This bass has the worst balance of all my basses. The 34" 'Ray, feels bridge-heavy in comparison. Still on the strap this new JJ - P/J bass balances very well. So, not as good as the others but still light-years ahead of most FSO production basses I've used.
 
#12
Great job! Regarding the Warmoth neck, did you go with the steel or graphite stiffening rods? For the profile, do you prefer the standard or slim taper?

I like the color. The black pickguard and maple neck go very well with it. Any chance we can get a family bass photo?
 
#14
Well done sir. Those Gotoh Res-O-Lite's are probably the lightest tuners out there. Stable, reliable, and as you mentioned very reasonably priced. I've used them on a couple builds. They're now my go to tuner. That said, if I do need clover or lollipops specifically for a look , then the Hipshots are lighter. Everything else..Reso-O-Lites.
Again, well done.
 
#15
funkinbottom said:
Well done sir. Those Gotoh Res-O-Lite's are probably the lightest tuners out there. Stable, reliable, and as you mentioned very reasonably priced. I've used them on a couple builds. They're now my go to tuner. That said, if I do need clover or lollipops specifically for a look , then the Hipshots are lighter. Everything else..Reso-O-Lites.
Again, well done.
Click to expand...
Hipshot makes some Mini cloverleaf that are the next lightest. They were my 2nd choice if the Gotohs didn't work out.
 
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#16
Z-Bass said:
Great job! Regarding the Warmoth neck, did you go with the steel or graphite stiffening rods? For the profile, do you prefer the standard or slim taper?

I like the color. The black pickguard and maple neck go very well with it. Any chance we can get a family bass photo?
Click to expand...
Steel. Always steel. And standard (thick) profile. My L hand has problems with those thin/fast necks.

Years ago, Warmoth had a page that talked about steel vs graphite where indicated steel worked better for dead / hot spot reduction but at the cost of additional weight. Graphite was offered because of customer demand. That page isn't there any more.

Family photo - Yes, I'm due for one.
 
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#18
darwin-bass said:
Steel. Always steel. And standard (thick) profile. My L hand has problems with those thin/fast necks.

Years ago, Warmoth had a page that talked about steel vs graphite where indicated steel worked better for dead / hot spot reduction but at the cost of additional weight. Graphite was offered because of customer demand. That page isn't there any more.

Family photo - Yes, I'm due for one.
Click to expand...
Based on the neck dimensions on their website, I'd probably prefer the standard as well. I know you mean about the thinner necks. My hand tends to cramp up along the thumb area. I also remember that description about their trial and error process with them landing on the steel rods as the solution.
 

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