You'd think so but at the time I had not heard of the the guy. It was 1988 and there was no internet. I built the double P because of a '79 B.C. Rich I had that gave me the idea.
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That makes your bass even cooler!!! 2 great minds thinking alike.
@eastcoasteddie here are my 2 cents, and worth exactly that.
I can see why you're going back and forth, they are both great options. I normally don't like a Maple fretboard with a Natural finish...but...I have soft spot for Birds Eye and that combo is just like the one that got away. The Tobacco looks great too. As for your statement...
IMO BOTH options would look better with all black hardware! I prefer all black on everything though. You can easily unload the tuners you already bought to someone else, for their build. Good luck!
I can see why you're going back and forth, they are both great options. I normally don't like a Maple fretboard with a Natural finish...but...I have soft spot for Birds Eye and that combo is just like the one that got away. The Tobacco looks great too. As for your statement...
IMO BOTH options would look better with all black hardware! I prefer all black on everything though. You can easily unload the tuners you already bought to someone else, for their build. Good luck!
Okay, after a lot of wiring misadventures, it’s done (barring some setup tweaking).
Charger Green P body, with PJ routing. Football jack plate. 2TEK bridge. Lace Alumatone pickups (they sound super clear, seem punchy, the bridge is somewhat more sedate than many J pickups, but I need more time to really get a full impression of their sound). Neck is a J, wenge with an ebony board, and moonglow dots on front and side.
Charger Green P body, with PJ routing. Football jack plate. 2TEK bridge. Lace Alumatone pickups (they sound super clear, seem punchy, the bridge is somewhat more sedate than many J pickups, but I need more time to really get a full impression of their sound). Neck is a J, wenge with an ebony board, and moonglow dots on front and side.
I'm intrigued by this. Tell me more about the 2tek! I didn't know they were still around!
Awesome looking bass. After you get it setup, I might have to bug you again for a sound clip/video. I like the description so far: super clear, punchy. Also, they claim to be much more lightweight..... so I'm very interested.
And they look different. Different is cool
It’s hard to know exactly how to characterize the sound, since so much of this bass is a first for me. First time using a 2TEK, first time with a wenge neck, first time with Lace Alumatones, even the strings are something I’ve not used before (D’Addario 50-120). In direct comparison to the PJ I made with my old MiM J-neck and a Squier Affinity body, with SD Quarter Pounders, I’d say the Warmoth has substantially more sustain, although a little more sympathetic string vibration if I don’t mute. How much of that can be chalked up to any of those different factors? Hell if I know.
Mechanically, I was a little stressed installing it, since the paint impinged on the precisely routed recess the bridge mounts in (screws in from the back), and the string installation can be frustrating. The ball end wants to pop out unless you keep lots of tension on it, or you put something in the slot to keep the ball end from popping loose before tension is applied. It’s a quite good sound, mind you, but again, no idea how much of that is the bridge.
I think you’ll be more interested in my next build, which I still need some parts for. It’s a Gecko Six, which will have Rautia multi coils and a Lusithand Double NFP Special preamp.
I'll be interested in your longer-term impression of the Lace Alumatone pickups once you get used to them. ("Sedate" is not an adjective I'd want used with any of my pickups.)
I'd be interested in trying a 2TEK bridge if they had any in black finish.
When I read your reply, it immediately occurred to me that “sedate” is not the right word. I don’t really know what the right word even IS. I’ve spent the last half hour switching back and forth between this new bass and my PJ with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders, and there’s clearly a difference. I suppose I’d say that the Lace definitely has the J bridge kind of sound, but…maybe “more pleasant”? It’s got that bite, but it sounds a little clearer, a little less harsh. Not mellow or sedate, just more refined, maybe. Really hard to convey.
Also, no hum of any kind. Quarter pounder single coil, some hum. Lace, quiet as can be.
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Well hello again everyone! As I've been patiently waiting for my 72 P bass body and all wenge jazz neck to be completed, I may have actually decided to abandon the 72 body altogether for something completely different. Maybe I'll keep it and use a different neck, or maybe it will end up for sale to one of you lucky people. We'll see when it gets here!
So in my boredom/quest for something unique, here's what I've come up with -
or
As of this post I'm waiting for a reply from Warmoth about seeing if they are able to move the pickup cavities closer to the bridge. If that's the case I will go with the MM shape. I've initially been told that they can move them, but it takes approval from the production team. If they are not able to accommodate my request, then I will order this body without pickup cavities and likely go with the Wal shape with mounting ring and have them cut by a luthier.
Specs -
Construction
-Solid
-Core Wood: Mahogany
- Lam Top Wood: Quilt Maple
- Unique Choice: No
- Control Cavity: Rear Rout
- Neck Pickup Rout: Music Man (Positioned 4-1/4" from neck pocket to edge of pickup)
- Bridge Pickup Rout: Music Man (Positioned 7-1/4" from neck pocket to edge of the pickup)
- Controls: None (I will drill them myself later due to the unique preamp situation)
- Jack Rout: 7/8" side jack
- Bridge Rout: Gotoh 201
-Neck Pocket: 4-Bolt Neck Pocket
-Body Contours: Forearm Contour, Tummy Cut
-Binding & Edge Decorations: None
-Battery Box: None (I might have to rout one later)
-Top Color: Washed Black Dye
-Back Color: Black Burst-over (I might do a clear back with a clean line since mahogany looks great with a clear)
-Satin or Gloss: Gloss
Electronics:
- Rautia MultIcoil humbuckers wired in the "Old Way" either in a Stingray case or the Wal case
- LusitHand Dual NFP Preamp
- Kilo SC-75-2-5 knobs (location is currently approximate until I have everything in hand)
Neck:
-Shaft Wood :Wenge
-Fretboard Wood: Wenge
-Stiffening Rods: Standard Steel Rods
-Nut Width: 1-1/2"
-Neck Profile: Slim Taper
-Number of Frets: 20
-Binding: None
-Fret Size and Material: SS6150
-Tuner Hole Size: Schaller BML 11/16" (17.5mm)
-Inlays: White Pearloid blocks
-Side Dots: White Side Dots
-String Nut: GraphTech Black TUSQ XL - Standard Nut
- Tuners: Hipshot USA 1/2"
So in my boredom/quest for something unique, here's what I've come up with -
As of this post I'm waiting for a reply from Warmoth about seeing if they are able to move the pickup cavities closer to the bridge. If that's the case I will go with the MM shape. I've initially been told that they can move them, but it takes approval from the production team. If they are not able to accommodate my request, then I will order this body without pickup cavities and likely go with the Wal shape with mounting ring and have them cut by a luthier.
Specs -
Construction
-Solid
-Core Wood: Mahogany
- Lam Top Wood: Quilt Maple
- Unique Choice: No
- Control Cavity: Rear Rout
- Neck Pickup Rout: Music Man (Positioned 4-1/4" from neck pocket to edge of pickup)
- Bridge Pickup Rout: Music Man (Positioned 7-1/4" from neck pocket to edge of the pickup)
- Controls: None (I will drill them myself later due to the unique preamp situation)
- Jack Rout: 7/8" side jack
- Bridge Rout: Gotoh 201
-Neck Pocket: 4-Bolt Neck Pocket
-Body Contours: Forearm Contour, Tummy Cut
-Binding & Edge Decorations: None
-Battery Box: None (I might have to rout one later)
-Top Color: Washed Black Dye
-Back Color: Black Burst-over (I might do a clear back with a clean line since mahogany looks great with a clear)
-Satin or Gloss: Gloss
Electronics:
- Rautia MultIcoil humbuckers wired in the "Old Way" either in a Stingray case or the Wal case
- LusitHand Dual NFP Preamp
- Kilo SC-75-2-5 knobs (location is currently approximate until I have everything in hand)
Neck:
-Shaft Wood :Wenge
-Fretboard Wood: Wenge
-Stiffening Rods: Standard Steel Rods
-Nut Width: 1-1/2"
-Neck Profile: Slim Taper
-Number of Frets: 20
-Binding: None
-Fret Size and Material: SS6150
-Tuner Hole Size: Schaller BML 11/16" (17.5mm)
-Inlays: White Pearloid blocks
-Side Dots: White Side Dots
-String Nut: GraphTech Black TUSQ XL - Standard Nut
- Tuners: Hipshot USA 1/2"
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So serendipitous that you post this bass today just on the same day as Quadzilla posted his Polish bass collection with one being a Maruszcyk with Bassculture Walbucker pups.
Well would you look at that! Man oh man that's a beaut! With all of the great options for multicoil pickups and filter preamps available right now, why not go with something cool?
Same pups !!!! I've NEVER played a Warmoth that didn't inspire me to write new riffs. NBD - Maruszczyk Jazzus Custom Walbucker (w Noll)
i just can't wait to give a filter preamp another go with the proper pickups in the correct Wal position. I had tried one with some different pickups a couple years ago and it just wasn't a good match. I'm going to have my pickups wired the "old" Wal way, which is two rows of 4 coils each wired in series. It should be the most versatile option over the "new" way which is two coils per string and needs a specific preamp.
My Gecko 6 that I’m accumulating parts for is going to have the “new way” Rautia pickups. I already have the Double NFP Special preamp.
Niiiiice! The Lusithand Double NFP preamp just shipped from the UK today. I went back and forth and asked a lot of questions about the difference in tone between the new and the old way and ultimately decided that the old would be more versatile for the reasons in my last post. Veijo said that there shouldn't really be a major tone difference between them. The old Wal Pro series still sound like a Wal and they are wired that way.
A little update on this one -
1. Decided to go with a unique choice quilted maple top. After seeing some (in my opinion) ugly representations lately of wood that recent customers have ordered sight unseen and were chosen by Warmoth, I just couldn't take that chance with this bass. It's extra $$, but this isn't a budget build.
2. After a whole bunch of research and a fantastic conversation with someone who has built a bass with Wal-esque pickups, I was able determine the pickup spacing needed for the Rautia multicoils I plan to use. Surprisingly, the humbuckers are placed very similar to a 70's jazz with a little more emphasis towards the bridge. Jake at Warmoth was a HUGE help being patient with me and getting approval to where I want the MM shaped pickup cavities to go. It was an extra $65 to move them where I want, but it's money well spent. I did not want to have them routed after the fact since the edge is fully exposed all around on an MM pickup and did not want to risk having it damaged. However, they will still need to be routed a few millimeters deeper by a luthier, but at the very least it places the bit into the bottom of the cavity and not on the surface.
3. Since the neck is raw wenge and the hardware is satin/matte black, I decided to keep with the theme and I selected this build to have a clear satin poly finish with a dark wood accent line between the maple top and the mahogany body. I went back and forth with my renderings, looked at probably a hundred photos of other basses, and just couldn't come to terms with having another dark color and/or glossy finish prone to fingerprints and scratches. Many, many high end manufacturers use satin over quilted maple and it looks just as beautiful as if it had been gloss.
4. The knob and switch placement is totally speculative until I have everything in hand, but this is kind of what I'm going for. There's just no way to determine what will fit where even with some decent renderings of how big the control cavity is. I still have to get two 9v batteries in it since I opted to not have a double battery box routed in its usual spot to give space for the pickups to be moved down. I have/had other basses that managed to fit them both and I don't think it will be a problem.
Using the picture they had on the website of the top I purchased, I think this is a pretty good rendering of what it will turn out to be. There's just no way to determine the actual scale size, but I placed the body shape as large as I could make it while centered on the book match line and this is what came out -
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It looks gorgeous!
(I'd have gone for the gloss body, which would look glorious with flat black hardware! But not my bass...)
I had a big mental debate for a couple days about this and I really wasn’t kidding about looking through all of the photos.
There is just something about satin, quilted maple, and mahogany that works and has this beautiful natural look to it. Had I gone with birdseye or a dye finish I would have used gloss to pop the contrast. Wal (satin I believe is standard), Fodera, Sadowsky, MTD, and many other big name boutique builders all had exquisite examples to give me a good idea of what it would look like. All but two of my basses have high gloss poly finishes and I kind of wanted to do something a little on the different side. So we’ll see in a few months how it turns out!
Lynn Ellsworth has been in the process of making a bass for me for well over two years. It's a Ric-inspired build with a mahogany body and zebra wood top. Lynn recommended a matte oil finish, but I just couldn't do it. I had to have a gloss finish to show off the wood and the bass. (Sonically, I don't believe it makes a significant difference, and I base that on the great tone I get from my current glossy-finished basses.) It's actually getting painted right now, so the end is in sight.
