{"id":13297,"date":"2020-03-02T14:23:42","date_gmt":"2020-03-02T19:23:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/?p=13297"},"modified":"2020-03-05T17:07:09","modified_gmt":"2020-03-05T22:07:09","slug":"bass-build-of-the-week-jim-huckle-mutant-jazz-bass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbassgear.com\/ebass\/bass-of-the-week\/bass-build-of-the-week-jim-huckle-mutant-jazz-bass.html","title":{"rendered":"[Bass Build of the Week] Jim Huckle Mutant Jazz Bass"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This week, Jim Huckle shared his custom build of a jazz bass with us. Here is what he had to say about the build:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I originally made this bass over 10 years ago, but have recently given it a substantial resurrection to sort out one part I was never properly happy with…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Back then, I was still at luthier’s school, and having lucked out on a few decent bits of timber, decided I wanted to make something based on but significantly different to the Jazz Bass – most notably, with a MusicMan-style headstock and a slim modern-shaped neck. The crucial error was that in my ignorance, I used a piece of slab-cut figured maple for the one-piece neck, and the result was a bass that looked amazing, sounded great, but flexed a lot (I’m quite a heavy player) and required constant adjustment – even on one occasion re-adjusting the truss rod between takes in a recording session! Nonetheless, I put up with it for a long time, until eventually deciding to make a new neck for it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I wanted to keep the MM-style head, and I really liked the appearance of the maple fretboard, but decided that as change is often an excuse to try something different, I instead made the neck out of mahogany with wenge laminates and contrasting maple veneers – using quarter sawn wood this time to ensure stability. I also decided to angle the headstock, to eliminate the need for a string retainer, and reverse it just because I like the look of a reverse MM head.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As a final detail, I wanted to make a nod towards one of my other interests (obsessions?), so the inlays are all pieces of bicycle chain – link pins for the side dots, roller bearings for the front dots and a pair of outer link plates at the 12th fret.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The body is unchanged from new; it’s a mahogany core with walnut facings and a contrasting maple veneer between them. I cut the control cover from the same piece as the rear facing to give a continuous effect, and the body is chambered to reduce weight. Pickups are a Kent Armstrong P-Bass in the “mudbucker” position and an Epiphone soapbar in the neck, with a 4-way rotary switch and push-pull pot for a wide variety of switching options. The thumb rest is also made from the same walnut stock.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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