Andyjr1515

And the carve begins It's my favourite bit and I have to curb my enthusiasm so I don't overdo anything. I tidied up the outline a touch to be able to incorporate a couple of passing respectful nods to the Alembic style and then started to add some of the other features, such as the 'sucked lozenge' ( Tim's very descriptive phrase) cutaway. Over the next day or so, Tim and I will discuss exactly what curves want to be where The time when I've got to start radiusing that pesky fretboard draws closer....

Onto that pesky bridge. Much of what Schaller have provided here is not helpful - including some quite obscure router bit and drill sizes! But what IS helpful is the clear template they provide: You position it and then use a sharp point to pierce through to the wood for the drilling positions. A drill press is essential for this task! I did the drilling and routing (except two where I don't have the right sized drill!) and added my extra routed slot to accommodate the piezo wires: Call me picky, but it wouldn't hurt Schaller to add this to the instructions and the template, surely?? Anyway, my drilling and routing is clearly getting more accurate because to my great surprise, it fits! The two holes I don't have the drill for are for the two fixing bolt ferrules. I'll get hold of one from Axminster on my next order - it isn't going to hold anything up. Anyway, you can see broadly how it's going to fit: One thing I am grateful for - if I understand the Crimson Youtube feature correctly (which also doesn't mention the piezo version), Schaller have stopped supplying a back block and now supply individual ferrules at the back...WHICH ALL HAVE TO BE INDIVIDUALLY EARTHED! Thank heavens for small mercies! Anyway, the really exciting thing is that I can soon start the top carve.

Wiped the two builds over with a damp cloth and put them side by side. I think they're going to look good when they've been carved and finished properly...

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1506246672' post='3377243'] Using the same strings, as folks above say, the tension will be lower and so you might get a bit of fret buzz. Also, the string tension difference will, actually, affect the intonation a small amount, but which of course you can adjust. Scale-wise, it is as ikay above says. Main thing is just try it - should broadly work fine [/quote] You may also need to slacken your truss rod a tad for the same reason but, again, just try it first. Might be perfectly playable whatever.

Using the same strings, as folks above say, the tension will be lower and so you might get a bit of fret buzz. Also, the string tension difference will, actually, affect the intonation a small amount, but which of course you can adjust. Scale-wise, it is as ikay above says. Main thing is just try it - should broadly work fine

Well - I'm back up in the Grim North Great Bash - many thanks and much kudos to the organisers. Excellent Bash. Had to miss Steve's slot because I needed to get back on the motorway, but Lee's and Davey's talks were very informative and interesting. Great to see some old faces again and put names to faces of a few more. And wow - some really really nice stuff. Many ideas to shamelessly steal And so pleased Mick could make it too and bring the Psilos and Silk basses for people to see in the flesh. I'm always a bit nervous to see former builds 'just in case', but was pleased that both of them were actually better than I remembered them. I look forward to the next one. And Cos - I'm a regular also on TheFretboard. Do you use the same web name? Andy

It's a bit easier to show how the back will be carved out now the wings are glued. Ignore the bottom dotted line...it will be the added top that follows this radius.

While I ponder over the fitting of Tim's Hannes bridge on the Alembisque build and while I still have the appropriate equipment out, I cut out the control chamber of the Andyjr1515 lightweight and glued the back wings on. Looks the same, but with 2 less loose parts, it's easier to move around! This is the top just loosely laid on. The cable runs need to be routed and the demarcation veneer added before I glue the top on:

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1506075319' post='3376255'] That's a very nice bridge despite the vermicelli. Individual piezo for each saddle by the look of it. Does the preamp treat them as individual signals or are they summed before the tone is shaped? [/quote] No - like many piezo saddle systems it's a common collector. Interestingly, the Hanes Bridge has caused a bit of a stir, on the other hand, because the individual saddles are physically separated from each other. Respected commentators have said that there is an audible difference of better balance across the strings. Well...we'll see, I suppose. Or - as there is nothing to compare it with, maybe we won't

Next task while the top is still flat is the bridge. It's a Schaller Hannes piezo bridge. And it's a complicated fit. And the none of the mass of information about it from Schaller refers in the slightest what to do with this spaghetti in terms of fitting it!: There's even drilling and routing templates for the through-body string holes and slots and the back mounted fixing bolts. But NO mention of those wires!!! Having said that, and having given it a lot of thought, I'm pretty happy what I'll do. I'll route a deep but narrow channel under the saddles themselves where the wires are going to be and then drill an intercepting hole (a bit like you do with an acoustic piezo element) into the control chamber. The individual connectors detach from the collector block so an 5mm hole should do it. All the same, I'm going to sort the the bridge fitting screws and bolt holes and slots (there is a through-string block that needs slotting at the back also) before fitting the fretboard! There is, peversely, going to be more wiggle room on the fretboard positioning than on the bridge! But I'm going to have a good long think about this before I start drilling holes and slotting slots....

To the pickup chambers..... Again, this is simply the way I do it. Many builders use a forstner for rough bulk removal and then a template and router for the final shape. I use the same things but in, perhaps, a different order to most. The reason is simple - I simply haven't found the foolproof way of positioning and avoiding router disasters with the more conventional method. I've also learnt how to sharpen a chisel...amazing what that can do when it doesn't have the sharpness of an old screwdriver... Anyway, good or bad, this is how I do it nowadays. The corners make all the difference to the professional look of the finished fit. So I drill them first on my little drill press: I then use the Forstner to take out the bulk and also to nibble right to the very edge of the marked line (which is drawn 1/2 mm larger than the pickup covers all the way round) If you ever try this, by the way, always clamp the body - nibbling hits the side of the forstner bit so, unsupported, it will shift the body however hard you might be holding it! Then I use my very sharp chisel and mallet to straighten up the top ripples in between the original four drilled holes: And only now do I get the router out to finish route the lower part of the chamber and the bottom to the specific depth I need - because now it is fully safe to use with a short top bearing trimmer bit: Result is a neat and very accurate chamber: So it's a slight shift from the conventional approach, but works for me

[quote name='Si600' timestamp='1505983574' post='3375590'] Why are you using a piezo bridge as well as magnetic pickups, is the sound noticeably different when playing? [/quote] It's Tim's request. Piezo bridges can be used to act as 'normal' pickups or run through a synthesiser. Tim's requirement is the former rather than the latter. And in this event, the answer to your question is yes - they sound very different. Piezo's tend to sound very very bright - which is why they are often used for acoustic emulation - and is quite different to any of the types of magnetic usually used. However, the real flexibility can come when you start mixing the two - for example, you can get the bass and power of, say, a humbucker, but with the top-end clarity and definition. There are many other possibilities, but this is broadly the benefit. You can, of course, do the same on a bass - Mick's Psilos Bass has the same type of arrangement.

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1505841290' post='3374704'] Now you're just teasing. Very nice. [/quote] Thanks, SpondonBassed And onto next steps... This will be transformed once the carve is underway, but there are a few things that need to be done while I have a flat surface to work with. The most important is the pickup chambers...and because of the depth of the pickups vs the slenderness of the body itself, this will need a bit of time and care. First job here is setting the positions. The scale is going to be standard Fender 25.5". Whilst the fretboard will be trimmed slightly shorter than this, this is where the relative components are going to be (suitably squared up, of course ) Again, ignore the PVA blobs at the top - they will disappear with the first sanding. Likewise, the outline will be 'fine-tuned' before the main body carve. Nevertheless, I'm quite excited how this is going to turn out visually... The bridge is a Schaller Hamer piezo affair and will be thru-body strung. That angle IS intended with the bridge incorporating a basic intonation sweepback.

And trimmed: It's only rough-trimmed and I will finish off with microplanes and sanding blocks. The couple of blobs, by the way, are not blemishes - it's just where the Titebond has squeezed up through a couple of the natural fissures in the top. They will sand out easily. Why do I only rough-trim? Well, I find that sometimes the wood (particularly mahogany) bruises a little and if the template is absolutely spot on, there's really nowhere to go so I just find it easier to do the final smoothing by hand and that takes out any bruises or nicks easily. By the way - as those who follow my build threads already know - I always try to stress that I only describe how [b]I myself[/b] do some of these things, [b]not 'this is how it should be done'[/b]. How I work is often quite different to how many good builders work ... so, please, NEVER assume I know what I'm doing! The main difference here is that I use the top as the routing guide. Now pretty much every other experienced builder will say NEVER use the top as a routing template...and they are right. SO DON'T!! In fact, the convenional wisdom - for VERY good reasons - is don't even use your master template as a template. Use the master template to cut yourself a working template and use that as the routing guide. I do have a very logical reason for doing it the way I do it - and it works better and less risky based on previously tried methods for me... The wenge demarcation veneer here is 2mm constructional veneer: In case you're wondering, standard 0.6mm veneer works perfectly well, but when I do the carve, I want to emphasise the demarcation line and hence the thicker product. The other thing I know one or two folks are interested in is the laurel camphor. You can see the natural fissures well in this shot - those are not damage cracks, they are holes in the wood. How stable is it? Very. It seems to have a similar stiffness and workability to figured walnut. Actually quite nice to work with and not at all impacted by the voids. And just wait until I've put the finish on top!

Cable routing routed: Wenge veneer trimmed: ...and top glued on, pending trimmer-routing of the back wings:

Just gets better and better

It looks the same but it's properly flat now So now the bench and flat plank are free, on goes the first length of wenge 2mm demarcation veneer, clamped down by some mahogany offcut acting as a caul:

Next task is preparing for the top to be put on. My work with veneers has told me to always have some method of knowing exactly what and where things are under anything you're going to cover up. The easiest way is simply making an impression on a paper template: The first job was preparing the mating surfaces for cable rout channels, demarcation veneer, top chamber routing, etc.. And the first task was measuring the flatness of the assembled back wings....and not happy. Would the top 'ease' under clamping to give a good fit? Yes Would that have niggled me like crazy for the rest of the build? Absolutely So one of the wings had to come off. Quick wizz through the band saw: Then a re-flatten and mating angle adjust with a jack plane and levelling beam, then back clamped onto the flattest surface I have in the house to re-set and glue:

Good news. Good choice

That's looking really good

[quote name='MarkG3' timestamp='1505145885' post='3369797'] I might have to give up on this. If I move the bridge, it'll be in my way of playing, if I move the neck the screws to hold them will be going into the back on the thinner part of the neck [/quote] I think you are probably right. All options are likely to lead you down to quite a bit of skilled work and compromises which, from the sound of it, isn't really where you really want to be. Those options, from what I understand to be the problem, are going to be: - moving the bridge back. Issues can be practical in terms of how far back the bridge can go or aesthetic in terms of finish or fixings, or playability in terms of bridge position to playing position - or modding the neck or pocket so that the nut to saddle length is the same as the original. This is not something for the inexperienced to tackle lightly, and may compromise the fixings of the neck or the match up of the neck heel. It would be safer to sell the new neck and rethink what it is you want to do with the bass

Good progress, Jez

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1504877869' post='3367987'] I think this would look really nice with that piece of quilted Ebony you have - IMO it would compliment the light body beautifully... [/quote] The quilted ebony is designated for Tim's - and as I think I've got the only piece in the world, don't suppose I'll get any more But I'm a happy enough chappy - I think, with the way the camphor will darken, this will look pretty good with the snakewood

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1504875601' post='3367958'] Ooh, that's lovely. I wasn't even aware that there was such a thing as quilted ebony; every day's a school day. [/quote] I wasn't aware either!

I would buy the Squier (assuming it has a decent 'feel') and consider a future upgrade to the p/ups.