Andyjr1515

You can, of course, always colour stain the natural wood so maybe get the best of both worlds. I rarely use solid paints but quite often stain. I personally tend to use inks (although you have to be a bit choosy on which colours as some will fade) and you can achieve quite bright colours even on dark woods. This is more the normal stuff I do: Red calligraphy ink Mixture of blues and turquoise fountain pen inks: And then there's the cor blimey @TheGreek 's Alembicesque save. Again, pen ink The inks soak into the grain lines more and so naturally darken to enhance the grain pattern.

Very neat in that chamber!

He's got them

OK - all bagged up and ready to go: One final job before I did that was to pop some spare strings on to do an initial setup so that @fleabag has at least a head start. So that means MORE PHOTOS! Forgive the self-indulgence:

Yes - it might be

Amazing skills and attention to detail.

I like that. I generally do natural or stained woods - but there are some designs and combinations that simply have to be solid colours...and this is one of them. Very attractive.

OK - pretty much finished. I did the tweaks that @KiOgon recommended: I'll pop a set of spare strings on to do the final checks that everything is still where it should be and to get the starting positions for the bridge and pickup heights - @fleabag is going to fit his preferred strings, do the final set-up and fit the strap buttons but I'll make sure the basics are in place to start with. I'm pleased how this has turned out:

A select few...but does include @TheGreek : His name is Rob

Can't wait. ACG's are SO top drawer they are crazy good!

Final knockings before this gets passed over to @fleabag on Saturday. I'll make those couple of changes that @KiOgon recommends and then the only other thing I wasn't happy with was the headstock. The stain was a bit patchy and the gloss sub-base of finish that the decals went onto wasn't quite flat enough. These decals are so super, super thin, the sub-base has to be pretty perfect or the decal itself shows the undulations as a series of stripes where the decal is fully contacting and not quite fully contacting. So off it's all come and I've started again. Stripped it down to wood, re-stained and re-gloss varnished before applying the couple of spare decals I'd ordered. In the flesh, this is MUCH better: So just got to add the satin sealing coats and then bolt it all together and get it to @fleabag !

Good tips. I did think about the insulation but the gap is greater that it looks on the photo and I couldn't think what would ever bend them. Mind you, you never know what @fleabag might be planning to store in there so maybe I'd better pop a couple of sleeves on!

Yes - very bad. Very, very bad!

Absolutely what he ^ said!!!! That is so top-drawer it hurts. It's also probably tipped my wavering on investing in a turbine spray set up too.... Oh - and your photo set up is really very professional, as well Top class - all of it!

Oh my goodness! That is breathtakingly beautiful...

Well, the radio silence has simply been while the final coats on the body have been hardening. I'm actually re-doing the Nemesis transfer on the headstock - I got a spare and think I can do better than the first go by getting the headstock coating a bit flatter before I apply it. BUT...the rest is pretty much done. @fleabag sent me the pots and switches to do a series/split coil/parallel option and also a 250k tone pot vs a 500k tone pot. For starters I've put the same cap value on those two but @fleabag will be able to experiment simply by swapping caps as he wishes. Here's the finished circuit: And here's how the body is looking:

Paua dot? Looks nice, whatever

Beautiful job, @Merton !

Only just spotted this. Good call. Personally, I tend to use EVO Gold, but my alternative would always be NS. SS are, in my view, problematic from a builders point of view.

As you know, any advice Andyjr1515 gives has to be treated with a certain amount of caution However, happy to outline how I personally go about it nowadays. I run a triangular file very lightly along the slots just enough to take the sharp edge off each side - not to widen the slot itself Nowadays I use a tang nipper to de-tang the ends, but that isn't essential. I cut the fretwire 3-4mm oversize. By the way, I buy coiled wire so it already has a radius on it, usually at a radius a touch tighter than the fretboard. I run a scalpel blade or similar along the slot to check it's clear of sandings and to double check that the slot is deeper than the tang across its whole length I run a tiny bead of titebond along the tang and then place the fret carefully in position in the slot, making sure that it is upright. I press the fret gently to ensure it is properly seated in the slot I then hammer firmly one side, then the other side, then the middle. This has the effect of first pushing the barbs in vertically at the sides, leaving a hump in the middle. When you hammer in the middle, the sides splay, moving the barbs sideways and locking the fret in place. I wipe any titebond squeeze-out off the fretboard with a dampened cloth. I then clamp my fretboard radius block over the fret to ensure it is fully seated and to radius while the titebond does its initial grab. I do the next fret the same way, first releasing the radius block and wiping any remaining titebond squeeze-out from the previous fret. Once the new fret is in, I then move the radius block up a fret and clamp them both. I repeat this, moving the radius block a fret at a time until all frets are in I leave overnight before cutting the fret overhangs flush with the fretboard edge using some decent long-handled fret end clippers Let me know if you need me to expand on any of the points. I may have some photos somewhere if needs be.

Clearly it's totally different in the case of an active eq circuit but yes - in all practical terms I've come across - turning down the tone of a passive circuit just bleeds off the treble. As such, it won't get any bassier, just more muted to the point, eventually, of muddier.

I'm also not convinced it makes any perceptable difference provided, as many above say, they are well seated and secured on a flat base. It does make a tangible difference on an electric stratocaster trem system, but I suspect that's the increase in inertia preventing loss of string vibration by the trem vibrating rather than the effect of the extra mass per se. But on a bass, or a hardtail electric, I've never been able to hear a difference.

A number of things I was going to bring are off to a guy who's going to do some pro-recordings with them (he's a great player - I'll post the links when they are available) so I'll probably be bringing, instead of the items on the list: - Pete's piccolo bass - Pete's EB-3 ish - My veneered Squier Jag

Yes - I agree. That looks a mighty fine and smooth finish

Lovely!