Thinking About Starting Out With A Slab Bodied Tele Bass But...

[glimmertwin]

So I am starting to put together all the things I need to build my first legit guitar from scratch. I have done several from parts, but for Xmas my wife got me a bunch of tools to start working on them myself. I am super excited to get my feet wet and have read Hiscock's book about 10 times over the last month. I was thinking of doing something simple and since I need a bass guitar anyway, I was thinking of doing a 51 style tele bass - the slab bodied ones.

Does anyone know where I can find templates/plans for one of those? I know working up photo's has been suggested here but I would rather not reinvent the wheel if someone has taken on one of these projects. Thanks in advance for any suggestions you all might have!

[SwedishLuthier]

http://www.guitarbuildingtemplates.com/

EDIT: Noticed that they don't carry Tele bass templates. Sorry

[soapbarstrat]

Another *early* P-bass fan here, although I think I prefer the late 60's--early 70's version known as the "telecaster" bass.

http://www.guitarsandeffects.com/images/ateleBASS.jpg

And I've wondered if the body shape could actually be the same exact shape as the more modern contoured P-bass shape, but without the huge round-over on the edges, (and of course without the forearm and belly cut on the back).

In that case, I would want to try to get a more common , regular P-bass body, use it to make my template, then sell it.

[glimmertwin]

Well, I posted on a few other forums and it does look like the pbass body shape is the same as the more common post 57 pbass shape less the fancy contours.

Have any of you guys ever measured the cavity route for one of the old flat pole pickups - is that the same sized pickup route as a normal strat single coil? Inquiring minds want to know

Soapbarstrat: How do those humbucker looking pickups sound in the later pbasses? I would consider something like that as well...which brings up the cavity route question again and also the greater question of who makes new bass pickups like that.

I'm not really a true bassist, but I like to have one around for sketching out arrangments of songs and the occasional "fill in" job for a song or two. I like the suggestions people make that the single coil pbasses have a more rounded upright tone to them than the regular pbass. I played a regular split coil pbass for a while and it always sounded "punky" to me....never really spent too much time on the jazz bass besides playing one at guitar center and wishing I was somewhere else far away from the after school program they seem to host for aspiring guitar wankers...

Thanks for the help - this is a wonderful resource that I am absolutely ecstatic that I stumbled upon. Thank you!

EDIT: Okay, I just went on Seymour Duncan's website and does look like the pickup dimensions of the 4 pole bass pickup are different from the strat's. Same depth, but the bass pickup is a tad longer and wider. I wonder if I can take a strat pickup template in electronic format and enlarge it slightly and if it would keep the same ratio...thinking out loud...