Andyjr1515

No problem. Andy

Hi I have fitted 4 string and 6 string versions of the Warwick two-part bridge on scratch built and part built bodies. 4 string version on my own bubinga fretless: And a six string version on @eude 's six string wonder: Whereabouts in the Midlands are you? I'm Derby. Happy to take a look or just talk you through it. Drop me a PM if you want to talk further.

Ah...vive la difference! Because to my eye, it is the asymmetry that throws my eye on the angled ones! In the absence of other symmetry, my eye looks to the lines parallel to the nut of the straight ones. Which is odd, because I never do symmetrical headstocks on my own builds and often angle the tuners. But there's something about this particular shape that throws it a bit. And by the way, @Christine , that is a truly splendid headstock job...

Yes, there are some excellent UK woods. Sycamore is related to maple and has very similar workability and look. English walnut can be spectacular and is good to work. Poplar is sometimes more plain, but burl poplar can be stunning. Yew has to be used with care - it is quite poisonous - but is a stunning looking wood. Elm - spalted or plain Oak tends to be very heavy and is very hard so probably best avoided. London Plane tree can be spectacular. I'm sure there are loads of others. Supply-wise, one of the main things is buying from someone who can be trusted to verify that the timber has been fully seasoned. Proper timber merchants or specialist instrument suppliers (although the latters can be very expensive, the wood tends to be in a more immediately usable form in terms sizes and finish) are usually the most reliable but will be more expensive. Or, as @Jabba_the_gut does, reclaimed wood takes for more careful searching but has got great merit...

I'm delighted, Mick It is a lovely bass. Thanks for letting me get my sticky paws on it

My understanding is that they generally work on a 'standard options' approach which their web site leads you through (and presumably you've already specified). So their web site (I have to say, one of the best of its kind) has for each design area, say neckpocket, all of the different shapes and hole options they offer as standard. But I suspect that they also do out and out 'non-standard' custom work. For this, most similar makers would require a specific drawing because they would use that to program their CNC machines. I gather you are asking about a variation of one of their standard options (that is, you want bushing drillings applied to one of their standard pocket and hole options?). In which case I suspect that there is just a bit of confusion their end of which category your request fits within. Why don't you give them a ring (they have a phone number on their website front page)? It's lot easier to avoid misinterpretation than emails and quickly get a common understanding of the requirement and solution. (I know, because I had a similar issue with some custom pickups from a well respected maker. 10 or so increasingly confusing, confused and fractious emails backwards and forwards was resolved in a 5 minute phone call - resulting in a splendid result from both our points of view )

Lovely job

The tops of most 'flat top' acoustic guitars are dished at around 25' radius. The backs vary, but are also dished usually to around 15' radius. So all of the braces have to be curved to suit, and then the back and top forced into shape while gluing those braces and thus hold the dish-shape. For this, you need a couple of radius dishes and - most of us use - a simple go-bar rig The radius dish I use is just a 20mm thick piece of MDF suitably scooped out. This is the 15' radius one for the back. The four maple back braces have been shaped to suit their relative positions on the disc and also shaped roughly parabolic, leaving the tops flat: The go-bar deck is just two stiff boards separated by threaded rods and wink nuts: Basically, a combination of dowel rods and fibreglass rods will be used to force everything into the dish. First I use the pretty stiff dowels to press the back fully into the dish: And now, progressively glue the braces into position, again using them to force the back sheet into the dish and therefore help it hold the curve when it's all dry: This is why I left the tops of the braces flat!

Ooooh - it's nice to see those again, @fleabag I'm afraid I'm a bit busied out at the moment, @ambient There are some decent commercial ones around, though. Personally, I actually like the tigerwood ones that @Chiliwailer linked to, and also the plainer ones next to them too

The kerfing is now fitted on the back and the top faces of the sides and the back has been cut to outline. This is with the back slightly dampened - this will be close to the final colour once the finish has been applied: Next job will be carving the back braces and gluing those onto the back in the 15' radius dish when I get a moment

This build is a bit of a background job. Just finished @TheGreek 's Nanyo save and just about to start some interesting stuff for @wwcringe but, while we are verifying the spec and ordering parts, etc, I've done a couple of small jobs on this. The head and tail blocks have been cut, the top kerfing has been glued and the back kerfing is in progress: The kerfing and blocks are set just proud of the sides so that they can be sanded at an angle to make the appropriate contact with the dished back and top when they get glued. My blank for the tailstock was a little short and so I will cap that with a piece of mahogany sheet to raise it a few mm to the correct height. I have 'tidied' my 25' radius dish and my Go-bar rig somewhere so will have to find those soon. In the meantime, Matt - the pro player I mentioned before - has agreed to my deal, that is, if this sounds as good as the one of mine he's been using on his videos (getting close to being uploaded), then I'll give him this one as a thanks for featuring my builds. And if it turns out that the one he's been using sounds better, then I'll reshape the neck to his preference and he can keep that one

^ This, @Happy Jack Not entirely sure why the cavities were different - especially as it was the one with the pre-amp and battery (and, typically, the cover) that was the shorter one. The two bodies may have been from different years (the donor is a 1991 model but there's no way of knowing what year the other body is) so maybe just a random design change as it evolved. Happily, the neck pocket and bolt holes were smack on so no adjustment was needed there at all (the neck also came from the scrap body)

The irony is that the one with the battery compartment incorporated - which was the one that had the hatch - was the shorter one! Yes...quite...

Thanks folks for your very kind remarks. Credit also to the concept - which is entirely @TheGreek 's And talking of @TheGreek, I'll add this here because otherwise I am bound to forget to tell him! The hatch is fixed with magnets: Shamelessly stealing from, I think, @Jabba_the_gut , there is a slight dip cut in the rebate. So to open, just press here and it will pop up the other side: Saves getting the kitchen knife out... Just waiting the replacement barrel jack socket and this will be shipped back to Mick

That's coming on very nicely indeed! Great work.

That's beautiful. It has so many things I like about it... Bravo!

Just something that happens sometimes. When you fret strings at the dusty end , you are basically bending them to the equivalent of the action height. Think what the pitch of a bass string does if you bend it 2 or 3 mm So all the intonation drop back distance of each of the saddles from scale length is doing, is compensating for them sharpening as you fret down. The amount each string sharpens depends on the action height, the string tension, string material and no doubt other stuff. Usually, the G sharpens the least and so the saddle usually ends up not much more than a mm past the scale length. The thicker strings usually sharpen more so tend to have to drop the saddles back more. But if, eg, you have a particularly high tension G and a low tension D, then that may end up the other way round. So it just depends. Just looked at the Nanyo save I've just finished for @TheGreek - and that's just like that... the D is forward from the G and the E is forward from the A

The first full scratch-build is a very special moment. You've done it well

Well - other than I'm going to recommend to @TheGreek that I order a replacement barrel jack for it (it works - but it crackles when you really start rocking!), it's finished. Hatch fitted and magnets installed; frets polished; fretboard cleaned and oiled; bridge fitted; bass set up; sound check completed Here it is:

By the way, I've used this type of decal recently. They are fantastic and much better than the traditional waterslide decal...but it can be a bit of a shock how gossamer thin they are. Do R&F send a spare? The guys I bought off do and if so, it's worth trying it out first - I tried my spare one out on the kitchen worktop to the evident delight of MrsAndyjr1515. I found that the technique was subtly different to the normal 'airfix' type. With 'airfix' I got into the habit of sliding the decal off the backing paper. This does not work with these newer type. With these it's more about sliding the paper off the decal. I found the easiest was to lightly hold the one end in position, then smoothly pull the backing from the other side, continuing to hold the other end in place and so keeping the decal under tension. Same with straightening wrinkles - gently pulling the wrinkle out from the edges, again keeping the decal under tension. That said, I was delighted with the results and would certainly favour this type over the older type for future projects.

Ah - Ok. In which case your original plan is a good one

Lovely job

Hi Personally, I would go simpler, assuming it's a normal decal and that it doesn't specifically exclude tru-oil (which would be very surprising - tru-oil is exceptionally unreactive)... If I was using Tru-oil for the neck, personally I would also use tru-oil for the headstock too. It will take a number of coats to soak into the wood and start to build to a shine, but once that's done, the decal should adhere perfectly well. Once the decal is on and dried, a few new coats of tru-oil, allowed to dry between each coat, will seal the decal perfectly well.

Excellent stuff, @Jabba_the_gut

Have to yet do the final fit, but I reckon mission accomplished, @TheGreek ?