Andyjr1515

Good Luck Interesting project on a bass that has clearly had an interesting life....

OK - just done the first sealing coat before getting down to the finish-sanding. I reckon end of next week should see this finished and playable:

Looks very good to me, Grangur...

It looks cracking with the ebony fretboard, Rumple . Has that and the shorter scale length changed the sound as well as the feel? If so, in what way?

That's a lovely finish!

[quote name='planer' timestamp='1440112488' post='2848465'] This is my bargain-bin Harley Benton 'deko' electro-acoustic, bought from Thomman for about £40. It's nicer than it has any right to be really, though I might treat it (and me!) to some different strings; the stock ones are a bit, well, 'industrial' is probably the best word I can find... I love it though, and even more cos it was cheap :-) [URL=http://s4.photobucket.com/user/400abc/media/2015-06-21%2022.42.27_zpsbjuy5jur.jpg.html][IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y150/400abc/2015-06-21%2022.42.27_zpsbjuy5jur.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/quote] A set of D'Addario black nylons will transform it!

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1440118148' post='2848476'] Just like almost everybody else, since the 60's anyway. You have a rather elegant design, at least to the eyes . . . Once the bubinga gets finished I'd say it'll look even sweeter. The proof however, will be in the playing!. Not finishing the neck profile till you have it strung up is clever. Should help decide on a profile that suits you. [/quote] Thanks, PlungerModerno. I get it 90% there just using profile templates and general feel, but like (I'm told) buying a posh suit, the 'first fitting' always needs some subsequent tweaks so that it's just right. I only have to use scrapers at that stage, which is why you can do it perfectly well strung up, but even 1/2mm off in the right place makes a huge difference to the feel. Once it feels right, I pop a plastic bag over the body to keep the dust out, sand it lightly to get it smooth again and then refinish. Thing is, until it's strung up and on the strap, you can't really tell if the profile and thickness is going to feel right however close you can get beforehand.

[quote name='Chris Sharman' timestamp='1440008170' post='2847561'] My verdict? - Top Job! It now sounds even across all the strings both acoustically and amplified and plays far better than I would have expected for an instrument of that cost. [/quote] So, there you have it. Harley Benton acoustic basses (and many of their other products) can be very readily made into something that bangs well over the buck...and Chris's was one of the quality rejects!!!! The full price ones are even better and still bloody cheap. Rubbish news for aspiring builders like me, of course, but great news for the guitaring and bass-playing public in general. Can't think that there's ever been a better time for a huge choice of quality products at crazily low prices (not just HB but Epiphone, Squier, Ibanez, etc, etc).

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1440008700' post='2847564'] You'll find anywhere that sells Pet Food usually sells Boiled Bones. Those not stuffed with marrow make a very cheap source of Bone Bridges! [/quote] Good lead! Presumably gives you a nice shiny coat too

Hi I know that Shockwave is doing a HB deko refinish thread in the Build Diaries (it looks great, Shockwave ), but I thought it was worth popping this in the Bass Guitars section. I won't go through the 'how', just the 'what' which has made an unbelievably good value acoustic bass (less than £50, Chris?) into an unbelievably good acoustic bass, period. It is Chris Sharman's deko 5-string, as mentioned in Annoying Twit's epic thread. a ) The first recommendation I made to Chris was to fit some D'Addario black nylons. Yes - they cost almost as much as the bass, but I lent him my 4-string deko to see how much difference it makes. He gave me almost immediate thumbs up: I had to needle file the bridge a little to get the generous blue bindings through the holes (and should have tidied up the resulting fluff on the B string ) b ) The frets needed levelling in a reasonable number of places. Not bad enough to have to get the levelling beam out but there were high-spots on a good number of the frets c) Tightened the trussrod about 1/2 turn to get the right amount of relief d) The action, however, was far too low....unplayable. With a fixed neck, the only way is to raise the saddle. As a temporary fix, all I could do was shim up one side while I ordered a deeper saddle. The result was fine for acoustic (and MASSIVE improvement) but that's no good at all for a piezo pickup which needs flat contact right across the saddle. Good feedback from Chris, however. e) Bone saddle ordered, thinned and shaped. Look at the difference in height from the supplied plastic one. The little notch sanded out, by the way, is because I noticed that the very end of the piezo (not under any string) was high. If the notch wasn't there, it would lift the saddle off a bit on the treble side and the G string (and maybe more) wouldn't sing right through an amp. By the way, although it stinks when you sand or cut it, there is NOTHING quite like bone for saddles (or nuts for that matter) of acoustics - whether basses or 6-string steels. It transmits significantly more of the vibrations to the soundboard and piezo than plastic. Cheap too, even with the cost of the clothes peg you'll need to stick on your nose. f) Final tweak was to file the B and E string nut slots down a bit: The result is a really nice looking acoustic bass... : ...but one that - at least to my ears - also sounds great too. The best judge of that, of course, is Chris himself. What's your verdict, Chris?

Just confirming HowieBass's superior knowledge, here's what it should look like (albeit this is the 4 string version): I notice that the ball ends here are all sitting vertical and fully inside the slot...does that make any difference in your case, Colin? Looking at it again, It [b]will[/b] actually make a difference because set vertically, the string itself is fully positioned to the left (look at your E string...the string here will be too far to the right and only just hanging on!). What is not clear enough on your photo is whether the critical bit on your G string slot has been damaged, and if so, has it been damaged in a way that would mean that it won't hold however the ballend is positioned. It's worth a try though! Andy

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1439973052' post='2847110'] The ball end is supposed to be nestled in the round holes to the left. It may be that the slots to the right need filing a touch or that the strings simply haven't been eased fully through the access slot. Try threading the string directly through the round hole rather than slotting them in from the side. I don't think there's anything wrong with the bridge. [/quote]Actually, I'm talking bollocks! Just had a proper look at that particular bridge and HowieBass is quite right....apols

The ball end is supposed to be nestled in the round holes to the left. It may be that the slots to the right need filing a touch or that the strings simply haven't been eased fully through the access slot. Try threading the string directly through the round hole rather than slotting them in from the side. I don't think there's anything wrong with the bridge. Post Script: Amendment below!!!!

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1439839696' post='2846190'] Lovin the headstock Andy [/quote] Thanks, Ian It's the result of a consolidation of the results of the shameless theft of half a dozen or so ideas I've seen elsewhere!

I like your choice of woods, Ian . I'm also impressed with anyone who starts multiple large projects at the same time. The sheer efficiency of finishing two basses at the same time is something that would make my head spin

Headstock top done - still got to finally slim down the neck to suit the nut and sort the volute carving out, but it gives an idea how it's going to look: Still to do - volute; finish trim of the neck width; back covers; final sanding and filling; wax; side dots; assembly

That's bloody gorgeous, Rumple! Great job - one to be proud of

Thanks, Roman_sub! This afternoon was rough neck carving and fretboard profiling time. My favourite tools for the neck are spokeshave: ...and scrapers. Still got to do the volute and back of the headstock, but this is the first carve. I say 'first carve' because I get the whole thing strung up and then do a 'final fitting' when I can actually feel how it plays: Then got the 12" radius sanding block out and, roughing it first with a scraper, got the radius sanded onto the ebony: The headstock will have an ebony plate on it with my moniker swifts inlaid, but this is how it's starting to look: Thanks for looking, folks Andy

[quote name='Jabba_the_gut' timestamp='1439501410' post='2843469'] Cheers Andy for all the details and the link. I was wondering about putting a 2mm wide/10mm deep strip either side of the truss rod as should be easy to fit. Might just give it a go and see what happens!! [/quote] I would be interested in the result, though - especially if you did a neck the same but without the strips to compare The other reason I went for round rods was so it didn't end up TOO stiff. The 'I' value on 10mm straight will be very high and might prevent any movement at all... I think what I'm saying is that there may be a positive benefit, but I don't know the level of that benefit, the negative impacts and how you maximise the positives and minimise the negatives. I am not aware of anyone (there may be) who has done controlled experimentation with measurable results but would be genuinely interested to see them. Also, what problem are they trying to solve? Is it excessive flex, is it stability, is it reduced strain on the truss rod. My fear is that they gain a 'ooo, not going to buy it if it doesn't have carbon rods in it' trend based on dodgy evidence that they actually make the neck better. If they tangibly DO make it better, I'm all for it...they're easy to fit.

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1439505525' post='2843511'] 10mm would be a lot for me, 6mm would be around my range ...still be muttering 'whits the point?' though. So im going without then, good thing about just going this yourself...if it does all go tits up it just gives me a good excuse to slip out of the madness for a few hours and build another one [/quote]

[quote name='Jabba_the_gut' timestamp='1439501410' post='2843469'] Cheers Andy for all the details and the link. I was wondering about putting a 2mm wide/10mm deep strip either side of the truss rod as should be easy to fit. Might just give it a go and see what happens!! [/quote] Hi, Jabba This is my concern, though. Draw the neck profile full size and work out how close to cutting right through the neck you get. You don't have to go very far away from the truss rod before the neck is only 10mm deep in the first place. The only way to avoid that is to have the rods set well in towards the truss rod, where the profile is at its deepest, or to use rods that are less deep. I am certain that the rods give you a stiffer neck, but I'm less convinced it's a stronger neck in all cases.

The one niggling concern I have is having two extra slots down the neck. When you draw the neck profile at the nut end - and then pencil in the two rod slots and the trussrod slot - there's an awful lot of air and not a huge amount of wood left!

[quote name='Jabba_the_gut' timestamp='1439499280' post='2843453'] If I am going to fit them what size should be used? Andy's eBay link chap sells 2 x 10mm strips - would these be any good? Cheers [/quote] Hi, Jabba The actual sizes I ordered and used were round ones at 6mm OD and 4mm ID (ie 1mm thick)

Hi again, Ian It was from[url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/laptopconnections/"] this ebay store[/url] He sells hollows, solids, rectangular and round in various sizes and wall thicknesses. They use them for kites, R/C aircraft and R/C helicopters. You can also use carbon arrow tubes but they tend to be very expensive, with specific properties unnecessary for our types of use Andy

Hi, Ian I fitted them on my african bass build but, to be honest, only because Tom specifically wanted them fitting. To be fair, he takes his basses to all sorts of climates (including, of course, Africa) so I suspect it adds the psychological comfort of a little more potential stability but, like blablas, I've never really experienced issues where they would have helped. Unless my mech eng background is deceiving me, they certainly don't help prevent twisting, although they will reduce the amount you need to adjust the truss rod between extreme changes of ambient temperature. All the same, I'll try to track down where I got mine (I used round ones and am pretty sure they were from a kite supplier). Andy