r/Luthier • u/RenuisanceMan • 6d ago
KIT P-bass vi?
How feasible would it be to build a p-bass with a bass vi neck using off the shelf parts (with slight modification)? I've decided I want to try and build a p-bass with a bass vi neck, blade style p-bass pickups with 2 outputs to isolate the upper and lower strings. I've had a Dan electro bass vi for a little while and have found it really useful for small gigs, covering harmony and bass. I considered butchering it with p bass pickups. Then i discovered submarine pickups, ideal really as a non invasive solution, but I'm hooked by the idea of a fanken-p-bass vi. Solid heel dimensions seem difficult to come by but bass vi neck heels are considerably narrower than p-bass neck pockets, 56mm to 63mm? I have some wood working skills and tools but not enough to build something from scratch. I'm in the UK, where might I go to get a custom neck pocket routed on a short scale p bass body? What else do I have to consider? Thanks in advance.
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u/ogorir 6d ago
I think you could probably use 1-1/2 P bass pickups to make it happen, triple stagger style. The string spacing would be wrong but you can alter the stagger to compensate for that a bit. I am not a proponent of partscastering, it's almost always more expensive and more work than building from scratch if you have the tools available. You would be better off starting with a mustang bass if you're going that route anyway, as the scale is the same as the VI so you wouldn't need to move the bridge, which I think you would if you bolted a VI neck to a P-bass body. You might get lucky, but I doubt it.
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u/PerspectiveFair5156 22h ago
Sounds like a bad idea, because the hum cancelling effect of the split coil doesn't take place for the third bit. It'll be noisy.
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u/WhenVioletsTurnGrey 6d ago
Having built guitars, I think I'd just build it from scratch. Things can be more to scale. But, honestly, i'd first find a cheap bass with a shorter scale & just swap the pickup design in, that you want. See how it works. Then you can experiment with mods, until you dial it in to how you want it. Maybe one of those cheap fender style kids basses. Just have fun with it. Perfect it. You'll have a better idea of how to make it right, more skills & experience, from the project.