SamIAm

Looks SO gorgeous! S'manth x

👋 Welcome Tim!

I drove out to Heathfield today (It's about midway between Royal Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne) to visit https://luthierssupplies.co.uk/, it is an aladdin's cave of beautiful wood (and other luthier related stuff) run by David Dyke, the atmosphere is full of the most lovely aromas full of promise of things to come. I'd visited once before, on the 8th of August to collect materials that were intended to be the basis of Flo, my second bass build. Pictured below is Twiggy (My first bass build) and the block of maple for Flo as well as the truss rod, carbon fibre support rods and wood to form the skunk stripes. Just 24h later it looked like this. Today, in an act of amazing kindness and generosity, I was given (at no cost) replacements for many of the bass build bits I lost in the fire. A lovely block of Idigbo (West African Hardwood), truss rod, two carbon fibre shafts and some strips of wood for the skunk stripes. (S'manth pinches herself to make sure she is not dreaming) S'manth x

Some years ago I required some cushioning for a similar problem whilst sat for a couple of hours on hard chairs. I found that a styrofoam bead filled, horseshoe cushion (One of those sold to air travellers as a neck support for snoozing) worked amazingly well ... and was small enough across to fit on most any chair. S'manth x

A delightful development! After a phone call to the luthier who supplied the original block of maple for my second bass (Which was turned to ash by the fire) it seems that he is going to give me a replacement block at no cost! (I was stunned!). I am hopefully going to pick it up tomorrow (Thursday) and it will mean that I can start the physical build of Phoenix! (I'd best start drawing up the design plan!) People are so wonderfully kind! S'manth x

Both. Phoenix is going to be made from a single piece of wood (Like Twiggy). The neck is going to be on the chunky side, with Twiggy I freformed the neck until it felt good ... I later discovered that I'd a profile that was quite similar to the .strandberg* Endurneck ... for Phoenix I aim mindfully crafting the profile in an Endurneck fashion, I plan to have a dual action trussrod and a pair (one either side of the truss rod) 4mm square carbon fibre rods; given the asymetric neck profile I want to reduce the risk of any untoward neck bending. S'manth x

OMG ... I'd missed that wood-database ... awesome info, thank you!

I've been offered a block of Sweet Chestnut for my bass build. It has been aged about 50 years and does not appear to be twisted. I've searched the web but not found a lot of information regarding its suitability for use in making a guitar. I'd appreciate hearing your experience, info, views relating to this. Is it a 'sweet' choice or a highway to dissapointment? S'manth x

Looks fab! I shall follow with great interest. What wood are you using for the body/neck? S'manth x

Some developments today. My makerspace colleague informed me that he believes he has a piece of Sweet Chestnut suitable for Phoenix; hopefully seeing it on Wed or Thur. I had been looking for a pup, my first choic was an EMG MM5TW ... but hens teeth are easier to find! I did locate a pair of EMG 40TWXs here on BC and was invensigating getting those ... and then I discovered that Thomann had the EMG MMTW in stock! They are a 4 string pup, but on Twiggy I used an EMG MMCS (Another 4 string pup) with great results. She was setup with a 16mm string spacing at the pup and given the scale length of 30 inches this actually worked very well for me. So ... I ordered one! With paypal I can spread the cost over 3 months (Cash flow is a challenge at present). So ... Wood - Hopefully sorted. Tuners - Arriving in the next week or so. Pickup - Hopefully here also in a week or so. I need to get a truss rod and a couple of carbon fibre stiffening rods ... but I'm almost at the point where I cn start the physical work on Phoenix! Very excited! S'manth x

I am particularly keen on the dual coil switching system. I’ve found a used set but we have yet to figure out a viable shipping approach.

Tried them. After speaking with their supplier they said it could take months! S’manth x

Or perhaps … I am Ambient, a musician. Among the instruments I play are the bass and the ukulele … works for me 😊

Phoenix is going to be a 5 string, fretless, headless, shortscale self build bass. She will be a celebration of life after I survived a fire in my flat. Design Goals Not look too out of place in a Ukulele band (Hence short scale and with a general ukulele look to her) Lightweight (I've a bad back) Affordable as the fire has left me with a lot of expenses; I need to take as frugal an approach as I can, without compromising Phoenix from a playability or sound perspective. So far Wood - A chap at my makerspace has offered me some Sweet Chestnut and I'm exploring this as an option, it would likely require a thru neck with wings approach due to the size available. I'm also considering if I can afford a replacement block of Maple. Tuners - After building my own for Twiggy, I've decided to 'go pro' this time and have ordered a set from @Andre_Passini of NovaGuitarParts; these are B Stock (Slight cosmetic blemishes) to reduce the cost. They should arrive by the end of Sept. Strings - I intend on using Rotosound tru bass tape wounds, I had a set on Twiggy and they looked, felt and sounded fantastic! Pickup - I had an EMG MMCS on Twiggy and loved it! I hope to use an EMG MM5TW or 40TWX for Phoenix, the double coil will give me some sonic options. Thing is they are proving almost impossible to source! Neck - Fretless. Headless. Zero Nut. With Twiggy I basically free formed the profile, and ended up with a shape that felt really great! Some time later I stumbled across the .strandberg* brand and realised that I had almost formed an Endurneck type profile; this time I will do so mindfully (With some tweaks), leaving enough thickness to accomodate the truss rod and twin 4x4mm carbon rods I intend to install using a rear groove with skunk stripe approach; the neck is to be a one piece. Body - Shape to be decided. I love the shape of the .strandberg, with their double scallop in the bottom edge for comfortable knee placement ... but it may be a bit too 'unique' to blend in with the Ukes in the band. More to come... S'manth x

OMG This looks fantastic (Thanks @Silvia Bluejayfor sharing details of previous events) ... and the stars have aligned ... I'm not scheduled to work that day and it's only an hours drive! It would be downright rude of me not to attend (And I am not rude) In my diary! , Bringing ... Me, weird sense of humour, Stompz, Kala UBASS, As much of the Phoenix Rig as I can including Quinn (Harley Benton 5 String fretless long scale) ... depending on how I progress with Phoenix I may bring her. S'manth x

Welcome from another Brightonian (Well Hovian but close enough for jazz! lol) S'manth x

You mention showing off ... perhaps turning up with a carbon fibre uke would qualify! 😉 S'manth x

Looks fab! I shall soon be starting on my second bass, 5 string headless sans frets ... I look forward to seeing how yours goes (and learning from it! lol). S'manth x

I am pulling together the bits for my next bass (Phoenix), I was hoping to use an EMG MM5TW or EMG 40TWX, but I'm struggling to find anywhere that can supply one. Any suggestions? Does anyone have experience of ordering directly on the US EMG website? S'manth x

Totally agree! Hobgoblin are more likely to have ... ahem ... afordable instruments, but in my local Branch (Brighton) they really know their stuff! Southern carry higher end ... I spent far (far) too much there a few years ago ... but the ukuleles I came away with did not dissapoint! S'manth x

Very very nice!

True, however tenors and sopranos are same tunings hence same chord shapes.

Regarding size of uke, I would suggest a tenor (I used to have several ukes, sadly all lost in a recent fire, the tenors became my goto before I started playing the bass). The fret spacings are wider. It is not uncommon to use a low G string, where the G is an octave lower than 'normal', it gives it a richer sound. Regarding brand, Kala make good ukes and start at not silly money (High end ukes can cost thousands!). S'manth x