henry norton

[quote name='Thunderpaws' post='840128' date='May 17 2010, 09:12 PM']Hello. It's been a while but I've been super busy. Anyway, got to do some work on the fingerboard today. Deliberated for too long on marking and cutting the fret slots. Ended up just making a cut for the nut and measuring from there. Nothing fancy, just used my saw up against an engineers square clamped to the finger board. I then measured and mark from the nut, using the fret space calculator from Stew Mac. I took off half the width of the saw kerf to the centre of the cut should line up where the centre should! I think I was a tiny wee bit off with a couple of frets (around half an mm) but I don't know how much of a difference this will make to the intonation. Hopefully not too much. I'll get photo's up tomorrow maybe. Now I need to either cut the shape of the fingerboard or stick it to the neck blank before cutting the shape. g[/quote] That's the way to do it - nut first then the rest of the slots. Don't worry too much about a half mill, there aren't many musicians who could tell the difference! I would cut & shape the board first then stick it to the rough cut neck. That way you have a positive point (the edge of the board itself) you know to stop at.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='835110' date='May 12 2010, 11:31 AM']I think you should leave the teeth in the cutaway [/quote] Give the sound a bit more bite.....

Sides, back attached and nearly all trimmed and the rough cut front.

Thanks for the encouragement! My first prototype will be in black with white binding, unbound rosewood board with dots and mostly chrome hardware. The one headache I have is sorting out a chrome cover for a DiMarzio Model 1 as they usually come with a black cover already attached. If I get around to doing a piezo bridge version I'll do it in natural blonde with a fretless ebony board. Anyway, more laminating to do....

[quote name='cheddatom' post='822763' date='Apr 29 2010, 11:12 AM']I really like your designs[/quote] Thanks! I think there's a big, relatively untapped middle ground between the high end/way out luthier stuff and bog standard Fender derivatives. [i]I[/i] can't find much out there anyway so I thought I'd have a go at filling the gap myself. I'll keep posting...

I've been working on making some high quality laminated bodies for a set neck semi hollow bass in the same vein as the Gibson EB-2 and Guild Starfire. It'll eventually have a small centre block just under the bridge and a set mahogany/maple/mahogany neck with a 31" scale. I got fed up looking for a decent short scale semi with double cutaways and decent pickups/electronics, so here I am wrestling with birch veneers and vacuum presses. The first will have a DiMarzio model 1 and Schaller HB with some interesting switching options and a second fretless one with a piezo bridge and no centre block. I'd like to do one with Darkstars but at 200 dollars a go I'll wait 'til the first two are proven. Shed loads still to do but watch this space...

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='818887' date='Apr 26 2010, 10:04 AM']Archtops?[/quote] Ahhh, I'm thinking along the lines of a PRS style carved top and an alternative (cheaper) slab bodied version. As for real arch tops; The humble beginnings of a laminated semi hollow/thinline bass in same vein as the EB-2 & Starfire. But that's for another thread....

Looks really nice - good to see something that's not just another Fender copy.

I always thought the 80s was quite a rich and diverse decade for music - it wasn't all Stock Aitken & Waterman. As for the TOTP performance, isn't it more 'arty' and 'edgy' if they didn't all follow the theme? I certainly don't find it offensive enough to wrap his headless around his neck!

[quote name='uzzell' post='797974' date='Apr 6 2010, 09:19 PM']A few details to play with: 5 String Jazz shape (tuned E-C) Natural Oil Ash body Maple undotted neck Decent 9v pre amp Unsure on pickups yet but likely to be Jazz variation (maybe Delano) I am aware of sites such as Warmoth etc but I have no idea on how to construct such an item. I know this request seems like one of those 'splitting hair moments' but it is a real ambition to have the Jazz I really want.[/quote] All that sounds like a piece of p#ss, asides from having no dots and an oiled body, it could come off the shelf from any number of companies. At the risk of cutting my own throat, you might be better off buying a Warmoth neck and body then paying a good guitar tech to put it together for you. You'll get everything you want for less money and without the possible problems dealing with a maker the other end of the country whose products you've never been able to try. And if your local tech doesn't do a good job you're only a short trip away from wrapping the guitar around their neck in person Just a thought, but if I had to wait nine months for a bass guitar (especially after laying down a hefty deposit [i]and[/i] being told it would be 6), I'd actually be pretty hacked off, no matter how friendly/approachable/affable/nice the maker was.

It's probably meant to be something like brass - a copper alloy. Copper is way too soft, too expensive and difficult to machine so whatever it is, it ain't copper....

Lemmy has only 200 watts going into 2 4x12s and 2 4x15s - you can't accuse him of being quiet.

The main thing is some people think they look quite cool

I wonder whether we'll be seeing more small valve bass amps on the market. Now we all know you can get more watts than you'll probably ever need, with virtually no weight, maybe people will start realising it ain't all about the numbers. Well impressed with this one

How about a notch filter?

Brass didn't make much, if any difference to the standard plastic job fitted to my Precision - it's also easy to forget if it [i]did[/i] make a difference it would only be on the open strings. (Hope I'm not sounding too condescending).

Yeah I guess that's allot of dosh - presumably because everything from the bridge to the pickups and the ultra cool string anchor plate is custom made for this bass. I'm sure it could do without most of them but there again, if it had a Seymour Duncan P pickup and Hipshot hardware I probably wouldn't want one.

I never much liked Rob Allen's basses before now - especially the single cuts (I can actually hear your shouts of derision from my comfy office chair in rural France), but I like this one rather allot. [url="http://roballenguitars.com/solid4.html"]Much nicer looking Rob Allen Bass called the Solid4[/url] Maybe it's the simplicity that appeals to the Precision player in me. Perhaps the attention to detail like the lozenge shaped P90-ish pickup or the rather cool string mounts gives me levels to strive for as a builder of specials. Or maybe - probably - it's because it looks like a simple, high quality bass that's not another blummin' Fender clone. It's even more expensive than one of his amoeba-like single cuts, let alone a US built Fender, but I just might have to flog my car....

What a cool piece of kit! I've been sketching one string basses for a couple of days now and look what turns up! That's so cool I think everyone should have one Love the whammy too

Thanks for the replies - I'm going for a contour on the back but flat on the front with just a small rad, like a Les Paul Junior. I don't know about binding on this one but I was thinking of doing another bass this shape with a carved maple top a-la PRS (along with a pair of Rio Grande Pit Bulls), so maybe binding will go nicely with that.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='780902' date='Mar 20 2010, 05:33 PM']Can I just confirm these are Nitro? How does the finish last with a few plays a week or so?[/quote] +1 on EssentialTension's post - There's a huge amount of bullsh#t regards NITROcellulose, POLYester, POLYurethane etc. My 20 or more years Precision is cellulose finished and still looks good despite being my everyday (money making) bass for at least half of that. If the bass suits you then don't worry about the finish! All I'd say is if you're going to spend 1,300 quid, take a look at the other options first. You could put together a similar spec bass for half that (I'll build you one for 1,200! ), but at the end of the day, it won't have "Fender, Made In the good 'ol USofA" written on it.

[quote name='henry norton' post='775460' date='Mar 15 2010, 06:54 PM']Got all the general layout, angles etc. sorted for the short scale now. I'll be making the 'proper' body out of mahogany now I'm happy everything fits. I've been thinking about profiling the back, Strat style, but I'm not sure about the front. What do you (collective Basschatters) think?[/quote] COME ON!!! Someone must have an opinion. Strat style profile on the front or not???????????

I don't think Youtube would really do the sound of this instrument justice - I'd love to hear one live. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfozEG98U_M"]Octobasse[/url]

OK, OK, it's not a whole bass but hear me out! I can't put it in 'build diaries' because I'm not actually building it right now, I'm just experimenting with glues and laminates, but eventually I hope to have a few variations based on the same arched tops and profiles. The first one'll have DiMarzio EB type pickups and the second will have Darkstars. If this thread's still live when I get it finished I'll post!

[quote name='Metalmoore' post='774735' date='Mar 14 2010, 11:06 PM']Well due to the fact i cant get a hold of shinhoman (not been able to for a few months now) it seems it wont be getting made until i can get someone else to make the body for me. But it WILL happen...[/quote] I'm building a Fenderbird-ish bass ATM. Looking forward to watching this come together Why did you go for the Wizards?