Mikey R

[quote name='peted' post='406002' date='Feb 11 2009, 09:30 AM']I'm no Ricky enthusiast (so don't know how it's done traditionally), but i'd have thought that if you're going to bind the headstock that you'll have to do the neck/fretboard too. Otherwise it'll look weird where the binding ends at the headstock and the neck starts. No?[/quote] I would agree - unless you can taper the binding in some way... do Rickys have bound boards?

I was looking at this product, never tried it tho: [url="http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Chestnut-Ebonising-Lacquer-19772.htm"]http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Chestnu...cquer-19772.htm[/url] It might be better with just a couple of coats of ebony over several clear coats, to give a translucent effect. If you try this one out, let us know how you get on!

AHH, he's at it again! Good stuff as always, man do you build these quick!

erm, STICKER I think... Ive had a look on nationalrail.co.uk - its running very slow today, probably because of the snow. If youre training in from the Leeds end, you want to be on the 10:54, it arrives in Hornbeam park at 11:25. The next train is at 12:54 and doesnt get in till 13:25 so you'll miss some of the fun. To get home youre either on the 16:56 or the 17:56. If youre training in from the York end, you need the 12:18, arriving at 12:56. If you miss this one, then you need the 14:19 which doesnt get in till 14:56 - so probably better to try going via Leeds. The train home goes at 17:25, or get the 17:56 and go via Leeds if you get stuck talking. If you really want to get there before 12:00 then you'll need to go via Leeds, or set out at 21:57 the night before - youve gotta love nationalrail.co.uk.

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='397582' date='Feb 2 2009, 09:55 AM'][/quote] And thats what happens when I try to use the internet before 9:00 Will pay more attention next time.

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='397314' date='Feb 1 2009, 10:10 PM']...I guess thats why I'm still scratching around in my garage with a [b]dead mouse[/b]...[/quote] huh!?

Hi Al, Could you tell us how you routed out the Jazz pickup? Did you square off the corners with a chisel? Im just wondering if I need to buy a new router bit for those pesky singlecoils. Cheers!

I had a go on the Nordy bass on the Bassdirect stand at Bassday, the pink one with the fat singles. I was just so impressed with the tone with the bridge pickup solo'd - Good choice! Next four string Jazz I get will have a big split single on the bridge with an overwound humbucker at the neck, placed just like this Sadowski, That should get just about any rock tone out there! ohmy.gif Hmm, youve given me GAS. [sub]EDIT: Doh, messed up that post! Copied it back in...[/sub]

Nice! That walnut is just so good, its making me hungry. How are you getting on with the ash neck? Any different to maple or, say, wenge? Can you feel the grain under your thumb?

Hey, did you choose a builder? I cant remember...

[quote name='Merton' post='387601' date='Jan 21 2009, 03:14 PM']There's still a fair bit to do on that but Mikey thinks that to get mine to the same stage will take a fair few months so I believe there will be two builds running parallel for a while. I could have totally misinterpreted to, I'll leave that for Mikey to answer![/quote] Hey, we said it would be ready for 2012 The real hold up is that Im waiting for a decent moment / place to route the pickup cavites. Either I wait for [i]all[/i] of my neighbours to go out ( ) or find a garage nearby. A friend recently moved into a house on a main road so said the noise really wouldnt bother anyone, so I'll probably do that. Can I categorically state that its not because Im scared of messing up with the router (again) and Im stalling for time. Not at all. About the 3rd fret parallel thing - as the biggest stretch is down this end of the neck, and both me and Mert do most of our playing down there (being BASS players and all ), it makes best sense to make this end the most familiar. As you move up the neck, your fingers naturally start to angle in the direction of the frets, so I think its going to be a win.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='382931' date='Jan 17 2009, 12:04 AM']Small house, right? [/quote] Theres only so much room in any cupboard under the stairs...

[quote name='Merton' post='381503' date='Jan 15 2009, 05:05 PM']I'm sure Roo would love to see you stick a railway sleeper in the car and find a home for it in your house![/quote] I think I'd be looking for a new house if I brought that one home

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='381416' date='Jan 15 2009, 03:50 PM']Oooh! The Wenge - beware the lure of the Wenge! Theres some gorgeous big railway sleepers of Wenge in the warehouse near the wood floor section. Serious money but mouthwateringly wengey.[/quote] I dont think Ive got any tools that would actually be able to cut a railway sleepers worth into usable chunks! Then theres the look on my wifes face as I try to get it into the car. Last time I went, there was a HUGE slab of bubinga, about the size of a kitchen counter top. It was a monster.

Cheers Al, Im going wood shopping this weekend so I'll dress warm and take a pair of gloves. Whenever Ive gone to the mill, Ive always spent at least 3 hours in there as it takes that long to pick out the good pieces - and I reckon I miss a lot of the really good stuff. I hope theres some good wide 15mm maple left this weekend

BTW, that walnut looks clear and quartersawn - that was such a good find, hats off to you!

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='381118' date='Jan 15 2009, 11:43 AM']Here's the two body wings cut to final size and sanded. Next the edge channel will be routed for the binding. [/quote] Hey Al, Looking so good! Wich I could build this fast What were the rough thicknesses of the maple and walnut boards? Ive only ever seen 25mm boards at Boddys...? Or did you plane down the maple? Ricks are, what, 1 1/4 inch so ~32mm thick, so youd either have to resaw or plane the maple down quite a lot.

Stupid question: Is that the same toaster pickup as the guitar? [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Replacement_%22Toaster%22_Pickup_Front_SRK1F"]http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Replaceme...kup_Front_SRK1F[/url] Or does Kent make a bass version?

Looks like fun If those are all identical pickups, then they wont be humbucking - Im guessing this wont be a problem for you tho? Subscribed!

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='374552' date='Jan 8 2009, 10:39 PM']Also got a jig made tonight for the router, for shaping the fingerboard radius when it arrives. Hopefully Saturday I'll have time to go out and buy all the wood. then we can really get going.[/quote] Hey Al,could you post details of your jig? Is it a compound radius? [quote name='Al Heeley' post='376284' date='Jan 10 2009, 05:25 PM']I go up to Jogn Boddy's specialist timber warehouse in Boroughbridge - a bit of a hike but a vast selection of hardwoods cut and planed to different sizes. Takes a bit of rummaging round to find the right size/thickness pieces but thats all part of the fun. They had in some gorgeous thick slabs of Wenge today, well worth a trip if you're in the area.[/quote] I like John Boddys, its not so far from here. Do you get all your stuff from the shop or do you venture into the yard? Theres always loads of good timber in the shop, and not just the offcuts, but Im wondering if Im missing anything from the yard?

[quote name='peted' post='371608' date='Jan 6 2009, 08:16 AM']Received a reply from Jon last night saying that the jumbo fretwire shouldn't create an issue for the intonation. Disaster averted [/quote] Good stuff!

Hey, I just re-read the specs, I see you want jumbo fret wire - a lot of the guys in the US who build multiscale instruments use narrow wire, like banjo or mandolin wire. Mert and I are using medium acoustic guitar wire, cos our fan is much less than a novax. The reason is, using wider frets effectively moves the fret in a direction perpendicular to the fret. With parallel frets its all OK, as the direction perpendicular to the frets is all in one direction, towards the bridge, so that the space between them will still be correct. But with non-parallel frets, the distance you will move parallel to the strings will actually depend on the angle of each fret, so the intonation will be subtly incorrect. By using slimmer frets, you minimise this error. I havent done any maths to figure out the error, it may be negligible, but thought I'd say

[quote name='budget bassist' post='364252' date='Dec 27 2008, 04:16 PM']looking good, i like the truss rod wheel hole there, pretty cool idea![/quote] Cheers! - but its caused problems so its unlikely I'll be doing that on Mertons bass, with the angled frets and maple board I think it doesnt leave enough wood Merton, wat do you think? Oddly enough, it seems to be the aspect of this bass most people dont like! [quote name='budget bassist' post='364252' date='Dec 27 2008, 04:16 PM']Also, i think your bass is effing gorgeous d-basser![/quote] Totally - its very difficult to come up with a design that looks good with a slanted bridge, Dingwalls get it just right!

[quote name='d-basser' post='363142' date='Dec 24 2008, 11:16 PM']SUPERIOR TO A DINGWALL!?! nothing is superior to a 37" B! that build looks awesome though, lovely piece of work[/quote] I think I remember its strung with a high C rather than a low B

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='362798' date='Dec 24 2008, 02:08 PM']Thanks mate! I've reset the neck and added an active/passive switch since last time but stuck with the same pre-amp. Need to start playing it more, at the moment I'm in love with my jazz bass. I will port the Lemonbacker project over shortly...[/quote] Hi Al, good to see you over here! This bass was the original inspiration for me trying my fanned 5 So Im guessing resetting the neck made all the difference? How did you do that? Re-routed then shimmed?