Building a bass

[Rygot]

Alright, so I was going through music go round and my girlfriend spotted a solid 1 piece bass body that is shaped very similar to Les Claypool's bass.

Apparently some guy had been making his own bass and for whatever reason quit and brought it there, so I grabbed it...yadda yadda yadda and now I am making a bass.
Plan on it being fretless as well as having controls similar to a stingray with a 2 band preamp.

I'm only familiar with my 6 strings, only the occasional mess around with the bassist's gear for an hour or so. I have some questions.

It's routed for Jazz bass pickups, I want to know what j bass pickups you prefer and would recommend. Price preferrably less than 200.
Fretless necks... should I go with an old j or p bass neck that has been defretted/filled with epoxy/wood filler, ebanol fretboard, or go for a plain fretless rosewood?
In addition to that...P bass, J Bass, or other styled neck.



Lastly, for entertainment. Roundwound or Flatwound. Don't even ask what I want it to sound like, just pick.

[Rygot]

Bump for the edit.

[theavondon]

It's routed for Jazz bass pickups, I want to know what j bass pickups you prefer and would recommend. Price preferrably less than 200.

I've heard great things about Ultra Jazzes.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/DiMarzio-DP149-Ultra-Jazz-Bass-Pickup-Set-100028425-i1423660.gc


But, my favorite fretless player Juan Alderete

uses Bartolinis, and I'm probably gonna put them in my fretless J soon.

http://www.macdaddymusicstore.com/servlet/the-634/Bartonlini-9J1-L-fdsh-S-Jazz/Detail

Fretless necks... should I go with an old j or p bass neck that has been defretted/filled with epoxy/wood filler, ebanol fretboard, or go for a plain fretless rosewood?
In addition to that...P bass, J Bass, or other styled neck.

I'd say a plain fretless J neck would be ideal. Super easy to play. Also, if you wanna use rounds, I'd recommend applying CA (or super glue) on the board, so the strings never wear into the board. That's especially prevalent with rosewood. There's some good links on doing that that I can post, but that would involve going to TalkBass, so it's up to you...

Lastly, for entertainment. Roundwound or Flatwound. Don't even ask what I want it to sound like, just pick.

I'd go for Rotosound 77s. Perfect middle ground.

[Rygot]

Thanks for the info.

I had heard a lot of great things about bartolinis, so i was already leaning toward them. This just makes me want them more.

[theavondon]

Thanks for the info.

I had heard a lot of great things about bartolinis, so i was already leaning toward them. This just makes me want them more.

Well, then boom. Your wanting them also doesn't help my wanting them, if that sentence makes any sense.

[Rygot]

Yes, I think?

[Rygot]

Anyone played a Univox Hi-Flyer bass, or the neck of it?

[theavondon]

Anyone played a Univox Hi-Flyer bass, or the neck of it?

Very small, almost toy like, from what I recall.

[Rygot]

Doesn't sound too appealing.

[metalmariachi]

Yup Jazz neck.

I prefer Nordstrand NJ4 pickups, I have them in 2 of my basses.
They have a nice clarity and sparkle to the top end and nice deep thick fundamental.
Work very well with fuzz.

Fralins aren’t bad, my project bass came with them. They are more old school, slightly rolled off top end, sounding. Not super aggressive but nice Duck Dunn vibe.

Bartolini’s .. My Fretless and 5 stringer have them, nice clarity, noiseless, bars not poles so extreme bends don’t drop out.
They are very mellow sounding, and need 500k volume pots for passive use.
Definatly non aggressive and very Jazz orientated sound wise.
They were the boutique pickup of choice in the ‘90s.

I use TI Jazz flats because I love the way they sound and feel.

I’m not a fan of rounds which to me can get too zingy sounding especially with fuzz.

MM

[theavondon]

I use TI Jazz flats because I love the way they sound and feel.

I've always wanted to try TI flats, but they're super expensive, and I only change my flats every three or so years.

[Rygot]

How pricey are those strings?

I'd love to play a nice set of flats...

[theavondon]

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Thomastik-JF344-Flatwound-Long-Scale-4String-Jazz-Bass-Strings?sku=101646


cough.

[Rygot]

Mmm...yeah, little bit.

I played chromes on my ibanez once...that was odd.

They any good on bass?

[theavondon]

Mmm...yeah, little bit.

I played chromes on my ibanez once...that was odd.

They any good on bass?

I actually had chromes on my Jazz for the longest time. They maintained a pretty mellow tone the entire two years, and didn't get that gross, so, I'd say yeah.