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This week’s BotW that arrived in the featureme@bestbassgear.com inbox arrived all the way from Western Australia.
Unca writes,
Have always loved playing my Rickenbacker 4001 & my 2006 American ’62 Reissue Jbass at our Gigs. But hated having to carry 2 axes to gigs & swap over for the different tunes we cover.
So I decided to build one that incorporates both.
Mission:-
To build an bass axe that incorporates a Rick & Jbass pick up configuration in a JBass guitar (cos I like this shape best).
Body: Fender 2004 Std Jbass body (string Thru)
Body Colour: Shoreline Gold – with scratch std white scratch plate.
Bridge: Fender Std High Mass Bridge – Top load or String thru.
Neck:-
All Parts – Fender 70’s Style J Bass – Maple with white binding & rectangle pearloid inlays… (yummy)!
Had fun fitting out the neck tuning pegs & the nut. Had 2 goes at fitting the nut, frickin’ hard job that one.
I did a small body route for the Ric’ P/up at the neck and also used my Dremmel tool to cut the p/up recess & selector switch slot in the chosen scratchplate. (that was fun too – not)!
Electrics:-
Decided to go with Seymour Duncan’s HB Rickenbacker replacement in the neck & a set of Fenders N3’s for the body & bridge. Used 1x500K & 2x250K pots with a couple of “special” capacitors wired to a basic Stratocaster specification using a 5 blade selector switch.
Final Version:-
On my current set up, I have a Grey/Black perloid scratch plate and have strung Mr Stompy with Fender Nylon Tapewounds. Sounds great – very retro.
Verdict:-
At just over $1000Aus I’m very happy at how it turned out.
Mr Stompy (his name) plays really well & feels comfortable while standing & doing long sets. The tones I get are a real surprise as Mr Stompy & I can get “Low end Growls” to punchy “snap” at the flick of the selector switch. Sounds awesome thru my Fender Pro TB600 & Fender 6×10 Cab.
Only 2 issues at the moment:-
1. I have to remove the middle p/up cover cos I feel it gets in the way. The bridge one is kool and I sometimes use it as a hand rest; and
2. The neck feels like a baseball bat when I 1st pick it up. It feels better after playing a bit – just getting use to it I guess. (no hand or finger aches afterwards though – so thats a good sign).
I got lucky with this One & Only build….. I love it!
We love before-and-after photos, and the end result looks good! Thanks for sending, Unca!
To submit your bass for Bass of the Week, send a short story along with photos to featureme@bestbassgear.com. All kinds of basses considered, from beginner to pro builds and everywhere in between.
Glad it turned out so well for you , it looks amazing!! I wouldn’t have had the bottle to do this myself. Respect to you sir !!
Very nice, I think it looks best with the white pearloid pickguard, though
Funny that…. Thats what the guys in the band say too. Well I like both so who knows maybe change it at next strings change? Cheers
Great idea, always wanted to put a true neck pick-up in a J bass!
+1 on the wht pearl guard – nice placement of the strat-switch and cool hs decal. The SD HB is a good solution for a 3rd pu addition. Enjoy playing it!
Kudos! Beautiful. Would love to hear the sound. Hope it plays good for you!
Looks great with the Blue pickguard I think. Is there much difference in volume when you flick the pickup switch over?
No difference in volume when P/up selecting. Thanks to the pots & capacitors
As a Member of Unca’s band we all said we prefered the White Guard. But now I’ve seen it under lights, the Black Guard really makes the Body Glow almost as much as Unca’s Mo (A must see).
O I C?