B
“B” is the most derivative model and my nod to the more traditional player. It used to be called “Q” (like in “one better than P”) but I want to avoid any unwarranted associations. The letter B is, at face value, a slightly more elaborate version of the letter P and of course simply means “better” 😉.
While the body outline is basically identical to one of the most iconic basses the body itself is heavily contoured and, like all of my builds, on the thinner side (38 mm thickness or less). The headstock is a reverse modification of a Stingray.
It all started with the prototype.
B prototype
Really only a little fun project to try a few different things.
For example a 2-piece (!!) maple neck with about the dimensions of a 4 string neck.
2-piece northern ash body, fairly heavily contoured, only 32 mm thick and stained with a coloured finish.
2 reverse Bartolini P pickups (one in the P position, one in the Stingray position) with a 3-way mini for neck/both/bridge, and simple vol and tone pots.
Blue back cover (because I could).
You get the idea. And I got some valuable experience that came in handy for the two somewhat more “professional” examples below.
Medium scale B
A slightly different beast. First off it’s a 32” scale with 24 frets. And the upper horn is as close as I’ll ever get to a single cut design.
The mechanics of it are reasonably straightforward: 4 string, 3-piece neck (maple and purpleheart) with purpleheart fretboard, walnut body with quilted maple top, Hipshot hardware and Osmo Polyx 3032 finish.
Electronics are a little more interesting. Delano SBC 4 HE/S-4 and Delano MC 4 HE/M2 pickups, each with series/single coil/parallel switch, and a 4-way rotary for neck/both series/both parallel/bridge - so many tonal options even before you start using the Nordstrand 3b-3 preamp.
“How far can we push it?” B
In this case “B” can also mean “blonde”.
If you want a bass with a P pickup and another pickup then this is the right combo: an MM-style humbucker rather than a J-type single coil.
Again fairly straightforward mechanics: 35” scale, 24 fret 3-piece maple neck, birdseye maple board, northern ash body with spalted maple top, Hipshot hardware and Osmo Polyx 3032 finish.
Electronics are a reverse Delano PC 5 HE (in the scale-corrected P position) and a Delano MC 5 HE/S (in the scale-corrected position of a G&L bridge pickup so about 25 mm closer to the bridge than a MM humbucker would be) which can be switched series/single coil/parallel. A 4-way rotary gives the options of neck only/both series/both parallel/bridge only. And again a Nordstrand 3b-3 preamp gives plenty of options to shape the final tone.