Jabba_the_gut

That tempted fate didn't it?!!! Not entirely sure how, but the chuck must have not been tight enough and router bit moved out putting a hole in the back of the neck. Time to build another neck...... I actually needed to build another two necks for another project so I've started making them all at the same time. After thicknessing all the neck blanks I used a bandsaw to cut the angle for the scarf joint. After lots of very tedious sanding (I really must build a jig to make this easier and quicker) I ended up with these: It pays to take time and get this right as it makes for a nice, tight joint. These are the three necks prior to gluing: The worst thing about wrecking the original neck is that I need to make new veneers for the headstock. I bought some ash veneer from different places but it just didn't match to my satisfaction so I made some by cutting thin slices from the offcuts from the body then sanding to thickness. That took ages the first time and now I've got to repeat it!! Oh well, it will be worth it in the end. Cheers

I fitted this Delano pickup in a mini bass for @owen recently and I like that the two halve are the same size (they're the same size as a standard P if I remember right). Satisfies my OCD for things being balanced/in line, etc.!!!

I'll definitely have one complete and hopefully the second one too. I will be bringing along some mini basses as well. Really looking forward to this bash and catching up with everyone again. Cheers

Really liking this build - it is looking superb. Crikey - had forgotten about that book from my uni days too!

I'll have a look where I got mine from (on the burgundy SUB5). It would have been off eBay - just need to make sure you get ones with the right hole locations. I made a template to trim the pickup with a router and used this for both mine and Owens scratchplate. Cheers

I like the white one - looks really nice. If you're thinking of other options I think a white pearloid or a dark blue pearloid might work quite well. Love the blue finish on this.

Oooh!!! That is very sparkly nice...

Excellent. I’ll have a look at that later - much appreciated.

Marvellous!!

Very nice!

Yep, fitted the pickup but haven't had time to try it out properly yet. One thing I have determined though is the 4 way switch idea didn't work, I wasn't sure what it would do but the two single coils settings are just too quiet and thin sounding. I think I'll replace the switch with a 2 way version for series / parallel only but I'm also considering just wiring it permanently one way or the other. I'll have some time at the weekend to try it out further and then decide. I bought a blank Tele control plate anticipating that I might want to change the controls for this or if I decide the pickup is too dull / too bassy that it would allow an additional control for a second pickup. Cheers

I looked on the web too but couldn't find anything either. I was looking for something like this that you get for EMG pickups - I guess the Fishman ones won't be too far different. Look forward to seeing this bass complete. Cheers

Yaay! Looking forward to this

That is looking lovely - beautiful contrasting woods. Quick technical question with regards to the pickups, what is the layout of the sensing area? Just wondering as the B string is closer to the edge of the pickup than the G. I couldn't find anything online that showed the layout and I'm curious as these pickups look interesting as an alternative to other soapbars. Cheers

The pickup is back from being sorted so will hopefully get that fitted and tried out today. I really hope it has fixed the issue of the string balance.

The plan for this one is to be B-G (can always change that later). The low B should be okay for this and it has been done by others before. I'll let you know how it goes with this particular one!! I am building a 27" 5 string as well but the plan for that is to go E-C. I do have a low B for it and will try that when it's built out of interest.

I've been accumulating bits and pieces over the past couple of years and I'm getting to a point where an idea is emerging... This build will be a bit later in the years as I've got a couple of others to do first but the plan is for the following: 5 string Headless Delano xtender pickups East/ACG EQ02 filter preamp Series/parallel switching on pickups Poplar burl top Maple or swamp ash body (tbd) Ebony fretboard Neck (tbd) To be continued.....

I've just started what will be the slowest build ever. So slow it won't be complete in my lifetime. It will have a one piece sycamore body and a neck from the same tree. Here it is so far:

That’s on the job list. I’m just sorting a logo that can be made on a slide transfer to be lacquered over.

The control cavity was shielded with copper tape so that's done. Next was the wiring. The original plan was to have two knobs that do nothing and the other two to be passive volume and tone but I thought it might be an idea to see if the original preamp would work with a magnetic pickup instead of the original piezo. I've seen some preamps whose input is suitable for use with either but I have no details of this one so it was a question of just 'giving it a go'. And it does work, surprisingly well too. I'll chat with Owen to see how he would like it but it had to be tried as it was so simple to refit!!! Recessing the bridge has worked quite nicely - the strings can now go that little bit lower which makes quite a difference to how it feels.

The strings seemed a little high with the bridge at the lowest so I decided to recess the bridge a couple of mm into the body. That should allow a little bit of adjustment. That's the woodwork done. Next job is to shield the control cavity then sort the electrics.

Looking good. Be interested to see what you think of those Fishman pickups. Cheers

After the bridge and machine heads were fitted this little bass found its way to me along with some nice Delano parts. The plan was to fit a 5 string Xtender pickup and a Sonar preamp. After a little bit of looking it become clear that this little bass was just too little for the pickup - there was no way to fit it (even if you angled it) and avoid the battery or control cavity. The bass is very small and the pickup very big!! So a new plan was hatched and Owen opted to try a Delano P pickup as this could be fitted so the mounting lug ended up between the two cavities and one was available with a suitable string spacing (according to my measurements). With the bass being so small there isn't any option regarding placement - it just has to go where it fits!! This is the back of the bass to show where the treble side pickup lug would end up. As I say, not too much room for choice!! I made a test MDF template for this and then made a proper template after adjusting it slightly. After measuring, measuring again and measuring yet again it was time to make some sawdust. First off, removing the bulk of the wood before getting the router out. I used a couple of different sized router bits - a larger profiler first to do the bulk of the work, then a small profiler to get a small radius for the pickup corners. I used a few bits of string just to confirm the positioning is okay for the pole pieces. Still got a few things to do, but it's getting there!

I'll be looking forward to see how the finish on this turns out. I've modified a standard MM style 4 string scratchplate for Owen so it will fit this 5 string using the template I'd made when I did the same thing to my own bass. Much cheaper than trying to source a 5 string one!

Had a chat with House of Tone today and they are going to sort this pickup so with a bit of luck it should be back mid next week to refit. And I'm looking forward to that!