stereoplayer

This is therapeutic for me in retirement.

Back at it today… Butch got softer around the edges. Forearm contour is a little aggressive…but ok for me. Tummy contour isn’t enough but will do for now… Knowing me, I’m sure I’ll be doing mods down the road. Sanded to 220 grit. Union break…for the rest of the day…. The hardware is coming in piece by piece… The PU’s should have been ordered a long time ago…I predict the bass will be done before they arrive.

The weather turned cold-ish for the next day or so. Since I’m going to make a lot of sawdust rounding out the edges, I’m waiting for warmer temps so I can do this outside…😐

I used the back line stuff for my stereo rig. It actually sounded very good!

I appreciate your input and thank you for that!

I’m no luthier by any means. My basic tools so far are: A cordless drill. A small plunge router. And a 5” hand grinder…of which I’m going to do the contours with. A 5” palm sander. And various other handheld tools, nothing fancy. I did buy the PU routing templates and a couple of router bits.

Next up will be the rounding of the edges and heavy contours. All the parts have been ordered as of today.

Next up…the control plate will be mortised. I did a lot of this kind of stuff at my old job I retired from. I made a jig and made quite a few test routes in scrap wood. This wasn’t as stressful as the other routes. The pocket seems low to me…it’s the way I received it.

The next step was the drilling of the wiring holes. Very stressful. Lots of planning. The control chase was almost ruined but the next step covers that.

1st up, the PU routes. After locating the bridge base location, I laid out the PU locations. I bought a set of J PU templates…ran quite a few test routes on scrap wood. I routed the PU’s in . This step is always stressful…you only get one chance.

After the success of my last build, I’m putting another one together. I’m having fun already. This one is a j body blank body that I got with the neck route, bridge location and control pocket only. I think I counted 8 pieces of walnut…hence the name, “Butch” for butcher block. I ordered the custom PU’s already from Tom Brantley. They will be single coil, tapped at ~ 60% and 100% output. There is a lead time of about 6 weeks. The PU locations will be routed to my specs. It will be wired stereo. With two, three way mini switches. On/off/on or about 60% volume/off/100% volume. No knobs. A standard Fender bent plate bridge. Dunlop strap locks. A chrome neckplate. AllParts P Fretless neck, ebony board with no lines. Schaller tuners. Pretty simple but very effective. It roars….punch and crunch!

I used the backline bass amp and guitar amp for my stereo rig. I really like the sound of this setup. I got many compliments from patrons.

The picture works here too! Nice rig!

Must be a coffee house gig…

Last nights rig. I dialed it in early…it sounded great!

I would certainly rock that amp! Very Nice!

Nice, I reposted your picture. It didn’t work for me.

Mini stereo rig. GK Fusion 500 X MarkBass 102, 4 ohm cab for the neck pu. MarkBass 801 combo for the bridge pu.

The 8” speaker has no problem keeping up with the 102 cab….it is a combo😁, for just the bridge pu. The rig sounded superb!

Those knobs are meant to be moved. I try all sorts of stuff.

I use GK heads with mine. They give me all the tone and power in need. I have a GK fusion 500 and 3 MB-200’s. My mini stereo rig. I love MarkBass speakers. They deliver.

I have three of them…I love them…😎

Small stage, small bar. Small stereo rig. My newest configuration. MarkBass 801 for the bridge PU and a GK MB200xMarkbass 102 cab. for the neck pu.

Awesome stuff! Congrats!

Five coats of oil finish for a nice, easily repairable, matte finish. It feels nice in the hands. I’m waiting on international shipping for my shielding paint. I have copper tape but I prefer the paint in the PU routes.