The JBA - 4 Begins.

[WeirdBits]

Re: wiring

Yes, that will mute all sound if you zero either volume.

For a JB style you typically wire the pickups to the middle lug of the volume and the 'out' (your white) on the left lug (closest to camera). That way you can zero either pickup's volume without affecting the other.

[ozzbike]

Re: wiring

Yes, that will mute all sound if you zero either volume.

For a JB style you typically wire the pickups to the middle lug of the volume and the 'out' (your white) on the left lug (closest to camera). That way you can zero either pickup's volume without affecting the other.

Thanks weirdy. I have wired the white wires to the outer lugs...and do intend for the hot wire from each pickup to go to the middle lug.....the wiring diagram had the white wire going to the middle lug on the Tone pot and the cap between the pot case and the furtherest away lug...nothing to the left lug.....which I have done.

The middle lug on the Tone pot also has the hot wire to the tip connector of the jack socket.

I hope all that is good.

[WeirdBits]

Sounds about right.

[ozzbike]

Sounds about right.

Thank you for the advice....yet again. 😎🎶

[ozzbike]

I have done four coats now....24 hour hanging in between and several buffings by hand with varying softness rags.

As you can see on the end grain pic of the bottom I am starting to get build up of the wax in a few places.

I know that Keith Walters has done 7 coats....but I think four is enough for me.

I think I shall let her hang for a week now and harden and then some serious buffing and dressing.

I love the grain....the colour is a little washed out...but not a bad result considering it comes only from the timbermate pore filler....no stain at all.

[wazkelly]

Gotta love Ash....it has some awesome grain patterns happening.

[JohnH]

That grain is great!

[ozzbike]

I have done all the neck and body finish....hung for over a week and now all the bits are going on.

She is together and sounds way different to the P Basses and P and J Basses, and even my PBH bass, I have. What a nice tone.

The neck, bridge, and strings will be adjusted until they settle and then a final setup will begin.

The TUSQ nut will go on at that stage.

She has:-

Body is timbermate walnut fill only....no stain....7 coats of Feast Watson Fine Buffing Oil. 4 coats of Gilly Stephensons Cabinetmakers Wax....about 4 coats of Bowdens own Auto Carnuaba Wax.

Neck is colortone vintage amber water based stain. About ten coats of tru oil with one only light steel wooling. Four goes over with Meguiars Ultimate Compound and 2 with Meguiars Scratch X 2.0, then one coat of Bowdens Own Body Prep, then 4 coats of Bowdens own Auto Carnuaba Wax.

The fretboard was flattened out then all frets levelled and recrowned and then polished to a nice shine. Fretboard was cleaned with lemon oil...left overnight....then microwaved DT wax all over....lot of rubbing to clean that up. Final step was a light coat of Dr Ducks Axe Wax all over the guitar and neck.

Electronics are 3 x A curve CTS dishback american spline pots. 3 x black plastic Fender Jazz Bass American Spline Knobs from All Parts. 1 x Orange Drop Cap of the .473uf style. Switchcraft jack socket. Wiring is all vintage push back wire, except the plastic coated soft multi strand wire for the bridge earth lead. (The bridge earth lead open end is pushed through a small square of copper tape and stuck down to the surface of the body under the bridge with the copper side up. Read that somewhere....and thought wow no doubt about a circuit then.)

The volume controls do not kill the output if I roll one completely off. They work individually and I get sound until I roll both off. That was not the plan, but okay. The CTS pots are so smooth and the ones I got are the ones designed to fit scratchplates and control plates. They have a shorter shaft. (I had to pack the tone pot a little as the smaller tone knob does not have the height to match the other two bigger knobs.....but it works great.)

Pickups are PBG supplied Tone Rider Jazz Bass pickups. They sat too high on the foam and screws only. So after a number of combinations from springs, to foam and springs.....cut the foam into half height and use the springs on the screws from the original chinese pickups. Now I can get down low enough.

The pickup routes for both had to be massaged with a small leatherwork chisel and smoothed with a sanding drum on my dremel styled tool.

The cavities are all covered in copper tape....and the back of the pickguard in the area of the neck pickup and route to the control cavity is covered as well. (Not the back of the control plate itself though. mmmmmm.)

The tuners are Gotoh elephant ears.

The bridge is a Wilkinson Brass Saddle bridge. Quite cheap, but looks great and a step up from the Chinese number. So smooth with its adjustments too.

The nut...to be installed....is a PBG supplied TUSQ nut.

At this stage, until she is completely done, she carries the supplied strings.

So a couple of weeks of settling and adjusting time and then she will be done. Maybe a wax or two in between.

[Sonic Mountain]

That has come up a treat.

[Guvna19]

Great job Ozz, that looks top shelf.

you have some greta upgrades going on there.

been thinking about getting a Wilkinson bridge myself. looks great