I’m looking to start a project bass and I want to base it on the Jaguar Bass or Jazzmaster Bass IV body.
I was hoping to find one with all the routing already done for two Jazz pickups, upper horn, lower horn, and control plate electronics. Like this…
I called Warmoth but they said they didn’t have tooling set up for doing the routing for the upper horn. They already have one where they have the routing for the control plate and lower horn.
@howard I saw something about these being more common in Japan. The US has mostly P/J routing with either upper horn or lower horn routing but not both.
I’ve searched all the usual places but haven’t had any luck.
If it comes down to it, I could get a jazz body, trim the horns, and add the extra routing. Well, not me, but have someone do it.
A long time ago, I saw @Gio playing one like it in a video. He had modded the electronics quite a bit and said it had taken over for any jazz bass work that was needed.
I asked why he chose a Jaguar instead of a Jazz, he said, “Because I think it looks cool.”
That stuck with me because I thought, “It does look cool!”
I don’t have a time limit on this project or anything. I’m just going to collect all the parts whenever I can and keep my eyes out for one of those bodies till I find one.
I stand by that quote!
Took it to rehearsal yesterday and got a few “cool bass” comments.
It’s a looker for sure.
As far as how it performs - the neck is a super narrow J neck, the pickups are straight J pickups (the stock electronics from the MIJ Jaguar reissues were CRAP!) and it plays like a buttery dream.
Sounds bright and crisp and lovely.
@terb I looked into that first but they are going for US $1,000+. I was hoping to do this project a little bit at a time so it wouldn’t be such a large outlay of cash all at once. One month I’ll buy a body. The next I’ll buy a bridge. That kind of thing.
@skydvr I have been looking at Warmoth for that kind of thing. The one you shared is probably too raw for me. I live in an apartment and even if I had the necessary tools to do a job like that, I don’t have a good place to be able to do the work. Thanks though. I appreciate you looking into it.
That’s really nice. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for and in great condition. The upgraded Nordstrand pickups are a nice touch.
At AU$675 + shipping it’s more than a little prohibitive in price.
Thanks for linking it. It’s nice to know some of them are still out there.
@eric.kiser apologies for posting on an old thread but did the Jazz Master bass project ever come to fruition ? The thread caught my eye as I have been sketching out a future project based on a Jazz Master / Bass VI.
