Tele Bass Pickup Advice

Hi guys, I'm going to start a Tele bass project in the Summer and have made a (crude) mockup, without any pickups but I'm not sure what to do in terms of pickups - I want the bass to have a vintage sorta feel, but also with a decent amount of punch - any thoughts on placement and style of pickup?

Hi guys, I'm going to start a Tele bass project in the Summer and have made a (crude) mockup, without any pickups but I'm not sure what to do in terms of pickups - I want the bass to have a vintage sorta feel, but also with a decent amount of punch - any thoughts on placement and style of pickup?

I have the SD hot pup, it it a bigger improvement over stock pups than you could even guess. Otherwise you can consider a guitar gfs rail pup (lil puncher vintage) as players here have had good results with them on some homebrew tele basses. You could also check out what Lindy Fralin is doing, he may even be doing a him cancelling pup by now for tele bass.

I just came across a custom loaded tele bass body at my local shop yesterday so I swapped a delay pedal that I wasn't using for it. This might not be too helpful but mine is already loaded with two jazz pickups in the standard j-bass locations (ie. bridge and middle rather than neck). I'm planning on leaving the bridge jazz pickup and then using a pickgaurd to hide the middle cavity. I'm then going to route a neck cavity and get gibson style EB humbucker for the neck, so it will be more like a 72 Custom tele style bass then a standard tele.

I vote for a vintage style P-bass pickup. It is "THE SOUND" and "NO HUM"...

I'm also planning on getting a chrome p-bass bridge cover to give it a bit of the classic tele ashtray cover look.

Your mockup inspired me (and I was bored at work) so here's my rough take on what I'm planning

Thanks for the suggestions guys - definitely some food for thought :)
losergeek - I thought about using the EB neck pickup too but I wasn't sure if it was a little big compared to the 72 custom tele pickup :/ (The ones pictured are taken from the tele custom, but I'm not sure how easy it would be to get hold of them compared to others, e.g. the SD scpbs)

EDIT:
I'm going to go for a more yellowy, bronco neck than the one pictured

winny pooh (and anyone else) - is it ok using a guitar pickup on a bass? Is there no loss in the lower frequencies (or other problems)?

Fender proved that you can use a 6 string guitar pup in a bass (Musicmaster) but it's not the way to go because the pole pieces don't align with all 4 bass strings.
Check this site for threads by Rotor, Tim Armstrong and Rhomco. They have built basses like your idea and have used both single coil and P type pups. I did one as well using a single coil bass pup from the UK. I've owned Gibson EB basses and once owned a Fender Telecaster bass with one of those large humbuckers at the neck position. Not much top end to those so I'd recommend either the P pups or a single coil of your choice.
There's also an active thread on the forum called Broncocaster Short Scale Project.

Thanks Gunny! :) If I used a large humbucker such as this (http://www.allparts.uk.com/online-shop/guitar-bass-parts/pickups-pickup-parts/pickups/bass-pickups/humbucking-neck-pickup-for-gibson-bass-p-2011.html) where the bridge cutaway is on the tele scratch plate (i.e. closer towards the middle than the Tele bass or Gibson EB), any idea if that would sound better?

Jimmacbass: I could only speculate. In theory, the closer to the bridge - the more treble the sound. You could ask people at this forum who own the Tele style bass with two of those humbuckers. I think it's a Squier vintage modern ?? but I'm not positive.
As for the pup position you speak of, that's where my single coil pickup is located. It's got enough treble to work for me. I don't use much treble unless I find the tone isn't cutting through enough. Still, I can't speak to a humbucker on the Tele (guitar) body 'cos I don't have that pup.

Fair enough, thanks v much :)

losergeek - I thought about using the EB neck pickup too but I wasn't sure if it was a little big compared to the 72 custom tele pickup



Ya, actually I just used the EB reference for clarity - I'm hoping that I can actually pick up one of the wide range HBs they use in the squire modified vintage or I will just be getting a basic chrome HB or maybe even a mini HB - I mainly use the bridge pickup right now anyway, so it's going to be more for appearance then anything else right now.....I might look at getting something nicer down the road but I have to keep the costs down on this to start.

I'm happier with an SD Antiquity II P-bass Pickup in my old Tele bass than I was with the old HB. It has a lot of punch, even if it looks a little funny.

Looks good, Tommy_Biggs!

Great choice... It looks really good to me..... Not "kinda' funny." Cool Bass... I wish I had one like that. I bet it sounds fantastic, too...

thanks fellas - It definitely has bottom end. I see I oughta clean my fingerboard - any recommendations for cleaning a maple board?

Sorry I'm late to this thread!

I've gotten very good results putting the pickup in the Tele bridge position hole (of course, I had to rout the hole to the proper size). The two basses I've built (Hoss and Little Joe) have different pickups: Hoss had a GFS Music Man copy, an alnico humbucker that sounds fabulous. Little Joe (the bass I gig now) has a really nice Peter Florance Voodoo P-Bass pickup, which also sounds great.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/294644_10150262735958148_571978147_7779456_4175163 _n.jpg

Yeah, I know, that pickup looks crooked! I fixed it...

:wink:

Tim

Nice!

Tim - do you have any closer-up photos of the cream tele? Also (I know this isn't the correct thread - sorry) but do any of you guys know of people who have made regular scale tele basses? I'm having a bit of trouble getting hold of a short scale neck in the UK!

Tim - do you have any closer-up photos of the cream tele? Also (I know this isn't the correct thread - sorry) but do any of you guys know of people who have made regular scale tele basses? I'm having a bit of trouble getting hold of a short scale neck in the UK!

Mine is going to be regular scale but that's helped by the fact that the body i found is bigger that a tele guitar body - its basically a p bass size body with the upper horn rounded off. Not sure if you'd have enough length on a regular tele body to make a full scale work. Warmouth actually makes tele shaped bass bodies too - not sure if that's where mine came from or not since I got it used.

I can take some more pictures tomorrow.

Regarding longer-scale necks, there are two issues: first there's neck dive. Light tuners on a 30" scale neck will prevent this, but nothing really does with a 34" scale neck. Also, with a standard Tele guitar body, you're likely to run out of body trying to get a bridge in the right place.

My friend Andy Carrell recently built a Tele-body bass using a Danelectro Shorthorn neck, worked great. Also Squier Bronco Bass necks work well, as do necks from SX short scale basses from Rondo Music.

Tim

If money's not the issue, I'd try two or even three 51' style single coil PU's (SD or Lindy Fralin). One in the standard 'p-bass position', one closer to the neck, one closer to the bridge. That would certainly be the thing you won't see everyday.

P.S.
Regarding longer-scale necks, there are two issues: first there's neck dive. Light tuners on a 30" scale neck will prevent this, but nothing really does with a 34" scale neck. Also, with a standard Tele guitar body, you're likely to run out of body trying to get a bridge in the right place.
Two strap buttons instead of one on the bridge side of the body work quite well with balancing the neck heavy bass. My Tele-style body with regular 34" scale neck fitted with regular tuners (and with no electronics as for now!) is fit with two buttons and the bass'es neck dive is quite compensated. Oh, and I had quite enough place for the bridge, too!

If money's not the issue, I'd try two or even three 51' style single coil PU's (SD or Lindy Fralin). One in the standard 'p-bass position', one closer to the neck, one closer to the bridge. That would certainly be the thing you won't see everyday.

P.S.

Two strap buttons instead of one on the bridge side of the body work quite well with balancing the neck heavy bass. My Tele-style body with regular 34" scale neck fitted with regular tuners (and with no electronics as for now!) is fit with two buttons and the bass'es neck dive is quite compensated. Oh, and I had quite enough place for the bridge, too!

Not sure I understand the 2 strap buttons, can you explain?

Also the body I bought had the rear strap button higher than normal on the back some assume that was to fight neck dive. I'll probably get some lightweight tuners but otherwise neck dive isn't something that bothers me too much.

Two strap buttons instead of one on the bridge side of the body work quite well with balancing the neck heavy bass. My Tele-style body with regular 34" scale neck fitted with regular tuners (and with no electronics as for now!) is fit with two buttons and the bass'es neck dive is quite compensated. Oh, and I had quite enough place for the bridge, too!

I'm glad you're not having problems, but I'm confused about your solution, as it doesn't seem like that would address the cause of neck dive, which is that the center of gravity is too far towards the neck for the strap to balance,, which is why the P-Bass body has that nice long horn to allow the strap button to be placed farther in that direction.

Tim

I'm glad you're not having problems, but I'm confused about your solution, as it doesn't seem like that would address the cause of neck dive, which is that the center of gravity is too far towards the neck for the strap to balance,, which is why the P-Bass body has that nice long horn to allow the strap button to be placed farther in that direction.

Tim

This, in fact, works really well. If you put the strap on two strap buttons on the bridge side of the body. (the more symmetrically installed the better), the strap itself is "blocked" from "getting away" from the edge of the body, which usually occurs when the body is tilted in the "neck goes down" direction. There are two levering points instead of one. Compare it to the plank. If you put it on one rock right in the middle, it's easier to "tip the scale". But when there are two rocks symmetrically placed underneath the plank, it's much more difficult to "ruin" the balance - the force value required to do the same thing increases.
Thus, when the strap has two anchoring points, the body is better balanced. Of course this solution is not reducing the weight of the headstock and neck themselves, but the gravity trying to pull the neck down finds it's task a bit harder to finish :razz:

But the best way to have the bass balanced is to put the neck strap button as close to the 12th fret as possible.

(P.S. I hope you understood what I wanted to explain... Sorry for my sloppy English in this post, it's hard to put into a foreign language some more sophisticated stuff :wink:).

Thanks again for the advice guys :) Tim - looking forward to seeing the pics! Losergeek - do you have any photos of the 34" scale tele bass (just because I'm interested to see how it looks and also because Tim said about the bridge placement issue).

I haven't bought any parts yet but there's a factory close to where I live who can supply me with everything except for the pickup and short scale necks. Hoping the whole project will cost under £200 (just over $300).

Thanks again for the advice guys :) Tim - looking forward to seeing the pics! Losergeek - do you have any photos of the 34" scale tele bass (just because I'm interested to see how it looks and also because Tim said about the bridge placement issue).

I haven't bought any parts yet but there's a factory close to where I live who can supply me with everything except for the pickup and short scale necks. Hoping the whole project will cost under £200 (just over $300).

I'm just in the early stages of my build - I probably won't even buy a neck for another month or so - gotta spread it out for budget reasons.

Jim - here's a pic of mine (still WIP and not a single change within last 12 months since I was really busy and hand no tools or place to work with it), hope it helps to get at least some good proportions.
http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/6145/woodieprototype.png

Jim - here's a pic of mine (still WIP and not a single change within last 12 months since I was really busy and hand no tools or place to work with it), hope it helps to get at least some good proportions.


Ya you can also check out the G&L tele basses for an idea of proportions - they look a little awkward in person but I still like these true tele basses better than the p bass varieties.

I used a GFS lipstick tube humbucker in the tele bass that I built. Sounded awesome.
http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz53/riptopaz/a04c6b4d.jpg

Niiiice, guys! Immo, I can tell yours is gonna look beaut once it's finished! Rip_topaz - not the style I would personally go for, but really cool nonetheless! Can't wait to get cracking on mine now!

What bridges are you guys using on the short scale basses btw? They're not bronco bridges, which is what I assumed I would use...

A tele-bass "should" have humbucker neck and bridge pickups (not the middle one) = try to find a s/h pair of massive PV T-40 blade pickups. These are beauties, most humbuckers do not sound good split, these are designed to, and do. Rich full sound, extremely powerful.

Re neck droop - the top horn on a bass needs to extend as far as the 12th fret or it becomes a complete boat anchor. This is the only problem with my T-40, the tail unit is long, so the neck extends too far out of the body and the top horn is short. Plus the bottom horn is too far back, this needs to be well forwards to sit on the right knee with the instrument well to the right - or you cannot reach the nut. So get the bridge/tail-stop as far back as possible and adjust the neck pocket for length. Pickups then fit where they will, big new holes to be routed anyway.

I figure as it's a custom project, I don't necessarily have to do what I "should" ;) Just wondering if you guys know how big the 51-style pickups are - are they the same as regular Tele bridge pickups? I'm thinking of getting one of them and then covering the huge hole with something like this http://acimg.auctivacommerce.com/imgdata/0/1/3/8/2/3/webimg/4604684.jpg

I won a mint condition Bronco on eBay the other day btw - £110 delivered which I thought was pretty good tbh. Next I need to get... everything else, haha (should maybe wait until I finish exams and stuff first though)

(...) Just wondering if you guys know how big the 51-style pickups are - are they the same as regular Tele bridge pickups? I'm thinking of getting one of them and then covering the huge hole with something like this http://acimg.auctivacommerce.com/imgdata/0/1/3/8/2/3/webimg/4604684.jpg (http://acimg.auctivacommerce.com/imgdata/0/1/3/8/2/3/webimg/4604684.jpg)

That's exactly my idea with the Candy Apple Red bass above. Well, maybe I'l use the whole Telecaster bridge assembly minus the saddles. :grin:
If someone could answer if the Tele bridge pickup and Tele Bass pickup are the same size, that'll be nice indeed!

It's just that I dont really like the way the hole looks, and I think the plate would be a nice touch, and still looks quite 'stock'

Bear in mind that if the bass bridge has regular string spacing, the single coil pickup cannot be angled - the PU magnet poles won't cover the strings!
In my bass the string spacing is narrower than usual.

I'm using a bronco bass bridge and neck, so it'll be narrower than a standard bass, I imagine.

I think 17mm is absolute maximum :]
Good luck!

Immo - I just found this photo (not sure who it belongs to) and it looks as though a bass pickup has been added and is under a standard tele bridge plate
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03265.jpg

Yep, that's my conversion instrument. I changed the pg to a black one, otherwise it's still set up as shown in the photo. The PUP is from the UK - was originally purchased for a Fender Musicmaster bass. It was just as easy to keep the bridge pickup plate, minus saddles, than it was to fill holes and match colour to the rest of the body. The neck was a Bronco that was modified by Rhomco (a forum member). I gig with this all the time.

Cool build, Gunny! Got any more pics? It would be much cheaper for me to buy a Tele and then sell off the bits I don't need than to buy a plain body and do all the painting, etc. myself so this is definitely an option!

I can take a few more photos but they're just the final product. I didn't take pictures as I put this together. Using a sharp wood chisel, I removed the wood between the neck pocket and the neck pickup route. That takes out 2 pieces about the size of a sugar cube. Knowing what I know now, I might have removed a bit more of the 'base' in the area I removed wood because after playing a while I realized that the heel of the neck was sitting a little high. I just put a shim into the neck pocket (furthest from the bridge end of things) to change the tilt of the neck. I used masking tape on the pickguard to mark the lines where to chop out the same area as the body. Others who have made this instrument conversion have purchased an Esquire PG and cut out the opening to fit the heel of the neck. I didn't care that much so my Tele PG still reveals the guitar neck PUP side cutouts.

Pics of the final product would be great, just to see how it all looks :)

It almost looks as if the canted pickup serves to align the strings with the pickups. Very close. See no reason why it would not work well.
Here is one using the guitar PS.

http://northland.smugmug.com/Music/Bass/i-sJWkgBC/0/S/a14DSCF1126-S.jpg


This is an area of interest to me because I have a tele bass conversion coming up & my biggest questions are in regard to pickup selection & placement. Take care. Bob

additional pictures here including a couple of non-Tele basses. Obviously this project is NOT a clinic in fine woodworking. If you saw earlier posts you'll know I have a shim in the neck pocket and you can spot the gap in the pictures.
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03492.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03493.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03494.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03495.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03496.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03497.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03498.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03499.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03500.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03501.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03502.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03503.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03504.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/DSC03505.jpg
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/PICT526620adj.jpghttp://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/ResizedIMG_7164-1.jpg

http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww112/marshtech/ResizedIMG_2352-Copy.jpg

I am going back & forth about which PU to use in my upcoming tele bass project. I think my #1 choice will be using a Pbass split with Pbass PG. Second is to use anything i can find to fit into this guitar body PU route & abbreviate the PG to more conventional tele configuration while using a tele guitar chrome plate to house PU

http://northland.smugmug.com/Music/Bass/i-ZD8KX44/0/XL/021-1-XL.jpg

This is my SX body showing the route:
As long as we are discussing options I wanted to put mine out there with no intention of hijacking the thread. Sharing & attempting to contribute in return. Take care. Bob

Looks great, Gunny! Thanks for sharing! :)

Robert - looks like that could turn out very nicely!

Hey Immo is this the strap button arrangement you speak of on this long neck tele bass?
http://northland.smugmug.com/Music/Bass/i-723X2kS/0/M/a14ASATBSH3T-SNBRSfull-M.jpg

jimmacbass thanks for the good word. I have hopes that it will be a worthwhile project. I know one thing though. It`s going to be a learning experience. I think that is a huge motivating factor for me. The icing will be having a sweet player. Take care. Bob

Hey Immo is this the strap button arrangement you speak of on this long neck tele bass?
http://northland.smugmug.com/Music/Bass/i-723X2kS/0/M/a14ASATBSH3T-SNBRSfull-M.jpg
Yes, exactly! You see, when good ol' G&L uses something, it has to be good :wink:

I notice that the only basses on their website to use the double bottom strap buttons are the ASAT (tele bodies) series. The rest use only the standard top & bottom arrangement. Here`s the link to their basses & their [pickups:

http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/USA/basses/index.asp

http://www.glguitars.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=17&cat=Pickups

Take care. Bob

I wonder how these will work as tele bass pickups. Anyone know anything about them?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Genuine-Fender-Squier-Vintage-Modified-Telecaster-Tele-Bass-Pickup-Humbucker-/200741499394?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2ebd203202
Here is a set as installed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOADED-Fender-Modern-Player-Telecaster-Tele-Bass-BODY-/360423082908?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item53eae3cb9c


Take care. Bob

Hey Immo is this the strap button arrangement you speak of on this long neck tele bass?
http://northland.smugmug.com/Music/Bass/i-723X2kS/0/M/a14ASATBSH3T-SNBRSfull-M.jpg


I still don't see how, from a physics perspective, this would be different than just having the top bottom (which is where it was on the body I just bought). Once you've anchored your strap on that button I don't see the bottom one changing anything.

I wonder how these will work as tele bass pickups. Anyone know anything about them?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Genuine-Fender-Squier-Vintage-Modified-Telecaster-Tele-Bass-Pickup-Humbucker-/200741499394?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2ebd203202
Here is a set as installed:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOADED-Fender-Modern-Player-Telecaster-Tele-Bass-BODY-/360423082908?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item53eae3cb9c


Take care. Bob

These sound pretty nice in the vintage modified bass - I took a long and hard look at them for mine, but decided to go cheaper since I need to get this together on the cheap for now and worry about upgrades later.

losergeek like yourself I just cannot wrap my mind around the concept of needing a second button to stablize things. It seems to me that ten more beyond that top one would all be considered a mute point and offset nothing. Having said that I have to add that my gut feeling is that it probably works (for reasons beyond my understanding).

As far as the pickup(s) are concerned from the VM bass I have no doubt that they sound good. I just wonder about the installation concept & how well they would lend themselves to tele bass application. Take care. Bob

I wonder how these will work as tele bass pickups. Anyone know anything about them?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Genuine-Fender-Squier-Vintage-Modified-Telecaster-Tele-Bass-Pickup-Humbucker-/200741499394?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2ebd203202 (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?type=3&campid=5335828755&toolid=10001&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FNEW-Genuine-Fender-Squier-Vintage-Modified-Telecaster-Tele-Bass-Pickup-Humbucker-%2F200741499394%3Fpt%3DGuitar_Accessories%26hash%3 Ditem2ebd203202)
This pickup kicks a**! I have Sq VM TB customized with Sting Bass neck (the neck's far more solid than the stock one and makes the whole bass sound better!) and it's a ultra-bass-machine. LOTS of blues low-end with tone rolled to 0 and lots of funky mids and high-end with tone rolled to 10. And if set somewhere in the middle, you get a pocket-size double bass. :razz:
As far as the pickup(s) are concerned from the VM bass I have no doubt that they sound good. I just wonder about the installation concept & how well they would lend themselves to tele bass application. Take care. Bob
There are many fellas who put a single coil telecaster bass PU into a bass with the tele bass humbucker. One of them said to me it's one of the wisest mods he's done to a bass ever, as it gave the bass more balanced sound.
losergeek like yourself I just cannot wrap my mind around the concept of needing a second button to stablize things. It seems to me that ten more beyond that top one would all be considered a mute point and offset nothing. Having said that I have to add that my gut feeling is that it probably works (for reasons beyond my understanding).
And, believe me, it works! :wink:

Immo do you think this pickup could be adapted (reasonably) to use with a Pbass pickguard by enlarging the opening intended for the Pbass split pickup? If so I`m definately interested. Also I will be using a Bronco bridge so string spacing may or may not become an issue. Your endorsement is enough to sell anyone.
Glad you didn`t take offense about some of us not being able to grasp the principle that makes the double strap button work. I commend your reply. Thanks & take care. Bob

The split-coil opening in my precision bass pickguard is approx. 5 x 10cm (~2 x ~4 inch).
The humbacker in my Telecaster bass is approx 5 x 8cm (~2 x ~ 3.2 inch).
So there will be a gap disallowing tou to install the humbucker directly to the pickguard. However, if you're not afraid of further "non-canonically" customizing your bass, I'd suggest using two chromed aluminum U-shaped rails like this:
http://www.domax.com.pl/products/md_ob_233_big.jpeg
Fix them to the pickguard parallel to the strings on both sides of the hole for humbacker so they'll be touching the shorter edges of the pickup and install the PU between them by drilling a proper holes in the "a" surface. With this method, when you'll decide to leave a long piece of the alu rail, you'll have a comfy, Ovation Magnum-like thumbrest rail allowing to fingerpick anywhere above the pickguard (you can also curve the edges of the rail ("b"), making it resemble the original Fender thumbrest).
Only an idea, but I think it's worthy of consideration if you're not afraid of unorthodox ideas.

Oh, by the way, the string spacing for the humbacker is 17.5mm (0.68897inch).

My apologies Immo but this is the second thing i have not been able to visualize frm the description. First is this the Ovation Magnum you spoke of? If it is we can go from there. I seem to be mentally challenged today. Keep in mind that I want to use a Pbass PG and as the photo in #48 shows I have a tele bridge route to cover.Take care. Bob

http://northland.smugmug.com/Music/Bass/i-4cXhVmN/0/M/rrrrOM1-M.jpg

OK, I made a drawing (sorry for crudeness).
This is your pickguard already cut to make room for the humbucker:
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/9736/pg1s.png

And this is how it'll look with the "rails" invented by me:
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/7021/pg2b.png

So this installed on a regular Telecaster body will cover the pre-routed holes (about) like this:
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/6774/pg3.png

As you can see, the pre-routed PU holes will be either covered or part of a new routs for the humbucker. Those 6 tiny holes for string-thru mount can be covered eaily. The pot chamber is what should worry you the most.

I hope it helped!
Cheers

Interesting design, Immo! Got my donor Bronco bass today, and having seen it, I feel a bit sad to take the little fella apart :( Other than it sounding not-so-good (which could be changed with a new pickup), it's quite a nice little bass!

Very good Immo. Crude? You should see mine. Yours looks like it came from NASA by comparison.
I think you make a very accurate asessment. The litttle string through holes do not intimidate me as I too think they will be easy to hide. The switchplate/pot chamber are going to require a bit of creativity to work out though.
Judging from this one made by fourstring the bridge will be OK with either arrangement.
So would you advise attaching the new pickup to the rails & then dropping it into the route over the PG?
Here is another item that might suit itself to the angle of the pots route:
http://i.ebayimg.com/t/PREWIRED-JAZZ-BASS-CONTROL-PLATE-KNOBS-POTS-Fit-Fender-/00/s/NDAwWDQwMA==/$(KGrHqV,!ncE9fjwjl5uBPj4vFUiyg~~60_1.JPG

http://northland.smugmug.com/Music/Bass/i-8L6dfrb/0/S/1000523-S.jpg Thanks again & take care. I now have a much better idea on which to base my build plans. Take care. Bob

jimmacbass I know what you are talking about. My current project is a refinish on a brand new Samick bass (Pbass clone). It was given to a friend of mine and loaned to me. The original color was bright red w/white PG. I asked if he would mind that I change the finish as I do not like red (clothes car or anything). Now I am learning to refinish in hand rubbed oil in a two tone burst much like this vintage Jbass by Gil Yarone:
http://northland.smugmug.com/Music/Bass/i-Zm63kH2/0/M/a17e026573d2d7e3d786279d04d396-M.jpg
But as they say the end result justifies the means. Take care. Bob

Yeah - I think the end result will more than make up for it, plus it isn't hard to get hold of a Bronco, should I want one as another project in the future :)

jimmasbass You should be able to save parts for reuse ( if you ever decide to put it back together as a Bronco). Otherwise spare parts will always be needed in future projects. As a third option the parts you don`t use can be sold on various buy & sell boards and proceeds used to finance this project or some in the future. Take care. Bob

I for one would love a Bronco bass (probably with dual blade humbucker in a single coil pickup casing). I especially love the Badtz Maru Bronco for it's cheekiness. Almost as cool as Paisley Telecaster Bass :razz:

Yeah, I thought I might sell the loaded body on eBay... not sure how much I could expect to get for it though. Back to the original purpose of this thread for a minute (haha), I'm thinking to either keep the tele looking 'original' with a dual blade HB in single coil casing and then making a surround to cover the hole around it, or using a dual blade regular HB. What do you guys think? Obviously, the first option would require less work in terms of routing, etc. and I assume it would sound the same (although I could very well be wrong!)

* By 'original' I mean a more classic look. The regular humbucker would then be covered with a chrome cover

EDIT: If I were to have two humbuckers (a la SG bass), how would that affect the tone with this kind of wiring (as I want to use a regular Tele control plate)?

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=tele_2hum

This will rid you of some versatility, but will work. IMO two humbuckers will perform at best, when they have either separate tone controls or separate volume controls. Thus, I'd suggest stacked pots.
In one of the basses I was building (lack of money to buy a new neck stopped the project) I had a copy of Gibson EB-3 pickup configuration with Vol+Vol+Tone pots, out of phase/phase switch for the Sidewinder (neck pickup) and series/parallel switch for entire pickup array. It did awesome tricks.

Thanks, Immo! :) Any progress on your red tele?

Would anyone be able to tell me about how the following types of pickup may sound and be wired up (especially helpful would be diagrams, but I just don't know what to search for), as well as any other words of caution :lol:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CHROME-HOT-RAIL-NECK-HUMBUCKER-GUITAR-PICKUP-4-WIRE-COIL-TAPPING-HIGH-QUALITY-/160668827889?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item25689bc0f1#ht_570wt_1037

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warman-Dominator-Quad-Hot-Rail-Humbucking-pickup-/180840914781?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2a1af55f5d#ht_1530wt_1037

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Very-hot-wound-Tele-twin-rail-bridge-humbucker-/160782290056?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item256f5f0c88#ht_1376wt_1037

I have heard good things about Warman, and they seem to be pretty cheap as pickups go (and I don't really want to order from the US due to shipping charges, time, etc.)

No progress on my red Tele, cause I had to buy new (also red!) mountain bike (previous one was stolen few days ago :( ). When I'll be able, I'll buy the tele guitar bridge and I'll be able to do all the measurements and finish the bass.

As for the pickups - if the output has only two wires, it can only be wired in one way to the electronics (if you won't take a risk of intervening into the tiny thin wire endings inside the pickup; I did this with the SideWinder humbucker copy and it was quite difficult to solder the thing correctly).
If you have four output wires, the coils could be fixed to a switch that could either change the phase of an entire pickup, change the connection from series to parallel or split the coils to chose from them. Usually, changing the phase and s/p switching reduces the output, but increases the mids.

Ok, thanks for the info :) I'm no electronics expert so I will keep it as simple as possible for now and see how it sounds :)

Here's my finished T Bass. A little rough around the edges, but every step was a learning process so I'm pretty happy. The full scale neck is a little top heavy, but with a cotton strap it's completely manageable. I went with a cheap humbucker in the neck because I didn't anticipate using it much but it has a nice growl to it.

losergeek what exactly did you use for pickups? Looks liek a J PU at the bridge. I wish i knew more about the project like what you started with etc. It looks nice. I like the term you use growl. That just sounds serius. Thanks for sharing but I wish you had your own thread showing a beginning to ending series of photos & text. Oh well maybe next time. Take care. Bob

Nice - Looks great! Is the body longer/narrower than a regular tele body or is it just the photo?

Nice - Looks great! Is the body longer/narrower than a regular tele body or is it just the photo?

EDIT: Sorry for the double post - my internet messed up and then ended up posting twice :neutral:

The body is about an inch longer than a tele body - it's basically a P bass body with the top horn rounded off. The bridge pickup is an American jazz pickup that came with the body. It actually routed for another jazz pickup in the middle which i covered with the pickguard and the body came loaded with another seymor Duncan jazz pickup. I may uncover that route and add the third pickup at some point bug wanted to keep it simple for now.

Also, these are the humbuckers I used - even buying the pair was cheaper than anything else I could find and was nice because the seller was in ontario and shipped really quick

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200747098879?redirect=mobile

I didn't start my own thread to document the whole thing because I honestly didn't have a lot of optimism about this project at the start - I live in an apartment without a proper work area or decent tools so this was really built against all odds. Here's a shot of the original body I bought - it came with the jazz pickups, pots and bridge but was unwired. You can also see the hole for a three way switch that I had filled in at this point.

Here's a couple of my builds.
1. 51 body with jbass neck - slightly wider at the nut, somewhere between a jb and a pb. Lollar neck and TV Jones bridge. The TVJ through a SansAmp is amazing. Plans are to move the TVJ to the neck, and install the new TVJ Thunder’Mag in the bridge.
2. Same as above, Hipshot hardware.
3. Current build using a Mustang as a guide. Lollar bridge and Barden neck. Neck is a custom jb from Jamerson in NJ.
4. 6 string conversion from a few years ago. Used a rosewood body with a maple center, Mustang bridge and neck (Japan). Tried different pickups, but not what I would a call a resounding success. Current bridge is Nordtrand and was not that impressed. Need to visit this one.

Awesome basses here guys. I wonder, would it be difficult to make a scaled up tele bridge, with a scaled up bridge pup from an early p-bass but slightly elongated to fit at an angle, and with another early p pup near the neck but covered.?

Looking good, Steve! :)

Here's my finished T Bass. A little rough around the edges, but every step was a learning process so I'm pretty happy. The full scale neck is a little top heavy, but with a cotton strap it's completely manageable. I went with a cheap humbucker in the neck because I didn't anticipate using it much but it has a nice growl to it.

Just a quick update on my tele bass - I was never really happy with the pickguard, which ended up being one of the more difficult parts of the build to my surprise. I wanted a standard tele look but it never really worked and made the body look awkward and small so instead I cut a new one today based more on a thinline. I think it really improves the look and makes everything seem more natural.

When i look at the mockups by jimmacbass & losergeek on the first page of this thread there is no doubt in my mind that as Tim said the new Squirer teles were inspired by what was going on here at this forum. Check them out & you tell me who influenced who.

Surprisingly there has been very little talk about them at that other bass forum. Take care. Bob

Surprisingly there has been very little talk about them at that other bass forum. Take care. Bob

This doesn't surprise me - my guitar player friends are much more interested in my tele bass then my 'bass player friends'. Similar to the way that it seems most people that play gibson SG style basses are guitar players first (don't tell Mike Watt). Most of the people who I know that play bass first and guitar second don't see why everyone doesn't just use a P bass (admitedly it's hard to argue with that sometimes).

This doesn't surprise me - my guitar player friends are much more interested in my tele bass then my 'bass player friends'. Similar to the way that it seems most people that play gibson SG style basses are guitar players first (don't tell Mike Watt). Most of the people who I know that play bass first and guitar second don't see why everyone doesn't just use a P bass (admitedly it's hard to argue with that sometimes).

I play bass and bass only and I always love the Telecaster Basses of any kind - either 50's P, Telecaster I or Telecaster II basses; everything with either tele headstock, upper horn covering pickguard or single cut tele body was certain to get my attention. But besides, I also love a regular P-Bass; that's why I have my nice pair consisting of customized P and customized Tele II mashup.

Anyway, when I first saw the info about new Squier VM Telecaster Basses, I was simply astonished, my jaw dropped and I wanted to have the "Special" one really bad. And I still want it. Even considering the fact that I'm slowly building a single cut Tele Bass with a powerful chrome covered split coil next to the neck and a single coil next to the bridge.

losergeek - I really like it with the pickguard! May try something similar with mine at some point :) Here's the finished article btw (pic taken from my instagram):

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/603582_254590831325970_1309601070_n.jpg

Feedback and constructive criticism would be appreciated :)

jimmacbass: pretty awesome. Is your pickup splittable (ie 2 coils)? When I did mine - same as yours except mine's a single coil pickup (similar to Sting bass), I initially had the tone and volume wired and no switching. Recently I worked on an Esquire guitar for a friend. He wanted to change the neck switch setting to the "Eldred mod". I wired my Telebass conversion instrument to something similar. Now I have bridge direct with vol only, no tone. Middle position is normal vol and tone and neck position has a similar but not identical cap mod for a deeper Motown tone...tone pot not in the circuit.
I'm wondering if you wired the switch into your bass.

I've been tempted to buy the new Squier - I'd get the single coil version in blonde - but I keep reminding myself that, GAS aside, my project is just perfect for me. To further fight off GAS I'm using my Ric for practice and gigs.

losergeek - I really like it with the pickguard! May try something similar with mine at some point :) Here's the finished article btw (pic taken from my instagram):

Feedback and constructive criticism would be appreciated :)

Yours definitely looks better than mine originally did because the control plate and pickup placement works really well together. My body was already drilled with control holes that don't work for a traditional control plate so the bigger pickguard makes more sense.

losergeek i understand what you say that the pickguard can be the most difficult aspect of a custom tele bass build. Personally I have put more thought & planning into that than I have into any other area of the project.
My body is thinline which complicates things a bit more in conjunction to PU selection. That F-hole in the upper bout discourages the use of a conventional Tele PG. Otherwise I would be happy to use a brown tort Tele guard in stock form. What i have come up with given the parameters I have to work with will be a home made unit designed on the combination of a Pbass unit & a Tele unit. I have both at hand. The plan is to combine the two ( to make my pattern) using the top half of the P and the bottom half of the Tele. That way I have skirted around the F-hole on top yet still have my bottom to line up with the PU cover & switch plate. I have a telecaster PU plate to mount my single coil that i will pirate from a purchased Squier Tele VM bass along with that gorgeous 32" maple neck. All that I take from it will be replaced then that bass will go up for sale in an attempt to recoup some of my investment.
There seems to be a lot more planning time involved than there is actual build time. It has taken months to plan & assemble parts but the build time will likely be counted in hours.

I hope mine comes out even half as nice as yours has. Thanks for sharing your update. Take care. Bob

Gunny since my plan is to use the single coil as you have done I am interested to know more about the way you wired yours.
What is the "Eldred mod"?.
As stated in my post above i intend to pirate the electronics ( & neck ) from a new Squier VM Tele bass to use in my project. When the time comes I will most likely be stumped & asking for help to assist in a proper installation. So I am now considering options. I`m not interested in using that Tic Tack ( or whatever they call it ) position in mine. A one trick pony is alright with me as long as the trick is a good one. Take care. Bob

jimmacbass: pretty awesome. Is your pickup splittable (ie 2 coils)? When I did mine - same as yours except mine's a single coil pickup (similar to Sting bass), I initially had the tone and volume wired and no switching. Recently I worked on an Esquire guitar for a friend. He wanted to change the neck switch setting to the "Eldred mod". I wired my Telebass conversion instrument to something similar. Now I have bridge direct with vol only, no tone. Middle position is normal vol and tone and neck position has a similar but not identical cap mod for a deeper Motown tone...tone pot not in the circuit.
I'm wondering if you wired the switch into your bass.

I've been tempted to buy the new Squier - I'd get the single coil version in blonde - but I keep reminding myself that, GAS aside, my project is just perfect for me. To further fight off GAS I'm using my Ric for practice and gigs.

It is splittable, but I can't hear much difference when I change the position of the switch. I have the wiring diagram I used - let me know if you would like to see it :)