Andyjr1515

I will be using a dark, thin veneer as the demarcation line for all of the major components. Even with this, I need to be careful that the woods I use are not on any endangered lists that US Customs might get sniffy about. So the veneer I am using might look a bit fancy for something that will never be seen, but it's walnut - not on any lists! Here it is next to the first strip - that will separate the wings and the neck - being glued to the neck blank: Pity the only bit of this below that will be seen is an edge-on 0.6mm strip... And with both sides veneered, the first wing is now being glued: You can see in that shot just how much wood will be removed when I carve the concave scoop down to the neck's surface...

Me too!

Drop @scrumpymike a PM - he will have all the details.

And it is fan-flippin-stupendously-awe-inspiringly FANTASTIC!!!!! I am SO excited. And very, very impressed with the Rocklite. Before I get my sticky mitts properly on it, it's going to be at the London guitar show at Kempton Park this weekend (I'm in Aberdeen on grandparent duty, drat it!). If you let Mike, Michael or Simon know that you're on Basschat (and I've said the same to TheFretboard forum members, Mike), they may even let you play it! JUST DON'T DROOL SLOBBER OVER IT! Andy

OK - the update. I think @scrumpymike will be doing a more detailed post but on Thursday I went to the Gillett Guitars workshop to see the progress on their brand new 6-string mahogany electro-acoustic range...and to see the one they've made for me in the equally brand new Rocklite Sundari. I may be wrong, but I think this is one of the first guitars made from the material using it for not only back and sides (there are some of those around) but also the top as well. So the top, back, sides and fingerboard of this is a man-made wood: The two cutaways are carved walnut blocks but the rest is Rocklite. Just look at the grain where it's been sanded into the cutaway! As most of you know, I work with wood - but I would never have known this is not natural if no-one had told me. The guitar, by the way, sounds GREAT! Everyone is keen to know how Rocklite fares in real use and I am very happily going to be Gillett Guitars' guinea-pig on this one. This guitar, and examples of the new standard mahogany versions of the 6-string, along with their equally amazing basses are going to be at the Kempton Park guitar show this coming weekend. If you're at the show, drop into Gillett's stand - but don't leave drool marks on the guitar! I'm typically in Aberdeen that weekend (grandfather duties) but get my sticky mitts on it soon after Can't wait!

Lovely

Blast! I'd better go and empty the dishwasher, then!!! That's surely got to be worth SOME points....

And the top's on! Lightly dampened to show the colour it will be when it's finished: You can see the ebony veneer demarcation here: The ebony is very, very thin but it still makes quite a difference to the look of completeness. It will also widen as it is sanded round the curve of the carve. I think I first saw veneers this thin for demarcation (at the time I was generally using the thicker 2mm constructional veneers for demarcation and this thickness for veneering tops) used on one of @Jabba_the_gut 's builds and thought how classy it made it all look. I will sort the neck before I do the final carve - reinstating the curves of the original - and then I can make sure the curves all blend with one another. BUT - based on the fact that this was the 'fill-in project' - first I'd better do a little bit more on the full build for the guy in Hawaii!

Well - over the sandwich I decided yes - it could do with a 5mm slimdown. Actually, it will balance the look of the top and the back better. So out came the home-made router rig again: Weight-wise it's broadly where I wanted it to be. Including the heavier bridge, the body is now 3/4lb lighter than the original. That will feel quite different So next job is gluing the top on

I have one more decision before gluing the top on - do I take a bit of thickness out of the body to reduce the weight a touch more. To assess the current state of play, if you remember: I chambered heavily the body but the katalox is much heavier than the equivalent 10mm of ash I removed off the top and the Warwick bridge is also significantly heavier than the previous bridge. So, apart from the curving of the katalox edges once fitted, the other things I have now done is: Rounded out the angular sides of the control chamber: Then deepen the new neck pocket (it will be final shaped once the neck has been done): And finally chambered the underside of the katalox top (including the final thicknessing for the control chamber roof): Final tally is that, even with the new bridge, this is now 1/2lb lighter than the original body. So while I have a sandwich, my pondering will be - should I take another 5mm off the thickness of the body. Weightwise it's a no brainer. Functionality, it makes no difference. My only reason for pondering is whether aesthetically it changes the vibe by being a tiny bit slimmer. Not sure it will but these things are always worth a ponder before committing!

One of the things that I like about this forum and think is important in these threads is that the more experienced guys are never afraid to admit to whoopsies I think you know what's coming. The reason I think it is important is that when you start off doing this sort of stuff, all sorts of minor disasters happen and it is easy to think that you just don't have the skills to do it and that is made worse by seeing the work of the guys and gals you think have all the skills. That is very demoralising. The reality is quite different. The best builders in the world make c**k ups. Wood is fickle and unpredictable and we are all prone to mistakes and misjudgements. But the more experienced folks ARE often better at finding a way round it rather than scrapping the piece and starting again or just giving up Or, in simpler terms ...it was all going SO well For the tail stock, it has that bend in it and rounded ends. A flash of inspiration - drill three holes the right size , then pop a couple of straight guides to router the area between them. Like this: Here you can see where I have already routed between the end hole and the middle hole. You can see the two straight router bit guides underneath. So just a case of moving the straight guides, then rout from the middle to the drilled hole at the other side. Now in hindsight, what I SHOULD have done was thought - ah...now that material is cut...gosh, there isn't going to be much holding the brittle katalox strip while I rout it! So this was the result ...and this was just before I was going away for a couple of days. The left hand break was a very clean break. The right hand was where the router bit pinged it off and sent shards off in very directions. Tip - always pick up the shards and dust - it can be useful! It looks dramatic but is actually quite a quick fix. I'm back and it's already fixed. The left hand side, which also broke off at the centre join, was just a grain-to-grain invisible glue job: The final piece, due to the shards having come away, wasn't going to fit as easily. So here, I mixed epoxy with some katalox sanding dust and then used some of the shards to squeeze into the two join lines. It looks crude at this stage: ...but once the epoxy is set, sanding it exposes the wood chips and dust and you end up genuinely unable to be sure where the original break line was: So - we're back on track. Just got a bit more lightening of the top and it can be glued on

May have quite an important update in the next couple of days...

That looks much better to me . And I'm so pleased you are back with, and happy with, this overall look

Took the words right out of my mouth Next one - the stop tail - is a bit more tricky. I'm out of action the next couple of days so it may need to wait until Friday. We'll see what the next hour yields.

And now my attention turns to the top. This is one of the tricky bits - making sure the three holes for the stoptail, bridge and pickup are square, tight and in the right place. For the pickup, I needed to make sure it line up with the previous body rout. Back to the 'press a fingernail round on a piece of paper' trick For rectangular chambers, nowadays I always start with the corners - I find it much easier to get these in exactly the right place... Then, after hogging out with a forstner, I stuck some straight edges around and used a trimmer bit on the router. To my admitted surprise, it fits!: I may use the same technique for the bridge block. For the stoptail, I'm probably going to have to cut a proper template...

Welcome back! Still the best avatar on the site....

In the artificial light of the cellar through a Canon colour-challenged ccd it does. In full sunlight it's unmistakeably ebony

Applying the ebony demarcation veneer. You will hardly see it, but it makes such a difference when you look at the actual join. Because katalox is an oily wood, I'm taking no chances and am using epoxy rather than wood glue - which doesn't work so well on oily woods. When this is done, I'll be seeing how much weight I can take out of the underside of the top before gluing it on and starting to fit the neck joint...

It looks to me like you haven't got rid of all of the paint residue - makes is look a little bit dirty and uneven. Some of that might be the oil soaking in differentially, but just look at the original - it's quite an even and clean grain. Just a bit more sanding at 240 to really get past the grey finish is more what I was thinking...

Hmmm....a bit more sanding needed?

Clearly it's all about personal preference, but a rosewood board would give it nice contrast... And yup, I reckon recessed knobs would look good

Right move! The thing is, this has the vibe of an Aria - ref the wood combinations and style - and the shape of an ultra-modern. Honestly - I think it looks great. The 'piece de resistance' are the two stripes at the back. The whole thing is a lovely looking combination - quite unique.

Hi If you've followed any of my build diaries you will know that I've been doing quite a bit of experimenting in recent years making basses (and 6-string electrics) lighter - either by design or modification. My last bass build - built for @Len_derby is a full scale 34" and weighs 2.9kg: @Len_derby is probably a better judge, but it sounds pretty much like a Fender Jazz to me! I've also done a number of rebodies. This Cort Curbow, originally very heavy and made of plastic, now in walnut and lighter, still sounds the same as it did: This Fender Rascal of @scrumpymike 's at the bottom, became the Precision Lyte in English walnut at the top and, to my ear (but again, ask @scrumpymike ), sounded the same: So, in terms of actual amplified sound, will it sound the same to most people - yes. But there are some buts. So - for what it's worth, these are some of the personal conclusions I've come to: However nice in all other respects, a bass that is too heavy eventually becomes unplayable What you are proposing sounds to be TOTALLY REVERSIBLE and therefore the risks are low If all else is equal - ie an exact copy, same hardware, strings, electrics - then the amplified sound is very unlikely to be perceptibly different It will, however, feel different. And to some players, that will make then think it is sounding different. And it certainly can make them play differently. But if in doubt, do a blind test on recordings before and after, playing exactly the same thing the same way! Acoustically unplugged, it will sound different The strap button on the RS924 is in the 'goldilocks' zone of 12th/13th fret. It is unlikely that, on the strap, neck dive will be an issue. It might be a bit more when played over the knee. You can always get lightweight tuners (and they make a BIG difference) but they wouldn't be in the 'heart' shape of the 924. My view is, as long as you are careful to make it reversible, then go for it. Let us know how you get on Andy

The useful thing about doing this in parallel with @eude 's project is that, with setting up the equipment being a decent amount of the time involved, I can make progress on both at the same time. So as I was squaring up @eude 's neck blank and cutting the truss rod slot and the side profile, I did the same for this one. Here's the neck blank, almost ready for the rear ash wings to be glued on: ...and it's definitely starting to look like a bass now

Spent some time today squaring up, flattening and sizing the neck blank and adding the truss-rod slot ready for sorting the heel routing. This will incorporate the neck angle so I won't be doing that until the body top has been glued on and the bridge chamber cut, allowing me to work out accurately the neck angle needed. From this photo, the neck will end up 60mm or so shorter as the neck pocket is deepened, and a corresponding notch put into the bottom of the heel, allowing the neck to move toward the back until the tenon is fully in place in the pocket. I'm aware the above probably makes no grammatical sense at all - I'll post photos when that stage is reached and all, hopefully, will become clear. Clearly the neck will eventually taper to the nut but it is, nevertheless, a wide neck and I am tempted to pop a couple of carbon rods in there to keep everything straight and stable. What do you reckon?