A TB-4 Build whilst a BG-46 dries.

Wow, I know 1200 is quite savage and also very wary when using 1500 too. Sounds like the level of finish thickness couldn't take much wet sanding?

I only bought the Micro Mesh Guitar Kit set that starts at 4000 and on the Swampy Tele alternated between it and if not cutting enough reverted back to 2000 (can be bought at Autobarn and maybe Supercheap too).

On the current MMB-4 build it has had a couple of 1200 wet sanding sessions done after every 2nd coat and just did a 1500 session earlier tonight. Still plenty of finish and no bare timber which surprised me as the last few coats were a 50;50 blend with turps? Maybe the poly is softer than Tru Oil? Agree it would have added too much green tinge on the beast. Makes you wonder if rattle can white knight clear acrylic would be any better?

Waz....yeah I was surprised too. I had done 9 coats of poly and 6 coats of tru oil respectively.

Today after a restain where needed.... done yesterday....and the required sand to 240 grit.....first soak coat of Tru Oil reapplied.....wiped as much into it in the bare places and then wiped any excess off. Final strokes with the grain. I am liking the shine at the first coat. :)

I am liking it to Ozz! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kick

I am liking it to Ozz! :)

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Why thank you good sir. 😎

I have to say the kit itself is the best standard of finish of any PBG kit I have had so far. So much credit to Adam for sourcing such a great kit.

Really nice build....get yourselves one. 😎

Many things have been occurring...job hunting...still.

When you can't sleep and it is 0300 am what do you do? You get out of bed...do a fret levelling....neck to body fit and string your bass.

This "Thunderbird" style kit ( :) ) has been so much fun to build and was the best quality starting point of any PBG kit I have made so far. Well done to Ads for sourcing them...and well done to the factory for making some good stuff.

I do have a router...Aldi one....but I have not had any practice yet....so the control cavity turned out to be too tiny for four great big GOTOH pots......so I made a new wiring harness using all the original bits...even the green capacitor. (Oh...the kit had 2 x B capacitors and 1 x A capacitor...so I swapped one B out so I had 2 x A for the volumes and the single B for the Tone.)

The control cavity cover was cut, drilled and countersunk in mirror image....so no shiny side out....but it is against my tubby belly so who cares. Yes...fully shielded of course and so is the nice shiny front side of the control cavity cover that is now facing inwards.

The three point bridge is so hard to set the string height on. I have the neck now wedged with 2 x pieces of business card under the front of the neck lifting the headstock and lowering the strings down. Works and the string height is spot on.

The pickups come wired for splitting with red and black, silver and green wires in them. I soldered them in pairs and just used them as a single humbucker. Whilst not as thumping as active pickups these sound nice for chinese ones. I may chase some Seymour Duncan Soapbar Basslines I think.

Left to do is the fitting of PABLOPEPPERS great truss rod cover...thanks again. :)

And the printing and sticking of this Guitars Logo on the pickguard...."The Downunder Bird"....an Emu...slightly stylized of course.

Love making this one and need to drift back to the BG-46 and finish her off now.

Changed....control knobs to Bell type ones and nut to a graphite nut...input jack to switchcraft....jack socket to recessed Tele style one....sorry WAZKELLY I left it with the lip on the surface and did not recess it right in. Love the look though. I have straplock connectors to go on....black to match the other metal.

Slick work Ozz! Very Nice!

Thanks Frank....I like it. :)

Lovely work!
It really is the right shape for a bass :)

Pretty comfy....bit top heavy...maybe fit the straplock buttons and strap her on.

Looks great Ozzie. Love the colour scheme.

Best position for the front strap button is the top forward most neck bolt hole or drill a hole dead centre of the neck plate and mount it there. The sloping top edge is similar to that on an Explorer and does not help with holding it's head up off the ground or keeping a strap attached either which forces you to installing strap locks.

Cheers, Waz

I don't what to do here oh masters of all things that go pluck???

I have read some books....followed some youtube tutorials...taken the neck off and back on three times....and filed the nut down....the bridge is still screwed right down...but the strings are at playing height and she feels so good under the finger.

With the pickup height and string height set, the chinese pickups have a great tone to them....amazed me the first time I hit the Roland Cube 120Xl up...wow.

The issue for me is the shape of the body and the pickup placement. I am used to P Base shapes and pickup placements...or even the Twin Humbucker placements on the Yamaha TRBX series.

This body has the pickups a little further up towards the neck and I am finding that I am picking on or behind the bridge pickup....muffled output...when I let my hand fall naturally to the body.

I move my hand forward and rest my thumb on the neck pickup and it feels so awkward and not natural....I have even tried resting the edge of my thumb on the raised edge of the middle section of the body between the two pickups...works great...but will destroy the finish in no time.

I was thinking of grabbing one of these and attaching it along the top edge of the raised middle section between the two pickups......will look a little different....thinking of trying it with double sided tape first and see how it feels and plays.

https://www.realparts.com.au/hardwar...thumbrest.html

I know that image does matter....well not at all really....but the more natural hand position and the reduced risk of damage to the finish is appealing to me. (It is a whole $4.00 plus postage.)

Ideas, options and alternatives will be lovingly received. I thank you in advance.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ozzbike

I don't what to do here oh masters of all things that go pluck???

I have read some books....followed some youtube tutorials...taken the neck off and back on three times....and filed the nut down....the bridge is still screwed right down...but the strings are at playing height and she feels so good under the finger.

With the pickup height and string height set, the chinese pickups have a great tone to them....amazed me the first time I hit the Roland Cube 120Xl up...wow.

The issue for me is the shape of the body and the pickup placement. I am used to P Base shapes and pickup placements...or even the Twin Humbucker placements on the Yamaha TRBX series.

This body has the pickups a little further up towards the neck and I am finding that I am picking on or behind the bridge pickup....muffled output...when I let my hand fall naturally to the body.

I move my hand forward and rest my thumb on the neck pickup and it feels so awkward and not natural....I have even tried resting the edge of my thumb on the raised edge of the middle section of the body between the two pickups...works great...but will destroy the finish in no time.

I was thinking of grabbing one of these and attaching it along the top edge of the raised middle section between the two pickups......will look a little different....thinking of trying it with double sided tape first and see how it feels and plays.

https://www.realparts.com.au/hardwar...thumbrest.html

I know that image does matter....well not at all really....but the more natural hand position and the reduced risk of damage to the finish is appealing to me. (It is a whole $4.00 plus postage.)

Ideas, options and alternatives will be lovingly received. I thank you in advance.

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Looks like a regular P Bass thumb rest and should do the trick. Plus being black will blend with the black pickups too.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

+1 on Wazz's comments about putting the strap button on the neck plate, here's a photo of mine, in the top front corner just below the bolt - it balances perfectly.

I'll be interested to hear how you go with the thumb rest, I'm also thinking about fitting one. Resting my thumb on the bridge p/up works pretty well but I'd like the option of playing a bit further forward too.
Attachment 22712

Quote:

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Originally Posted by billb

+1 on Wazz's comments about putting the strap button on the neck plate, here's a photo of mine, in the top front corner just below the bolt - it balances perfectly.

I'll be interested to hear how you go with the thumb rest, I'm also thinking about fitting one. Resting my thumb on the bridge p/up works pretty well but I'd like the option of playing a bit further forward too.
Attachment 22712

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Bill....I like your idea.

Stupidly I had searched YouTube and found several videos about fitting a sneaky strap button on the front of the body protrusion under the neck pocket. Drilled and mounted the strap button.....can’t get the strap on....bugger.

I think I will drill out my black strap lock button just a little and use a proper neck screw.

I ordered a $4-00 thumb rest and 2 x push pull pots....and they have arrived.

I looked at a number of photos on the net about placement of thumbrests....the angled layout seems to be the norm. I had no idea why....but I did it in a position I can use....considering the closeness of the raised edge on the TBird style kit.

Using a pick, finger, and my shitty attempt at slap is all good.

So comfortable and without looking I can feel that I am plucking in the right place. I have the pickguard off.....used my water slide decals on it....waiting for rain to leave and humidity to go down so I can spray clear to seal the decal.

The push pull pots on the other hand......ouch.

Issues for me....

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...humbucker+bass

and this one...

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...humbucker+bass

I don't have the big thumping MM style humbuckers in this bass.....just the little blackout style Chinese pickups.

Thanks to Wazkelly and others for the info above....but what goes where on these bad boy pots....they have three normal lugs up the top and a number of pins underneath.....what???

I would like to be able to have both pickups playing as normal....split the neck and hear the front coil only....split the bridge and hear the back coil only.

Please help.....I am lost in the wireness. :(

Hi Ozzie, have a look at this thread as I have already done what you are contemplating on my EX-5. Suggest you also grab a LP style 3 way switch and run master volume & master tone as that will be much easier to work with.

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...t=4257&page=13
http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=6476

Cheers, Waz

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wazkelly

Hi Ozzie, have a look at this thread as I have already done what you are contemplating on my EX-5. Suggest you also grab a LP style 3 way switch and run master volume & master tone as that will be much easier to work with.

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...t=4257&page=13
http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=6476

Cheers, Waz

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Thanks mate.....saw them. But what goes to the three normal lugs on the pot? Do I still earth the one lug to the base of the pot? Do I need to earth from the back of each pot to the other?

If somebody has a diagram like a normal wiring diagram I would be eternally grateful.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ozzbike

Thanks mate.....saw them. But what goes to the three normal lugs on the pot? Do I still earth the one lug to the base of the pot? Do I need to earth from the back of each pot to the other?

If somebody has a diagram like a normal wiring diagram I would be eternally grateful.

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Brain dead after a big day doing yard & housework.

Could open up the control cavity tomorrow night and post a photo. From memory the three lugs are wired up the same. You coumd always Google how to wire push pull pots and see what they come up with?[emoji41]

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

Thanks mate....the googling did not help....got heaps....but nothing like the normal diagrams.

Not sure if this diagram helps. I recently installed a set of these into a Jazz Bass using traditional wiring but it has 2x push/pull pot schematics. The DP249's are split single coils so in theory the same as a humbucker

http://www.dimarzio.com/sites/defaul...rams/AreaJ.pdf

Hi Ozzie, took a couple of photos tonight but everything is packed in so damn tight very hard to see much.....

Attachment 22786Attachment 22787

Also saw this on another post earlier today and looks like an alternative way to do it.

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...355#post152355

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wazkelly

Hi Ozzie, took a couple of photos tonight but everything is packed in so damn tight very hard to see much.....

Attachment 22786Attachment 22787

Also saw this on another post earlier today and looks like an alternative way to do it.

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...355#post152355

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Thanks for both Waz....sheesh....tight space. Glad I wired my externally in the first instance. 😎

Yeah, I wired them up outside the slim cavity too. It would impossible to do it any other way.

She lives....all done. Thank you to all those that helped.

I really like the burst in real life....so sucky in piccies....oh well.

She sounds great for Chinese stock pickups.

Bass players...get one...really good fun and a great result when done.

Very, very nice.

Did you get the split coil push pull wiring to work the way you wanted? Does it make much tonal difference with the generic Chinese PUP's?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wazkelly

Very, very nice.

Did you get the split coil push pull wiring to work the way you wanted? Does it make much tonal difference with the generic Chinese PUP's?

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I got it to work first time....thanks to you and Weirdy....thank you.

In reality with these pickups it just seems to drop the bounce for buck in the pickups. It seems to quieten them down....like a tonal drop without rolling the treble off. Similar to a chinese jazz bass pickup.....jack the Roland up a little and all is good....sounds different. I love the combinations available...nice option.

On the Bensons it seemed a bit more obvious and coil split dropped some of the beefiness of the humbucker on it's own. Handy to have a few options to play with.

Very nice!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wazkelly

On the Bensons it seemed a bit more obvious and coil split dropped some of the beefiness of the humbucker on it's own. Handy to have a few options to play with.

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It is funny WAZ...maybe I am just looking for something.....but with both pots pushed to the humbucking position I think the Bass has more punch. Maybe connecting each coil to its own circuit has guaranteed connections....whereas my average soldering may have not with the twist and dip method.

Either way....save some money and try a set of Seymour Duncan 4 string Phase II passives I think.

She is different in the hands....holding position....but so smooth when you pluck a string....feels very comfortable. My favourite is still a P Bass I made a couple of years ago...but this is a close second....in front of my Yamaha BB series.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ozzbike

It is funny WAZ...maybe I am just looking for something.....but with both pots pushed to the humbucking position I think the Bass has more punch. Maybe connecting each coil to its own circuit has guaranteed connections....whereas my average soldering may have not with the twist and dip method.

Either way....save some money and try a set of Seymour Duncan 4 string Phase II passives I think.

She is different in the hands....holding position....but so smooth when you pluck a string....feels very comfortable. My favourite is still a P Bass I made a couple of years ago...but this is a close second....in front of my Yamaha BB series.

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Good stuff Ozzie. Comfortable shape to play sitting down.

EMG do a soapbar passive or active that would fit too and possibly better priced than SD's.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

Nice one ozz a great looking bass


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Hi, reading your post I see you have finished this beautiful example, nicely done 👍.
A question if I may, did using epoxy resin to hold the mounting plugs for the bridge work? I've just recieved my kit and am a little concerned about how lose the lugs are during my mock up, placed in the body I can flip the bass over and they just fall out.
Thank you.

Mine...all three...went in pretty tightly....but I did use some epoxy too.

Remember that the earth wire will have to go into one of the bushing holes....mine was pre-drilled.

I poked a stripped back wire through from the control cavity into a bushing hole.....toothpick wiped epoxy onto that bushing away from the wire contact point.

I hope you don’t have any string height issues with your bridge.

Thanks for your reply.
I did pick up some epoxy resin for the job and am hoping it works... the earth wire hole is pre drilled and will be making sure I have an earth when installing the bridge lugs... still concerned how lose they are, have read a few horror stories about these bridges, fingers crossed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Coops

Thanks for your reply.
I did pick up some epoxy resin for the job and am hoping it works... the earth wire hole is pre drilled and will be making sure I have an earth when installing the bridge lugs... still concerned how lose they are, have read a few horror stories about these bridges, fingers crossed.

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Just a query....are you sure you are inserting the mounting bushes themselves?

I have just checked all three basses/guitars I have with the three point bridge and none of them are loose in the holes.

The bridge mounts are two piece....and adjustable inner pin with a screw thread...and a bushing with both a socket with vertical splines on the outside to lock into the wood....and a thread in the inside for the pin to screw into.

As in the picture attached....the pin unscrews out of the socket bushing that hammers into the guitar body.

Hi Ozzbike, really appreciate your reply and assistance here.

I’m at work currently so am working form memory, but… during mock up I placed the mounting bushings with the inner treaded pins screwed into the bushings into the bass body, the bushings do have vertical splines and a wider section at the top which sits on top of the body… I assume? the top section has a slightly wider diameter, so driving that part into the body would defeat the purpose of the splines I would say, and damage the body.

The bushings (with pins screwed in) slip into the pre drilled holes effortlessly, no hammer required, bar one, which offers some resistance… but not much, as mentioned, I can then flip the bass over and 2 of the 3 bushings can fall out.
I did at the time think they should definitely be more snug fitting, but read on this thread about using an epoxy resin to hold them in so figured that’s just what you have to do with these things, it’s my first build so I’m very much learning as I go… I did continue on with sanding stage and preparing the body for the first coat of stain, as an ex car painter this part of the build I feel comfortable with, in hindsight I really should have stopped there to resolve the issue before moving on….

Thinking.. Houston, we may have a problem here.... :(

Coops,

I have this Explorer bass I am nearly finished and it has a three point bridge.....took these photos to help...

I got the micrometer out and measured the bushing and the hole.

The bushing is tapered and this measurement is up the top at its widest.

The hole has a little body filler and finish etc hanging around the top of the hole.....so close but not too much.

My view...maybe others have done it correctly....get some dowel...thick enough to give you a dimension of 10mm.

I think most people that have done the hole filling have had to find a dowel that had the fluted sides and sand it down smooth.

So you need a dowel that gives you a smooth side of ten mm diameter.

I would suggest gluing the holes and re drilling to the size you thinnest end of the bushing measures.....so just under 10mm.

I wish you luck....I don't think epoxy on its own will hold the bushing in against the pull of the big bass strings.

**I just had a read and thought about my advice. I don't think 10mm will help.....I think the hole you will drill needs to be 10mm...so the dowel will need to be thicker than that I think. Oh, I hope somebody else with better skills can help.***

You will then have the issue of the earth wire hole.....ouch.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ozzbike

I got the micrometer out and measured the bushing and the hole.

The bushing is tapered and this measurement is up the top at its widest.

The hole has a little body filler and finish etc hanging around the top of the hole.....so close but not too much.

My view...maybe others have done it correctly....get some dowel...thick enough to give you a dimension of 10mm.

I think most people that have done the hole filling have had to find a dowel that had the fluted sides and sand it down smooth.

So you need a dowel that gives you a smooth side of ten mm diameter.

I would suggest gluing the holes and re drilling to the size you thinnest end of the bushing measures.....so just under 10mm.

I wish you luck....I don't think epoxy on its own will hold the bushing in against the pull of the big bass strings.

**I just had a read and thought about my advice. I don't think 10mm will help.....I think the hole you will drill needs to be 10mm...so the dowel will need to be thicker than that I think. Oh, I hope somebody else with better skills can help.***

You will then have the issue of the earth wire hole.....ouch.

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The pre drilled holes are larger than what you have, mine measure 11mm or just a hair under, I can push the bushings in with one finger, so I definitely have a problem

I've emailed the team and will wait to see what they come back with, thanks for your help.

Hey, yup sorry me again... sorry to hijack your thread.
The team have replied to my email and suggested I wrap some electrical tape around the bushings before inserting them... before I answer their email I thought I'd get a second opinion, I'm not convinced that would work in the long run... a temporary fix yes, but I am hoping for a bass that I will own, play and enjoy for years to come and not have to worry about the bridge randomly pulling out one day.
It's turned out to be a major downer having waited for this kit to become available again.
I've tracked down some bushes (inserts) with a larger diameter... I could 1. Wrap electrical tape around the bushes supplied and hope for the best 2. Drill out the holes slightly to accommodate the larger inserts or 3. Take the larger inserts to an engineer mate to turn them down to fit the original holes.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.