Andyjr1515

The crack next to the neck pocket...where does that go along the length?

While the festives and family stuff has been going on, progress has been a bit spasmodic but by the end of tomorrow, I should be able to put some quality time into finishing this - hopefully by the end of the week. I've got two more slurry and buff grades to do on the body - 1500 and 2000, but already it is feeling right and looking pretty even. Here's how the back presently stands: The basic back carve shape is the same as on @Len_derby 's build. What I liked about this variation is that it still looks and feels a substantially thick body and yet still has the comfort and weight advantages of the arched back - some of my other builds have tapered more at the sides, making it look super skinny which freaks some players out (especially 6-string electric guitar players ) This variation softens the carve towards the edges, so retains the edge and front view thickness: Still to do - Final two grit levels of the body oil slurry and buff – 1500 and 2000 grit Sort the magnetic hatch and trussrod cover fixings Fit the jack-plate, set into the body the same way the bridge is Copper-foil line the control chamber Fit the electrics and pickups Level, re-crown and polish the frets Micro-mesh the neck and fretboard progressively to around 8000 grit micro-mesh Fit the nut, bridge, tuners and strap buttons String up Set up

Looks pretty splendid from here...

Ssshh..... while they carry on talking in that beautiful language it gives me a chance to tip-toe away........ ... Is it safe yet???????

Blast! sorry hindi ako nagsasalita ng marami english!

Perdon, @AndyTravis. No hablo mucho ingles!

Ouch!

Brilliant! I fitted one on Kert's Camphor single cut. I was dubious at first and surprised just how expensive they are but they are easy to fit and VERY easy to set up and use. I'd certainly use them again

Ooooh - I like THAT! Very stylish....

Waiting James' reply, but I know which one I would have It was a great suggestion, @TheGreek

Another job off the list, other than the dots (I've put luminlay as an option to the customer, @TheGreek - thanks for the suggestion) and the tru-oil, I've done the knobs Same method as on @Len_derby 's: Drilled a hole in some thicknessed ash: Without moving the drill or wood positions, then used a forstner for the nut relief: Then a plug cutter to cut it out: Drilled a grub-screw access hole and pressed the insert in, with grub-screw lined up with that small hole and also used the plug cutter to cut out a disc of top wood: Then, adding a disc of veneer between the two, glued and clamped it together: Finally sanded to shape: So just the dots to add once I've had an answer of luminlay or MoP

Hmmmm...it's a thought. The luminlay dots might be a bit big but it's definitely worth thinking about...

OK - a bit of a respite between visiting one set of relatives for Christmas and another set visiting us running up to New Year While the finishing process is progressing, I'm knocking off a few of the remaining jobs. First is recessing the bridge. It's a small change but makes such a difference. From this: To this: using these simple tools: This is one of the only thing I use the little Veritas hand router for - but it's great for ensuring the bottom is completely flat. This small version is actually a bit of a flawed design but I think I've used it often enough to consider its bigger brother which is a much better design. Other things done are the luminlay side dots: And in the meantime, the finish is becoming silky smooth to the touch and nice and satin to the eye: Tomorrow I'm going to try to make a trio of knobs and also sort the truss rod cover

That is quite, quite stunning! Lovely.

I dont know if this thread is any use: http://forums.ernieball.com/ernie-ball-music-man-basses/47670-differences-body-thickness.html It reckons 2006 - 2009 models are 44mm? Might not be accurate, of course... I think I'm right in thinking the present ones are 1 5/8" which is slightly slimmer at 41.275mm

You say the nicest things Merry Christmas!

I like poplar burl. It's the mix of quilting and burl that makes it so attractive when the finish is applied

By the way - it isn't too much Christmas spirit got into Andyjr1515...the through neck IS parallel and the hatch IS parallel to that...it's just the camera angle and lens distortion that makes it look squiffy Of course, if YOU have had too much Christmas spirit, it might look perfectly straight

As amongst the final tasks before the Christmas period, I managed to sand down all of the body and side stain trials and reapply properly. Over the last couple of days I've started laying down the initial tru-oil coats ready for the final slurry and buff coats that will be finished after Christmas. This is how it's looking now: While the final coats of slurry and buff are hardening over the post Christmas period, I will be starting the finish jobs. Allowing for family stuff over Christmas and New Year, it should be ready to ship mid-January Have a great Christmas, all. As always, many thanks for the support and encouragement over 2018 and see you all the other side! Andy

OK Starting with the most likely - the saddle tight and not seating properly: - take the strings off - pull the saddle out of its slot - if it is very tight, use pliers but protect the saddle with a bit of paper - check that the piezo element in the bottom of the slot is all the way across the slot and that there isn't a solder knuckle/lump showing at one end ... if it isn't or there is, report back - check that the saddle, while being a snug fit, will slide down to the bottom of the slot and can be removed with normal finger pressure. If it is tight, run the side of it over a piece of fine sandpaper until it is a snug fit but easily pushes to the bottom of the slot. Don't sand it too much - you want to avoid the saddle being a sloppy fit. Put the strings back on and see if it now works. - while you have the saddle out, does the bottom look straight and flat? If not, report back. Let us know how you get on Andy

For reasons I can't remember, I think there is a slight change in tone when you do this but as @paul_5 says, it's very easy to do so why not try it. If it does change the tone and you don't like it, just swop it back. If it doesn't change the tone - or if it does and you like it - result. I wired wwgringe' s African build directly and it sounded great...

Has it always been like that or has it just started? Assuming it's an under saddle piezo, it is usually that the saddle isn't resting properly on the piezo element. That can be because the saddle is a bit tight in the slot or that the bottom of the saddle isn't flat or for other reasons. Usually easily fixed. What bass is it?

I made a mix of chestnut spirit stains using their very useful sample packs (which I'd already got - both their wood colour samples and their poster colour samples) For the neck it was a mix of Light Mahogany + Yellow + A teeny touch of Orange + meths to thin it down and reduce the intensity Just wiped on with a cloth. Couple of coats For the Ash, because of the brown tint to the wood, it needed something extra. I was going to add more orange, but in the end added some thinned Yew stain to the neck concoction and a drop more meths. I did 1/2 dozen samples on some scrap and tweaked the shades and tones until it looked about right for what the client was asking for. Pleased to say that I've heard back from him and he's happy for me to use that as the basis

It will darken when I do the proper job to an extent. I'll see what the man in Hawaii thinks

We're still experimenting with colours and contrasts. I always find that it is only when you pin down one element that you can see the valid options of the next and, with the fretboard and neck now the colour the owner wants, it is time to look at the other elements. And hmmmm….the back.... While the ash was quite dark alongside white maple, this neck is now SUCH a strong colour, the ash looks a bit wishy washy? Also the yellow tint from the strong amber clashes with the brown tint of the ash - certainly when you see it in real life. With a bolt-on you can often get away with this, but a through-neck, in my view, needs to coordinate (whether with contrasts or complimentary shades) between back, sides, top, neck and fretboard and this doesn't yet do that. So time for some more experimenting. One thought was to maybe go for complimentary colour between the back and neck and a greater contrast between sides and top. So I did loads of colour checks with some ash offcut until I came up with this one. The dye on the ash is a totally different mix of dyes in a different strength to that applied to the neck but the result is quite close to each other in the colour spectrum. This is a test only so don't worry that it's a bit patchy! It's sufficiently different to still have a distinct through neck-look but now both back wings and neck have an amber hue on the orange/yellow side And, to my eye, the depth of colour makes the sides contrast better with the top: I've sent the shots across to 'our man in Hawaii' to see if this is getting close to the overall look he had in mind.