peted Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 (edited) So I've decided to splash out on a custom bass rather than buy another Warwick. Here's the spec: 6 string singlecut 35 / 32" scale fanned frets (parallel fret around 7th fret) jumbo fretwire wenge / maple 7 piece laminated set neck birds-eye maple board no position dots black side dots (to contrast with maple board) dual two way truss rods 4x carbon fibre reinforcement white ash body polyester basecoat black gloss topcoat 2x Emg dc pickups (angled to match bridge) Ramp shuker eq (vol, pan, bass, mid, treble) black hardware (tuning keys angled similar to Warwick, straplocks) Battery compartment accessible without needing screwdriver 17mm string spacing 55mm nut width Volute neck carve behind nut Neck carve: Warwick profile Neck thickness: 21mm at 1st fret, 25.5mm at 12th fret 47" fretboard radius As far as I can tell this will be Jon's first fanned fret bass. I've decided to go with 35" for the B and 32" for the C. After research I've found that Dingwall go 37"-32" for their necks and I think they look a little too 'extreme'. I found Dougals 35.5" scale bass just slightly too difficult to play in the first few frets so daren't go for anything longer than 35" (I like to play one finger per fret). There are a lot of nods towards Warwick design because I'm a Warwick nut if you hadn't noticed. An email from Jon last night stated that he had started on the neck and that I should remind him next week if he hasn't sent me any photos of it. Now the long wait... Edited March 22, 2010 by peted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopthebass Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Sounds interesting. I don't recall seeing a Shuker fanned, so I think you're right, this will be his first. They are surprising easy to adapt to and actually feel comfortable, despite the looks. I'm not sure about angling pickups. I've got EMG DC and CS in my Sirius bass (in my avatar). Great pickups. Remember, we want lots of pics!! Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 Awesome spec dude! I think you're going to be real happy with this, particularly soundwise. When I ordered my Shuker, part of the spec was to match the grunt and punch of my Thumb Bass (which I've since sold), so Jon picked wood and pickups accordingly - White Ash and EMG DCs - it's a stonker of a combo! Is the neck going to be more wenge than maple? Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 [quote name='eude' post='324037' date='Nov 7 2008, 10:23 AM']Is the neck going to be more wenge than maple?[/quote] I have left the wood choices to Jon as he's definitely the expert on this subject! I gave the example of the sound I'm after as a Warwick Thumb and hinted that I've heard good sounds come from Wenge necks. He has agreed, and we're using a Maple/Wenge neck which he already had glued up ready for a 6 string. I have no idea whether it's majority Maple or Wenge. Guess I'll find out when I get the first photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 [quote name='Chopthebass' post='323930' date='Nov 7 2008, 08:14 AM']I'm not sure about angling pickups.[/quote] I asked for Jon's advice on this as I thought it would be better from as aesthetic point of view. My only experience is from the angled pickup in my Thumb BO 4. I just wanted to make sure that pickups didn't have to be wound specially for mounting at an angle. Jon's feeling was that it shouldn't matter too much as long as all the strings are covered by the magnetic field around the pickups. In fact, he said that putting them at an angle would probably be beneficial as the pickup would then be positioned about the same distance along the string from the bridge for each string (given that the bridge will be angled to allow for the different scales). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted November 7, 2008 Share Posted November 7, 2008 [quote name='peted' post='324051' date='Nov 7 2008, 10:38 AM']I have left the wood choices to Jon as he's definitely the expert on this subject! I gave the example of the sound I'm after as a Warwick Thumb and hinted that I've heard good sounds come from Wenge necks. He has agreed, and we're using a Maple/Wenge neck which he already had glued up ready for a 6 string. I have no idea whether it's majority Maple or Wenge. Guess I'll find out when I get the first photos [/quote] Hey man, I went with more maple than wenge, and it certainly gets the sound I want. I still prefer the look of more wenge, but that's purely cosmetic. Went for mahogany/wenge on my coming bass, for a bit of a darker sound. Is the single cut shape being tweaked at all to accommodate the skewed bridge arrangement? Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 [quote name='eude' post='324108' date='Nov 7 2008, 12:02 PM']Is the single cut shape being tweaked at all to accommodate the skewed bridge arrangement?[/quote] In the bass i've got in my head it's not a different shape, but Jon has hinted about a redesign in a previous email. [quote name='Jon Shuker']If I have time I'll draw up the body too which will need to change a bit also.[/quote] I've asked for a drawing of any headstock changes, but looking at his existing design, it really shouldn't need to change much at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha-Dave Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Sounds fascinating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Wow, best of luck. Sounds tremendous. I've not had the joy of playing a fanned fret yet but everyone always says how easy they are. Well, Toasted is always banging on about it, at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Sounds awesome, looking forward to pics of this! Shame tho as Mikey and I thought we were the first people in the UK to be doing a fanned-fret singlecut bass (see linky in my sig...) but this will probably get finished first We've angled the PUps on ours (well, Mikey's design) to match the polepieces and string spacing, plus it follows the fan nicely so looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted November 11, 2008 Author Share Posted November 11, 2008 [quote name='Merton' post='326508' date='Nov 11 2008, 08:54 AM']Sounds awesome, looking forward to pics of this! Shame tho as Mikey and I thought we were the first people in the UK to be doing a fanned-fret singlecut bass (see linky in my sig...) but this will probably get finished first We've angled the PUps on ours (well, Mikey's design) to match the polepieces and string spacing, plus it follows the fan nicely so looks good [/quote] Hi Merton. I did see the thread for your build project - great minds think alike! I think it was seeing your prototype that gave me that final nudge to get this bass made. I'm not convinced that Jon will finish this before you've finished yours though. I'm trying to manage my own expectations regarding timescales here. I haven't asked Jon for an estimate of how long the bass will take as the figures never seem to match reality. Based on the other high profile Shuker builds on here I think it's going to take about 11-12 months. I'm quite happy about that build time as it means I can spread the payments. My manic enthusiasm is starting to subside, thankfully. When I was drawing up the spec with Jon I was thinking about this bass 24/7! Looking forward to seeing your build progress. Cheers buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Let the race begin Glad we were some form of inspiration The specs on yours look really tasty, honestly can't wait to see pics. So I guess around September next year we can arrange another SE Bash and compare....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 We could have a Chelmsford bash and I could bring my 2 Shukers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey R Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 (edited) Spose we'd best get busy then... Looking forward to how yours turns out! I was really impressed with the Shukers I tried on Sunday, yours will be a top bass when its done. Edited November 12, 2008 by Mikey R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Hey Pete!!! Well, this is gonna be one awesome bass!! Your wood/hardware spec is pretty much the same as Doodle, so I can guess what sort of tone you'll be getting - though I suspect the fan fret/scale differences will lend a lot to the tone... but even without the fan fret system.. she's gonna sound awesome!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted November 13, 2008 Author Share Posted November 13, 2008 [quote name='Mike' post='327519' date='Nov 12 2008, 12:49 PM']We could have a Chelmsford bash and I could bring my 2 Shukers [/quote] Would be very interested in hooking up to compare Shukers. I also need someone local to let me know where all the best places are for live music! [quote name='Mikey R' post='327617' date='Nov 12 2008, 02:17 PM']Spose we'd best get busy then... Looking forward to how yours turns out! I was really impressed with the Shukers I tried on Sunday, yours will be a top bass when its done.[/quote] Likewise, I'm relying on watching the progress on yours for inspiration Better get back to practicing my chops so I deserve such an awesome bass! [quote name='dood' post='328109' date='Nov 13 2008, 08:37 AM']Hey Pete!!! Well, this is gonna be one awesome bass!! Your wood/hardware spec is pretty much the same as Doodle, so I can guess what sort of tone you'll be getting - though I suspect the fan fret/scale differences will lend a lot to the tone... but even without the fan fret system.. she's gonna sound awesome!![/quote] The spec did seem to converge with Doodle as we went. I guess it's because you made so many sensible choices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted November 14, 2008 Author Share Posted November 14, 2008 Got my first photo today. The 7 piece wenge and maple neck: [attachment=15988:DSCN5063.jpg] [quote name='eude' post='324037' date='Nov 7 2008, 10:23 AM']Is the neck going to be more wenge than maple?[/quote] That'll be wenge then! w00t!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 [quote name='peted' post='329449' date='Nov 14 2008, 10:34 PM']Got my first photo today. The 7 piece wenge and maple neck: [attachment=15988:DSCN5063.jpg] That'll be wenge then! w00t!![/quote] Very tasty dude! I think I've gone wrong, wrong in my mind tank. I've started reacting to wood like I going to actually eat it!... Better get some breakfast me thinks. Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey R Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Hey, I just re-read the specs, I see you want jumbo fret wire - a lot of the guys in the US who build multiscale instruments use narrow wire, like banjo or mandolin wire. Mert and I are using medium acoustic guitar wire, cos our fan is much less than a novax. The reason is, using wider frets effectively moves the fret in a direction perpendicular to the fret. With parallel frets its all OK, as the direction perpendicular to the frets is all in one direction, towards the bridge, so that the space between them will still be correct. But with non-parallel frets, the distance you will move parallel to the strings will actually depend on the angle of each fret, so the intonation will be subtly incorrect. By using slimmer frets, you minimise this error. I havent done any maths to figure out the error, it may be negligible, but thought I'd say Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Thanks for the heads-up Mikey. As far as I know there hasn't been any further progress on my bass (I think Jon was probably finishing what he could last month before starting on any new basses). I'll ask Jon whether it's worth re-addressing my request for jumbo fretwire - I only requested it because it's what I'm used to with my Warwick, it's not an essential. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stylon Pilson Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Remember that the string doesn't contact with the entire thickness of the fret - just a very thin portion in the middle. I'd be surprised if using jumbo fret wire will cause any intonation problem. S.P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 I've just popped Jon an email asking for his opinion on this. I'll wait to see what I get in reply... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Received a reply from Jon last night saying that the jumbo fretwire shouldn't create an issue for the intonation. Disaster averted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey R Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 [quote name='peted' post='371608' date='Jan 6 2009, 08:16 AM']Received a reply from Jon last night saying that the jumbo fretwire shouldn't create an issue for the intonation. Disaster averted [/quote] Good stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peted Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 (edited) Got a bit too bored today, so decided to try to mock up something similar to what this bass might look like. I used Dan's Doodle as the template photo for this. I couldn't get the pickups to angle and stay as rectangles without making the strings look funny. I also couldn't be doing with trying to convert the image from a 7 string to a 6. It's just a quick hack to try to visualise the kind of thing i've got in my head [attachment=19230:shukersc.jpg] Edited January 26, 2009 by peted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.