A different Les Paul Bass...

[Basvarken]

Okay.
Ahum.

I have a confession to make.

It is brand-new. 
This weekend I put the last details in place.

http://www.enkoo.nl/lespaulbass2015.html

About three and a half years ago, I bought a project off Bill aka Sniper.
He had mentioned it in a thread about the Lo-Z pickups
It was a crudely cut out body of pine wood with Gibson Les Paul Recording Guitar pickups and electronics. At the time I had no idea what to do with it. But I knew it would come in handy some day. So I put it under lock and key in the attic.

When I finished my fretless acoustic bass build about a year ago, I started a new project. I was going to build my own Gibson Les Paul Recording Bass. A "missing link". My goal was to make it as genuine looking as possible. So I tried to do it exactly the way Gibson built their Les Paul Bass 45 years ago.
I made the neck out of three pieces of mahogany.
The body is made out of two thick pieces of mahogany with a layer of thick veneer in between.
The neck joint is a deep joint.
And the logo plus crown were laid in slightly oversized and covered with masking foil before I sprayed the face black.
For the serial number I bought a set up punch letters and figures. But these didn't look right. So I did it by hand with a nail. The serial number is my birthdate. 682807. I was born 28th of july in 1968 ;-)



The machine heads are genuine Gibson Schallers. But I didn't buy the ones with the round backplate because they were ridiculously expensive.
To secure the pots I had to improvise a little. Gibson used some sort of deep nut to fixate them. I found out the bushings of Schaller M4 have the exact same size, except they're too tall. Fellow outposter Terry aka 66 Atlas was so kind to send me a set for free!  I sawed them to the right length and it works like a charm!
For the top nut I went to the butcher's. I cooked the bone and made a lovely soup. After that I sawed and sanded my own top nut ;-)
The felt mute device is originally from my own Les Paul Bass. I took it off fifteen years ago because I wanted lower action on the (real) Les Paul Bass. My own build has just enough room to allow for the mute. It looks right in place!
The bridge was scored off Ebay. But I had to do something about the studs as they were chewed up severely. I nice guy in The Netherlands tooled me a new set. He made them slightly larger to make them a more tight fit.

The whole build did not take a whole year. I had to put it away a few times, because I was too busy with my day job. But during the holiday season I decided to take it up and get it done. Driving my family crazy with all the rattle cans in the shed (where all the bicycles are too, haha!)


I'm taking it to rehearsal tonight 

[Pilgrim]

We have a master of stealth among us!

[gearHed289]

Gorgeous piece of work man!

[Granny Gremlin]

You are a master scoundrel, my friend!

[OldManC]

This late twist makes the whole thing even more cool in my book. You are a true artist, Rob. Beautiful work and an excellent addition to your herd.

[Aussie Mark]

That's awesome work, Rob!

[Basvarken]

Took it to rehearsal tonight. It is almost scary how at home I feel on this bass. It is barely two days old, but it feels like I've been playing it for years.
I had of course hoped for a familiar feel, since it is a 1:1 copy of my (genuine) Gibson Les Paul bass. But still. Very weird sensation to play this bass that was not yet a bass a week ago

The sound is quite similar to the Les Paul Bass and Triumph of course. But yet there are differences. The lows are not as deep. The sound of the humbuckers is more in the Thunderbird territory. More low mid growl. Very articulate in the band. Very usable!
The bridge pickup soloed has a nice full sound with a surprising amount of low end.
The neck pickup on its own is even more P-bass-ish than the neck pickup of a Les Paul Bass (or Les Paul Signature)

The somewhat sharp edges that could make the bass sound very HiFi can easily be cut off with the decade.
With the decade in the 0-position it is clear and bright enough for my taste.

The E string holds up perfectly. But when I tune down to Drop D it lacks bottom end. The real Les Paul Bass has no problems there.


All in all I am very very happy with this bass. I can see myself using it a lot on stage and in recording sessions.

[Highlander]

Stunner...!

[Rob]

Nice work Rob!
I want to hear more about the nail being used.

[Grog]

Great story! This is only the first chapter.................. Nice work!

[lowend1]

Lovely work, Rob.
It's amazing how much patience we have among the membership. I wish I could say that I was similarly inclined.
Just that bit about making the serial number with a nail damn near gave me a seizure.

[Nocturnal]

Great work Rob! The bass looks fantastic!!

[Dave W]

Wow. Great work, and great job documenting the build. You can be rightfully proud.

[Chris P.]

Do you have enough hi res pics for an article in a certain mag, Rob? 

[Stjofön Big]

Great work, Rob! I'm impressed. And what a surprise the whole project turned out to be, for the rest of us!