Andyjr1515

Oh - and very wise to drop the three point bridge...design engineering at its worst

Ooooo - that looks nice. The figuring will also really burst through when the finish goes on

It'll be like @scrumpymike 's Same wood from same log from the same tree that his late old mate, Merv, chopped down as his final felling after a lifetime of tree axing.

And the top wood is jointed and cut out: Not lined up accurately but lots to do before contemplating gluing it in place. First check tomorrow is double checking the neck angle. I will place the bridge on a piece of scrap walnut and clamp the neck to its Sapele seating and quadruple check that the action height is correct for the height range of the bridge

Wow! That's a lot of wood. Looks nice, too.

One of the best sounding guitars I ever owned, an Epiphone Junior LP, turned out to be plywood when I modded it. Plywood can sometimes be on the heavy side but sonically there is nothing wrong with it at all.

There is a point near the end of every build where I start disliking my own builds. First string play I am usually ready to chuck them in the bin. But I know now that it's me and not the instrument. Once it's properly set up (and that usually takes me a couple of days), so far, I've always been happy with them.

It looks and sounds top class, @Marcoelwray . There's nothing I don't like about it. Are you beginning to love it a bit more?

I agree with that entirely. It's a stunning looking bass from any aspect

Probably Kert's single cut, Pete's piccolo bass and maybe my bits-lying-around-doing-nothing-so-I-may-as-well 6 string dreadnought?

Those preamps and wire harnesses take up a lot of real estate! I often struggle to get everything under the cover. Worst I came across was the Schaller 'Flagship'. Wonderful bit of kit - but this was AFTER I had to re-wire a number of the looms: This was the original switch hardrubber grommeted 'just plug in' cable before I took a Stanley knife to it. Do you know of any control chamber that could accommodate this???:

Flattery will, of course, get you everywhere....

In case anyone was wondering about the fit with my cavalier placing of the loose neck into the pocket for the previous photo , this is how it will clamp:

Was the problem evident immediately?

I reckon this is probably the best placement on the walnut planks: The 'whirlpools' are both there, there's a 'V' at the tail and this rippling: ...looks WONDERFUL when it's been sanded and finish is applied. So today's job is cutting it to size and preparing the joint and then gluing the two halves together

OK - I can now turn my attention to the top. This is how is looks so far: Forgive the glue lines - this side still has to be scraped. And no, @fleabag - I can't just leave it like this, however much you like purple This is just loosely laid on the heel but is a good fit and should work OK: The nib in front of the original neck heel will be carved to slim it as it moves towards the neck centre Whether the neck skunk stripe lines up quite like this once it's hard bolted, I don't know...it will be what it will be. But this is properly slotted in the neck pocket so, you never know. So, as I say, the front nib will be carved slimmer as it approaches the neck. As will - as far as strength will allow - the treble side of the heel. I'm determined not to rush this one. Each step needs a period to look, think and sometimes re-think. But I'm happy with it so far. Later today I'm going to work out the best positioning of the top to maximise the use of the amazing figuring and then joint and glue together the bookmatched blanks.

That's pretty much how I do it too. I drill the corners to the pickup lug and corner radii, forstner out the bulk up to the pickup outline, tidy up the sides with a chisel, then just use a router (using a short bearing - guided bit) to flatten the bottom. I basically hate routers.

No problem. Let us know how you get on.

As long as there are three pins, then any of the barrel sockets will do. In terms of pins, they often vary in design but the convention is that the longest one is the earth, the shortest one is the tip (normally attach the hot output to this) and the middle length one is the ring (normally attach the battery lead to this). If the earth pin is too long, it can be shortened with clippers or pliers - as long as there's enough length to solder the earth onto, it will be fine.

Hi Barrel jacks are a bit notorious for failing. The stereo version of these from Axesrus are said to be Ibanez-like: https://www.axesrus.co.uk/W-S-P-Barrel-Jack-Socket-p/wsp-r1.htm But personally, I would get a Switchcraft one from Allparts uk https://www.allparts.uk.com/products/1-4-inch-long-threaded-barrel-input-jack-switchcraft-152b-stereo The jack does need to be earthed - although sometimes makers use the control chamber shielding for that but it is prone to failure Andy

My first thought is, indeed, the pot. It isn't very often that you would physically feel any difference when the track has worn so it's not really a guide. Very unlikely to be the capacitor. Pots are cheap to replace (even the good quality ones) so I would start there.

Absolutely no live pigeons involved. Just the cat.

It's alright...the next door neighbours won't miss it...

No - just most of the day with some needle files and sandpaper. Trouble is, purpleheart is as hard as rock! (and smells like poo) As I was carving, I decided to take the pigeon's beak off the purpleheart - it looks better and will aid the upper fret playability. I'll post the slight mod tomorrow...because it's being glued to the back at this very moment

I'll say it before anyone else does - Yes...it looks like a pigeon This is the carve almost done. 1mm still to go until it's completely flush with the purpleheart, ensuring that the heel will seat fully once it's glued to the Sapele back: So far, it's straight, in line and gapless... ...still time, of course, to f*** it up!