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need help building a new bass for giging.

... I play mostly rnb and reggae, isley brothers, cissy strut type music. some classic rock blackkeys type music and some kings of Lyone stuff

I can't speak to the Kings of Leon and the last time I saw The Black Keys, there was no bass player. But, for old R&B/Meters type stuff you listed, it sounds like you should look for a used Fender AVRI P-Bass. Mine is incredibly light and sounds great stock. You can find them used for around $1000.

Or you could go the Warmoth route and do a similar bass for around $700-$800 assuming you do your own finish work and setup. But as others have pointed out, right or wrong there is no resale value. Lakland is another solid choice as others have mentioned and I believe that's what George Porter is playing now.

As for the clean headroom, find an amp with more wattage. There are several used options available that will give you the headroom you are looking for.
 
If I were you, I would look into two things: (1) invest in a REALLY good strap. Just having a 3" strap doesn't mean a whole lot - before plunking down a few grand on a new bass, I would invest $200 in a really nice strap - like a Moody's 4" strap. I have heard lots of guys have their heavy bass problem solved by doing this; (2) If you are playing that much, you need to find some time to work out and keep all of your muscles strong symmetrically. Otherwise, you'll end up like the hunchback of Notre Dame.
 
Everyone seems to be providing alternatives but if you want a warmouth id go with a p style maybe a jazz pickup by the bridge too. Id go passive though, just to get that more natural sou.d, and you cant go wrong with a p set up
 
The la land is turning out to be the better deal than the warmoth route. The 44-01 deluxe is hard to beat its made of swamp ash and has a flame maple top. It also has the graphite true rod, hipshot superlites, bartollini pups and 3band preamp.

All for around 1200.

The warmoth route was coming out to over 1500

I can go the 44-01 route which should sound the same for 800 and refinish it myself.

So anyway that's most likely the route I'm gonna take. I'm gonna restore my squire for now andget a good hip strap. Then go lkland later.

I'm starting the squire restoration today. Might as well have two working basses right.
 
So I started restoring the old squire and I'm pleased so far it has this really good looking wood under it I thought squires were made from compressed wood but mine looks like maple or something. I'm digging it. Also a nice natural binding is starting to develop which I'm probably gonna keep.

I'm having second thoughts about flame toping it
 
Some pics so far
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I didn't yank the electronics since were practicing tonight I have to redo the electronics anyway so if they get dirtybig whoop
 
It looks to me like you're getting a whole lot of "this is what I have, so you should get it, too" advice.

For the music you described playing and the basses you've mentioned looking at, apparently, a 4-string is fine.

In that case, the music you're talking about sounds like P bass music, to me. George Porter (from the Meters) was playing a Lakland, last time I saw him - but it was a P bass.

So, if you want to get a P bass, then your budget is anywhere from about $100 to $5000. But, I would suggest, either, a Made in America Peavey Fury (which is a P bass) for $200 or less. Or a G&L SB-2 (which is actually a P/J).

The Fury will give you everything that a MIA Fender P bass will give you - for a LOT less money. And a thinner, J-style neck, to boot.

An SB-2 will probably run you $600 - 700, on the used market, for a Made in America one. That will give you everything you'd get from an MIA Fender P, plus the option for some way more aggressive sounds (thanks to the MFD pickups) and some J-like bridge pickup sounds.

For the music you want to play, I would go with one of those WAY before I went with a Lakland 44-01. Besides the sound, I think the Lakland will be heavier than either of those others, too.
 
Gee, not bad at all! But gosh, if you were going to the trouble of topping it why didn't you chamber it a bit first to reduce weight? Wasn't that one of the biggest issues?

Lol crap I never thought of that lol I don't have a router anyway.

I'm also thinking that most of the weight is actually in the neck of the bass rather than in the body. So light tuners maybe a future mod.

I'm gonna still get a new bass this one will have to keep going for a bit. My band likes how it sounds and its gonna look pretty decent when its done.

Yeah I'm gonna get the guitar store to look atthe neck. I don't think its as bad as I was thinking
 
You just did yourself a HUGE favor by keeping the Squier in the mix. I play some really heavy slugs of mahogany - I have an 81 Washburn Scavenger that actually used your metal slug idea behind the bridge and a custom walnut, purplheart & maple bass that's a real boat anchor. I play them for a few songs and then switch to something more comfy like my Teisco or Schecter to give myself a break and then switch back once my back stops whining.
A wide strap and working out your core muscles will help a lot too. I have a tendency to slouch and it really helps to remind myself to stand up straight. A mirror, even a small one where you glance every once in awhile, in your practice space helps if you have bad posture.
 
The la land is turning out to be the better deal than the warmoth route. The 44-01 deluxe is hard to beat its made of swamp ash and has a flame maple top. It also has the graphite true rod, hipshot superlites, bartollini pups and 3band preamp.

All for around 1200.

That sounds like a US model Lakland, which is significantly more than $1200. The Skylines do not have graphite rods in the neck, and I wasn't aware you could get a 44-01 with a maple top.
 
bass complete i also re did the wiring so it soud pretty good

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texas humidity and lack of evenly distributed force during the lminating process caused ome bubbling in the veneer normally people would start over but i like the bubbles it makes it feel 3d

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I also enhanced the wood with amber prior to dying it red i got this trick off some one on youtube. It creates some really awesome effects, for one it makes the dark areas pop more and look liquidy when you move the bass around and it also makes the colour change under different lighting, in low lights the bass looks orange and in sunlight or bright lights it looksvery red.
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I used shellac for the finish which by the way is really awesome, It makes the guitar feel soft almost like toucing leather . I also used the french polish method of applying the shellac to finishg it. Basically you put a crap ton on the bass, sand it flat, then rub very small amounts on with a special rubber made from cotton cloth, let it dry then repeat. the more layers you put the shinier the finish gets.
 

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