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[Bass of the Week] Modified Ibanez Soundgear

The feature bass this week is a modded Ibanez. The modder of this bass, Matt, writes: I heavily modified an Ibanez bass. I bought a cheap used bass on craigslist, stripped the paint, filled the old pickup holes, routed a new single pickup hole, re-painted, custom pickguard, refinished neck and headstock, varitone switch. I basically … Read more

How to build a bass guitar – Laying out the nut slots and trimming the nut blank part 1

Below: This is what will be used for this build step. The neck itself, a circle template, mechanical pencil, mahogany veneer blanks, calculator, ruler, woodworking/machinist square and radius gauge. Below: The current state of the nut in the slot before work is started. Below: The square has been used to mark the proposed ends of … Read more

Nordstrand NP4 pickup demo

One of the best options of the NP4 pickup is that it is available with alnico III magnets. Alnico is not a company but rather a combination of three words that make up the magnet materials, ALuminum, NIckel, CObalt. For modern bass tones, many players prefer the alnico V. But for “warmer” bass tones where … Read more

Lindy Fralin P 4 pickup demo

The Lindy Fralin P 4 pickup you will hear below is intended to be a replacement for a Fender Precision Bass style pickup, with a few advantages. Namely, a very loud and clear tone thanks to its alnico 5 magnets and heavy 42 gauge formvar wire. These pickups are hand wound to vintage specs (10 … Read more

How to build a bass guitar – Cutting the nut slot and prepping the nut blank part 1

Below: The tools used for this step. Shown is a radius block, two F clamps, pull saw (sometimes called a japanese saw), strips of mahogany veneer, cow bone nut blank, pre-made acoustic guitar saddle, micro-chisel (about 1/8″ wide), 1/8″ nut seating file (the tool with orange handle), two utility blades, digital vernier caliper, sticky-back 150-grit … Read more

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