Silky999

Right… update time. Ziricote / sapele body now oil-sanded to 2500 grit and I may have accidentally summoned a small woodland spirit. The ziricote has gone full “brooding Victorian villain”, dark and dramatic, while the sapele is glowing like it’s just been told it’s the favourite child. The carve is doing that hologram thing where it moves every time you tilt it. I’ve spent an unreasonable amount of time just rotating it under the light whispering “oof”. Edges are basically glass now. If this gets any smoother it’ll need a warning label. No stain, no funny business – just oil, patience, and far too much staring at it. Hard wax oil going on next to lock it in and give it that silky satin feel without killing the depth. If this one doesn’t sound good, at least it can sit in the corner looking expensive and judging everyone. MGCS – Made to Play, Built to Last.

I didn’t expect the grain to pop like it did. It’s certainly a lesson learned for the future. I have a lovely couple of slabs of Lebanese cedar which one I don’t intend to top whilst the other will get curly maple ambrosia

Right. Confession time. Final clear coats on today. Gloss looking glorious. Standing there thinking, “That is absolutely spot on. I am a finishing god!” Then… during clean up… yes, during clean up… when the gun was down, the spraying was finished, and I was basically doing a slow-motion victory lap around the workshop… a rogue flick of thinner somehow produced a bubble right on the edge. Not mid-coat. Not during a risky pass. Not because I rushed it. During. Clean. Up. Which means lacquer doesn’t fight you while you’re working — it waits until you relax. Several entirely new swear words were invented. The sort that would make a seasoned fishwife blush and quietly reassess her life choices. So the body is now quarantined in a warm room while the clear cures properly. I’ll sort the area the right way and then lay down a final couple of refinement coats to unify everything. No panic. No bodges. Just patience, sanding blocks, and a reminder that the last 2% of a build is where character (and vocabulary) is developed. Still massively happy with how it’s come together — just slightly p***ed off by the timing. Made to play. Built to last. Occasionally built to test the limits of polite language. 😅

Mark, that is a reflection of my hands and phone lol…..schoolboy error……at least it wasn’t on naked Workshop day!

What about some Retrovibe Ultralites? They look a very similar shape and I have use them on a build and was I impressed with the quality. I think they only come in chrome so that might be the only issue? Made in South Korea and cheaper than Licensed Hipshots. https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-ultralite-bass-tuning-machine-heads-clover-leaf-or-lollipop-only-224g-per-set/

Thank you….

Dakota Red – clear building up nicely 🔥 Colour’s locked in and now it’s all about the clear. Got the first sessions of nitro clear on and it’s starting to build properly. You can see the depth coming through already — that wet look beginning to form before it’s even been near paper or a mop. A couple more coats of clear to really bury everything and give me some material to level back, then it’ll be hung up to cure while I try very hard not to keep wandering into the workshop “just to look at it”. So far it’s laying down well — no drama, no major sags, just that lovely glossy build that makes you believe you know what you’re doing. Flat, polish, then the real shine. MGCS – Made to Play, Built to Last.

Decision made on the ziricote / sapele build. After a lot of back and forth about whether to clear it in nitro, I’m keeping this one natural. It’s currently in the process of being oil sanded through to 3000 grit, and once fully cured it’ll be finished in a satin to mid-gloss wax. The ziricote has so much natural contrast and character that burying it under heavy gloss just didn’t feel right. And the sapele back is starting to show some lovely chatoyance as the oil builds — that subtle shimmer when the light moves across it. The neck will be glossier, so there’ll be a deliberate contrast — tactile body, slick playing surface. Still in progress, but I’m liking where this is heading. MGCS – Made to Play. Built to Last.

Thank you, it does sound good!

Walnut & Elm Jazz – Basically Done (Just One Screw To Go…) Just waiting on the Schaller strap button and then I can officially stop fiddling with it and admit it’s finished. Chrome control plate is now on, which sharpens it up nicely and stops me staring at it thinking “does it need something?”. It doesn’t. It’s done. I’m not touching it again. Probably. This one will be looking for a new home shortly. Specs: • Walnut & elm body • Nitro clearcoat finish • 9.8lbs (solid, but balances well) • Roasted maple neck • Rosewood board • Guyker tuners • Fender Pure Vintage ‘66 pickups • Bloodstone Guitarworks loom • Hipshot bridge • Schaller strap buttons Finished in nitro clearcoat so it’s got that proper thin, resonant feel rather than the dipped-in-plastic vibe. Set up properly. Low action, no nonsense. Tone-wise it’s got the proper Jazz thing — warm and woody on the neck, bridge has bite and a bit of honk when you lean into it. No active wizardry. Just good components doing what they should. Looking at around £750–£800 ballpark when it goes up properly. FS thread to follow once the final strap button goes in and I resist the urge to “just tweak one more thing”. MGCS – Made to play. Built to last.

Richard, I still think yours is an absolutely beast and sounds phenomenal!! If you fancy changing your bridge, the Hipshot has adjustable spacing so you can line up the strings to the poles. Have you used the walnut/graphite in anger yet?

Ziricote & Sapele Stingray – Currently Behaving Itself The ziricote drop top on the sapele Musicman build is now fully routed, drilled and shaped. Yes, I did point a router at expensive, dramatic ziricote. Yes, my blood pressure went up. No, nothing exploded. Pickup cavity, control cavity, neck pocket, ferrules – all in. It behaved far better than I deserved. It’s been hand-sanded and treated to Liberon finishing oil and the grain has absolutely gone full “look at me”. The ziricote is dark and moody, all swirls and drama. The sapele back is sitting there like the sensible mate in the group chat, warm and classy. It’s now hanging up to cure properly before the next stage. Once the oil’s hardened off it’ll get shellac, then gloss nitro. Because if you’re going to do dramatic, you may as well go full theatre lighting. Neck-wise, this one’s getting a gloss yellow maple Jazz neck. Proper vintage tint. Against the dark ziricote it’s going to look like it drinks espresso and judges lesser basses. This one’s shaping up to be classy with just enough menace. No rushing it. Let it cure, build the finish properly, and avoid any “character building” mistakes. More soon once the shellac goes on and I inevitably start overthinking something.

Walnut & Elm – Now Assembled (Nearly There…) The walnut and elm build is finally bolted together and strung up. Body’s come up lovely under the clear – the elm grain on the back is doing that topographical-map thing I can’t stop staring at. Front’s got that warm, deep walnut glow that just screams “play me loudly”. Spec as it stands: Roasted maple neck Rosewood board Fender Pure Vintage 66 pickups Hipshot bridge Bloodstone loom MGCS plate on the back (because branding obviously adds sustain…) Only thing cosmetically left is swapping the brushed control plate for chrome. The brushed one was a “let’s see” moment. Chrome is the right answer. We all know it. Even the bass knows it. Setup-wise… it’s not leaving the workshop yet. Action isn’t where I want it. Saddles are sitting higher than I’m happy with just to keep it buzz-free, even after dropping the neck heel depth slightly. That tells me there’s still something to dial in properly – whether that’s pocket geometry, relief, or a tiny shim rethink. It’ll get sorted. I’m not sending anything out that feels 95% done. Second best isn’t an option. If it leaves here with the MGCS badge on it, it’s right. Back to the bench. 🔧

First coats of clearcoat today which is toning down the red nicely.