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Bass Arrived from the Rondoni factory on the 13th.
Complete Disassembly: done as of 10-14-08 - 2:30AM.
Body: Swapped this used body for a brandy new one.
Bodywork: Control cavity was ground out for the larger CTS tone pot and added two extra pickguard holes at control area.
Body Finish: 3-Tone Sunburst. Polished, waxed and buffed.
Pickguard: Black.
Enlarged control pot holes and added two extra pickguard holes at control area.
Bridge: Replacing SX with Leo Quan Badass II bridge: ordered: 9-29-08
Received on 10-1-08 but they delivered with unslotted saddles.
Contacted my source to order slotted saddles - NFG ~ will hafta file slots.
Installed Badass - still needs slotting after calculating string spacing.
10-31-08: Bridge slotted and strings installed showing alignment relationships.
Strap Locks: Schaller chrome - Ordered 9-29-08. Arrived 10-02-08
Install with rubber grommets as none arrived with the schallers.
Neck: 10-06-08: Taped off neck, set neck into jig, straightened (level) via truss rod, found 8 frets high in different locations along the board (not bad - a few thousandths on three were the worst), leveled using 14° radius block, recrowned frets and dressed ends, radiused board edge 1/16", polished frets with 800 & 1000 grit sandpaper, polished frets . . . both necks are done up to this point.
Still need to condition board, degloss neck back, seal with wax and buff upon final assembly (after nut work & headstock painting).
Found screwed up trussrod nut. Pulled out of job after fretwork~!
Ordered new SPB neck. It arrived 10-20-08.
Rondo sent the WRONG neck~!
The neck Rondo sent is thinner than a Jazz neck. The headstock is a half-inch shorter and smaller overall. It's unfinished. The heal is 1/16" too small.
The SPB neck I ordered is here: http://www.rondomusic.com/spbneck.html
A correct SPB neck at nut: 1.90" wide - the SJUNK neck is 1.675"
A correct SPB neck thickness: .955" - the SJUNK neck is .820" thick at nut
A correct SPB neck heal is 2.545" - the SJUNK neck heal is 2.525" and is sloppy.
Here's some pics: all are with nuts lined up: 1 -|- 2 -|- 3 -|- 4
I have an idea that needs your decision . . .
What IF we swap this new neck and install your other SPB neck that's already finished? The color-tone matches this body's finish. Then I can finish the entire new neck, including the fingerboard, in a black ebony stain and then clear it. The black P-bass will be totally black, except for the chrome of course, with an added bonus of it having a lighter (smaller) headstock. Gotta make something work here.
If this idea doesn't fly I'll have to return/exchange this for the correct SBP neck.
Here's where we are as I wait on your decision. P Neck installed on the SPJ.
10-26-08: While waiting on whether Rondo would send another neck, I discovered late in the day that they decided to refund the money for the neck rather than provide the correct neck I ordered last week. So it's back to the neck that had the buggered truss rod hole, which is now fixed but needs to be painted.
Headstock: Painted face black. Needs color sanding, 2nd coat black, clear, etc.
10-25-08: Major mishap: after the 2nd black coat was applied I left the paint room for a short break. Upon my return the heat lamp had pivoted on its arm to lower itself too close to the fresh paint and it bubbled and I freaked. I tried to scrape the damaged wet paint from the surface but it was semi-dry so I had to sand it smooth and start from scratch~! I swear this 3TS job is cursed~!
10-26-08: Here's a picture of the headstock after repainting and color-sanding.
10-27-08: Here's a the headstock after painting, polishing and tuners installed.
It looks like shit because of the fingerprints. It's fresh wax and needs buffing.
String Nut: SX plastic nut was replaced with Corian. The corian nut is actually a lot more work than normally spent on, let's say a bone nut, where bone nut blanks can be had pre-sized to the neck slot. The first step was to rough cut the corian block to slightly larger than the slot so it could be sanded and polished into dimension. This is done by hand and took about an hour to get the oversized nut blank. Then the sized nut blank it put into the neck slot and a flattened pencil is used to mark where the height of the first two frets are in relation to where the bottom of each string will rest.
After marking with the pencil, the top has to be cut down to size and preliminarily sanded to shape, prior to filing the slots. Note the different sizes of nuts. After preliminary sizing the standard p nut was put beside the corian nut and scribed to mark the centers of each nut slot to be filed. Here's a photo of the first pass of filing to the corian nut. Here's a photo of the sanding process after prelimninary filing, using sanderpapers up to 1000 grit.
Th nut is then put back into the slot and checked for slot depth. The finished nut slot depth is done after strings are attached and in correlation with the setup.
Strings: D'Addario EXL220 Super Light Strings 40-60-75-95: ordered 9-29-08
Scheduled delivery date: 10-06-2008 . . . Strings arrived 10-06-08
Tuners: SX chrome machines have been disassembled and teflon shims will be installed (if necessary), then waxed and buffed prior to reassembly.
Full Setup includes installation of strings, adjustments of neck relief, tuning, string height, intonation, and pickup height for maximum output. Also included is cleaning, sealing, polishing, buffing, and tuner lubrication. Low action.
Electronics: Passive. Wired the control assembly according to Hot Rod PJ Wiring.
Added electrical tape to the control cavity walls to help prevent shorts to ground.
Pickups: Added pads to the SX P-bass Pickup and SX Jazz Bridge Pickup.
Medium density foam pads added to the base of a pickup adds stability while still maintaining adjustabilty in any position. Installed pickups and pickguard assembly.
Controls: V-V-T. Replaced SX control pots with CTS brand pots, Orange Drop cap and a Switchcraft jack. Control cavity was ground out for the larger CTS tone pot.
Drilled out the control knobs to 1/4" for CTS solid shaft and installed.
Cavities: Layed out and ground out tone pot area for larger diameter CTS pot.
Applied copper foil shielding and soldered edges.
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Parts Checklist
 SX SPJ-62 Body
Front -|- Rear
 • Received 10-13-08
• Finish: 3-Tone Sunburst
• Chrome Badass II Bridge
• File Saddle Slots
• Black Pickguard
• Chrome PG Screws
• Chrome Strap Locks
SX SPB P-Bass Neck
• SX SPB Fretted Neck
• Partial Fretjob, Crown
• Corian Nut Job
• Chrome Tuning Machines
• Chrome Tuner Screws
• Chrome String Guide
• D'Addario Bass Strings
Electronics
• Copper Foil Shielding
• SX P&J Bass Pickups
• Pickup Rubber Pads
• Chrome Pickup Screws
• Hot Rod PJ Wiring
• Buzzard's PJ Wiring
• Chrome Control Knobs
• Drill Knobs 1/4"
Shipping-Receiving:
Rondo to me: Due 10-01
Bass arrived 4PM
Shipped to:
Gilbert, AZ 85297
November 3rd, 2008
UPS Tracking
1Z5AR1360310327264
Scheduled Delivery Date:
11-10-2008
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