Luthiery Laboratories

This started out as a broken Epiphone, one of the very nice Pro models. Turns out the Epi copy was a bit too authentic - it even reproduced the standard Gibson pop-off headstock. I removed the neck, re-finished the stump, routed out a neck pocket, and installed a Fender Mexico Precision neck. The pickups are stock, the active electronics are a replacement as the originals blew up. I also made the pickguard. The high frets are basically inaccessible, but the trade-off is much better balance.

The body wings are mahogany-ish, while the core and original through-neck are maple/walnut.

Epi Pro body & pups, fully active electronics, Mark Hoppus P-neck & tuners. I hacked off the broken T-bird neck and routed a pocket for the Fender. Since the body is oiled wood, the scar was easy to make disappear. For neck mounting, I used ferrules rather than a rectangular plate. The result looks factory. Look at the gorgeous wood grain on this body.

I drilled an extra hole for the classic 3-in-a-row Gibson control layout, with the correct silvertop knobs. It's the little details that really set off a project like this. I filled the extra control holes with output jack & pickup switch. It was a real trick folding all the extra electronics into the tiny shallow Gibson control cavity. The original side jack is now passive output, for a dead battery.

The pickups are EMGs. EMG's designs do not impress me, and I don't care for humbuckers in a bass either, but the factory pickups fill the factory holes perfectly, and they sound good enough. These pickups have a third lead that is coil tap. I left it disconnected. I had the original Epi electronics as well, and they were ok, but I accidentally blew them up, and the replacement is much better anyway.

A Gotoh Fender-style bridge replaces Gibson's atrocious bass bridge. You might also notice the svelt Fender-influenced PG, rather than the ungainly thumb-shaped Gibson.

Sounds great, plays great, as long as you don't want to get at the high frets. Rotosound 66's for 60's vibe. RIP John Entwistle.