When I recently polished up the refinish on this generic fretless bass neck – I was uncertain what tuners to throw at it. After all – it’s by no means an authentic Fender, and I’ve yet to see how it’s dimensions suit the (much more accurate) lines of the replica body I’m using, for the build. However – I recently got the chance to pick up a used set of Fender “Pure Vintage” 70’s style tuners at a knock-down price. OK – they didn’t come with the attachment screws required – but they’re the sort of spares you begin to collect (apparently in numbers…), once you start playing around with project builds. (Machine head bushings too…). Quite simply – these Fenders might well be an overspec, given some of my other reservations regarding the neck – but the deal was so good, that the price of them second-hand is close to that of a set of (much cheaper), brand new, generic tuners. One other important consideration, is that the backing plates on the 70’s style Fender tuners cover over the previous holes on the back of the headstock – and leave plenty of leeway for new screws to tap into solid wood.
It’s a no-brainer really…
The tuners are fitted to the headstock in the usual manner. In this case – I fit the second one along, first – checking that the backing plate clears the “discrepancy” in headstock shape, at the narrowing of the “hook” on the lower edge. To attach the first machine head – I thread the post through the bushing and then, using a set square to position the tuner perpendicular to the top edge of the headstock – mark the positions of the two closer positioned screws, through the openings on the backing plate, with a sharp awl. The machine head is then temporarily removed, and the holes drilled to the correct depth and diameter for the replacement screw set. (Take care with this. It’s all too easy to drill the holes “tight” and have one of the tiny screws shear off. Equally – too large, and the screwholes can strip out easily. I usually find that these holes are best sunk with two differently sized bits. A shallower, wider bit to accommodate the thicker shank of the screw, and a longer, thinner bit to give the tip of the screw something to hold on to, deeper down).
The machine head is then secured to the neck using these first two screws. (Do not overtighten). Now that the tuner mechanism is held firmly in place – I can then mark off and drill out the two other remaining screw holes, before finally driving those screws home – thus securing the machine head.
This process is then repeated for the adjacent, middle mechanism – checking again that both heads are parallel to each other, and square to the top edge of the headstock. Finally – the two outlying heads are attached. The neck is finally ready to join with the body.
Now that I can properly attach strings to the guitar, and firmly anchor them at both the bridge end and at the headstock – I can use them to help check the visual alignment of the neck as it is fixed to the body. I’m using a set of “Elite Custom Flats” (45-105) from the Bass Centre. I always used to choose “Stadium Elites” for my basses, way back when the Bass Centre used to have an on-street presence in Wapping. (Sadly long gone – along with Atlantis – a great fine art suppliers, several rehearsal studios, and an even larger selection of “typical east End boozers”…). Even now that the Bass Centre has retreated to become an online only store these days – the price of “Elites” is still fantastic value for money, given the price of some of the competition. I’m using flatwounds here – because… well, it’s a fretless!.. (The nut here is the original – as fitted when I purchased the neck. It’s obvious from the depth of the string grooves, that there’s more to a fretless nut than first meets the eye – The slots are cut so they’re just a fraction off the level of the fretboard, and there’s no “zero fret”. There are a couple of wear grooves at the headstock side of the nut – but they may possibly have been created if the nut was originally slotted in-situ. What’s important right now – is that the strings run straight between nut and bridge. I’ll deal with any action issues later on – at setup).
It’s a bit of a tricky task, (especially when improvising at the kitchen table) – but by fitting the two outer strings, and clamping the neck joint with a G-clamp – I can adjust things at the pocket, so that the strings run straight and equidistant from the edges, along the full length of the neck. It helps to tighten the strings – but only just enough to remove any devation at the machine heads. (Too much tension would overwhelm the cheap, crappy plastic G-clamp I’m using). Note that the wood under the clamp jaws is protected, at both sides, with card shims – (leaving plenty of access at the back, so that the neck bolt holes can be reached) – and that a spare bridge pickup cover has been temporarily fitted, to help check the alignment all the way down from the nut to the bridge. (It’s apparent here, that the string taper doesn’t quite allow the outer strings to lie naturally in-between the “paired” pickup poles on the bridge cover. The bridge pickup is positioned a little further back on a PJ bass, than it is on a Jazz – so that may have something to do with it. I may ultimately look at a different bridge solution, and see if I can spread the saddles a little wider at the bridge, to compensate. Alternatively – a set of “threaded” saddle replacements may allow me to spread the strings that little bit wider at the bridge).
Once the neck is in the correct alignment, the bolt holes are marked through the body and onto the heel of the neck – using a sharp awl. The neck is removed once more, and the holes drilled out to the correct depth, using a drill press and a sharp wood bit.
The neck can then be securely attached to the body using a plain chrome Fender neck plate and bolts, (Fender parts number: 099-1447-100) – together with a black Gotoh plastic shim. The bolts are tightened evenly, across and around the plate – so that the plate doesn’t distort at the corners. The shim is there help to protect the body from the plate digging-in to the body, due to over-tight bolts – but it’s usually a good idea not to overtighten them in the first place.
I’ve already checked the pickguard for fit – but it’s good to double-check things again with the neck in place. The plate is a single ply, black acrylic plate, by “Guitars Electric“. Having the pots fitted to the plate is essential here – since there’s not a lot of tolerance within the main control cavity. Additionally – the fit around the heel of the neck – as well as at the “P bass” pickup cutout – is also critical. Once the plate is in the correct position – the positions of each of the scratchplate screws is traced through to the body with a sharp awl, and then drilled out to the correct depth with a hand drill. With this particular plate configuration – the centre rear screw hole is the ideal one to begin with, since it’s located roughly central. One by one – the rest of the screws are added…
I immedately have to remove the scratchplate once more, to reclaim the concentric pots used for fitting, (now needed elsewhere, on a Jazz Bass project. The pots for this build are on next months shopping list…) – but that, at least, gives me the opportunity to lightly countersink each of the newly drilled screwholes now, with a sharp HSS drill bit. This tidies up the loose edges, and will hopefully help prevent any of the screws ever “tearing out” and damaging the surface finish. I could fit the remaining strings at this point – but access for fitting the pickups will be that little bit easier without. The fitted strings are adjusted for height at the bridge – so that they don’t sit flat against the fretboard in the meanwhile – and the bass is now ready for it’s pickups and tone circuit.
(I like the dark fingerboard and black hardware against the oiled wood, but now – of course – I’m thinking… “do Fender do a black vintage bridge option?”).
Garageland 