Show us your Frankenstein's Monster!

[Hoover]

What I wish I could show a picture of was my old Frankenbacker fretless: the neck and bridge from a fretless Rickenbacker 3001 on a custom-made -- by me, which means butt-ugly -- maple and padouk body, with a Bill Lawrence humbucker in the sweet spot and a Bartolini 6S in the mute compartment of the Rick bridge. And only one knob...which was pickup blend. Sadly, long before it occurred to me to take a picture of this beauty (sic) I gave that bass away to someone who subsequently lost it in a divorce.

So instead I offer a pic of my current Frankenbass:

It's a Warmoth body and a Michael Dolan neck (which had to be totally custom since the Warmoth had non-standard neck pocket dimensions), EMG pickups & BTC preamp, Schaller bridge, Gotoh machines, more lacquer-checking than you can shake a stick at, and a sound like a thousand elephants gallumphing.

 

[esa372]

Ladies and Gentlemen...

KONG!

 

[OPBASSMAN1994]

Keep the thread up! I'm working on a double neck!

 

[OPBASSMAN1994]

And possibly an 8 string.

 

[kjpollo]

I picked up a franken 5er in a trade earlier this year but I havent taken any pics yet. (tonight maybe?)

It has a Warmoth birdseye neck/fb mated to a homemade Gecko-looking body that is possibly made from mahogany. It has full guts from an L-2500 (pickups, pre and all switches) and a black & gold bridge that is somewhat out of alignment. The D and G strings dont exactly pass over the polepieces but they work just fine! The G is also much farther from the edge of the neck than the B. The symmetry just isnt there.

Sounds excellent though- the G&L guts are amazing!

 

[Ric5]

 

[Ric5]

 

[Diogenes]

Ric5.... this is a monster:

This is NOT a monster:

Just wanted to make that clear.

 

[A-Step-Towards]

Sweet basses I gotta dice the one I have coming in the mail up !

 

[chicago_mike]

I'd post my franken-lakland, but she is not frankenstein enough. You guys are nuts!!

 

[mongo2]

Zombie thread...

Here's my latest: Warmoth Telecaster body, Ibanez neck and bridge, NOS DeArmond surface mount pickup.

 

[godofthunder59]

Pretty much finished my latest Frankenbass.

Mahogany over (ash?) body, Mighty-Mite neck, asymetrically-contoured and then stained walnut. Three pickups: a Gibson Mudbucker, BBE P-bass pickup, and some fat-single pole jazz pickup in the rear. Five way selector switch. I cut the pickguard so I could get into the wiring without having to remove the enitre thing.

Those holes? I dunno... whoever made the body thought it would be a good idea to drill lightening holes all throughout the wood before laminating the top on. Didn't know that until I added the forearm contur..."Surprise!" So, I just went with it, tried to make it look like it "belonged" there.

This one covers lotsa sonic territory for a 100% passive bass, that's for sure. It's not light, but it feels great.

Love this bass!

 

[TBird1958]

My 7enderBird: Epiphone body, no-name lefty neck, Seymour Duncan '51 P bass pickups in Gibson covers - wired VVTT with a micro switch.

 

[drummer5359]

My weirdest is a 2014 Fender American Standard Jaguar bass that I have. I wanted an American Jag bass, but I wanted a Precision sized neck with a maple fret board.

I bought the American Standard Jaguar body and an American Select Precision neck off of "The Stratosphere", Pickguardian made the three ply black guard.

 

[Gorn]

 

[bolophonic]

De-fretted Squier neck on a 25lb 60's plywood yard sale body with a set of microphonic Jazz pickups wired in series and crudely stuffed into a poorly done swimming pool route with bodged-together custom pick guard.

 

[fjadams]

Body by CSC guitars, sorta Fenderish type neck, bent plate bridge, Epiphone replacement pickups, Hipshot Licensed tuners. Dyed body finished with Tru-Oil and Gun Stock Wax.

 

[fjadams]

Chinese Les Paul guitar kit converted to sub scale bass. Hagstrom HB4 pickups and electronics. Chinese bridge and tailpiece, Hipshot tuners, ToneStyler. I think I have the only one of these in the city. This a picture when it wasn't quite finished.

 

[mel0dic.bassist]

This is exactly something that would come from the depths of my brain. I love everything about it, even the "hack-job" pickup route.. And please enlighten me as to WHERE you found those knobs! I cannot find them anywhere, apart from ones labeled "tone," "volume," etc a la. Rickenbacker knobs. Just plain, unadulterated radio knobs.

I actually have a hacked to pieces Jay Turser (or what was one), the MM-style pickup is begging to be put into a P-Bass.

 

[GretschWretch]

De-fretted Squier neck on a 25lb 60's plywood yard sale body with a set of microphonic Jazz pickups wired in series and crudely stuffed into a poorly done swimming pool route with bodged-together custom pick guard.

If you decide to bodge together some more, I'd take about a half dozen of those pgs.