LeftyBassist.com

Let me start by saying this, while I have taken the neck off my bass, taken off a bridge, etc. I have never fully assembled / dissembled a bass. On that note: I have been looking for fretless jazz's for a little while now and can't find any that I like / are in the states ( I love the m2 in Italy but the import tariff / shipping makes it not worth it ). I have been looking at Warmoth parts and love that I can get a 5 string jazz. I was thinking swamp ash body with transparent "Sunset Orange" top.

The problem is of course, I would have to assemble it and know what woods, parts, etc to get to make it sound how I want. Ideally, I would like a fretless that can pull of the punchy, growly tone like Jaco, yet also have a very modern sound if needed.

To the people that have ordered / assembled Warmoth, what are your thoughts? To those that could help me with parts, what are your thoughts?

first and foremost know your budget, determine how far you're willing/able to exceed it for the "right piece of wood"

once you've done this, you need to do your homework on neck contrours and dimensions: how wide of a nut feels right to you? what's your preferred bridge spacing? what scale length? what's your target build weight? (I think you get the picture that there's more than just these simple details to discover)

after you have the details and know your budget, then you'll be able to start working on what you can afford to build - if you can afford to build. a 5-string W bass with a factory applied finish is going to run you at least $1200, and maybe a lot more depending on the parts you choose to complete it. and then there's the task of learning the nuances of assembly and set-up ... and the many places where a simple oops! moment can ruin (or at least significantly damage) your labor of love


take a stroll thru the Blueprinting & Bondo forum here on LB. I have detailed much of the work that goes into building a bass from rough materials. it's good reading to know what goes into making a specific part, and this will help you know how to fit it together with another part and then make the set-up adjustments

all the best,

R

+1. I tried to go the "simple" and cheaper route of buying a used Squier Vintage Mod J to go with a fretless Warmoth neck I already had, with the intention of upgrading various components if needed after assembling the bass. I thought I did all my homework, but as it turns out the Squier's bushings/tuners don't fit the Warmoth. Not a big deal, but an unforeseen extra expense nevertheless.

Make sure you get a body with a pick-up closed to the bridge for that growl sound.

Can anyone tell me what they think of this setup, or any improvements from what I described above:


Deluxe 5 J body type - solid
Swamp ash - no top laminate but I am considering it
top route control cavity
pickups: 5 string neck (4") 5 string bridge (4 1/8")
bridge: hardtail badass - v non-thru
standard 4 bolt
no battery (I am thinking passive, is that a good idea)
Sunset orange top / back finish

$405

That looks just fine...

Passive will definitely save you some money, and you can always add a drop-in active preamp (Audere or J-Retro) later if you want to go that route.

Don't forget, Badass Bass V bridges are about $100 and you'll need to have slots filed into the bridge saddles, preferrably by someone who knows what they're doing.

Also, with a top route, you'll need a control plate cover and screws... also for the body you'll need strap pins, a neck plate, neck screws, and you'll need the pots, jack, wire, pickups, and knobs to complete the electronics.

It adds up quick!

Do you suggest doing rear route? Would that save money on a cover and screws? Do you have any other bridge suggestions that may be uh...easier for me?

With a rear route, you'll still have to have a cover of some kind over your electronics.

I'm guessing that Warmoth can provide a cover for the rear route cavity, but it will still cost money. You could save money doing it yourself, but it's not exactly an easy task.

As far as bridges go, bestbassgear.com has chromed aluminum Hipshot A style 5-string bridges with .708 inch (18mm) spacing for $107. And you don't need to file any slots in the saddle.

yes warmoth says they provide a rear route cover for no charge.

What do you mean by having slots filed into the saddle? Doesn't the badass already come with that? At any rate Warmoth offers the hipshot A routing, so i will go that path.

Do companies offer electronics already put together, i remember seeing bartolini preamps that had everything wired and you just installed.

My Warmoth build is actually my most expensive bass and that is even after saving quite a bit of money on the body and finish, assembly and setup. So, as Rod said, plan on $1000 - 1200 easily by the time you are done.

Now, you can shave some $$ off that if you are very patient and shop for as many used componets as possible (TB classifieds is a great place for this). Also don't get exotic with your wood choices. If you are going for "Jaco Tone" that isn't hard, any jazz-type bass will get you there. But for interests sake, Jaco's Bass was a stock Fender 60's Jazz with an alder body and maple neck with rosewood fretboard. AFAIK it had stock pups and bridge. The only thing he did after removing the frets was to coat the fretboard with spar varnish to harden it against the Rotosound roundwound strings he used. Stick with that combination, it is also the least expensive wood selection.

Another route might be to get a decent MIM or MIJ Fender Jazz and swap the neck. You could have a competent luthier defret the neck or even sell the fretted neck to help with the purchase of a true fretless neck. Either way you might come out $$ ahead of a complete Warmoth build.

Whatever you decide, enjoy the journey!

Cheers!

Ahh, somehow I missed the part about you wanting a 5 (not enough coffee yet this morning).

This makes it a bit harder finding a stock bass to mod, but the rest of what I said still applies.

Cheers!

I dont mind spending 1200 as long as it's worth it. I've been looking for awhile now, and all basses I wanted were in the 1200-1500 range.

Standard Badass Bridges don't have any slots in the saddles for the strings, so they have to be filed.

You can buy "preslotted" Badass bridges now, but not for lefty.

Some places do offer prewired electronics... see here: http://buzzardsbass.com/electronics/wir ... ml#vintage

However, even if you get a prewired kit, you'll still have to have someone solder the pickup wires to the pots if you don't want to do it yourself.

If you know someone who knows how to weild a soldering iron, you can also buy a simple wiring kit from StewMac, like this: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Electronics ... _Bass.html

EDIT: I just noticed that on those prewired kits, all you have to do is twist some wires togehter and wrap them with electrical tape... but, I'd much rather have my pickups soldered directly to the pots.

I am going to think about it. I wouldn't want to mess up and be out several hundred dollars. Wish I could just pay Warmoth to build it for me

You can get a lefty G&L L2500 fretless for about $1500... have you ever thought about that?

I don't really like the look of G&L's. I've been looking at a lot of options, trust me on that. I'm also trying to get straight jazz style pickups instead of the G&L style.

What's the absolute top of your budget?

ideally I would like to spend around 1200. I don't want to give a top of the budget, maybe around 1400, we'll say it's 1200 though.

I was hoping I could find a fretless neck for that KSD posted just now.


edit:

http://adirondackguitar.com/lefty/ken_smith/VLFJ_5.htm

Found this on adirondack, any thoughts?

You could pay a luthier to put a fretless board on that KSD Jazz and still be under your budget. You could also pay a guitar repair guy to assemble the Warmoth parts for you.

http://adirondackguitar.com/lefty/ken_smith/VLFJ_5.htm is a good place to start, if you want a whole bass to start from and add electronics and all that at your discretion