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Over time I've been watching and feeling my jazz bass mature. As a novice player, slowly accumulating knowledge experience and muscle memory, I'm began to realise that I could make some improvements to my home made instrument. Aside from cosmetics which I have addressed during the upgrade, I decided to improve the electronics. I did a great deal of reading on the subject and there is much to learn. The potentiometers that came with the basic parts kit for my bass build were of the cheapest quality. They are 250k mini pots marked with the letters CF. I eventually settled on Bourn branded pots. These are logarithmic, good quality, 25 mm diameter, carbon disc units which are of a medium price range at $6.80 each from RS Electronics. The other upgrade I decided on was the replacement of the tone capacitor. It seems that this capacitor is a very important item when it comes to sound quality from your electric bass guitar. It has something to do with the way in which the signal frequency from the pickups gets carried to earth as the tone pot is rotated. The capacitor that I chose is a Russian made, bipolar, .047uf, 100 volt, paper in oil which are manufactured for military use. These are supplied by The Tone Lounge an online guitar spares company at $12.99.
The last two weeks of spare time was spent repainting and upgrading my instrument. I favour the 1960's look Fender Jazz which featured a painted headstock. Mine is painted in Sea foam green, a classic '50's and 60's colour, popular on cars and decore from that era, when I was an impressionable child, it's still my favourite colour. the NZ colour equivalent is Vista Blue by Resene Paints. I chose a semigloss acrylic enamel which I rolled on and then sanded back with 1200 wet and dry abrasive paper. lastly I applied 2 coats of Dulux, rattle can, semigloss clear.
I've designed a new logo transfer as well which has gone on to the headstock. It has received the same coat of clear before I fitted the machine heads, restrung and then lastly, the final set up, string height and intonation. Fun project!
