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I started talking about this project in a thread a few months ago, and now it has started to become a reality. So, I'm going to abandon that thread and start this as the actual build thread.
This will be my next bass. All the parts are here. It is going to be an extra-long-scale early-type P ("Pre-Bass") four-string bass that will be kept in B standard tuning (down a fifth from a regular bass). The scale length will be about 36 inches, which is about two inches longer than a normal bass.
It will be painted metallic dark gray (Fender's Charcoal Frost Metallic, originally a Lincoln color) with a black peghead face and an ebony fretboard with white plastic dots. The back of the neck will be painted to match the body, leaving no visible wood grain on the entire bass.
Here is my "sketch" of the bass, which I posted in the other thread. A regular scale version is on top. A Photoshopped extra-long-scale version is on the bottom. The bass I am building will have the Tele Bass headstock, but it was not an option in the sketching program I used.
Brian Monty, in Canada, will be making the neck and doing the finishing. He will also be moving the neck pocket and bridge rearward by half the added scale length. That will help with reach and balance, as well as keeping the pickup in the same position relative to the scale length.
The pickguard will be cut from a three-ply sheet of 1/32" black Bakelite, 1/16" white polystyrene, and another ply of 1/32" black Bakelite. This sort of sandwich does not exist pre-made, so I will be laminating the material myself, then shipping it to Brian so he can cut and lacquer the guard. The old '50's-style finger rest (which I'll be making out of maple) will be placed as my preferred thumb rest instead; it will be painted to match the body, as was done on the originals (I love that look).
The pickup will be a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder single-coil P-Bass pickup, which I already have. It will have an on-board Seymour Duncan pre-amp (already installed on the control plate in this picture), which will give me +/- bass and treble controls. Instead of a volume knob, it will have a three-way switch that gives the choice of: 1) on at full output, 2) on with a slight cut in output, and 3) off. I almost always use a volume knob as an on/off switch anyhow, and the switch's off position will also let me shut off the battery without having to unplug the bass.
The bridge is a Hipshot A4 for Fender. The tuners are all-chrome Hipshot Ultralite Lollypops; and I'm having to piece together the tuners in order to get that. Hipshot no longer manufacture anything with a chrome finish; they've gone to nickel only. Unfortunately for me, I want all the hardware on the bass to be matching chrome. Additionally, the normal Ultralite housings are matte, not shiny. All-chrome is an uncommon option. And as I mentioned, chrome is no longer being produced, so I am limited to old stock. I had no luck finding a retailer with all-chrome lollypops NOS. All I could find were regular lollypops, and all-chrome cloverleafs or Y-keys. So I bought a set of regular lollypops, and a set of all-chrome cloverleafs, and will be swapping the keys between the two types. I'll be left with a set of regular cloverleafs (which I will either keep for future use, or sell).
This will be my next bass. All the parts are here. It is going to be an extra-long-scale early-type P ("Pre-Bass") four-string bass that will be kept in B standard tuning (down a fifth from a regular bass). The scale length will be about 36 inches, which is about two inches longer than a normal bass.
It will be painted metallic dark gray (Fender's Charcoal Frost Metallic, originally a Lincoln color) with a black peghead face and an ebony fretboard with white plastic dots. The back of the neck will be painted to match the body, leaving no visible wood grain on the entire bass.
Here is my "sketch" of the bass, which I posted in the other thread. A regular scale version is on top. A Photoshopped extra-long-scale version is on the bottom. The bass I am building will have the Tele Bass headstock, but it was not an option in the sketching program I used.
Brian Monty, in Canada, will be making the neck and doing the finishing. He will also be moving the neck pocket and bridge rearward by half the added scale length. That will help with reach and balance, as well as keeping the pickup in the same position relative to the scale length.
The pickguard will be cut from a three-ply sheet of 1/32" black Bakelite, 1/16" white polystyrene, and another ply of 1/32" black Bakelite. This sort of sandwich does not exist pre-made, so I will be laminating the material myself, then shipping it to Brian so he can cut and lacquer the guard. The old '50's-style finger rest (which I'll be making out of maple) will be placed as my preferred thumb rest instead; it will be painted to match the body, as was done on the originals (I love that look).
The pickup will be a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder single-coil P-Bass pickup, which I already have. It will have an on-board Seymour Duncan pre-amp (already installed on the control plate in this picture), which will give me +/- bass and treble controls. Instead of a volume knob, it will have a three-way switch that gives the choice of: 1) on at full output, 2) on with a slight cut in output, and 3) off. I almost always use a volume knob as an on/off switch anyhow, and the switch's off position will also let me shut off the battery without having to unplug the bass.
The bridge is a Hipshot A4 for Fender. The tuners are all-chrome Hipshot Ultralite Lollypops; and I'm having to piece together the tuners in order to get that. Hipshot no longer manufacture anything with a chrome finish; they've gone to nickel only. Unfortunately for me, I want all the hardware on the bass to be matching chrome. Additionally, the normal Ultralite housings are matte, not shiny. All-chrome is an uncommon option. And as I mentioned, chrome is no longer being produced, so I am limited to old stock. I had no luck finding a retailer with all-chrome lollypops NOS. All I could find were regular lollypops, and all-chrome cloverleafs or Y-keys. So I bought a set of regular lollypops, and a set of all-chrome cloverleafs, and will be swapping the keys between the two types. I'll be left with a set of regular cloverleafs (which I will either keep for future use, or sell).
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