I’ve been through several 5 string basses through the last 15 years or so, trying to get a best approximation of a Jazz Bass in a 5 string format. What a journey. None of them stuck, for various reasons. I will say that of all of those, the finest neck profile for me was the Fender Marcus Miller V. I guess they don’t make those any more. Fender is nuts not to run with that profile through the rest of their 5 string lineup; but, what do I know? I’m just a bass player. Anyhow, I hated that preamp; so, it went on the heap of flipped 5 strings.
My most recent failure was a Sadowsky WL5. I was REALLY hoping that bass would be the one. Pat Wilkins pimped it out for me. I gigged it. And, what I learned is that I just don’t like the neck taper used for the 19mm string spacing, irrespective of nut width. The spacing is fine. No problem there. But, the big neck at the heel just doesn’t feel right to me. Whatever; not my cup of tea, move along, nothing to see. Flip to another good home. Next.
So, I did a couple of things. One of which is a custom build that will be another thread down the road. As a high risk toss of the dice, I accumulated some parts here and there. Inexpensive. Low expectations. In fact, I actually made a glaring and stupid error, not knowing that Fender shortened their Deluxe Jazz 5 neck, when they went to the full size body a few years back. So, stupid me gets a 2007 Jazz 5 neck and a 2015 Jazz 5 body. There’s a bit more to it; because I don’t care for the bound necks of recent vintage and I don’t care for the shortened bodies of the previous gen. Still it was pretty stupid. I sometimes excel at stupid.
The body is one of those trans white Mary Kay finishes in B grade, because Fender botched it. Which is fine with me, cause I don’t care; and the body is light, which I do care about. So, when I realized my error, the parts sat in the closet for a while, as I chewed on my next step. I decided to name the unassembled bass the Albatross, which seemed appropriate.
After considering various options, in which cost was the major factor, I decided to send the body to Pat Wilkins who correctly routed the body pocket an additional 1/4” toward the bridge for $50. Did I mention that Pat is just about the nicest guy on the planet?
So, here’s the Albatross. I incorrectly cut the additional depth to the neck cutout on the guard, because I was in slap it together mode, and had zero confidence that it would work at all. Instead: Magic happened.
Lo and behold, the darned thing is 99% of what I’ve been looking for this past 15+ years. Whoddathunk?
9.0 pounds even. Resonant. Harmonics ring out. Perfect balance. Already been out on the gig at Westward Look here in Tucson, and KILLED.
Of course, I COULD ask Pat to paint it some sexy color, like Shoreline Gold, and get the guard right. Stuff like that. And, the bass is a little too long at just under 47” to fit in a standard hard shell case. Just barely fits in my gig bag.
But, in true parts bass fashion, it stays just the way it is. My albatross. I’m pretty sure there isn’t another like it.
My most recent failure was a Sadowsky WL5. I was REALLY hoping that bass would be the one. Pat Wilkins pimped it out for me. I gigged it. And, what I learned is that I just don’t like the neck taper used for the 19mm string spacing, irrespective of nut width. The spacing is fine. No problem there. But, the big neck at the heel just doesn’t feel right to me. Whatever; not my cup of tea, move along, nothing to see. Flip to another good home. Next.
So, I did a couple of things. One of which is a custom build that will be another thread down the road. As a high risk toss of the dice, I accumulated some parts here and there. Inexpensive. Low expectations. In fact, I actually made a glaring and stupid error, not knowing that Fender shortened their Deluxe Jazz 5 neck, when they went to the full size body a few years back. So, stupid me gets a 2007 Jazz 5 neck and a 2015 Jazz 5 body. There’s a bit more to it; because I don’t care for the bound necks of recent vintage and I don’t care for the shortened bodies of the previous gen. Still it was pretty stupid. I sometimes excel at stupid.
The body is one of those trans white Mary Kay finishes in B grade, because Fender botched it. Which is fine with me, cause I don’t care; and the body is light, which I do care about. So, when I realized my error, the parts sat in the closet for a while, as I chewed on my next step. I decided to name the unassembled bass the Albatross, which seemed appropriate.
After considering various options, in which cost was the major factor, I decided to send the body to Pat Wilkins who correctly routed the body pocket an additional 1/4” toward the bridge for $50. Did I mention that Pat is just about the nicest guy on the planet?
So, here’s the Albatross. I incorrectly cut the additional depth to the neck cutout on the guard, because I was in slap it together mode, and had zero confidence that it would work at all. Instead: Magic happened.
Lo and behold, the darned thing is 99% of what I’ve been looking for this past 15+ years. Whoddathunk?
9.0 pounds even. Resonant. Harmonics ring out. Perfect balance. Already been out on the gig at Westward Look here in Tucson, and KILLED.
Of course, I COULD ask Pat to paint it some sexy color, like Shoreline Gold, and get the guard right. Stuff like that. And, the bass is a little too long at just under 47” to fit in a standard hard shell case. Just barely fits in my gig bag.
But, in true parts bass fashion, it stays just the way it is. My albatross. I’m pretty sure there isn’t another like it.
