Telecaster Bass (WRHB for bass?!): Starting a project.

[hobb_masta_flex]

Alright, so all of you guys have your Jazzblasters, and for awhile I was thinking about creating my own Jazzblaster Bass. Just, you know, route a Jazz Bass for humbucker in the neck position, creating a Jazz/Gibson bass hybrid. You could get the tone of Jaco with your bridge pickup, or Jake Bruce with your neck humbucker! I've always wanted a humbucker bass, but never have felt comfortable defecting to Gibson. I just love the feel of Fender basses! Well, I kind of forgot that notion for awhile, until I saw that Fender was kind-of reissuing the late 60's/70's Telecaster Bass with that humbucker, albeit through Squire. This has lead me into research and search for this bass. And now, I really want to add one to my arsenal!
You see, I find the bass to be a pretty good looking instrument! I did some mockups of a Jazz with humbucker, and it just didn't look right. The Tele bass, though, it's pretty cool. So, I'm thinking I should get one, and maybe add a jazz pickup at the bridge. So, here's the first in a set of questions, do i wait out and track down an original Tele bass, in repairable condition, and route it for jazz pickup? Or do I do a complete custom build, a repli-bass, and fit it with a Gibson humbucker? Or, here's a third option, buy a Squire reissue (a very reasonable price at $280 online), and then just upgrade it like mad? New neck, new pots and such. I don't know, it's late at night and I'm wanting a new bass!

[hobb_masta_flex]

Oh, another thing to add to this post. You know, I've never come across a Tele bass in any other finish besides natural, Mary Kay-ish white, or sunburst. So, I was thinking that with this project, it would be cool to try out a different finish, a Fender custom color. At first I was thinking Burgundy Mist would be the choice for me, but then I saw an old Strat with mint pickguard and maple fretboard on a sonic blue finish, and I thought that such a combination might be very attractive on the maple-necked Tele Bass. So, I've recently made some MS Paint color swatches, basically. I know, very tedious and crude, but MS Paint gets the point across! Actually, I'm pretty proud of how I replaced the body color in these photos... for the Burgundy Mist one, I had to really consider the ins and outs of MS paint to accomplish what I wanted. I really should learn to use my Adobe programs better. But, hey, I'm still in the exploratory stages here! And it's late at night! Anyhow, tell me what you think about these finish options:
 

[djetz]

I prefer option 3, upgrading a Squire.

Squires are made in a few different countries, and standards range from very good to pretty bad. I think the variety that includes that T-bass is from the good end of the spectrum. Which will save you work and money, so do that. Don't cut up a vintage model, whatever you do.

I like the Burg Mist option, too. The Sonic Blue is OK, but it looks too pastel with the white pickguard and maple fretboard, in my humble opinion.

As for the pickup - I don't know what's inside it, but I expect it's a bass version of the guitar pup - a modern "re-issue" that's nothing like the original. However, there are alternatives available.

Cool project, anyway. Keep us informed.

[Deckard]

Hmmm, maybe its me but i prefer the 51 P Bass with the tele plate on it.





I always considered this to be a "tele bass".

[echobaseone]

I had a 72 Tele Bass for quite a few years...I foolishly modified it to resemble the 51 P-Bass setup (single coil in the middle of the body...largely because the neck humbucker was just too undefined for me), but still ended up getting $1300 for it!!!
Prices are insane. It was nice to benefit for a change though.
Anyway, unless you have a line on a super cheap one, I'd definitely recommend picking up a Squier!

[Superfuzz]

I had listened one the other day in a vintage shop, it sounds too much like a gibson..depends on the kind of music you play, but you'll end lost in the mix for the 90% of the cases for sure..
I don't know how much is the output of WRHB for bass, but with an humbacker like the gibson one (30+kohms!!!) you'll get only the wrong side of the spectrum and your amp will do a lot of horrible farts..

[hobb_masta_flex]

No, I definitely want the 70's style tele-bass. I don't need another bass with traditional pickups. Plus, I really like the styling of the tele-bass with humbucker! I've been cruising, and apparently this really cool shop I've been to in Berkeley, Subway Guitars, has made a custom tele-humbucker bass with original electronics, and also has this listing on their: "Tomato soup orange Fender® telecaster bass with the big nasty humbucker (fart-in-the-bathtub tone). Free saltines. $450" I wonder if either are still in stock? And 450 for one of those basses?! Apparently the guys at the shop aren't down with emailing, so I'm going to give them a call tomorrow! But this is probably just a wild goose chase, their site doesn't look as if its been updated in a long while, so I'm sure they don't have those around anymore. Oh well, we'll see!

[djetz]

If the humbucker that comes installed in the bass turns out to be too farty for your tastes, you have a couple of options: replace it, or get it modded.

You might be able to put a different pickup into the repro WR cover, but I wouldn't count on it.

[mezcalhead]

I had listened one the other day in a vintage shop, it sounds too much like a gibson..depends on the kind of music you play, but you'll end lost in the mix for the 90% of the cases for sure..

Yeah, I like mine but it sure is muddy.

[hound of winter]

hidden 4th option = g&l L-2000

[FireAarro]

I had listened one the other day in a vintage shop, it sounds too much like a gibson..depends on the kind of music you play, but you'll end lost in the mix for the 90% of the cases for sure..

I've heard a lot of people say the 70s T bass is really muddy, but a guy from a local band here (The Crayon Fields) gets a really full and punchy tone that has a lot of presence in the mix (except on the album... it sounded great on the album demos, haha).

[Snake Hips]

I picked up a use tele bass from gc for like 300 its is a like the mike dirke bass but with a maple 51 ri neck I was thinking the same thing of adding a hum in the neck or rick pickups on it.

[hound of winter]

there's a bass just like the upper one in this picture for sale near me 

[mjet]

I *must* have one of these someday...YUMM

[StevenO]

Uh oh! SO HOT!