SpondonBassed

It's your age dear.

I like the curve but I'd have it on a matching black plate extended to cover the truss rod access. The plate could carry an etched graphic to add depth to the design. Laminated plate would allow you to have colour in the logo. I'd cut the hole in the plate to clear the machine head nut else the nut would prevent access to the truss rod. With the mounting screws removed the plate will be loosely retained by the machine head and can be swung around to clear the truss rod adjuster.

If you are using the bearing guide correctly it will prevent the cutter from going inside the line of the template. The bearing must only be in contact with the template not the workpiece for it to work. The bottom edge of the bearing roller must be aligned to the surface of the template that is in contact with the workpiece. If it is not , the cutter will hit the template. A meaty template can take this and as long as the cut is less than a mm or so into the template it is fine to carry on. With practice you will find it easier to set the bit height to avoid template erosion. The first time you rout to a template can be daunting. A bit of practice at using the template on a test piece would help you to understand how the router reacts to changes in grain density and direction. It wont take long for you to get a feel for it. Deep cuts are to be avoided. The larger irregularities in your rough cut can be evened out first with hand tools so that you are left with a light cut for the finishing passes.

It might help if you think of it this way; The hole is not ugly. It is the bit around the hole that makes it look that way. In life you should be the best whole you can be by defining the sort of people you keep around you.

Re: Bez; Now I'm an unbeliever. Does Davy suffer from damp maracas? He must have problems what with keeping them in that locker of his and all.

Cool. I have never felt comfortable playing sat down but the socket position on each of my paddle basses makes it even more awkward for me. You've got a real talent there. Respect.

I know. Yet the nugget of truth therein can not be denied. Contentment does not drive creativity, hardship does. I have no sympathy though when that hardship is self-inflicted through substance abuse when otherwise, life is good. We seem to have a lot more middle-class whingers who might do well to go tee-total at least for one whole year of their adult lives just to see what it's like. Our country and lifestyle is the envy of the rest of the world and yet some highly privileged people behave like victims. Are they not the fifth wheels for the rest of us?

That's the spirit!

I like the inverted output socket. Is it your own design?

The sad thing is, it's true! It's hard to show raw passion these days.

A shining example to our youth. Bravo!

In fairness though, it took a scandal to make one of them more prominent in my memory than the other. Which one was he again?

...and like Ant and Dec, you never know which is which until they're stood on their marks.

Sounds like you are planning to scratch an' etch...

It took less than fifteen seconds for me to bin that link. Thanks anyway.

Continue the two tone thing? Why not make a "mini-me" version of the pickguard but fit it to the cream headstock as a kind of tribute to the late Verne Troyer. If you are fitting a string tree, use it to help fasten the plate down so you have fewer screw heads showing. Think of it as an extension to the truss rod adjustment cover.

Like lesser other fora, we've got a good selection of mongreloid instruments. Many of these have been birthed before our very eyes. I'm sure you've seen the Build Diaries already.

Pace yourself bro'. It gets easier to cack things up the nearer you are to completion. It's looking good and that headstock will be a conversation piece. Softly softly catchee monkey

His Dad, Abe Sr, is a cracking bassist too. In a career break while his wife was away from home Abe Sr stopped playing to stay home and raise Abe Jr for a couple of years. He then went back to gigging when his wife was back home to continue the parenting. I like both of them.

Welcome Smudge. I shouldn't worry about the logo issue. It hardly ever gets mentioned here and is in no way controversial whatsoever at all, your honour.

Hungry now.

Linda McCartney in Wings. Having said that; I am not sure if that recording of Linda singing badly is genuine. It was played on the radio a few years ago with the story that the sound engineer had taped it privately off the sound desk. I think they said that she was allowed to believe that her singing was in the mix but in reality the engineer never let it reach FOH. Anyone got a link to it?

That's heading towards a Wootenesque sort of yin yang theme. I can't really contribute more than that. Sorry. I just don't like pickguards.

Thongs but... no.

I have emphasized one of your criteria. For me personally, the feel of an instrument can be the deciding factor as to whether it gets used or whether it is a trophy. Never mind if it has the best pick-ups with the best electronic wizardry making signals from strings made of gold tape bound unicorn pubes. The material needn't be wood but thin composites feel creepy. Acrylic is cool. The density of it does something for me. It's a bit heavy though. I doubt we'll see @Andyjr1515 do one of his ultralight carves on a slab of acrylic however. Andy, if you have any inclinations towards doing that, please let me have first refusal on a build? What about exotic strings? With piezo, any material can be used to make strings within reason as long as it resonates and is stable. I know there have always been non metallic strings of gut and nylon but recently we've seen neoprene becoming popular on uBasses and the like. How many different materials are strings made from these days?