Andyjr1515

The innovation and build quality of this leaves me speechless... I agree, with an earlier comment - sound clips! We need sound clips

Here's the Jack Bruce Thumb tribute build I did for Pete, our old-gits band's bassist:

[quote name='rk7' timestamp='1435649466' post='2810878'] Great work! Haven't spent enough time on BC recently, so I've just read this thread in one sitting. Brilliant design and manufacturing skills on show here. thank you please RK [/quote] Thanks, RK - and your avatar is still the winner We're waiting for Tom's feedback of the first professional gig with it...I think it went well but only had the headlines so far Andy

Warmoth strat bodies are the same. They put a warning label on the heel telling you not use full length screws at the front. Not sure about their basses, but they may be the same.

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1435562734' post='2809925'] Blimey it is small! [/quote] That reminds me of my wedding day.....

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1435530708' post='2809828'] Looking excellent Andy [/quote] Thanks, scojack Slow, though...

I was doing some more on the 6 string electric but while the router was out.... Managed to route the pickup chambers: Earlier on, I talked about how dinky the thumb proportions are (bearing in mind that this is similar dimensions). Here it is next to the 6-string electric!: Cute or what Andy

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1435448422' post='2808962'] My view is, depending on the body style, it's the most sensible way to lay out a bass for most players. Excluding Reverse T-bird shapes and other very asymmetric shapes intended to hang differently, the bridge should be as close to the end of the body as possible to create the most portable and easiest playing instrument for most players. IME with a 32" scale Westone, which has the bridge moved rather than the neck shortened the full 2" from 34" versions, like the one below: It hangs a little farther to the left than my 34" scale P. It's very playable, but If I were to do one major mod, it would be to move the neck pocket and the bridge roughly 2" right as it hangs when being played. [/quote] Fascinating....it's something that I'd never really given much thought to before working on the Curbow. Clearly, much cleverer people than me had

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1435406065' post='2808492'] I loved everything about my thumb except the long scale length. A short-scale version would be something to see so if the mood takes you Andy..... [/quote] Well, as the saying goes....for only a touch less than a king's ransom, such a beast could be yours The project is going a little bit slowly because I'm doing other stuff for people and this - being for me - is tending to come down the priority list. If successful, though, I do plan to try some other variations along the same theme. One thought is, as you say, a short-scale...so maybe not a full king's ransom... The other, which my last two bass projects have got me thinking about, is full scale, but with the bridge fully aft. The two that I've done are: The Cort Curbow walnut rebody: ...and Tom's African wood bass (which gets its first professional gig TONIGHT!!!): When I looked at the Cort Curbow at first, I thought it was a short-scale bass...it's DINKY! It's actually 34" scale but everything is set as far back as it can, so the nut is a good 2-3" closer to the player than a conventional bass. The light body is also compensated by the same difference...it's a very clever design. With Tom's bass, the thinness of the body and the extended scale (it's 34.5") meant it was likely to neck dive dreadfully. So I did the same on this and it balances fine, and also doesn't feel like an extended scale at all (Tom, when he first picked it up, fully agreed with my own view on these two points). In terms of construction, to do the same would be a doddle - single fixed bridge placed at the back, longer notch on the neck and it's done! What do people think - is there an interest in full scale basses that have the neck set well back?

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1435262923' post='2807166'] Finished! Immense build Andy, you've got some serious skills. And I always enjoy reading what you have to say. Nice [/quote] Thanks, Mel - means a lot

[quote name='HazBeen' timestamp='1435171608' post='2806242'] Very cool build! [/quote] Thanks

The other build I'm doing at the moment (walnut 6-string electric) is at a temporary halt while I try to work out how the hell to bend wood binding round an impossibly tight radius, so I was able to spend a couple of hours on the fretless this morning. I worked out that a neck angle of around 2 degrees was all that would be needed to get the correct action range. All I do, with this build method, is incorporate the angle in the dog-leg notch of the neck. Rather than having to set up routing rig, I just band-sawed it and planed/sanded the top face flat and level: Next was to create a cut-out in the bubinga for an overlap of the neck joint. This feature is a good example of learning by your previous mistakes . On the tribute, I slotted the neck up to the body /neck joint line. The result would have been a catastrophic thinning of the neck at the join for which I had to compensate with a very inelegant heel. NOT going to do THAT again Here's the extra cutout: ...which gives a decent amount of overlap so I can carve the heel properly where there is still a full depth of mahogany. Slotted in, it looks like this: Remember that the proportions are the same as a Thumb. The shot above gives a good perspective of just how tiny the body is and how proportionately long the neck is. From the back, it looks like this: Now I've got these major datum points fixed (after a bit of fettling to close up any gaps and routing of the pickup chambers while the top's still flat), I can slim the neck down and start the body carve. Thanks for looking Andy

Looks pretty damn good to me!

Any progress? Any pics?

I love that walnut, Ian Black hardware or not, the satinwood one looks fabulous!

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1434404943' post='2799346'] you read my mind,. Muchos Cahoonas .. all i'm sayin [/quote]

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1434401137' post='2799297'] Would have been good with a template, but freehand , nice work Andy Ian [/quote] Some would say reckless

[quote name='roman_sub' timestamp='1434384490' post='2799097'] Andy, Thanks for explaining. Don't think Warwick use mahogany (much) so interesting how this one is going to turn out tonally (maybe somewhat deeper/warmer tone?)... May be wrong, but is mahogany softer than the more "typical" Warwick neck woods, e.g. wenge / ovangkol- so does the mean any changes in terms of the finish you are planning to apply? Roman [/quote] Hi, Roman The change to mahogany is because of the factors above...I had two separate pieces of Ovangkol , both with problems. Mahogany was in the end the safer option. It will be interesting to do a side by side with my tribute build (which I will be able to do)...although the p/ups are also different - the tribute p/ups were MECs and this one will be Seymour Duncans. It's 'essence of' rather than a dead copy of a copy Andy

[quote name='Joebethell' timestamp='1434371359' post='2798953'] Looking great [/quote] Thanks, Joe

[quote name='roman_sub' timestamp='1434374111' post='2798982'] Andy, this is looking really great, and I look forward to seeing this progress :-) Just a question re: hardware, did you choose "W" hardware because of a particular characteristic / tonal quality? Would be interested to hear a builder's perspective here .... Cheers, Roman [/quote] Hi, Roman That's a sort of 'Yes and No'. The intention is to have a bass that has the same feel, balance and sound as the thumb tribute I built but without it trying to look like a copy. As such, by and large, the dimensions, woods and hardware are going to be the same where practical. The other reason is that I like some of the features of Warwick hardware and it is really not comparatively expensive in terms of bang-for-buck. It is remarkable how reasonable the prices are considering that this is what they put on their very expensive German-made models. I like the adjust-a-nut...especially for a fretless...and I like the mass and height adjustment options of the bridge (the top half is adjustable for height as a block, and then additionally each of the saddles. Particularly for a homebuilt set-neck, that means that - in the event of the action needing to be higher - I don't end up with the rather unnerving 'saddles on stilts' . Instead, the whole block is adjusted for the correct general height and then the saddles simply adjusted to match the radius. Andy

Started on the bridge and tailstop routing so I can determine the angle and position of the neck. I'm using Warwick hardware which is set into the body, so both needed chambers routing. Although you see a Dremel here, I used predominately my little Bosch trimmer router - bubinga is very hard and the Dremel kicks too often to be used for the main rout - even for most of the trimming...I just use it for the tight radius corners. Because this build is for my own use, I took a risk and freehanded it. For people I build for, I always cut a template and use a bearing router-bit. Although clearly I ignore my own advice, I wouldn't recommend doing it freehand - again, one kick and suddenly you have a slot where you didn't want one As it happens, I got away with it. Here's the tailstop slot: ...and then the height-adjustable bridge: ...and here they are snugly in place Next job, sorting the neck angle and cutting the angled dogleg in the neck...

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1434196411' post='2797521'] Just curious but what did the final assembly weigh in at? [/quote] In the rush to get it all sorted for Tom's visit - and with the expectation of slimming the neck down when he was here - I forgot to weigh it! Perhaps Tom will be able to at some stage...

Thanks, folks I'm waiting for the first 'used in anger' report from Tom. It will be interesting to know how well it performs live

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1434125536' post='2797010'] Nice. The bubinga is lovely, and it will no doubt look even better with finish and the shades of the neck & fingerboard to set it off! [/quote] Hi, PlungerModerno - yes...it's a lovely piece of bubinga. I know this one is a slow build, but I've got high hopes for it

Hooray! I'm further on than I was, in spite of redoing the neck. I got the Makita thicknesser out and set about slimming the neck blank down to the 63.25mm slot I'd previously routed in the bubinga. I just LOVE that thicknesser Aided by the superb quality of the mahogany blanks, I slimmed it down quite quickly by around 6-7mm each side, then was able to take a further one eight of a mm (!!!) off each side to get it to fit like a glove: It doesn't often happen but immensely satisfying when it does! This is it the right way up: The neck will have a notch taken out, angled to create the neck angle and to bring the fretboard surface up level with the top of the top. But before I do that, I've got to position the bridge, height and distance from the back. Check, double check, triple check...... Thanks for looking Andy