Toshi's first build: PBA-4

Hi Toshi,
I used this pre-amp in my JBA-4 build and it sounds great
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/400368322849

You have room for 4 pots so they are master volume, balance, treble and bass. The circuit board box might be a bit deeper than the control cavity but you should be able to carefully chisel out a small channel. You will need a battery box so you may need help for that. I paired the pre-amp up with Tonerider jazz bass pickups and it sounds so bright and clear. At only $20 for the pre-amp will be cheaper to put the active system in rather than EMG pickups.

Hi Wok, this is nice and new to me. it's pre-wired and not expensive. thank you for the information. i was wondering your J Bass has 4 knobs. now it makes sense. Although i have never chiseled the cavity, it can be another learning point.

no worries Toshi, I put a pre-amp in my IB-6S and used stock pups and it sounds pretty good. That model has 5 pots and one pot is stacked so have 6 settings. Wait till you get the kit but I think the circuit board box will be too deep for the existing control cavity. To do it safely you really need a router and to route the battery box cavity. We'll cross that bridge when we get there mate !

With your pre-amp all you have to do is solder both pup hot wires to the blend pot, earth both pups and connect the earth wire - pretty easy job

Over a month, I'd been applying water-based urethane vanish on body. It was not easy to build up thickness by varnish, so i just kept coating, drying and sanding once per 2-3 coat till around 10 coats. since by brush, surface is very lumpy. so I tried to flat surface by wet sanding with 500 grits before i go for final coat by poly urethane spray.

maybe I was too hurry and rough... and happened this.

Attachment 18286 ... Attachment 18287 ... Attachment 18288

again carefulness&patience

maybe the surface was not flat enough, clear coat on the part seemed thinner. should i stain partially, should i remove all varnish coat?? Now i know the importance of sanding... This time, just I have decided to move forward to final spray clear coat at backyard.

Attachment 18292 Attachment 18293

Hi Wok, thank you for another instruction. IB-6, 5 pots, 1 pot stuck then 6 settings,,,wow,now really complicated! hahaha. I am interested in router, it is very useful to make our own configuration. i like soldering, just had it on passive pups for modification though. like you said, since this is pre-wired, hope its still manageable for me. so now I seriously want start planing for IB-5. :)

no worries Toshi sounds good. The body looks great love the colour. Don't have time to read too keen to finish my drawings and leave work !

hahaha, thanks, Wok!

You normally only need to level the frets if you have some frets sitting higher than the others, and even then, it's only one or two frets that you need to worry about. But sometimes, if the neck twists or the fretboard wasn't levelled correctly before the frets went in, then you have to level all the frets to get the guitar to a playable condition. I levelled the frets on my Tele partly because it was fitted with tall, wide frets (I prefer less tall frets) and partly because the truss rod was at its maximum adjustment and there was still too much bow in the neck for a good action. So I used the fret level to both lower the overall fret height and also lower the fret height even more at the bridge end, so that I could lower the action without the strings buzzing on the upper frets.

All metal polishes are very similar, so don't worry too much about the brand name. They are all a very fine abrasive powder held in a liquid (though some liquids contain a small amount of ammonia to help loosen any oxidation). The ones designed for brass and copper have finer particles than those designed for stainless steel or chrome (which are much harder metals) - in the same way that dedicated polishing compounds come in coarse, medium and fine grades.

That finish is probably thick enough so that you can simply sand it flat. I'd be using something coarser than 500 grit for flattening, as that's pretty fine. 240 or 320 would be better to start with, then move up to the finer grades. If you look in your pictures you can still see some shiny patches - which are dips in the finish where the sandpaper hasn't reached yet. For a really smooth finish you need to sand those areas more so that there are no shiny patches left at all.

I'd be wet sanding all this as it stops the paper clogging with paint and the hardened paint on the paper making its own marks. Look at the finish at a low angle against a bright light, as it shows up the dips more clearly.

Hi Simon, thank you for instruction. I will check the fret height whether they are equal. in case of some differences, I will try leveling. so far I dont see any twist on the neck, but i think that tech must be useful at many cases in future.

And also thank you for the polishing instructions. Last Sat and Sun, I tried your instruction and it really worked well. I did wet sand with 500, 800, 1000, 1500. As you taught, it could have been easier to start with 240 to remove dimples, but I felt not enough thickness was fully built, so I was bit scared. however, so far it is getting glossy. here is photos in progress. still fine scratch lines being seen.

Attachment 18396 Attachment 18397 Attachment 18399

looks nice and shiny Toshi good work. Glad you bought a buffer/polishing machine as your arms must be falling off being SOTY haha

Looks like it is now time to do hand sanding and polishing as the sanding machine will most likely introduce scratches from here.

Thanks, Wok. hahaha yeah, now my arm are being back to normal. Polishing machine is huge advance technology and really powerful tool.

Waz, thnak you for direction. noted. i didnt realize machine can cause another scratches. will try hand sanding and polishing, especially to avoid burn through too.

Toshi if you are careful the polishing machine should work ok. Does it have different speeds ? I would work on a low speed and you really need a polishing pad and a separate buffing pad.

Thanks, Wok. this Black&Decker has only one speed and very powerful. However, i have electric driver/drill with polishing pad, buffing pad as well. Maybe I will be able to use polishing machine, drill/driver and hand polishing depending on case and part.

no worries Toshi, well it looks well polished enough to finish the rest by hand, sure you can sand in your sleep so it's a similar action hahah

Looking good, Toshi.

You need to be careful with any sanding or polishing machine. A fast speed makes for quick sanding (or polishing), but it also produces a lot of heat, which can soften the surface. This makes it easier for any hard bits of finish or dirt stuck in the grit (when sanding) to leave scratch marks. It also lets the sandpaper take more finish off than expected. Also, when the finish re-hardens as it cools, it might not end up as flat as it was. So as you get closer to the final polishing stages, it's important to keep the sander/polisher moving all the time to reduce heat build-up and use slower speeds (if possible).

Wok, hahaha, yea, now the time to strengthen my arm again :)

Simon, thanks for advice. noted. since the machine has no speed option, I will keep moving it around to avoid heat build-up and wrap it up carefully. hope completion will be soon.

Photo was as of last night after 2.5 hour-polishing, by machine, drilldrive and hand on front body.

Attachment 18420

very nice Toshi, looks pretty well ready to assemble if the rest of the body and neck look like that !

Wok, Thanks. I am also thinking moving to back side, then finalize neck and assembly!

Looking very shiny, Toshi. Keep going and you'll soon be there.

Thanks, Simon. will update once done!

final assembly. bolt neck on body, placed copper tape for noise reduction. Pickup guard replaced by White pearloid from Pit bull guitar. Pot wiring was not as i expected somehow, so rewired as tone and vol configuration with installed Seymour duncan Antiquity.

Attachment 18764 Attachment 18765
Attachment 18766

There was gap between neck side and body, but due to clear coat, its gone! and looks like just "fit".

Attachment 18767 Attachment 18768

Long struggle was finally paid out. PB project completion with satisfaction, not because of perfect production, but of many learning with joy after painful work and long patience.

Just want to send appreciation to Adam for provision of this wonderful bass kit and to Mentors for precious advices and instruction, especially Simon, Waz, Frank and Wok.

I plan to play this bass on duty at my church nex month. till then i will adjust small configuration on strings, neck and frets.Finally my 1st project closed!

Attachment 18769 Attachment 18770 Attachment 18771

Attachment 18772 Attachment 18773

Beautiful looking build Toshi!! Well done!!

That's a really nice bass Toshi well done!

Sent from my Moto G4 Plus using Tapatalk

well done Toshi that came up a treat. Your other basses look cool too ! Your patience and persistence definitely paid off !

Make sure you enter May GOTM !

Thank you for comment and support, Zan and Andrew! This has been really great experience.

Hi Wok, appreciate your constant assist and advice! so glad to see my own bass finally. Yea, will enter in May GOTM.

good stuff Toshi, it's been a pleasure to help out, and you listened and kept sanding and sanding and now its really paid off !

That's a wonderful result Toshi, I love that shine and that rich colour. Really great job you've done, you have to let us know how it sounds in your church concert!

Great result Toshi, youve done an excellent job

Great build Toshi!

Lovely work there, Toshi! You've done a great job there, and no-one would know it's just your first build. And the rest can only get even better! All that sanding really paid off.

So, what's next? You obviously can't stop now! :D

Wok, i kind of addicted to sanding actually, its good feeling to see the better face of wood after a muscle pained work.

Stan, Kick, Thank you! because of your support, i could complete :)

Frank, thank you so much! Yes, so far it sounds great at my room and will let you know how it sounded!

Simon, thank you for your advice and support all the time! i could not have finished it without your help. Yes, I am really checking for next project! hope i can update soon!

Looks great Toshi - keen to hear how it goes in church... I use my VP-4 in church whenever I play. Are you going to enter into the Guitar of the Month Competition?

Hi Brendan, thank you for message. Definitely i will update the sound in church. And yes, i will enter the GOTM. want to take a more proper photo first. i am so glad finally to share my first project with others in there.

Lovely looking bass, Toshi. Great work.

Thank you, Pablo! hope i can scratch out guitar some day like you do at latest project. it is really cool.

Great job Toshi!

Thank you, Fretworn!