by Forum member westbone on September 05, 2014
Read full Forum discussion here: http://westone.netboarder.com/t5266-good-morning-sunshine-thunder-bass
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I will take a few mm off the neck…more into J bass territory.
Here’s the standard.
The donkey work done. Just finish sanding to do. The Thunder neck width is the same as a ’63 J bass at the 12th fret, give or take, it’s pretty straightforward. Always preferred a Jazz bass neck.
This body is very light also so should make a very playable bass…has some good electrics too.
Here’s an idea of the amount removed.
A hand finished neck.
And fretted.
Still need to rout the J pup cavity but waiting for the new bridge first. Will do a few coats of black tinted lacquer on the wings and then clear all over.
Plenty more sanding still to be done.
A mock up.
Volume, bass/treble boost/cut, pup balance pot.
Jack will be on the side…
A coat of lacquer just to protect it while working on it.
It’s only half finished…there’s no ‘edge’ grain. A subtle black burst is in order.
A few shots in a different light.
Ended up doing the J pup rout freehand.
Finally got around to finishing this one off. Controls are volume, active bass +/-, active treble +/- stacked, pickup balance control. A barrel jack is now mounted on the lower edge.
Sounds fine with flats and is one of the lightest Thunders I’ve had, weighs in at 8lbs. Nice and easy to play with the slimmed down neck.
Here’s a shot with a standard neck for comparison.
