'64RI Precision Bass (warning: ENOURMOUS first 2 posts containing everything)

Back in 2011, a friend of mine (being the real bassplayer of the band I'm in, because I was forced to play organ/guitar ) wanted a Top-Notch 1960's P-bass, as vintage correct as possible, and preferably in a fancy, rare colour, because he was so fond of mine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0_i4evBvFU). So I picked on this: A late 1964 P-bass, just before the transition to the CBS-era. In february of this year, I placed an order with musikraft, since they could make a veneer fretboard, and a neck in the shape and width I wanted, with correct placing of the dots, and today it arrived in the mail. Coincidentally, the hardware I ordered from Darren Riley arrived also today. I already had a d*c*l, just to make sure I had the finishing touch first

The Neck:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG2883.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG2881.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG2880.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG2877.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG2876.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG2874.jpg

The Hardware:
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG2910.jpg

The decal:
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/934e0bb0.jpg


The attentive reader might have noticed that there is something missing... something quite essential... Being the body. Because I couldn't find a vintage correct enough body from the companies that made those, I decided that I had one custom-built at my local luthier (http://www.stijnkenens.eu/) (those who've read the 1978 Musicmaster Bass resque know how good he is with all things wood) to my specs (I have a friend who has an actual 1964, so I had some measurements and HD pictures), which will be made somewhat in the next 2 weeks. The lacquer (nitro) is also ordered, and should arrive somewhere around half may (the company is in holiday ). Because he wanted a rare color, sunburst/white wasn't an option. And because he isn't THAT masculine, shell pink would be too much... So we settled on... Shoreline Gold

The specs:

veneer rosewood fretboard
1.75" nutwidht
7.25" radius
vintage frets
"chunky C" profile
CTS/NOS-cap wiring
Seymour Duncan Antiquity I pickup
2-piece "off centre joined" alder body

My goal is to make it as vintage correct as is humanly possible (thus using the correct nailholes, paintstickmarks, ...), without making it so correct that it could be used as a fraud.

Special thanks go to Peter Boer (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peterbuilt-Basses/300518246647095) for helping me get those things in the US (being a non-creditcard user is a PITA) and the aforementioned Stijn Kenens.

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In the meantime a custom carved bone nut was made (Thx Pete)

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG3052.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG3054.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG3055.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG3057.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG3058.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c305/Jazzboer/zervamelmapje/Wiljum/IMAG3059.jpg


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http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/262b92f1.jpg

Today I've marked the holes for the countersink. The brackets which hold the gear for the tuner are folded together at the back of the tuner, and from 1963-ish, Fender started to drill ~9mm-ish holes in the headstock to make sure those brackets are in the headstock, making the tuner sit flush with the headstock... I've marked the diameter with 11mm, so that gives me a spare mm so I could see nothing would protrude from underneath the tuner... Those holes were drilled before the neck was finished, so that's the same thing as I'll do.

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqJHJCIE93WLseGVBPf0FeLbz!~~60_57.JPG


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Anyway, we have departure!
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/6f611527.jpg

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01647.jpg
The alder blank

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01650.jpg
Bandsawing it up

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01651.jpg
roughly done


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Routed and contoured. One small tearout, but the bits need some sharpening.

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01654.jpg

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01655.jpg

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01656.jpg

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01657.jpg

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Routed the cavities...

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01685.jpg


Loeks naaiss:

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01683.jpg

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01684.jpg


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The cavity was a bit strangly formed (a bit too pronounced)... Routed it the vintage way:

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01688.jpg

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01687.jpg

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Hardcore heavy machinery... The saw

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01694.jpg


The chisel

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01695.jpg


The grater

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01696.jpg


De file:

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01697.jpg


Finally the sanding machine:

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01698.jpg


The edges are finished after the bellycut is done:

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01701.jpg


marking:

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01702.jpg


hacking and chiseling:

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01703.jpg


Grating and filing:

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01704.jpg


And after final sanding:

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01705.jpg


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http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01707.jpg
Filled the holes from the template with a piece of wood, like the original has...

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Nitro is EXTREMELY hard to find here in Europe (it is banned for health and safety issues), and it's impossible to ship canisters from the USA (where it is more "easily" available)...

Anyway, I found a company in Holland who sells nitro. Kinda expensive, at 20€ (~30$) a can, but there isn't an alternative...

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/fde91bb0.jpg

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The bushings were just a tad too big/the holes just a tad too small:
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01733.jpg

Collection of drills:
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01734.jpg

Correct size + a plug which fits nicely in the already drilled hole: NICE
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01735.jpg

Drilling on the benchdrill:
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01736.jpg

Nice 'n snug:
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01737.jpg

Trimmed, for an even better fit:
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01739.jpg

Calculate the centre and wedged into place:
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01740.jpg

Drilling:
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01741.jpg

Done:
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01742.jpg

Jerked some nitro today... Nitro is fun, it dries very quick (in half an hour you could handle it, as it is "dry" (but not cured), but it smells funky, and is just plain unheathy...

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/5d6c9a3b.jpg
Countersunk holes for the tuners, dowelled hole from the "template" (at the heel there's one as well, like it should)

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/d3cb1680.jpg
Just like the real thing!

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anyway. This is sketchy territory. For the sake of detail I did it, but just in pencil (for now), above the lacquer. It looks convincing from a feet away, but up close, you see it's a repro.

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/62fa118f.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/3c4bd788.jpg
This is in ink though

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Today was a busy day at the office, so I didn't do much when I got home. I sprayed the final coat of untinted clear lacquer, and that's now degassing in the shed (don't worry, it's locked ), and I prepared my paintstick contraption. 2 concentric tubes, one which stays in the workmate, the other the actual paintstick. In the paintstick I'll drill 3 holes: 2 at the flattened end, for the body to hang on to, and one just before the thicker tube. There I'll ram a long nail through it, so I can use that as a handle to turn around the body. That will (hopefully) allow me to work faster (better?).

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/d404d374.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/9926d461.jpg

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Because I'm stuck now (waiting on lacquer to dry is as tense as this (http://www.watching-grass-grow.com/)), and because I wasn't 100% satisfied with the made-up warranty card based on a 1962 model, I was browsing "teh interwebz". I found an auction from 5 years ago from a guy who sold is 1964/65 P-bass, with an original hangtag/booklet. The pictures were 200x450px, so not good enough to read what was on them, but good enough to get the basic outline. Since those booklets are generic (it says the same in every version, just the layout differs) I got to work with 2 manuals I got laying here at home. An afternoon in paint.net, word and typing later, this was the result...

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/ba7824a0.png



(is there a therapy for people like me? )

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Glossy

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/72314ce8.jpg

And the thing has a name!

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/7e952b8c.jpg


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Repro wiring is done... Both logarithmic pots (so the tonepot is basically an on/off switch, but hey, that's how it was done back in those days), with a big ceramic capacitor... Stackpole pots are impossible to find, so we stuck with CTS...

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/7c89e05d.jpg

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http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01820.jpg
Sanding

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01819.jpg
more sanding (notice the nice, deep contours)

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01821.jpg
Yellow staining, (the lighting makes it a bit too harsh)

http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01823.jpg
Filling, part I.

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http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01872.jpghttp://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01873.jpghttp://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr111/stijnkenens/bodies%20frezen/DSC01874.jpg
Anyway: The stamp is placed, and the body is now here, standing on it's 4 nails (vintage correct ofcourse) in a nice coat of primer...

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How did that song from The Tremeloes go again? Oh yes: "Shoreline is Golden..."

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/4c122d75.jpg
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/a7091ac5.jpg
http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/445bcab7.jpg

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Shot "some" clear today... 2.5 canisters from 400ml. 0.75 can tinted lacquer, to add some depth to the golden color (and get rid of the reddish hue it had), and the rest just plain high-gloss lacquer, to get enough buildup so I will most certainly not sand/buff through the finish. I still have 2 cans left, which I will use when I did initial wetsanding...

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/0735b0b7.jpg

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Did the "true" clear lacquering today. The misted coats of yesterday were to fix and protect the metallic coats. I'm not that experienced with lacquering (is my 2nd time ever), so I did 2 cans of clear lacquer, which were misted on (so it dries fairly quickly), waited for an hour, and sprayed an entire can of clear in 2 thick strokes on top of it, so it settled nice and even. I am kinda satisfied with the result, but in very direct sunlight, and particular angles, you can see some darker areas, where the metallic is just a hint thicker than on other parts. Bit of a bummer, since it wasn't noticable when I sprayed the metallic... anyway: pics:


http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/5f3c3f2b.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/24da9662.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/d7f092a1.jpg


And now the agonizing waiting begins... trouble is that I have all the hardware already here, so I'm eager to get cracking, but I have to let the nitro harden. Guess I'll place the body when most of the fumes are gone in the attic, and leave it there. It's also the driest part in the house.

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Since I can't do anything now (waiting for the nitro to harden, and the next "job" won't be here until next thursday), I started with the booklet. Armed with a printer, a sketch (to know which page has to be glued to which page), a pair of scissors and glue, I set sail. 2 Hours later, this was the result...

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/c8d2581b.jpg

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I was like: "maybe I should try the fingernailtest", and I couldn't dent the finish, so I sanded it... And it came out perfect (no goo whatsoever)... So I was like: "yeah, maybe I should handpolish it"... So I did... I applied a very thin layer of lacquer, so maybe that's why?

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/94b37f68.jpg


Then I was like... "Why not, it's very shiny, and I can't get it any better than this, why not mount the hardware..."

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/a4814159.jpg

Then I was like... "Now I've got my tools, why not continue... So I did..."

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/582d3c44.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/c9f55640.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/e7a2fb78.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/a5db053f.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/da9d4a35.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/29767695.jpg

http://i528.photobucket.com/albums/dd324/williamsanders127/7d4861c0.jpg

Sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXW-jqCCJzQ


Big thanks to Peter Boer (for the nut) and Stijn Kenens (http://www.stijnkenens.eu/), for the amazing woodworkskills he has!

Not totally satisfied with the way the Shoreline came out (some tiny specs in it), but good enough for the first try!

Excellent work, a real beauty!

Totally awesome, better than the real thing?

Wow! Awesome work.

Do you use the "reverse" tuning machines? I could never get used to those things.

Excellent work, a real beauty!

Totally awesome, better than the real thing?

Wow! Awesome work.




You can say all that again. :wink:

Looks terrific and sounds sweet!

WOW! This is a great thread! Nice photos, great bass. Love the hangtag booklet.

Great job, thanks for posting.

I'm not a big fan of P-basses - neck dive - but this one has me thinking maybe getting one for the collection might not be a bad thing at all.

Helluva job you did there.

Totally awesome, better than the real thing?
Still has to figure that out. I know a guy who has a 1964 (and was kind enough to send me some measurements I couldn't find on "teh interwebz"), and he is eagerly waiting for an AB shootout. But it isn't that comparable to an original, as the original has fully cured, überthin lacquer, and this is still glossy, shiny and new, and the wood is different as well (Brazilian rosewood on the original, dark indian on mine, as Brazilian isn't that ethical anymore :oops:).


Wow! Awesome work.
Do you use the "reverse" tuning machines? I could never get used to those things.
YES! Big fan of those. For the simple reason that I have this silly trick in my head: "you just turn in the way your stagetuner tells you to". When a note is flat, it will be on the left part of the tuner, so you have to turn clockwise to get it up to pitch.

"Lefty Loosey, Righty Tighty"


And big thanks guys! I'm nowhere near a real instrument maker/luthier, I just try and make the best out of it. Next in the pipeline (when funds are there) is a 1962 Bass VI (fancy custom color) or a 1963 Telecaster (honey blonde)...

Telecaster! Love the guitar!

:mrgreen:Nununu Niiiiiccce:cool:

awesome!!!!!!

Beautiful job! This inspires me to finish my own project (Vox Symphonic Bass) with a veneer fingerboard neck that I will make myself. I'm hoping mine will turn out as good as yours.

You can say all that again. :wink:

And again - you're a great friend! I hope he uses it well!

Gettin a P-bass build Jones on here. .! Beautiful.