Projekt In Progress: "Jazz-Ray" Build

[Malak the Mad]

One other thing to note is the bridge. I decided to go with a Gotoh 201B-4 bridge. What can I say? I have a weakness for Cosmo Black (aka: smoked chrome, black nickel, etc…)! drool Plus, the screw holes it leaves behind should be compatible with a great number of Fender-style bridges, should I ever decide to switch things up. Sadly, I cannot find a matching Stratocaster jack. The black one I already have is nice, but it's finish is a little dull. If I can't find a smoked chrome jack, I should have no problem finding a black one with a shinier finish.

Same-Day Update: After doing some snooping around Gotoh's website, I discovered their online store, Invalid Link Removed. Now, I have a Cosmo Black Stratocaster boat-jack, volume knob and a set of strap pins, along with one of their spring-loaded battery boxes, on order…yay! I also rounded-out my shopping list with some bits o' hardware from Bass Mods. Now, all that's left is to do apply the finish and wait for the hardware to arrive.

 

[Petebass]

In short, everything fits like a dream!

....... On the finishing-front, I have a question for experienced and/or inventive members. I need to hang the body up while applying the coats of pre-treatments, stain and clear coat. The best place for me to do this would be on a big, steel work table my wife has for her various craft-works. I need some kind of hanging rack that will keep the body at my chest and head level. My first thought runs towards a garment rack like this. The other thing I need is something to hang the body from that's strong enough to keep it aloft, but won't get in the way during application and drying. Any thoughts?

That test fit looks very tasty!

Regarding the finishing, here's a pic of how I do it. Attach a "fake" neck, basically just a piece of cheap pine or scrap, then hang it from the roof support beams in my shed. I spray it in this position, then just walk away to let it dry.

 

[BAG]

Can't wait to see this finished. For some reason some of the earlier concept shots with the white Blacktop Jazz look oddly familiar.

 

[ubernator]

OMG personal y2k flashback. I almost ordered a swamp ash jazz body routed for music man, and a wenge neck, trying to get the sound similar to my Warwick FNA.

Reason: ungrounded pole pieces in my FNA led to Warwick replacing the pickup under warranty, and they didn't want the old pickup back. Talk about OCD! I almost spent over a grand just to put that pickup to use (the grounding issue isn't as bad with the pickup in stingray sweet spot, but on an FNA, the pickup is more in the P position, so it sees more anchor action).

Shortly after, before any trigger pulling, OLP basses were introduced and I ended up with one. The Warwick pickup dropped right in there.

Fast forward 16 years and now I am conspiring to stuff a Duncan mini preamp, stacked bass/treble knob in that bass. There is just enough space to hold a battery under the plate where the 3rd knob went originally.

Your warmoth body, other than the strat Jack, is exactly what I was picturing back then. I don't think they offered a stingray shaped body back then, I wanted to have it be a blend of 3 basses, stingray, fender and Warwick (neck wood), but I was happily going to settle for jazz shape.

I would like to see how yours turns out. I don't have the money to throw at things anymore, like I did back then.

 

[Doner Designs]

Finished up my take on the JazzRay today. Mine, and its pickup, is named the JazzMan.

 

[ubernator]

Finished up my take on the JazzRay today. Mine, and its pickup, is named the JazzMan.

View attachment 974582

Curious about that control layout

 

[Doner Designs]

Curious about that control layout

Volume, Balance, Hi Mid/Lo Mid, Treble/Bass.

 

[Doner Designs]

BIG-TIME UPDATE!!

The big, brown truck dropped off a little, brown box today!

Hardware and Neck "Fitting" Test…

In short, everything fits like a dream!

One other thing to note is the bridge. I decided to go with a Gotoh 201B-4 bridge. What can I say? I have a weakness for Cosmo Black (aka: smoked chrome, black nickel, etc…)! drool Plus, the screw holes it leaves behind should be compatible with a great number of Fender-style bridges, should I ever decide to switch things up. Sadly, I cannot find a matching Stratocaster jack. The black one I already have is nice, but it's finish is a little dull. If I can't find a smoked chrome jack, I should have no problem finding a black one with a shinier finish. (revised in post #101)

The Jazz knobs aren't necessarily a done-deal. I haven't decided on which to go with, but I've seen some smoked chrome knobs with position-indicator dots that are rather promising. Whichever I ultimately go with, it will need some kind of position-indicator, what with the preamp's pots having no center detent.

Oh, and I must give a bit shout-out to Philadelphia Luthier Tools & Supplies, not only for having that cool-ass bridge in stock, but for getting it to me in a mere two days! Certainly, being only thirty or so miles away helped, but they sure as hell didn't drag their feet getting it shipped out.

As far as finishing the body goes, I still need to do some experimenting on some scrap wood before I even consider going forward. Unfortunately, I've hit a bit of a delay. I had a considerable wipe-out on my bicycle last weekend. It's nothing life-threatening, but my forearms and knees are pretty scraped up (i.e.: I managed to get my arms up in time, sparing my head, face and chest any damage!), so standing for long periods of time is uncomfortable. For obvious reasons, I want to do this free from as much distraction as possible, so I get it right the first time.

On the finishing-front, I have a question for experienced and/or inventive members. I need to hang the body up while applying the coats of pre-treatments, stain and clear coat. The best place for me to do this would be on a big, steel work table my wife has for her various craft-works. I need some kind of hanging rack that will keep the body at my chest and head level. My first thought runs towards a garment rack like this. The other thing I need is something to hang the body from that's strong enough to keep it aloft, but won't get in the way during application and drying. Any thoughts?

Beautiful! How is it coming along. Maybe I missed the finished photos?

 

[Malak the Mad]

Beautiful! How is it coming along. Maybe I missed the finished photos?

Nah, you haven't missed anything. A combination of circumstances (i.e.: "too busy to think " and "abject fear of screwing it up ") have kept me from finishing the body. But once I finally grow a pair, I could probably get it done over a weekend.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

Featured on Best Bass Gear today!!!

Invalid Link Removed

 

[invalidprotocol]

Finished up my take on the JazzRay today. Mine, and its pickup, is named the JazzMan.

View attachment 974582

Beautiful Sir. I've been considering a build like this. Does the pickup positioning and additional body mass of the jazz shape put it in Stingray territory?

 

[Malak the Mad]

Beautiful Sir. I've been considering a build like this. Does the pickup positioning and additional body mass of the jazz shape put it in Stingray territory?

Thanks, I.P.!

I can't say yet, as I haven't even finished the body (I need to do it the fresh air of "Outside", but it's too darn cold this time of year), but that I my hope. I specifically asked Warmoth for the "Music Man Sweet Spot" routing. Once spring rolls around, I'll hopefully work up the nerve to finally put brush to wood.

 

[Doner Designs]

Beautiful Sir. I've been considering a build like this. Does the pickup positioning and additional body mass of the jazz shape put it in Stingray territory?

With a Stingray pickup, it should sound about the same as a Stingray. With a double J pickup in that position, it sounds like a J bass with a little extra growl. JazzMan or JazzRay is a very apt name - sounds like both. Part of the sting in a Stingray comes from using single magnets per string (I think). Dual magnets result in a smoother tone (I think). Note that the special edition Stingray nicknamed "Old Smoothie" uses a five pole pickup on a four string bass such that the strings sit between the giant MM pole pieces.

I'm feeling like a thread hijacker now. Sorry Malak and I can't wait to see your finished product! The Strat style jack looks good - nice way to use some of that empty space on the top.

 

[Bioflava]

Hi Jazz-Ray, JazzMan and P-Ray posters... @Malak the Mad did you ever finish this project?

I'm working on a P/MM project myself so do tell how it turned out!

 

[Malak the Mad]

Hi Jazz-Ray, JazzMan and P-Ray posters... @Malak the Mad did you ever finish this project?

I'm working on a P/MM project myself so do tell how it turned out!

Sadly, not yet , but thanks for the interest, B.

Over the summer, while I was trying out different finishes and stains on pieces of scrap wood, I suffered a considerable wipe-out on my bicycle. As a result, standing for long periods of time was, at best, uncomfortable, which sucks a bit when one must stand over a project for long periods of time, let alone when one is a professional massage therapist.

On the up-side, though, I've had a few, new ideas come my way. First, I discovered a finish that I'm 95% sure I'm gonna run with…

Water Based Wood Stains | General Finishes

Click on the "Colors" tab and check out the "Rosewood On Oak" sample. So far, it's the closest to the color I'm looking to achieve. Unlike the stain + Minwax Polyshades solution I was originally going to use, this should do it in one shot. Obviously, I plan on doing some scrap wood tests first, but the sample I saw at the woodworking store's display was very encouraging.

The other idea I had was to give it a glossy clear-coat by way of a wipe-on polyurethane process. Here's the video that grabbed my attention…



So instead of just slathering on a couple of coats of super-thick poly, I'm gonna thin it out a bit and apply several (maybe five or six) coats using this technique.

The main thing I'm waiting for is the weather to become warmer and more stable, as opposed to the "yet another storm of the week" pattern we've been stuck with up here in the northeast. Then I'll be able to do some work on the folks' open-air patio, which is the best place I have to do this kind of work. No fear of fumes nor flying fur out there!

 

[Bioflava]

I've learned a lot from this thread -- like that I probably want to buy a finished body

Good luck and godspeed -- and sorry to hear about the spill, I'm a road rider as well.

When you get things setup, please do post; I love the look of your test fit.

 

[Malak the Mad]

I've learned a lot from this thread -- like that I probably want to buy a finished body

"Prick us, do we not bleed?"

Seriously though, when weighed against "getting chewed up by two, fast moving cars" and "colliding with the car parked in a blind spot at the end of a fairly steep downhill stretch of road", wiping out on the pavement was actually the best option. Not a pain-free option, of course, but a potentially lifesaving one, at that.

I, too, am psyched. The fit-test went wonderfully (mad props to the fine folks at Warmoth ) and I'm relieved that I finally found a one-and-done stain that will most likely give me the color I have in my mind's eye. I can't wait to see if everything I've curated will give me that classic '70s Stingray sound. I love my various J's and P/J's, but it'll be cool to have something truly unique that stands out from the rest of my projekts, visually and sonically.

 

[Malak the Mad]

Not a status update, but a continuation of the overall groove. For those who've followed this thread, the only update to my JazzRay Projekt is that I found a stain that should be dead-on the color I'm gunning for. Now that it's cooling off in my neck o' the woods, I should be able to drag my gear outside to get some work done on it…assuming this autumn won't be as rainy as the summer was.

The other almost-an-update is that I'm going to tackle another JazzRay-ish projekt in the near future. I bought an unfinished Jazz body from Guitar Fetish that I'm planning on turning into a J/MM configuration. The thing that's gnawing at my brain is the question of "pickup placement". To that effect, I've posted a thread to the Pickups & Electronics board, but Basses gets much more traffic, so I'm hoping I'll get more responses here on this related thread.

So, without further ado, here's the sitch…

I recently bought a DiMarzio DP147 Ultra Jazz neck pickup (a humbucker in it's own right) from a fellow TB'er which I'm planning on pairing with a Wilkinson Platinum Series Single/Double Coil pickup with the idea of wiring it up to a three-way switch…something like "Neck-Side/Series-Humbucking/Bridge-Side" system, assuming that's even possible.

I've already taken measurements from single and double-pickup Stingrays to possibly use as a guide, but I'd like to hear from people who have experience with these types of instruments. Here are some specific questions on my mind…

1. Would you prefer the "sweet spot" of the classic 'Ray?
2. Would that be too close to the Jazz pup?
3. Is there a better position to consider?
4. Could it be positioned in such a way when a coil is isolated, the neck-side coil is more or less in the '60s Jazz pup position and the bridge-side is in/close to the '70s position?

 

[wraub]

"Prick us, do we not bleed?"

Seriously though, when weighed against "getting chewed up by two, fast moving cars" and "colliding with the car parked in a blind spot at the end of a fairly steep downhill stretch of road", wiping out on the pavement was actually the best option. Not a pain-free option, of course, but a potentially lifesaving one, at that.

I, too, am psyched. The fit-test went wonderfully (mad props to the fine folks at Warmoth ) and I'm relieved that I finally found a one-and-done stain that will most likely give me the color I have in my mind's eye. I can't wait to see if everything I've curated will give me that classic '70s Stingray sound. I love my various J's and P/J's, but it'll be cool to have something truly unique that stands out from the rest of my projekts, visually and sonically.

Had a similar choice once between moving traffic and a parked car, still have the scar from the stitches... Heal well.

Definitely watching this build...

 

[TrustRod]

with the idea of wiring it up to a three-way switch…something like "Neck-Side/Series-Humbucking/Bridge-Side" system, assuming that's even possible.

Piece of cake. This Bart chart should give you plenty of choices that will work with any 2 coil pickup.

https://www.bestbassgear.com/wiring-diagrams/2017/4-Conductor-Wiring-Diagram.pdf

1. Could it be positioned in such a way when a coil is isolated, the neck-side coil is more or less in the '60s Jazz pup position and the bridge-side is in/close to the '70s position?

You have to pick one or the other, or compromise. I'm pretty sure the spacing between 60's & 70's is narrower than the spacing between the 2 coils.

EDIT: Just measured my MM and the coils are just under an inch apart. I think the 60-70 difference is 3/8" or so.