Budget building: assembling a low-cost parts bass

[Rodent]

here's a parts list for putting together a P-bass from pre-made parts. the costs noted are for reference, and can vary significantly depending on the exact parts chosen. much of the how-to's can be found in other threads here in this forum

* Mighty Mite Maple/Maple Fender style neck - $125

* Fender '62RI lefty P-bass body - $300
http://cgi.ebay.com/LEFTY-Vintage-62-RI ... dZViewItem

* Leo Quan BAII bridge - $80

* 4ea Hipshot Ultralight tuners (I'd splurge here) - $90

* Nordstrand NP-4 pickup (I'd splurge here) - $115

* Tortoise/w/b P-bass pickguard - $75
http://cgi.ebay.com/GENUINE-FENDER-LEFT ... dZViewItem

* 13ea pickguard screws - $3

* 4ea neck screws - $3

* 2ea 250k ohm a/t pots - $10

* 2ea knobs - $10

* 1/4" mono jack, switchcraft - $3

* .047uf Orange Drop cap - $3

* neck plate - $5

* neck plate pad - $2

* shielding foil - $10

* misc wire and solder - $5

* Hipshot string retainer (another splurge) - $10
http://hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=p ... tail&p=235


all totaled, this above average build on a budget (minus case and strings) comes to a total of just under $850. if you were to have someone assemble this for you, the typical going rate is usually around $100 - but could be more if any of the parts were used and required repair.

another upgrade to consider would be to utilize a Fender '62RI CIJ neck. while this would add another $250 to the project cost, the neck would also include all of the correct decals and a serial number - something to consider should you ever decide to sell.

also note that if you decide to utilize a CIJ neck, be certain to also utilize the same RI year CIJ tuners - the standard CIJ tuners have a slightly smaller hole than standard USA/MIM Fenders. cost for these tuners is similar to the Hipshots quoted, but they will be a little heavier


all the best,

R

[andrew]

That's a good breakdown, thanks Rod. I've considered building a bass for the fun of it, but other things always come up first. How much would having a body built add to the cost Rod?

I'm not a huge fan of the basswood bodies they use on the lefty MIJ Fender basses. Not because basswood sounds bad, but because it sounds similar to alder and I have enough alder basses already.

[SubsonicAssault]

Wow, $850 isn't bad at all. That would be basically 300 dollars less than a brand new Fender American Standard P-bass. Pretty sweet. To put it all together and paint/finish the body, is that included in the 100 dollar charge to assemble it?

[Rodent]

the two main cost factors I face when crafting a custom body are the cost of wood and the cost of having it finished (during that part of the year when I can't spray in my shop due to the gas furnace running)

on average a quality 8/4 body blank is going to run somewhere between $65US (Alder, Poplar, Basswood) and $125US (Mahogany, Prima Vera, select Swamp Ash) of course adding in the price of a figured top can make this really sky rocket, again depending on what woods a client chooses. in many cases I can source a body blank locally for about 15% less, but it also involves four hours of my time picking thru the available selection at one of several local hardwood stores. the drawback to the cost savings is that I usually need to age the wood for 6+ months to get the moisture content stable in my shop ... that's 6+ months for wood that is kiln dry, it can be nearly 2 years for 'wet' lumber to be ready for further working

finish work isn't cheap! a local shop charges me $250US to finish a body in clear gloss - but it's one incredible finish job, too. a similar job from Wilkins will run around the same, and then I need to factor in the cost of r/t shipping. for bodies I finish myself, an oil finish usually takes about 10 hours of labor while a spray finish runs about 15 hours working time. if a project has the financial budget, it should be obvious why I prefer to send the finish job out once I have the body fully detailed and finish sanded.

here's a link to Wilkin's web site just in case you want to check out what pricing is like for more complex finish jobs:
http://www.wilkinsguitars.com/pricelist.html

here's one of my favorite Wilkins finishes



all the best,

R

[Rodent]

Wow, $850 isn't bad at all. That would be basically 300 dollars less than a brand new Fender American Standard P-bass. Pretty sweet. To put it all together and paint/finish the body, is that included in the 100 dollar charge to assemble it?

those CIJ bodies and necks are already finished. all of the bodies I've used for parts builds have been very nicely finished - with most of them looking like the bass was received from the factory and immediately disassembled

colors are limited to what's currently available at the time you're checking their listings


the $100 covers assembly, shielding, and set-up. a significantly good deal compared to what most places locally charge just for a set-up.

all the best,

R

[Basshappi]

This pretty much mirrors my experience on this bass:



The details broke out differently(for example the body is an older Squire that I scored on ebay for $40 and it is actually made from alder), and included finishing the neck and final assembly/setup. The most expensive part was the Warmoth bound & blocked neck.