ESB-4SC First Build

[WeirdBits]

The GR-1SF kit is supplied with two 0.047uF caps. The diagram has them linked in series to reduce the cap value, 2 x 0.047uF in series is equivalent to 0.0235uF, if you want a smaller value rather than buying another capacitor. Given it's a hollow body I thought that a single 047 cap could be a bit dark, so showed on the diagram how it could be wired to get a 022 value. With a bass like yours a 0.047uF cap will be fine, hence a single cap on your diagram. If you wanted an even darker range for your tone you can use a 0.068uF or even 0.1uF cap.

Vintage vs Modern wiring is very much personal taste, style and often instrument specific... and only your ears can tell what's right. The treble and tone changes will be moe noticeable on guitar than bass, but still subtle. Vintage has more interaction between volume and tone, but if you typically run everything at ten then there's not a lot of difference. The bass players on here may be able to offer their experiences of the differences.

With a trapeze style tail you usually drill a small hole through for the ground wire so it can make contact under the tail plate. As long as the tail plate covers where the wire comes through you won't see it, and a loop of bare wire under the plate will ensure good contact etc. Just make sure the hole is not too close to the strap pin. Don't use braided wire for the tail ground, a piece of the kit supplied insulated wire is better in this case.

[Dekka28]

Thanks Weirdbits!!! That makes a lot of sense. So I redid the entire wiring and to my surprise it worked. I am really chuffed about that.

The TO coats are still going on. It's getting there really slowly but looking good.

Now question for the bass players out there who are gear inclined. I am looking to upgrade my pickups, I realised that the stock ones are closer to P90s in size. Does any body have some recommendation for some nice PU that will fit this bass... I also bought some chrome mounting rings and unfortunately did not check and they were humbucker size rings so no go. I have tried to source some but I have ot had much success. Any recommendation?

[Nickosaurus]

Hey Dekka don't go looking for pups til you've heard them. I built the ESB-4 and I'm pretty chuffed with the stockies. Plenty of beef.

[wazkelly]

Very good advice there Nicko. Upgraded J Bass Bridge pickup in an old Ibanez law suit era Bass many years ago with a Dimarzio and the difference was negligible other than my wallet being emptier for the exercise. Might just be the low frequencies as changing PUPS in guitars does make a huge difference.

[Dekka28]

Well Santa got in the way a little...

There was very little progress made before and during Christmas which was frustrating but we are back on.

The wiring was done and tested with 2 configurations. Thank you again weirdbits, your recommendation were spot on...

The TO coats were finally done (20 coats front back and side as well as on the neck)

The wiring harness was inserted (twice!!!) First time was fairly straight forward but did not work so harness was removed and I discover one of my soldier connection had come loose. Nice!!! I fixed it, re-checked everything twice and inserted the harness for a second time with a lot of bad language but after 2 hours or so it was in and working.



It was time to set the neck! Alas.... Not is all well... it seems that the measurements might be off by 1mm on one side. I will explain but I think I need some expert advice here.

The measurements of the neck pocket are not identical on the treble and the bass side. I took measurement at 3 different points on both side and there are some discrepancies. I tried to find some diagram with measurements but could not find anything on the web.



As you can see on the drawing above there is about a millimeter difference in the middle. the neck and the bridge side are fairly consistent.

I also measured the neck heel:



The result is a slight gap on the treble side. The bass side is completely flush with the body. the treble side however is not. See below (I could actually slide my card sized tool in the gap without any problem)



My first question is should I lightly sand the pocket on the treble side or the bass side? (not at all?)

My second question is how do I make sure that my neck is flat in relation to the body?

All advice are very welcome. I am so close and yet so far and indeed slightly worried.

[wokkaboy]

Hi Dekka, if you were happy with the string to edge of fingerboard offsets on the mock build (I like to have a bit more fingerboard for the E string than the G string) it sounds like you have to glue a thin veneer on the treble side of the neck pocket to fill the gap.
Once that is done do another mock build to see what the string action is like before you glue the neck in place.
How was the string heights at the 22nd fret on the mock build too high/too low/okay ?

[WeirdBits]

Before you start sanding or adding any packing we really need to get a better look at the fit of the neck. So, get it clamped cleanly in place with the E and G strings on, like above, and take some more photos. Ideally, you want pics showing the string alignment down the length of the fretboard and how the neck lines up with the body, a shot from under the neck showing the base of the neck heel meeting the bottom of the pocket, and shots from each side of the body showing the gaps (like where you stuck the card tool in).

If you wind the floating bridge down to its lowest settings with the E and G strings in place it should give you clear indication if the neck angle is correct.

A slight gap between the top of the body and the underside of the fretboard isn't an issue, apart from cosmetic. The important aspects are the neck alignment and angle, and ensuring there will be good contact in the neck pocket's base and sides for gluing.

[Dekka28]

Thank you Wokka abd Weirdbits for the advice.

As per Weirdbits suggestion I did another dry fit and took more pictures.

First up the string alignment down the length of the fretboard



To my noobie eyes, there does not seem to be any problem there. the floating bridge needs to be position accurately as I only eye balled it here. (I was not sure whether it was necessary or not to gauge string alignment)

Then the base of the neck heel meeting the bottom of the pocket from the bass side and the treble side:



There is a little gap in the middle which was identify at the beginning of the build which I did not think was a problem. aesthetically I can live with it.

And finally shots form each side of the body:

With gaps on treble side:



and no gaps on the bass but there is no part of the fret board overhanging on this side as it sits flush with the body:

[Dekka28]

As weirdbits mentioned there is a

slight gap between the top of the body and the underside of the fretboard

but I think it is purely cosmetic and does not really bother me.



I have also set the floating bridge down to its lowest settings and measured the string heights (I think that the nut needs to be sanded down a bit to bring the action down). here are the measurements:

On the bass side and treble side the measurements were identical and as follow:

1st fret: 1.5 mm / 12 Fret : 3.5 mm / 22 fret : 4 mm

There are loads of little things to consider before I set my neck and I would really like to have the neck lush with the body on the side at least. i will then file the nut down a little bit.

So what do you guys think I should do?

Personally I thought I could:

• Either sand down by 1 mm on the treble side inside the pocket to level it but I am worried it will affect the level of the fret board in relation to the body itself
• try to level the bottom of the neck under the fret board to make it flush to the body but again I am worried to affect the overall angle of the neck

Any thoughts?

Thank you for your help guys

[WeirdBits]

The neck alignment looks ok, but could probably be tweaked slightly towards the treble side to even up the string->fretboard edge gap at the higher frets for the E and G. That is, skew the headstock a touch towards the treble side so you have fractionally less edge distance for the G string at the end of the fretboard and consequently more gap for the E. Often the neck will pull slightly towards the bass side when it's just clamped in place due to the string pull imbalance.

The action is a bit too high with the bridge wound all the way down, but you need to check a few things before making adjustments:
1. How straight is the neck, is there any bow or backbow etc?
2. Is the floating bridge sitting at the appropriate scale length, does it need to move forward/back?
3. How well does the bridge base sit on the arch top, is it making good contact overall or does it need to be sanded to better match the curve? Is the base too thick?
4. Is the neck sitting flush in the neck pocket, any lumps/bumps/crud messing with it? Is it a good fit? (see below)
5. Looking from the tail/trapeze, is the fretboard horizontally level across the top of the body, does it look too high/low on one side?

To check the contact in the neck pocket you can use a thin strip of paper or a cotton thread etc. Place it in the base of the pocket then clamp the neck in place as see if you can (gently) pull the paper out. If you cut a thin (1cm or less wide, 10-15cm long) strip of thin paper, like newspaper, soak each side in super glue and then hang it up and let it dry thoroughly overnight, that will give you a strong thin strip to test the fit of the neck in the pocket and ensure you have good contact in the pocket's base and sides. Basically, place the strip in the pocket, clamp in the neck and see if you can slip the paper out. Repeat in different positions.

It's better to check everything and be certain of what (if anything) needs adjusting, rather than make a change prematurely that could cause future problems.