How to rout a Jazz Bass pickup cavity with templates
V-2262
For clean Jazz Bass® pickup cavities, Erick Coleman uses StewMac's two-part templates. The first step creates the mounting holes and corners, the second step routs the pocket for a factory-clean installation.
Video Transcription
[on-screen text reads: J-Bass Pickup Routing Templates]
Erick Coleman: For routing jazz bass pickups, we use two templates. One is a drill jig that gets your corners and mounting holes, and the other is a routing template for the cavity itself. Use Double Stick Tape to attach the template to the body. Make sure to press it down really hard because you don't want that template to move.
Drill the mounting and corner holes
The four larger holes on the outside are for the tight corners of the pickup rout. The four smaller holes are for the mounting screws for the pickups. Drill the mounting holes and the corner holes, removing your chips frequently.
Rout the pickup cavity
There are two indexing pins included with the set. Install those into opposing corner holes and then use them to line up the cavity template for an accurate rout. Rout the cavity in two passes that are three eighths of an inch deep, for a total cavity depth of three quarters of an inch. There's a little bit of wood left where the drill bit and the router bit don't overlap. You use a sharp chisel to get in there and remove that. Here we go. That's a nice fitting rout.
