Modding my Jazz Bass... 99% done. [march 23rd]

[Gordon]

Yesterday's lesson: how to add a switch cavity. Thank God for Dremel.

First, mark the area to work on, and protect the finish:

Then, swiss-cheese-ify at will:

With pliers, remove some wood:

Finally, use the router bit:

It doesn't have to be pretty, it only needs to fit:

Shield, and add a hole:

And you're done! Sorry for the smudges...

[chrisjedijane]

That looks great, man. I played a P-Bass with half-wound strings on it recently and it rocked, I'll have to get a set.

[Gordon]

It's all done!... My part, at least; the luthier will install a nut and the strings (+retainer) and set the bass up.

First, as I was removing the original bridge, I was quite surprised to find a hole to the pickup rout for grounding... I assume the Japanese bodies are drilled the same, and that the '62RIs have a copper strip installed in lieu of a wire like the '70-something-RIs. I didn't mind the copper strip at all, but as I bent/warped it the first time I checked the bridge pickup, I took it off and ran a wire in the hole. Screwed the bridge (a direct replacement, that was easy), and voilà!



Then came the tuners... Always a tricky part for me (though I should know by now), as I always screw (haha) a screw or two. Actually, in that case, that was three. I'm pretty glad that those tuners need as much as four screws each, so I managed to install them; and three have a issing screw, but that can be added later, and it seems quite stable, I assume it won't be an issue.



Then, some bigger screws: the neck's. Unlike the tuners, I often find those easy to screw... Anyway, the neck was *very* easy to drill, plus I was eager to end the project. Funny enough, it was meant to be just a mod at first, and I ended with only four parts that are original: the body, the pickups, the neck plate and the tuners. But it was worth it...



I take her to the luthier tomorrow, hoping to get her back fast.

[the older brother]

Looking good Gordon!

That burst looks really great and works nice with the black pickguard and the maple B+B neck.

Good work - the cover's missing though - you put that on efter the luthier have set it up, or?

[Mute]

Very 70's 

Sunburst and black guards always look good together.

[Gordon]

the cover's missing though - you put that on efter the luthier have set it up, or?

Yes. By the way, I've got a question about it I forgot to ask earlier: so far, I just put it on the pickguard to see how it looks; but I've noticed that the holes don't match the pickguard's. Both are original Fender parts, though. Should I drill the PG and body to the cover's specs (my favourite option of the two), or should I try to slightly bend the cover to make the holes match? Could you take a picture of yours, just to see how much space there is between the cover and the strings, please? Thanks.

And for going to the luthier tomorrow... Erm, I've just realised it's Easter (::)), there's no chance he'll be open.

[the older brother]

is this Okay?

I could go and fetch a ruler and measuere it too....

[Gordon]

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/7541 ... adyqz1.jpg

is this Okay?

I could go and fetch a ruler and measuere it too....

The cover covers (haha) the same area, and the length to the edges of the guard look the same... It's odd the holes on the pickguard are closer to the pickup rout. I assume the cover's ok, and the pickguard isn't. You have no issue whatsoever with the strings touching the covers when you play, it's not too low?

[the older brother]

I got no issues what so ever...
I drilled the pickguard holes too - as it was a Squire pickguard without the cover holes.

[Gordon]

I've googled a bit...

http://www.bravewoodguitars.co.uk/65jaz ... tion2.html
http://www.rocknrollvintage.com/proddet ... te%2DRefin

If I compare to the fingerrest, that's the holes on the pickguard that are too close to the pickup rout. Problem kind of solved (I had to drill the body, now the guard too, no big deal anyway).

[Square King]

Nicely done! I really should invest in a Dremel.

[Gordon]

Just a bonus... I couldn't resist to install the fingerrest and drill for the cover.

[the older brother]

But I can't help that I keep thinking it would look even  :er with the regular bridge + "F" bridge cover....

[DB]

Wow, that looks great.  The combo of the black pickguard on the sunburst with the maple with black blocks neck is fantastic!

DB

P.S.  Put both the pickup covers on (including the F bridge cover) and this would look killer!

[Gordon]

I don't like the bridge cover on JBs... And it wouldn't fit with the BadAss bridge anyway.