Help Planning Out Electric And Bass Guitars

[ddv]

Hi it's been awhile since i've been back to this great site while i've been working on my other project but the dream machines been on overtime lately and so i'm back.

Allright so i want to build an electric and a bass guitar... and assume i know virtually nothing though im decent with wood. I've got the most important ideas about neck angle, going with angled head, and it will be a neck through. i've got no idea about wiring but i think i can understand the schematics i've seen or find some nearby help.

Electric will be by 25.5" scale and the bass will be 34" scale.

Also i've decided to go with a non tremelo saddle for the electric because i'm a begginer, as beginnner as they come, and they seem to be troublesome. What do u guys think, i'd like the versatiltiy but they seem unreliable. Im not afraid of the extra routing so what're ur thoughts

Okay so what are the most common neck widths for both types? Not that important i could work this one out based on saddle width and guessint the neck width

Now the most important question "which pickups"

Electric i'd like to go with a single coil and a humbucker

Bass i thought some humbucker and a jazz version

Okay i know nothing about the way they sound and i know its a subjective and i know i should go to a shop and try a bunch to know what i'd like but i've got to spend the rest of my time studying.

So are there any combinations that you know sound pretty good and got good versatility? What combinations do you guys like? and what specific pickups you guys recommend though im a broke college student. Appreciate any help you can spare and any other advice you got. And yea i've been reading the forums and getting loads of information. Thanks guys.

[Primal]

I can only speak for bass, but here are some well-known combos:

2 jazz pickups

1 precision and 1 jazz pickup

1 jazz pickup and 1 Musicman pickup

1 Musicmap pickup

2 humbucker/soapbar pickups (EMG style)

There are too many different possible variations of bass pickups to list. You really can't go wrong with any of them. If you are looking for a normal bass tone, try the 2 jazz or precision and jazz combo. For a bit of growl, try the 1 jazz and 1 musicman combo, the latter of which will be more versatile. If you are wanting a modern sound, go with the humbucker/soapbar pickup combo. These are, of course, generalities.

[skibum5545]

I've gotten great versatility out of my EMG P-J set in my current bass, though it lacks the really thick, chunky, funky tone a monster humbucker like a Musicman would give me. My rec? A Bartolini Musicman humbucker in the bridge with coil tap, and a jazz pickup in the neck. You pretty much can't go wrong there.

If you want good pickups (Bass or guitar) on the cheap, check out www.billlawrence.com. I can only speak for their guitar pickups, but the L-500XL is one killer humbucker, and it'd be safe to assume all their pickups are going to sound great. Now, for bass, it's hard to beat anything Bartolini makes, but they can be on the pricey side.

As for neck width, etc., check out www.warmoth.com. They'll have all the info you want, as well as parts for sale if you need to ease the burden of building a neck your first time around.

[ddv]

thanks yea for the bass i'll choose between a jazz+precision or jazz+musicman. I'll give billlawrence a look though a bit later. My friend recommended some dimarzios.

Mmm i've heard of teh L-500xl before so i'll look into that.

I'll have to check out what the coil tap bit is about i know its electronics and i've seen some topics on it.

No worries about the neck. Built a dreadnought and currently working on a harp guitar so i think i got the neck and fretboard covered .

any ideas for the electric. Thanks for ur tips on the bass

[Primal]

Coil tapping is merely taking a humbucker pickup and "tapping" one of the coils, cutting the other coil out of the circuit. Basically turns a humbucker into a single coil.

[SwedishLuthier]

I've gotten great versatility out of my EMG P-J set in my current bass,

I second that. Two basses with EMG P/J combination and both have killer sound. A tip is to put in two batteries to boost the voltage up to 18V. Great difference in dynamic response and sound.

For a guitar I have a personal favourite. P-90!!! The punchiest and fattest single coil ever made. The drawback is that some people think that they sound a little “compressed”.

But what are you looking for sound wise. If you explain your ideal guitar sound, or your guitar hero or something like that it would be easier to help.

If you are on a budget I would recommend wounding your own pickups. It can be done with a simple hand help power drill. Heck, there’s even a thread somewhere on PG that shows a LEGO pickup winder that apparently works fine. Material for a single coil will cost you 11 bucks, HB kits will cost you 22 and the parts (no kit available) for a P-90 will be like 27. You will have to add 25 for wire but that will add up to 58 bucks for a complete Strat set, 69 for two HBs and 71 (I know how to count. Some of the material are enough for two pickups) for a couple of P-90s. As cheap as they come.