Tele bass VI partscaster assembly

[J. Bonkosky]

I started putting together a Tele bass VI today. The body is from Warmoth and made of poplar. Warmoth also did the finishing. The neck is a 30” scale conversion scale neck from Musikraft. The neck is maple with a reclaimed wood fretboard, is has a 7-1/4” radius, and vintage size frets. I finished the neck myself with stew Mac clear rattle can nitro. I did 12 coats wet sanded and buffed it out. I pretty much just installed the neck today as the neck pocket needed some adjustment. I also test fitted the bridge. Not sure if I’m going to stick with the vintage Tele bridge or go with a Gotoh. We will see if it will want to intonate. Had anyone else tried to make a Bass VI Tele?

 

[sammy1974]

Cool project. Looking forward to seeing how it goes. 1, 2, or 3 pickups?

 

[J. Bonkosky]

3 pickups. The middle is the best sounding position on a bass VI in my opinion. I am going to start out with a Tele bridge pickup and two clawless Jaguar pickups in the middle and neck positions.

Cool project. Looking forward to seeing how it goes. 1, 2, or 3 pickups?

 

[J. Bonkosky]

Here is a preview of the finished product.

I drilled out the control plate today and will complete wiring up the pots later. I am waiting on some screws for the bridge and a different jack plate. So this is about as far as I’m going this weekend.

 

[LonglandPattern]

Looking great! such a cool project. So will the wiring just be a volume for each pickup and a master tone?

 

[Hallo Spencer]

Cool project. I also built a Tele VI many moons ago, but disassembled it since I got a Squier VI. It looked like this:

You can hear it in action here:

 

[J. Bonkosky]

Looking great! such a cool project. So will the wiring just be a volume for each pickup and a master tone?

Yes. I figured if it’s good enough for the J-bass it would be good enough for this project. I basically wanted all the pickup choices without going crazy with switching.

 

[J. Bonkosky]

Cool project. I also built a Tele VI many moons ago, but disassembled it since I got a Squier VI. It looked like this:

You can hear it in action here:

This thing is really cool! A lot more creative than mine. I love the double pickup metal plate. Did you fabricate that?

 

[Hallo Spencer]

Yes, I just frankensteined it from stuff I had. I made the pickup plate from the bottom plate of an effects enclosure.

 

[J. Bonkosky]

I wired up the control plate tonight.

 

[J. Bonkosky]

The strings are way too long to work with my tuners. I was thinking of removing the outer wrap on the tuner end of the strings until they fit. But I am not sure how to keep the string from unwrapping further once I get it where I want it. Anyone have any other ideas?

 

[willietheweirdo]

Those strings are too short, not too long!

 

[Hallo Spencer]

Those strings are too short, not too long!

I suppose it looks so because they are not pulled entirely through the bridge.

@J. Bonkosky You can try to enlarge the slot in the tuning machine slightly. You've got the La Bella flats, right? They are unfortunately designed for the Bass VI with the long distance from the bridge to the vibrato. There are special tuning machines designed for baritone guitars that could work. Let me look it up real quick.

 

[Hallo Spencer]

Here you go: https://sporthitech.com/products/ge...rs-6-inline-baritone-non-staggered-set-chrome

The sixth string can be up to .096. The La Bella is 0.098, though, if I remember correctly. EDIT: I didn't. The sixth string is .095! So, here's your solution.

 

[willietheweirdo]

I'm confused. They won't fit through the ferrules? What have tuners got to do with it?

 

[J. Bonkosky]

Here you go: https://sporthitech.com/products/ge...rs-6-inline-baritone-non-staggered-set-chrome

The sixth string can be up to .096. The La Bella is 0.098, though, if I remember correctly. EDIT: I didn't. The sixth string is .095! So, here's your solution.

Thanks for looking those up. That is definitely a possibility. Labella also makes a 9 string set 9-90 with a 33” wrap. I am going to give them a call on Monday and see if they will sell me a custom six string set 22-90. If not I may get those tuners. Thank you for the help.

 

[J. Bonkosky]

I'm confused. They won't fit through the ferrules? What have tuners got to do with it?

The pictures illustrate the extra length left over if the thin part of the string was at the tuner. The strings fit through the ferrules fine.

 

[willietheweirdo]

The pictures illustrate the extra length left over if the thin part of the string was at the tuner. The strings fit through the ferrules fine.

So the string diameter is too big to fit through the post slot when the string is cut to length. Why don't you just cut much less off, put the silk-wrapped skinny part in the post and wrap the crap out of it?

 

[J. Bonkosky]

So the string diameter is too big to fit through the post slot when the string is cut to length. Why don't you just cut much less off, put the silk-wrapped skinny part in the post and wrap the crap out of it?

LOL if I wrapped all that string length it would be 2” in diameter.

 

[Hallo Spencer]

Labella also makes a 9 string set 9-90 with a 33” wrap. I am going to give them a call on Monday and see if they will sell me a custom six string set 22-90.

If you go the custom strings route I would see if they can make a shorter version of the Bass VI set. A 0.090 E string will be pretty floppy and will not only feel and sound worse but will also most likely result in intonation issues with the A string on your three saddle bridge.

I played Bass VI in my band for the past five years. I experimented a lot with strings and setups and also built another Franken-VI from parts, the one in the middle here:

This bass also required a shorter string length. This was before Fender offered the Super 250 Bass VI set and I was playing the Axiom VI strings from Newtone Strings in UK on my Squiers because it was the only availlable set with proper tension on the low strings: https://newtonestrings.com/shop/axion-custom-works-fender-vi-set/?v=5f02f0889301

They make the strings to order, so when I asked them if they could make a shorter version for my new bass, they immidiately asked for precise measurements and I got a few sets of perfect fitting strings without extra costs. Most excellent customer service ever. Don't know if they make flatwounds, though. I've heard good things about stringjoy, too, if you want to shop on your side of the pond. Long story short: I'd see if I could find a set with a sixth string in the range between 0.095 and 0.100.