apa Posted January 21, 2013 Posted January 21, 2013 I recognise that handwriting............... Yandels by any chance? A Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted January 21, 2013 Author Posted January 21, 2013 Well spotted! Yes, Yandles, That's half of the piece that I bought , I'm going to try making a fretted neck with the other half as practice for building a through neck Thunderbird later in the year. Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted January 26, 2013 Author Posted January 26, 2013 The neck is taking shape: Trial fitting: Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted January 28, 2013 Author Posted January 28, 2013 I spent last night shaping the neck: Close up of boxwood board, it really doesn't do it justice, I'll get a better picture when I've polished it up, it will take a high gloss finish without any sort of varnish or coating: Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted February 2, 2013 Author Posted February 2, 2013 I couldn't resist screwing the neck on for some pose testing: Close up of the boxwood board : Along side the second prototype (I'm so pleased with the proto that I'm keeping it as a rough gigs backup bass) Quote
apa Posted February 3, 2013 Posted February 3, 2013 Really liking that boxwood neck Only thing though - As nice as it looks, is it a good idea to have a knot in there? It will be a very hard spot? A Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted February 3, 2013 Author Posted February 3, 2013 I can't think of any problem that the knots might cause in this situation.... unless you know otherwise? Quote
apa Posted February 3, 2013 Posted February 3, 2013 I was just thinking that knots are a harder wood than regular grain and would possibly cause a change in tone at that point. Then again it might not. Just a thought A Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted February 3, 2013 Author Posted February 3, 2013 I'm sure I can live with it, it's about as far into the dusty end as you can get. Quote
apa Posted February 4, 2013 Posted February 4, 2013 im sure it will be fine. Im probably splitting airs anyway. Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted February 17, 2013 Author Posted February 17, 2013 I'm trying some old strings on to get the board / set up finished, I don't have my amp at home, hope to hear what this bass sounds like on wednesday. Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted February 19, 2013 Author Posted February 19, 2013 Well, not quite finished, I still need to make the cover for the wiring and there are a few duff notes at the dusty end but I've reached the "take it out and play it for a while to find/solve teething problems" stage. I hope to rehearse on Wednesday (my first chance to plug it in) and record on Saturday. Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted February 19, 2013 Author Posted February 19, 2013 To recap: Version 1: (in all it's plywood glory) Version 2 : Version 3: Quote
apa Posted February 20, 2013 Posted February 20, 2013 Really like it Dom The [s]maple[/s] Boxwood fingerboard is lovely and the black hardware and strings is a perfect match. Doesnt detract from the wood. Are those strings those black taped round wound thingy Fender ones? Sooooo a few duff notes at the dusty end!! Any particular reason why?? A Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted February 20, 2013 Author Posted February 20, 2013 Thanks everyone, yes the strings are Fender Black nylons, I love to tone and feel of them, slightly lower tension than most strings. The strings aren't getting enough clearance from about 15th fret position, I'll sort it out over the next few weeks. I won't be using it on this weekend's recordings, I won't have time to perfect it before then, I'll use the mark 2. Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted February 21, 2013 Author Posted February 21, 2013 Update: i did all the work that I'd planned to do today quicker than I expected so I had an hour to kill before the school run. I'd examined the neck carefully and noticed that the board was still very uneven. I took the neck off and sanded it down with 150 grit paper stuck to the underside of a plane. I spent about 20 minutes on it paying special attention to the heel end where i'd had the clearance issues. I've just put the neck back on and the early signs are of a huge improvement, super low action, all notes nice and clear. If this is foreplay, I'm a dead man. Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted February 24, 2013 Author Posted February 24, 2013 (edited) It's not over .... I had a day in the studio and because I've not had a chance to road test this bass I took the Mk2 as I know I can get exactly the sound I'm after from it. I ran into an old problem - cheaper instruments often struggle to produce a good sound in the studio (even if they sound fine live) , no idea why but it's something that I've noticed over the years. the Mk2 has pickups that came from a Lindo bass that was about £100 new. the Mk3 has some similar looking pickups that cost me £7.50 new! I bought them just to see how they would do. I've not really had much chance to try the new bass plugged in yet but I think it deserves some nice pickups , probably Wizard 64's. Edited February 24, 2013 by Dom in Somerset Quote
Dom in Dorset Posted March 24, 2013 Author Posted March 24, 2013 My path is strewn with cowpats from the devil's own satanic herd. The woodworm is very much alive!!!!! I've been a bit disappointed with the tone of this bass , could it be that I'm losing out because the body is more mold, holes, worms and worm poo than wood? The solution- I'm stripping it down , treating for woodworm then soaking for a few days in cellulose wood hardener. Quote
nugget Posted March 24, 2013 Posted March 24, 2013 Thats a pain, I miss-read your post [quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1364123491' post='2022033'] I'm stripping down , treating for woodworm then soaking for a few days in cellulose wood hardener. [/quote] Thought you were stripping down and treating yourself for woodworm and soaking in wood hardener Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.