IB-4, First Build

[FrankenWashie]

Get some heat shrink and shrink it on to the red/white. Either that or insulation tape it.

[ozzbike]

I did one of these and found a couple of issues. There are some very smart and skilled people here who will help you out.

Have a read and see the traps I found and the answers I got.

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ad.php?t=10120

Two things....the long black jack socket is wired weird....read the end of my thread to see what I mean...working out which bit to solder was interesting.

To get mine to fit I use a large circular file I have....it is about 8 or 9 mm at its widest and has a slight taper at the end. I worked the file carefully in and out of the hole until the jack socket would fit.

I had no need for the nut on the inside as the fit was so tight. I also found that the angle the jack socket comes into the body is such that you can't get it on anyway. Try and turn the socket and the nearest tone pot so the connection lugs on the jack socket don't touch the pot and ground out all the sound.

I cut some little pieces of heat shrink and put them on the wires first.....soldered to the jack socket and then slid the heat shrink down over the connections and wobbled the soldering iron over it until the wires and lugs were no longer bare.

Also to just keep the jack socket in place I did warm up my hot glue gun and dumped a wad of glue on the inner end of the socket in the control cavity. Mine has not moved an inch.

The other issue I still struggle with....and that is the pickups not fitting down into the pickup routs. I honestly have been too lazy to fix it....I need to measure the width of the body at the pickup routs.....then measure the depth of the rout and see if I have much difference to play with. I think I will use my Dremel tool to grind down a deeper groove for the wires from the neck pickup to move down into the bridge pickup four. Then also widen the groove in the bridge pickup rout. I have contemplated using the hot glue gun again to try and ensure the wires stay in place in the groove I make. Another option I suppose is to use masking tape to hold the wires down. My Bridge pickup is too high and I cannot screw it down any more. When I do a setup on a Bass I like the under side of the thick strings to be 3mm away from the top of the pickups....and the two thin strings to be 2.5mm above the top of the pickups on that side.

I use a set of Allen keys to measure that gap. The set I have are double ended and have a long section and then a 90 degree bend with a short section after the bend. I get a 3mm Allen key....fret the fat E string at the last fret on the neck.....e.g. closer towards the bridge.....and the holding the long section of the Allen key slide the Allen key under the E string over the top of the pickup. I then screw the height of the pickups up or down to suit. The I repeat the same on the thin string...G string side and use a 2.5mm Allen key this time. This makes it so much easier. The other strings are just along for the ride as the pickups only adjust at the edges.

I cannot claim the idea for this one.....Dave from Canada had it first.

His channel is very good.....he has some fun too.

The IB-4 is modelled after Ibanez Bass guitars.....and this is his playlist for Ibanez guitars and Basses he has worked on.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...fRDR9dbH0rKdlA

I am nearly finished the 38th guitar I will have in my house.....I have made over 50 now....the Guitar Acquisition Syndrome (G.A.S.) will bit you too.

It is a fun hobby and learning new stuff at my age, 57, does not hurt.

[DrJackalope]

Hi All,

First of all, thank you to everyone for the helpful tips and tricks regarding the wiring and shrink wrapping. Everything seemed to come together quite well, that is until I plugged it in. I have volume (mostly, I think it shorts when turned up to 10 because I lose all sound) but I apparently set it up for a lefty, and I have absolutely no tone control. I had asked a guitarist friend of mine and he had chalked it up to possibly lower quality pots. I ended up getting some mini CTS pots that I will have another go at wiring in a few weeks (basement is in disarray while getting waterproofed). It turns out for something I have never considered I would be doing in my life, I very much enjoy soldering, I find it peaceful.

Ozzbike - 38 in the house holy cow!!! My wife would bury me... she doesn't know that I have already ordered another kit that will be arriving in June hahaha, but that's a conversation for later.
Good call on the hot glue for the input jack, I will give that a go once I know I have the rest of the electronics working, I see what you mean where it fits a bit odd and loose after boring out the hole a little more.
I read your build diary and love your finished kit! I would love to recess my cavity plate, but I am not terribly confident yet with my router skills, this may be a project down the line as it isn't bothering me but would be a nice feature. I also think it would be a good call to try the nylon washer between each pot and the copper taped cavity. I wonder if this is causing the shorting issue on the volume when it is turned up all the way.

I ended up getting some other machine heads that I liked and actually fit the head now, and I strung it up with some Super Slinkys to get it playable. I also added some black strap locks, but I don't love my placement for the neck side button. It seems a little low but I did so because I was afraid of splitting the wood at the corner because it came more to a point than rounded. I am hesitant to change it since I would need to fill the screw hole, only to reenter that hole at a different angle and would be concerned for the integrity of that top corner of the bass. I will post some pics later on when I have the time.

Dr. J