Warmoth Fretless Build w/ Epoxy Fingerboard

[Matt R.]

So I have been putting together this Warmoth Jazz Bass because I've been wanting a nice sort of gourmet fretless (I already have a Jaco type lined fretless Jazz). It has an Audere preamp with Seymour Duncan vintage pickups. All the hardware is vintagey type stuff, but I mainly just wanted fancier electronics than I'm used to.

I was going to go for an ebony fingerboard, but I love rosewood so I opted for that and decided to do the epoxy glaze thing, which I also did on my Jaco bass years ago. It turned out beautiful and I can't wait to play it.

Hopefully it'll all be together late this week or early next. I have to get a nut installed and of course set it up, etc.

Here's the bass all sort of laid out. This is pre-epoxy.



Here are a couple shots of the neck. I just leveled and polished it this morning:

[fivebass52]

Nicely done! And a beautiful piece of wood...

[gravesbass]

Killer!!!!! You did the epoxy and level yourself?

[Matt R.]

Thanks guys. Yes I did the epoxy job myself

[markcv]

Great job Matt! I've been tossing around doing that my MVP/Pentabuzz. Where did you get the tutorial for that? I've seen a pretty good series of videos on Brian Lewis's Facebook page.

[Matt R.]

I haven't used any tutorials, I just went by the product directions and sanded accordingly. I just sort of held my nose and jumped in. It's a real pain in the ass but the end result is pretty cool. Be sure the neck is straight and level it with a radius block. Tedious, but if you take your time it'll turn out fine.

[bhunt1]

that turned out really nice Did you use anything special to prep the rosewood before you epoxied it?

[Matt R.]

No I just took some 0000 steel wool to it

[gravesbass]

0000 steel wool and "howard's feed and wax" is a fingerboards best friend. It works most excellent!!!!!

--> Note: the Howard's is for fingerboards for moisturizer + sealer + protectant (fretted or fretless). Got a little off course here from Matt's epoxy job... sorry. The epoxy on fretless is great tho!

[AzWhoFan]

awesome job Matt!

[belinmad]

Hey Matt, would you epoxy a neck for me?

[Matt R.]

Man, thanks for asking, but it's nerve wracking enough to do my own. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing this kind of work to someone else's axe.

[pjmuck]

Wow, that's going to be a killer bass! Looks like you did an excellent job on the fretboard from the pix. Get that one assembled quick and let's hear some soundbites.

[Matt R.]

I don't have an interface to record clips but I'll figure something out. May just do a little dumb iPhone video or something.

[Addison]

You are already well aware of my feelings on this, but I'll say it again here.

TITS!!!

[Matt R.]

Yayuh!

[tomdbass]

Outstanding work Matt! Is the body also a Warmoth?

[Matt R.]

Yes it is

[Brett Zeppelin]

Just on looks alone, I am going with "stunning" here. I'm sure the gear you picked out is fantastic and will do the instrument well. The contrasting yet complementary body paint and neck color and finish are superb; that super-gloss on the neck sets it off even further. It's almost too pretty for strings! (but of course I only kid about that — kinda) I hope mine turns out half as well as that.

[Matt R.]

Here is the finished product. I played it tonight in an acoustic trio gig. I was just going to try it out, but ended up playing it all night long. It practically plays itself. It's an absolute joy.



Specs:

Warmoth alder body (Burgundy mist w/ mint green guard)
Warmoth maple/Indian rosewood neck, slim taper.
Gotoh reverse tuners
Seymour Duncan vintage single coils
Audere 4 band preamp
Fender vintage threaded bridge.

I spent the evening messing with the EQ, and it was a super low volume gig so I am looking forward to opening it up a little in a louder setting.