Hi and greetings from the Shetland islands. Lockdown has 'encouraged' me to try my first guitar kit. Although I am a guitarist I thought I would give the TB-4 Bass a go. I am a first timer and looking for any advice I can get. I have ordered the standard kit with a bone nut and everything looks pretty good.
I cant see much on the threads about TB-4s. Looking for wiring diagrams and general do-s and don'ts.
I have sanded and embarking on the spray paint job.
Hi imalc,
Welcome and good luck with your build.
I cannot offer any tips about the TB-4 - but it is my next build so I look forward to seeing your progress.
PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1, TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1.
Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.
The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"
Welcome! The TB-4 bass is a fun kit, I'm in the middle of finishing one right now. Unfortunately I don't have a full build diary, just a few questions as the first stain I tried caused issues, but possible some good information.\
The kit itself is really straight forward, the only general do/don't I would recommend was passed to be by another member, Phrozin. His suggestion was to not sand the basswood too finely. His suggestion was to go no higher than 120 so the finish had something to cling on to. Any sanding higher than that could cause a washed out look. The stain I used for mine recommended no lower than 220, so I still went to 220 with good results, but I could see how going any higher wouldn't give the effect I was going for.
Hope that's at least a little bit of help! If you run into any issues, be sure to ask lots of questions, there is a ton of great knowledge here
"We were supposed to have a quote?"
Chaps, I have 'completed ' the build ie it is looking great but a couple of major problems I have to deal with.
Firstly the 3 point bridge seems really high making the action way to high. 3mm at first fret and 11mm at the neck.I think I might have installed the bridge incorrectly but I am not sure. There seemed to be only one way of doing it. The central pin seems way too high so even adjusting the rear pins seems to make not material difference. Any ideas.
Oh and my electrics dont work! Fairly fundamental but first time doing it so one mistake along the line and you are stuffed. I figure I will have to take is apart and start again as I dont know where the mistake is. Any tips?
The 3 point bridge shows up on a number of kits. In my case it was the EX-4. I'm surprised that you can't get those screws to go down ant further. The holes for the posts in mine were about 6 mm or more deeper than the posts, so when I went to install the posts, I used one of those screws to get the posts down, and the screws went all the way in, tight against the post heads. The other thing I did was I counter sunk the post holes so the post heads were flush with the surface of the body. The main reason for this is because I was using the Babicz bridge, which is designed to have full contact with the body.Originally Posted by imalc
Hi imalc,
"Oh and my electrics dont work! Fairly fundamental but first time doing it so one mistake along the line and you are stuffed. I figure I will have to take is apart and start again as I dont know where the mistake is. Any tips?"
Can you post a photo of the electronics? - it might show a mistake.
PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1, TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1.
Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.
The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"
Thanks for the reply. Yes the back pots can screw dow further than shown but it is the front post that seems to be dictating everything. The holes that came with the kit were not countersunk and the base screw has a lip on it. The lip covers the edge of the hole I suppose so makes it neat. This means the bottom of the post is up at least 3mm . It also has a lip which I have screwed hard down as far as it goes. The centre receiving socket only fits the centre post (which is smooth like a bolt). The lower threaded section is too wide in diameter to fit the socket. I presumed the kit would be correct and I was wrong. Countersinking is going to be tricky. Does this type of bridge not need to float above the body anyway? I get the feeling this is the wrong type of bridge for this application...but I am a first time builder! Who knows. Pitbull?
photo attached...I think
re: Wiring -
You'll need to de-solder pretty much everything and start over. You have the wire colours and connections mixed up.
The BLACK wire is the signal wire (hot) which is to be soldered to the input lug of the pot, not the back.
The GREEN & BARE wires are your ground, and DO get soldered to the back of the pots.
The RED &WHITE wires should not be connected to the pots (unless you're trying to slit the coils, but that would still be incorrect the way it is now). When you unsolder the red & white wires, keep them soldered together but insulate them with heat shrink tubing or electrical tape so they don't short across the shielding tape.
I think the cap is connected properly, but hard to see completely.
Your BLUE bridge ground wire is fine.
Also the interconnecting ground wires (GRAY) are ok too.
Here is the PBG TB-4 Diagram
The diagram only shows 2 wires from each pickup, so just pretend the RED & WHITE aren't there and GREEN/BARE = 1 wire (ground) and BLACK = the second wire (hot).
As for you earlier post about the bridge and string action, I'm unclear on what exactly the issue is if the height adjust posts are able to go down further.
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
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