Leaderboard

Well, a lot of set up still to do and a few remaining jobs, but we actually have a playing bass! First job was cutting the new nut from the Graphtech Black Tusq XL blank: Then a look at the Wal shim. The neck angle is dependant on the bridge height and I suspect the original Wal bridge sits higher than the new Hipshot because the strings are far too low with not enough saddle adjustment to reach even the minimum action height. It's a funny old business but folks are often very sniffy about shims - 'a decent luthier doesn't need a shim' is an oft stated opinion. Well, you don't get much more decent luthier than Wal and every Wal neck I've ever seen has one of these... And anyway, for starters it had to go. With it planed and scrapered off, I could get to normal action heights, albeit with the saddles adjusted pretty high so I will probably add a slightly thinner one than this to the front edge of the heel so I can drop the adjusters on the saddles a touch...but with is as it is, it plays! And even through my not-a-proper-bass-rig it sounds pretty darned fine So, still to do: - A bit more work on the heel angle to get the action range of the saddles a touch better - final set-up work on the frets - final tidy up of the fretboard, edges rounding, etc - string tree - tidy up the neck bolt recesses - fit the strap buttons

Exciting update time With the top glued up (and with a thin layer of white veneer glued to the back of it), its time to get the body glued together and start doing a bit of shaping! you can probably see from the redwood top and my pencil lines that i was pretty conservative with the jigsaw first time around, so there will be a fair amount of material to remove around the edges. More clamps is best clamps this all went plenty smoothly, and after a few very careful passes with the router: ta da! one body ready to start shaping. im not cutting the neck down to size just yet, mainly because i dont want to put any big nicks in the area around the heel until im sure what im going to be doing with it. there is a lot of material to remove and im really just going to be doing the shaping by eye. no roundover or other router bits used here, just a lot of rasping and sanding. as i start to remove some of the material, you can see the colours that will be on display. redwood, maple, cherry, walnut padauk. The areas where the redwood is missing are where there are going to be some very tricky transitions to carve. its a matter of moving around a lot so that you see the transition from a lot of angles, to make sure the right amount of each colour is exposed. and its the same story on the other side, only moreso. the angles need to be carved so that they not only blend together perfectly, but also catch the light in the right way, tall order. so far, just taking it nice and slow and taking a lot of breaks seems to be working pretty well. this is not going to be a short or easy process! the upper horn is going to resent a bunch of its own challenges. carving this shape isn't all that difficult, but normally you get to sort of "choose" where the high point in the carve is. with this one its defined by where those veneer stripes are, and so again theres a lot of walking around and looking at it from funny angles to ensure the shape and colours are all correct. it might be TMI, but on that workbench with the neck sticking out, its all to easy to get hit in the Junk doing that. at least it makes sure im taking lots of regular breaks! after a couple days of work im starting to get an idea of how i want the shape to end up, and how i want the lines to flow. but its still a long long way off. in the meantime, ive started working on the bridge. one thing i found on the last bass with a bigsby was that in order to accomodate the bigsby and the bridge, the body needed to be unweildingly long. so to address this on this bass ive made a couple of changes. firstly, 26 frets instead of 24, this decreases the space needed between the end of the fretboard and the bridge. secondly, a 33" scale length instead of a full 34. this will also shorten those distances and i find it more comfortable overall. Finally, the use of a much shorter bridge. this reduces the space needed beyond the bottom of the scale length and leaves more space for the bigsby. The only issue is that tune-o-matic bass bridges dont come with low friction saddles, and the string spacing is 19mm, instead of the 18mm i need. so heres the plan: remove the metal saddles and replace them with new, TUSQ graphite saddles. this allows me to have narrower spacing and much lower friction. a single TUSQ nut blank is enough to do all 4. ill be using some brass threaded inserts to keep the intonation adjustable, just as it would be with the standard bridge. The nut was cut into chunks for each saddle, and a hole drilled to accept the insert. the insert is then glued firmly in place with some CA Glue. once all 4 are done, its just a matter of putting them in place and putting the adjustment screws back in. i then used the same 16" radius block to shape the saddles so they will follow the contour of the fretboard perfectly: speaking of the freboard, ive managed to get all the inlays in! These are far from perfect, but im still very pleased with them. if i ever do decide to start doing this semi-pro, i will certainly need more practice before id attempt this on someone elses instrument. and there are the first 24 fret slots! ive got 2 more to do, these were done with a fret slotting jig i treated myself to as an early birthday present. absolutely great piece of kit and fantastically made. GMC luthier tools! and finally for today, the gold screws for the pickup adjustment screws arrived: i like these a LOT more than the black, really makes the pickups stand out a bit. there will be 3 more gold screws holding them in place, and i think im going to buy some gold enamel paint to colour in the little MH logos as well, opinions? too flashy?. and, as ive done a bit of carving and got my nice gold screws, lets have a gratuitous mockup and spread sawdust through the house! its going to be a tight squeeze! but i think ill get it all in. the wires between the batteries and the preamps will just run through the bottom of the lower pickup cavity, and im pretty sure ill need to muck about with the preamp positions a bit. the master volume control will be on the lower horn, so in total 6 knobs and 2 toggle switchs, plus the two 4 way switches on the pickups. if theres one thing i won't be short of, its tone options i hope!!

Having just fitted the bridge to the Wal save, it's fresh in my mind. There are two things that have to be right - the left /right position and the forwards/backwards position For the left /right, my preferred method it to temporarily fit the top and bottom strings, tightened enough for them to be straight and then position the bridge so the strings are equidistant from the fretboard sides and/or in line with (or at least symmetrical to) the pickup poles: Then, for the forward/backward you need to position it with enough saddle movement available to intonate the strings. For this, I do the following: - I check how much adjustment the bridge has (they vary!) from the furthest usable forward position of the saddles to the furthest usable rearward position of the saddles. Ideally, this is at least 5mm. - Generally, the top G intonates at around 1mm longer than scale length and the bottom E (or B on a 5 string) 4 or 5mm longer than scale length. It will NEVER be shorter than scale length - So I wind the G saddle fully forward - I then position the bridge with the G saddle at exactly scale-length, make sure it's square to the centre-line (and double check the above alignment) and mark the screw positions - I then know that all of the other saddles are capable of being adjusted to positions longer than that scale length by up to 5mm and that therefore all strings will be capable of being intonated correctly. -

Looks like there was a discount on pots and switches... 😂

I've just noticed that at almost 17400 views, @Andyjr1515 has already entered the top twenty most viewed build threads on here with this masterpiece! 👌🏼

My great Sandberg Series 1 6 string 1993: 100% original, 100% greatness from the time that Sandberg was focusing on hi quality luthery basses with different designs. (However: consider selling it.)

And the neck is on! The edges of the holes will be tidied up, but everything fits and the neck is on nice and tight. So now I can position the bridge. This needs to be at the correct scale length and also line up with the neck and - preferably - the pickup poles. I threaded a couple of 'test strings' through the back and loosely over the tuners, then positioned at the 1st fret with a capo. This allowed me to position the bridge until it was all lined up and mark the hole positions: So bridge holes drilled and bridge fixed. It's not playable yet because I have to plane off Wal's original neck heel shim to reduce the neck angle a touch - but it all lines up Phew! So tomorrow is about adjusting the neck angle to get the right action range, fitting the string tree and cutting the graphtech nut blank. Then we can see if we can get any sounds from it And then, it's just the final action and intonation set up and strap buttons...and then, unless I've forgotten anything major, it's pretty much done

Well this is the second instrument im building.going ok but still making mistakes.little bit of tear out on the top horn but ill round it off a bit more and shape the lower horn to match.im a fan of kevin ferners instruments so with this one im thinking of adding a pickup at the bridge position.possibly an mm type.also considering a tonestyler.any thoughts?

Talking of lovely pairs ... The SB900’s last partner was more suited in the aesthetic sense (another ‘81 with walnut finish), but it didn’t stick. I’m a sucker for the passive twin pickups and that control set. Ahhh, I love that set up. I appreciated the SB1000, but wow, it’s not my thing. Horses for courses, n that.

I took some better photos today. The fretless is in standard tuning with light strings, flat neck, and very low action. The black fretted one is the demon, tuned down to drop A, heavy strung and set up for a pounding. 1981 Aria SB-900 (factory fretless) 1984 Aria SB Special-II

On the same tack, I also love the RSB Deluxe. RSB Deluxe Sort of the same but different! Aria of late (speak to younger players to confirm) seems to be seen as low budget, which is such a shame as the heritage of Aria was solidly formed from high quality, with a range that many pros would seek out.

A rather nerdy exercise this morning for myself as GAS issues being experienced. Thought I'd save the result here in case it's useful for anyone else. Aimed to get the nut and the bridge at the same level, end line is Series 2 (and GA) body end. Series 2 is at more of an angle in the image, so would be slightly wider ....

Call me Mr Picky, but I think it was Johnny's big brother Billy who was the hero! Ok, moving on... Heroes - Johnny Bowie!!

Loving this so much. It’s a Wal Mk1515 - I’d buy one.

As a fan of the T-40. I know what you mean. I am also a big fan of the SB Special SB Special

Humility.

StewMac website has a calculator for placing the bridge in the right place

This one now resides in Silverfoxnik Towers I'm pleased to say.. Loudest output of any bass I've had and has a really fab range of tones.. I've never particularly been a fan of the phrase 'cuts through the mix', preferring my basses to sit in the mix supporting the song as it were.. But if required, this bass with tone and vol pots fully open, literally light sabres through the mix! 😁

@Fil1ip - lovely looking bass! Came across this review of the 714BS - I presume yours also has the push / pull feature referred to [2.40]? The neck pup sounds grittier than I was expecting [3.50] and really good, although the pull switch sounded a little muffled in his clip. The solo P bass pup at [4.46] has that classic Yammy P bass sound we all love.

I opted for the Pod Go purely because I think it’s more functional for live use with the more foot switchable options. Sure, the Stomp XL is dropping soon, but is suspect it will be quite a bit more costly then either the units you mention. I don’t think the slightly reduced functionality is that much of an issue between the Stomp and Pod, especially for bass and especially live. What it ultimately boils down to is do you really need parallel effects routing? If you do get the Stomp, if not, get the Pod.

Wondering whether to keep it natural or stain darker. Here it is wetted

Just got this Spector Euro4 LE1979! Although normally I don't play standard tuned 4 string basses much but the only one I had so far got quite a lot of playing time lately. It is another Spector, a Euro4 LE1977. I love that bass, the playability, the sound, the quality so I thought about getting its "sister", the other limited edition that commemorates Spector's early day and the releases of the two groundbreaking models, the NS-1 and the NS-2, originally released in 1977 and 1979 (hence the naming of these LE basses) These two limited editions were made in cca 50 pcs each in the Czech Republic and are somewhat rare birds so I'm happy to have both of them. Pretty much what you see is what you get, walnut wings, 3 piece maple neck, rosewood board, DiMarzio P and J pickups and Spector's TonePump electronics. It is a light instrument and has a very sleek feel to it, balances perfectly and sounds immense. The quality is excellent as you can expect from Spector. Now on to the pictures!

2nd coat on body, 4th on neck.

Right Owen. You are off my Christmas card list. Messing up my no new (or used !) gear chasing with fancy bass shop links.

Absolutely amazing. I’m sure you’ve thought of it already, but bigsby tuning stability is often helped/ hindered by the break angle over the saddles... May be a factor to consider when deciding placement of bridge and tailpiece.

I'd like to see the effect put through a high quality amp as well as a more inexpensive amp. And for it not to be a slap-womble-fest, but rather a mix of playing styles. And if possible, added to a pre-recorded band mix, to help hear it in a real setting.

Sad to hear you're not going to church @oldslapper - you do realise of course that most* of the people on this thread will now start earnestly** praying for you? Agree completely on the songwriting front. It's hard work! I have written a few worship songs, but only two were in my view good enough to record. All of the others at some point either fell into clichéd rhyme or phrase, and if I couldn't replace it I ditched the song. They were no worse than things I had sung, but no better. Thankfully I don't earn a living from shifting music, so I didn't have to put them out. *well maybe some. I have no actual idea on the percentage 😇 ** also I have no idea how many people on this thread are called Ernest.

Some lovely videos peeps have posted here, it does my head in how people put these things together. CCW industry is exactly that, it’s no different from mainstream industry, in that it’s about shifting a product and creating a desire for more of the same. I was involved in CCW in the 80’s-90’s and saw a huge change in direction from considered and skilled songwriting, to the emphasis on production, to sell a product. I haven’t been to a church meeting/service for years now, not because of a falling out with anyone, just a shift in my belief system. But I wish church musicians were encouraged to study the great writers like Lennon/McCartney, C Porter, Paul Simon, H Carmichael, etc who could write a song with prosody and arrangement that was challenging for the musician to play, but appealed to the masses who could sing along. Anyway, sorry to derail what is an encouraging thread for church bassists. Ignore me, who? 😊

Some interesting stuff in there, not seen that before. Won’t be long before we see ‘one of the sought after Ash bodied..’ appearing in second hand ads.

So a day with the BB714bs It feels very familiar and very similar to my BB414 which is great. The Neck pick up is very addictive and gives me a great low end. The black nickel hardware is really nice to look at and finishes it off nicely. It came with the original manual, Allen key and gig bag which is nice. Not hearing a massive tonal difference when turning the tone on or off but need to have more time with it. It's a 2008 July made. The colour is amazing 😍.

I learnt with a pick and default to a pick for faster lines or where I want more precise control over the notes. Dunlop 1mm black nylon. Sometimes I'll use the fat end of the pick for a different attack. Increasingly I am using my fingers, especially in my blues band. Often with that 'typewriter' type style for funkier blues. Very occasionally I'll use my thumb. Sometimes my fingernail. Depends largely upon the song.

As a child of 80s rock / alternative, I learnt with a pick because all my heroes did. I learnt finger style early 90s because lots of people.(wrongly) said that was how.to play properly and more recently I have played more pick again. It depends on the style and song, and I am at a loss as to why it continues to be such a contentious subject.

My Arbour Les Paul weighs a ton and sounds amazing. The specs on a Hohner spreadsheet of models online says it’s laminated Baltic Birch. Pretty chunky boards cross laminated as far as I can tell. The pickups aren’t original someone changed them but it’s sounds amazing and plays nice too. most of my guitars get upgraded sooner rather than later but whenever I think about selling the Arbor I have a go of it and decide it sounds too good. The body doesn’t resonate much when you strum it hard so I think the kinetic energy stays more focused? for context I had a loan of a 90s standard sg for a couple of years when I started playing guitar about five years ago so I have been hands on with a great guitar. Usually the guitars I like most resonate like crazy but not the arbor. so I would agree with the comments here stating it’s the construction. I think people think of chipboard when they hear the word ply. I would imagine chipboard makes a fairly poor guitar or bass. Some instruments have mojo and other don’t. The better the manufacturing process the better the guitar usually I’d say from having obsessively bought and sold 40+ cheap and mid priced guitars in the last five years. I have an Vester strat with an Alder body and it’s so good I’d buy pretty much any Vester I could get my hands on but you don’t see them much in Ireland. There’s a nice minty looking Vester jazz bass on Adverts.ie right now if anyone was after one. The wife would hang me if I bought it in the next few weeks.

CCW = mainstream pop for over 30s. There is a reason bands who I would not choose to listen to shift WAY more product than I ever will. I do not doubt that the people who play CCW could rip it up with glee, but it is not that scene. Very few "normal" people want to listen to musicians giving it the max. The Gospel scene is incredibly niche in the way it encourages monster players giving it the max for "normal" people to react to.

Look on my project pink torpedo thread, @Andyjr1515 and @SpondonBassed detail it on there somewhere. You'll have to wade through a fair few random posts to find it though

I must admit to not understanding the average large scale wedding. I guess I am not from that sort of family. Mine was just small, we didn't know that many people and didn't want a big fuss. Went to 3 big weddings in the same year as ours, none of them still married - I don't know if there is a correlation with that, just an observation. I would rather spend a lot less on the wedding and a lot more on the stuff afterwards.

Some will describe this better than me, but... Assuming it is a fretted neck, the distance from the nut to the 12th fret should be equally the distance of the 12th fret to the bridge saddles. The saddles should be in a position(the mid way of travel) so they can be adjusted either towards or backwards, for intonation adjustments. Use string( the E and G) from the machine heads to the bridge to line up the position of the strings. Take your time and carefully think this out. Possibly YouTube has a video?

Control cavity finished. I pre-slotted channels for pickup wire, batter wire and bridge ground before glueing back on.

I decided to do a quick crossover hookup yesterday evening and managed to sort it out in an hour. You'll need three, cheap components, which is just what we wanted. The cab sounds surprisingly good too. More info and measurements to follow.

Time to play a bit of Samsara at high volume