Jabba_the_gut

Great photo for this... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jaydee-Celeste-5-String-Bass-Guitar/292480763320?hash=item44193645b8:g:ZBUAAOSwHG9aprWk

You could buy them all and build a 4 x 21 cab rated at 6000w....

https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-bass-amplifiers/phil-jones-bass-double-four-bass-amplifier-/1289234830 And they've got some other nice things

Angry Birds?

Damn snow!! Kids off school so chances of getting everything I wanted to get done on this today is looking slim. Damn snow!!

Cheers Andy. I'm quite pleased with it - does the job and is quite tidy ( even though it won't be seen!). Yep, just self adhesive sheet. You can get this stuff off eBay and it comes in normal and thick sheets; I prefer the thicker stuff as I find it nicer to work with. Cheers

Cheers for all the comments. Progress on this has been slow recently - between work and the garage being so cold getting some of the remaining jobs done is taking a while!! The fretboard had been radiused and the frets have been installed. I filled the gaps at the end of the fret slots with the sanding dust from the fretboard and some epoxy and I've started dressing the fret ends but this isn't finished yet. I've also shielded the control cavity and soldered the pots and jack; the pickup is yet to be installed. I made battery holder for the cavity and fitted this with a couple of screws - I'm quite pleased how this has turned out. I've also fitted the string anchors which was one of the last fiddly jobs. Hopefully I'll get to do some more work on it next Friday - I'd like to get it assembled and check the neck angles etc. before I complete the finish. Cheers Jez

I'll be being a TC RS112 if there is a 1 x 12 shootout.

Hi Andy. Yep, quite bold finishes on those two pictures. Just posted them as examples that don't have mirror finishes but still look great. The ash body I have had is just treated with three costs of oil - nice an easy! I was just lucky how the two halves lined up! Cheers

https://www.flightcasefittings.co.uk/flightcase-hardware-extrusions/flightcase-hardware-plastic-extrusions.html

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Eagle-Altai-Black-Plastic-Edging-Extrusion-50mm-x-50mm-1M-Length/311754883789?epid=1405254945&hash=item48960a02cd:g:m~oAAOSwImRYRu38

Maplin do plastic strip if that is any good https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/1m-plastic-extrusion-wide-l38aa

I also think ash looks lovely without grain filling - depends on what look you want. I've just finished an ash body with oil without grain filling and I'm really pleased how it looks (it's in my build diary on here). Personally, I'm not keen on the red body/white pick guard combo but that's because I had an old Encore that colour and I hated it and it looked like it belonged in 'The Shadows' - just my personal taste!!! I do like these colour schemes on bodies with coarse grain where they are sprayed one colour then sprayed another colour. They are then sanded back so the bulk of the body is the first colour and the recessed parts of the grain hold the second colour. Can look nice if the right colours are used. This sort of idea (couple of random web photos): The ash body you have in your kit has a lovely grain to it - would be nice to show it off either natural or a semi transparent finish. I'll be interested to see what you choose! All the best Jez

It's not all bad.......er, okay it is. Very bad. The only thing that pleases me about it is that I don't own it!

That’s really nice walnut. I’ve got one of those bridges knocking around - this has give me ideas!!

Ha ha! The funny thing being that was a lucky accident! Er, I mean I carefully selected the two pieces and precisely aligned the grain.....

I have also completed the final sanding of the body and have started apply the oil finish. Really pleased how this is looking - the ash takes the oil really nicely. I do like the grain on this wood and the way it almost matches where the two halves are joined down the middle of the body.

So I had great plans to do lots of jobs on this but for one reason and another it hasn't happened as quickly as I hoped. But I have got a few things done. 1. I've fitted side dots to neck. I find this much easier to do before radiusing the fretboard and shaping the neck as there is a nice square edge to work to. Here's the neck marked up for drilling (the neck in the background is the one off the semi hollow bass I built recently which is the same shape as this one). 2. Once the dots were fitted I started shaping the neck. I use a small sanding drum to shape close to the heel and head then use a rasp to shape the actual neck. To me, this is the time consuming bit as it needs to be right. Take a little off, check the profile, check everything is cutting straight and repeat. Lots of times...... 3. Once the neck was pretty much there I sanded the fretboard radius. Again, just a sanding block and patience!!

Here's a few pictures of a neck template I made: First, I used a couple of straight strips of wood running tight down the side of the neck. These could be checked against the centre line of the bass. These bits of wood are typically about 6mm thick then pinned to the mdf with panel pins A second row of wood was added but just to keep the router bass level when cutting the pocket in the template. Another piece of wood pinned in place to mark the end of the pocket (and a second short piece again to keep the router level) Then use the router with a bit like this one below to cut out the neck pocket from the template. This will give you a template a bit like this for cutting the actual pocket on the bass. Hope this makes sense! If not, drop me a message and I'll explain further. Cheers

And welcome HazzasDad! You can buy templates from places like StewMac for pockets and pickups. You can find small differences in dimensions in different brands of pickups (in my experience mainly around P pickup mounting lugs) and always watch out with J pickups as there are two lengths (one for bridge and one for neck). I've always made my own templates from MDF (6 or 9mm) for most things. MDF is pretty good for running the bearing on a router cutter against. I did take some pictures once of a making a neck pocket template - I'll dig them out and post them on here. Usual story is to make sure you have some scrap to practice on before you commit to the actual job!! Out of interest, where are you located? You might find that one of us is local which might be useful. Cheers

Welcome to the build diaries!! If you're trying to do this on a budget, I'd concentrate your funds on making it as playable as possible and get the best neck you can (I'm assuming you're buying a neck rather thanking one). You can always upgrade the pickup later. If the bass doesn't play right, you won't pick it up. I made a bass from wood from an old front door for the body I picked up from Freecycle (the build diary is on here) which kept costs down. That bass uses a second hand p pickup off eBay that was from a MIM Fender (the ad said...) for £10 and it sounds really good! Good luck and keep posting your progress!

You see, there are some people who shouldn't be allowed near technology!! Bloody predictive thing.... Mind you, I was writing some test document at work for a 'shut down' but 'u' and 'i' are right next to each other in the keyboard and the spell checker didn't see any errors....

It's been a couple of weeks busy with work and work related things but I have many to get a few things done. I've made a control cavity cover (I made two but didn't completely like the train on the first one when I tried it so I made another!!), I've suspected back of the neck and heel and I've started sanding on the body. I'll stick a few pictures up later in the week for anyone interested and hopefully I'll get to radius they fretboard and fit some frets this week!! Planning on having this bass finished for the bass bashes in April and May. Cheers

The heel of necks may vary from being square to rounded and there could well be a couple of mm difference in width. Sanding out a neck pocket might not be quite as easy as you think if you want to keep the sides square and maintain the centre line of the neck. Generally a router and a template would be used to cut a neck pocket to ensure these stay true. If you are local to me (Gloucestershire) give me a shout and I'll happily help you out with this. Cheers Jez