'Frankenstein' Bass

The Remaking of a Historically Significant Bass

This is the story of the remaking of a bass guitar to be played at a gig, where the original had been sold on many years previously. The brief appeared straightforward, but in the world of the luthier not everything is as straightforward as it seems.

The Frankenstein was commissioned by Youth, world renowned producer and bassist with Killing Joke. It was needed in time for a performance on 12th March 2023,at the Royal Albert Hall, London, when Killing Joke performed Follow The Leaders, a very special UK show where they performed their first two albums in their entirety.

A Frankenstein bass, comprising of a P bass body and a fretless Jazz bass neck is, on the surface of it, pretty straightforward. However, in the 40 years or so since the original was put together some things have changed. Although a fretless Jazz Bass neck is available from Fender as a replacement part these are not the same as they once were, requiring modification. The fingerboards being made of a different wood and there being no dots, being just a couple of things to consider.

The available body options led to a significant issue. The original wood wasn't available in a standard off the shelf body and it was necessary to make one from scratch. Although this isn't particularly difficult in the world of lutherie there are the additional factors of time and cost.

A visit to our secret timber merchant secured the wood required, though this looked far different in the timber merchant's yard than the finished piece would look.

The pickups for this bass were made to order, with the requirements briefed over the phone. It pays to have a good relationship with your bespoke pickup manufacturer.