P-Bass Kit Build

I've been playing bass for years and always wanted to try putting a kit together. I finally decided to bite the bullet and purchased a p-bass style kit from Solo Guitars. It has a mahogany body, maple neck and I believe some kind of engineered rosewood (I wasn't crazy about that but it was cheap enough I guess.)
I didn't quite take step-by-step photos but here's what I've got.
I started out by assembling the kit. I was a bit skeptical that it would fit together nicely. It actually went together really well. The neck pocket was snug as a bug, pickup placement was a little off, a couple of the pickguard screw holes were stripped and it had a pretty rough poly finish on the body but not the neck.
Next I sanded everything down and put on a couple layers of Duplicolor primer.

Followed by Duplicolor Perfect Match Paint.

I ended up putting 3 layers of paint and 3 of clear. 1 can of each was enough. I left it to dry for about a week before putting it back together.
I also sanded the neck down with fine grit and applied toung oil for a silky smooth finish.

I wet sanded with 2000 grit and polished with Maguire's compound and polish. I didn't use a grain filler so it is visible in the finish.
I decided to skuff up the hardware with the sandpaper. I went a little overboard but I like how it turned out, with brass showing though.




I liked the white pickguard once I assembled it but that's not what I was going for. I ordered a red shell pickguard and Ivory EMG PVA5's. They came with the passive solderless wiring kit, which was a breeze to put together. While I waited for those to arrive I gave the bass a full setup. The nut required quite a bit of work.

The pickguard took a bit of finessing. I went with the musiclily, which is likely a direct fit for a genuine article. I on the other hand had to re drill every hole.


P. S The EMGs sound great. I went with their new passive set and they are better than I expected. Classic mellow tone and a bit of growl with the tone turned up. I also noticed a definite output boost. The kit pickups had an ugly mid overdrive thing that happened when the tone was full on which was unusable. The EMGs still drive but it sounds growly and awesome. They get 2 shwings from me.

 

That thing looks awesome! I had to file and shape the nut on my kit quite a bit. I used the setup videos by the G&L dude on YouTube. He goes through setup start to finish.

 

I was real close to getting a Rick kit. Definitely still on the bucket list for me. What finish did you use?

 

It plays pretty nice now. I've tweeked it a few times as it sets/as I change my mind. I noticed the truss rod adjustment is less precise than my high end basses. I've been playing a 2004 American Deluxe Jazz as my main for a long time, so the fat neck on this thing is different, but that was kind of the point.