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NFBD! New Franken-Bass Day!

jondog

jondog

Mar 14, 2002
2,715
20
NYC metro area
#1
I've been having fun building parts basses, here's my newest one. Squier Bello body, Ibanez Modulus Neck, SX PJ pickups, DR neon strings. I tried wiring it blend + tone but think the blend knob ended up dual volume, the center detent is off and it ramps up to full volume in each direction. It plays great!

:hyper:

frankenpj1.jpg


frankenpjbody.jpg
 
#7
Thanks for the praise guys, this one took me awhile and came out great!

I don't know what Ibanez it's from, the guy I bought it from on eBay said it was a prototype. It's the TR series headstock shape, but the TR 5 strings have 4+1 headstocks. This one obviously doesn't have a straight pull past the nut for the A string so I'm wondering if it's a converted 4. I don't really care, it's just a parts bass and it plays great!
 
#8
jondog said:
I've been having fun building parts basses, here's my newest one. Squier Bello body, Ibanez Modulus Neck, SX PJ pickups, DR neon strings. I tried wiring it blend + tone but think the blend knob ended up dual volume, the center detent is off and it ramps up to full volume in each direction. It plays great!
:hyper:
Click to expand...

Hey, this thing is SO cool! I WANT ONE SO BAD!

Which raises the next question: Just HOW does one get SX P-pickups without buying an SX P-bass and keeping the pickups and throwing the rest of the bass away? (Which I must admit is probably in the price range of most replacement pickups!)
 
#9
I got my SX pickups on the TB classifieds for $20.

For building parts basses I've found it's best and definitely cheaper not to be in a hurry. I just buy parts that seem cool when I see a good deal and then see which ones fit best with each other. I had to file down the PJ pickups a bit to fit the Squier routs, now they fit great.

My next project is likely a solar yellow J + MM, small custom body, SX BG-205 neck.
 
#13
Wow, Blacknife series? I thought I was up on Ibanez but I've never heard of that one. Was it after the Roadstar IIs?

At some point I'm going to rewire this Frankenbass, I would prefer a true blend w/ no volume to the odd non-blend volume I somehow ended up with.

My next project is coming along slowly, I have most of the parts but not the time, plus I'm in no rush because I already have lots of cool basses to play.
 
#15
The sound is excellent, especially for inexpensive pickups. Very full and articulate, IMO. I have several SX basses and do get some single coil hum on my Js when the Jazz pickups are not both set at the same level. With this PJ set I get no hum at all, even w/ the J soloed. The P is hotter than the J, I've been told that is common w/ PJ setups. When I get around to rewiring this one I hope to have more control over that w/ a true blend knob.
 
#16
jondog said:
The sound is excellent, especially for inexpensive pickups. Very full and articulate, IMO. I have several SX basses and do get some single coil hum on my Js when the Jazz pickups are not both set at the same level. With this PJ set I get no hum at all, even w/ the J soloed. The P is hotter than the J, I've been told that is common w/ PJ setups. When I get around to rewiring this one I hope to have more control over that w/ a true blend knob.
Click to expand...

You could always lower the P and raise the J to compensate for the volume difference.
 

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