Andyjr1515

That's the back starting to tidy up nicely. Hmmm...pesky sides next!

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1483366834' post='3206529'] [/quote] I've done a dye test on the veneer, Grangur, and the figuring actually shows through surprisingly well. Fully understand that dyeing nice wood figuring is a bit of a Marmite issue but I'm pretty sure this can be done 'sympathetically'

[quote name='Harryburke14' timestamp='1483385149' post='3206761'] If i wasnt following this keenly before, I definitely am now. Looking good, I must say. [/quote] Now you see my ulterior motive for doing a deal on the veneering. A guy has to get thread followers somehow!

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1483368697' post='3206555'] I'd turn it around personally. It would be a shame to hide all that beautiful grain. [/quote] I know where you're coming from, Mick, but actually you lose most of it that way round, including the starburst (the fretboard would cover the centre of the burst):

[quote name='Harryburke14' timestamp='1483353252' post='3206372'] A full build diary just for me? I feel all VIP [/quote] ALL the people I do jobs for are VIP's There are a lot of if's and but's involved, but this is the veneer that Harry and I are focusing in on: ....in this colour : Assuming all goes to plan, it should look absolutely splendid!

Well, apart from the control chamber cover that I am still pondering on, the physical build is pretty much finished I slimmed down the back of the headstock to suit the Schaller lightweight tuners, levelled and polished the frets and now have started THE BIG SAND! : Because complexities of the shape, the sanding and grainfill will probably take a few days. In the meantime the spray primer should arrive through the post (isn't it annoying that the near monopoly retail park stores sell spray paint but almost never stock the primer that the instructions on the tins they do sell emphasise MUST be used! White surface primer shouldn't be an internet job, for goodness sake!) . I've started doing some colour tests. Nic is after cream for the top, the sides and the wings at the back, leaving the through neck natural. This is one of the colour samples I've tried so far: Probably not a lot to see over the next few days...except sanding dust

[quote name='timhiggins' timestamp='1483348088' post='3206307'] Lovely work very impressive,as a matter of interest does the veneer have to be thickened [backed] when adding to a chambered bass or is it stable enough with the 0.6mm top ? [/quote] The veneer has no real structural strength at all. If you chambered from the top, you would need to cover it - a bit like a control chamber cover - and then veneer over that. It is probably how we will tackle this one. I'll be doing a thread on the progress so you'll be able to see how it all pans out. Quite often, on projects like this, decisions need to be made on the hoof, so it will be interesting how close the final method is to the present thoughts.

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1483301326' post='3206065'] Now that's a major result. Love Andy's work. The man's an artist. [/quote] Kind of you to say so, Cato. Though some might add the qualifier of p**s artist Having said that, all going well, this one's going to be a stonker

[quote name='Harryburke14' timestamp='1483285809' post='3205919'] Im going to make a serious effort to be there this year, seeing as i can now drive and all. Exciting ... [/quote] You could bring your newly-veneered Harley Benton!

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1483282224' post='3205872'] Ash may look ok stripped and oiled. It may look a bit bland though, and be prepared to see knots and 'interesting' grain. The benefit in Andy's veneer proposal is it would cover all ills in the look of the wood. The down side is its adding back all the wood thickness you may have sanded off; adding back the weight. [/quote] To be honest, the veneer would add a few ounces at the most - it's only 0.6mm thick. Wow, though, 11.5 lb is VERY heavy. Is it a visible all-round natural finish? ie, can you actually see that it's solid wood at the sides? The good news is that if the wood, ply ash or solid ash, is that heavy, then a decent amount of weight comes out with each chamber cut.

[quote name='Harryburke14' timestamp='1483276358' post='3205795'] I will have a look into this actually. Sand down, try and bring in all the edges by a quarter of an inch or so (or as much as i can get away with), maybe make it a bit thinner front to back, and refinish. I had looked into chambering and capping but that seems like far too much effort and i didnt want to lose too much sustain. [/quote] Hi, Harry Guitar and bass builds and mods is my hobby and I like doing veneer jobs because of the sheer transformation you can get for not much outlay. I'm presently doing some trials with different varnishes, etc so more than happy to quote you on a veneer job if you are happy to be a 'guinea pig'. If you are OK with some of the veneers I have in the loft, we can probably do a deal that gets close to your budget. Ref the weight, I suspect the body is plywood - it tends to be very heavy! Very feasible to get some wood out of it - and the tone is not likely to be affected at all (there are a lot of myths around on the topic). Drop me a PM if that's of any interest. Andy p.s. - these are a few of the veneer jobs I've done: This recent one is plywood (there's a thread in the Build Diaries)...nothing wrong with plywood: ...and this is also plywood (but probably couldn't do a deal on this type of thing ): This is my own Squier VM bass:

...oh, and by the way, I've now fitted two Aquilar P pickups - one for Paul_S's 5 string and more recently a 4-string version for jonnythenotes...and in both cases they sounded fantastic. LOTS of oooumph and clarity. They should also be on your list of possibles....

[quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1483274717' post='3205774'] Thanks everyone for the replies Yes it's more than an eq thing, the pickup just doesn't seem to respond tonally in the way I'd Like. I won't go the route of adding another bpick up as I will eventually acquire a new bass, so I will investigate some of the precision pick up suggestions. Cheers Thomas [/quote] Just had a listen on your website, Thomas. Some very interesting music...I've never heard contrabassoon played like that - sounds really good. Is it the Yamaha on Incantation? If so, I would have thought a bit of external EQ-ing (pedal or amp) could make a significant difference. Mind you, sounds pretty good as it is

Bit of a minefield, this. If you want to find a P pickup with a specific EQ, then the Seymour Duncan site is probably the best guide because it quotes both the output and the comparative EQ characteristics of each of their pretty wide range. If the link works, it's here http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickups/bass/p-bass However, it might not give you the answer you are looking for. The pickup position has a much greater impact on the tone than the pickup itself. Also, as Paul_S and I found out, the Musicman pickup is VERY low powered - it gets its volume entirely through the active EQ. An active EQ again can make a big, big difference, but they are pricey and have to be fitted. The cheapest and easiest first step is as geoffbyrne says above - try a cheap EQ pedal for starters (I gigged with a dirt cheap Behringer for years with a tonally troublesome instrument). If you want to experiment with a different pickup, then I agree the DiMarzio Model P has some merits or you could pick one of the closest EQ'd S Duncan ones. Or fit a bridge pickup....but the costs can start getting close to just buying another bass that suits you better.

That is superb! Wonderful stuff

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1483138894' post='3205079'] Wow...love it [/quote] Thanks, White Cloud I'm looking forward to seeing it painted! Weight wise, it's looking like it's going to finish at around 8.5lb, not bad with two such chunky p/ups. Balance should be good too with the long top horn and lightweight tuners.

I get to the stage where I go into risk avoidance mode...which usually means avoiding using a router! The bridge p/up chamber has therefore been done with a combination of forstner bits to rough out pretty close to the line and my freshly sharpened chisels. This is in progress: ...and this is in place There's loads of 'fit and function' tasks still to do, but the basic build will be finished this week. Then comes the painting and finishing

That's an interesting comment ref the Bongo. I converted Paul_S 's Sterling 5 to passive and added a P pickup in the neck recently. The Musicman pickup is exceptionally low output so I had to wire it in series to match the Aguilar's output. Sounded OK. Actually, as a pair, sounded great! I suspect it wouldn't be at all difficult to do the same on both pickups on a Bongo...anyone here tried it?

Superb!

Watching with interest, Maude It certainly looks better already without those...er...indidividualistic roses...

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1482936465' post='3203619'] Decided it has to be worth a go at a repair so set to today. I used a router to cut a slot bridging the cracks then made a couple of pieces to fit in there. I then forced glue into the cracks and fitted the pieces. That's all for today as the glue needs a day to go off fully. It will need dressing back and then a light skim of filler in places but should look ok when done. [/quote] That's an excellent way of doing it!

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1483026720' post='3204254'] Coming on a treat....Nic must be having a breakdown having to watch and wait.. [/quote] Pacing up and down like an expectant father, I suspect The Model One is in: I will be sinking the whole thing into the top by a couple of mm to give enough clearance for the strings, with the fretboard having been set intentionally low on the top. I'll do that tomorrow...and also see if I can get the bridge p/up in place too It's starting to pick up a bit of speed post the Christmas lull

With a couple of spare strings in place to line up with, this is probably where I will position the two pickups. The 'musicman' isn't actually a musicman - it's a much hotter passive lookalike. The Model One is also very hot and very bassy. As such, I've placed the bridge pickup around 1cm or so closer to the bridge than a Stingray or Sterling. They should give a usable spread of tones between the two pickups and in the middle position, especially as they will be wired to go series / parallel and split for each pickup as well as individual volume and passive tone controls.

Decent bit of progress this morning. The bridge has been positioned and fixing screw holes drilled: The neck/body transition is pretty much there: ...and the control chamber has been routed to finished depth: Now the bridge is in position, I can pop a couple of spare strings on loosely to line up the positions for the pickups

That's a GREAT bass to help you get you back into it