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Two (small) projects

JumboFriendly

JumboFriendly

Oct 24, 2007
314
0
Mobile, AL
#1
I know there are a lot of talented folks in this forum, and my rebuild projects aren't nearly as impressive as the scratch-built instruments that are displayed here. I'm hoping to take what I learn from rebuilding some inexpensive basses and one day apply that to building my own. I've got one project underway, and my next lined up for after that. Between the two, I will have changed hardware, electronics, and necks on one bass and completely refinished the other.

The first project is an SX Jazz I bought several years ago. Here is the stock photo from Rondo:

sjb62qmdbus1.jpg


At the same time I got this bass, I also purchased a bound and blocked lefty Jazz neck. I haven't seen too many reversed headstocks locally, so I thought it would be unique and fun. Stock photo from Rondo, again:

necksjb75c1left.jpg


Once I got the order in, I disassembled the bass and started changing hardware. Replaced the bridge with a Gotoh 201, pots with CTS (with orange cap), control plate with Fender (like that matters?), knobs, and just about anything else that I could remove from the body. The pickups are from my 2008 MIA Jazz.

I've had this project sitting around for entirely too long, and just decided to pick it up again. What's left to do is attach the neck and install the tuners and string tree. The neck will either need to be shimmed or the bridge routed a bit because of the thickness of the Gotoh has raised the strings so far off the fingerboard. I also need to clean out the neck pocket, I'm a bit surprised at how much goop there is in there. Here's how the project looked last time I worked on it, and how it still looks today:

SXProject.jpg


Today I'll be dropping the bass off with a friend who has a lot more experience than I do. It'll give him a couple of days to familiarize himself with the project before I head over to his place this weekend and we start tackling the remaining work. Since I've had this project sitting around for so long, some of the parts I purchased in the past have gone missing, so I will need to reorder some things once I finally admit defeat and stop trying to tear my house apart looking for them.

Hopefully, I'll be able to post some updates in the coming few days. Thanks for looking!
 
#2
Sorry for the lack of updates. I got in an order of parts: new nut, neckplate, and tuners. I got the bass back from my buddy - he just isn't going to have the time to help me with it, so I'm going to be counting (even more!) on the TB community to keep me from messing things up too badly. I don't care so much about the "Hey, love the project" type replies, but if anybody notices me about to do something really dumb, please stop me.

I've got the new nut set into position and it's just a tad wide. I figure I can file that down at a later date.

I'm not exactly sure how to get the neck marked to drill the holes... Should I clamp/glue it in place and then drill through the neck holes in the body to make sure they line up okay, or is there some other method that works (putting the neckplate on the neck and marking that way?) just as well? I really don't want to mess the neck up, so if anyone can help me with some suggestions there I'd really appreciate it.

The next problem I've got is with the tuners. Unless I mount them at a decent angle, part of the back will hang off the edge for the E string. I'm worried about that for a couple of reasons; one of the screws wouldn't be secured to anything, plus it's a large overlap and it'll be pretty obvious when looking at the bass from the front. I can't afford to go with yet another set of tuners, so I need a way to make these work. I'll try to post a picture of what I'm talking about as far as the overlap, I hope I'm describing things well enough. I need advice here, too.
 
#4
Try to take the tuners apart and reverse them. Might work and save some bucks. Check out Welcome to Guitarfetish for inexpensive tuners. Or Link Removed

Clamp the neck in place and drill the bolt holes. Measure the screws and wrap tape around the drill bit to prevent going too deep and going thru the fretboard. Take your time and make sure you have it lined up the way you want it. I little extra time will save an "Aw Shucks" moment later on.
 
#5
Well, since you asked for prevention of really dumb. I have to say that keeping your ill-fitting tuners over correctly-fitted ones just so you can save a few pennies or hurry up and finish your bass is not exactly...wise. Post up some pictures of the tuners and what they look like in place from the front and the back of the headstock and we'll see about offering some useful feedback, but from where I sit, I'd leave it until it's resolved without messing things up.

For the neck holes, I clamp the neck in place (check the alignment CAREFULLY first), then mark the holes through the body onto the neck itself (nail, long pencil, felt tip, etc). If I'm not installing inserts, then I just drill some pilot holes on the press and install the screws.

Check the alignment first is really important. Do this by mounting the neck and then stringing up fishing line or using a long straightedge etcetera to see where the strings are going to pass over the pickups and hit the bridge. This is impossible to tell by eyeballing it, you really need to have something to ensure it's lined up accurately before you get going. It is a real pain to have to repair a simple alignment issue that could have been easily prevented...
 
#6
Beej said:
I have to say that keeping your ill-fitting tuners over correctly-fitted ones just so you can save a few pennies or hurry up and finish your bass is not exactly...wise.
Click to expand...

Point taken, and thank you for the advice. Here is a picture of the overlap that I'm talking about - it probably isn't as bad as I was making it out to be.

photo7.jpg


Will I be okay with that much overlap, or should I buy more tuners?
 
#7
I think those are reversible. I'd try to unscrew that phillips head, remove the rotary gear and post, take out the worm gear/tuning head, flip it over so it sticks out the other side of the tuner base, reinstall the post rotary gear and phillips head screw and then install the tuners as you would on a righty neck, only in reverse... :D
 
#13
I think I've decided to go with the ones I have - the overlap isn't THAT bad and I don't think it's going to hurt anything. I can't see spending the money on Ultralites or similar for a bass that is so inexpensive, even after all the money I've put into upgrading it. The tuners, for now, are something I'm willing to compromise on.

That being said, I got the bushings pressed in this afternoon. I need to locate someone local that has a drill press I can borrow. The friend that was going to help me, as I mentioned earlier, is no longer available to. I was searching around online and found a drill press type kit for a Dremel. Can anyone comment on how effective that is? I've been meaning to get a Dremel for a while anyway, and if this is something that'll work, it'll push me that much closer to getting one.
 

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