deaver Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 This has all the makings of a disaster - you have been warned. I'm about to embark on Project No. 2, this will be an attempt at the Entwistle Fender Explorer-Bird as seen on the Who Are You video (see photo) Could be a long haul this one [attachment=102899:oxexplo.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Mmmm, Interesting. . . . . . Good luck with your build. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Grand, I shall be following this one with interest. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 We're all very patient on here don't you know What's the spec then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Nice bass. Looking forward to it mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkG3 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Good luck with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaver Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 [quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1332143863' post='1583732'] Mmmm, Interesting. . . . . . [/quote] I thought you might be interested, I nearly dropped you a PM with a request for info seeing how you'd met the builder of the original. Thanks to everyone for the supportive comments by the way. Spec wise, I've not quite made my mind up yet whether or not to go for a close aesthetic copy or a 'homage'. I'm currently inclined towards the former. Having had a closer look at the bass in the Bass Culture book this morning a couple of things come to mind: Hardware, looks like earlier Thunderbird electrics and bridge - not sure how I'll replicate this, originals will be out of budget Body, not sure what type of Explorer body was used, it looks to me as if some remodelling of the lower horn had taken place to allow fret access but I've not completed the research yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Surely an Explorer-bird would be a cross between a Thunderbird and an Explorer, whereas what you are planning to make is a cross between an Explorer and a Fender... ...Fexplorer? ...Expender? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatEric Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 [quote name='deaver' timestamp='1332158495' post='1583970'] I thought you might be interested, I nearly dropped you a PM with a request for info seeing how you'd met the builder of the original. Thanks to everyone for the supportive comments by the way. Spec wise, I've not quite made my mind up yet whether or not to go for a close aesthetic copy or a 'homage'. I'm currently inclined towards the former. Having had a closer look at the bass in the Bass Culture book this morning a couple of things come to mind: Hardware, looks like earlier Thunderbird electrics and bridge - not sure how I'll replicate this, originals will be out of budget Body, not sure what type of Explorer body was used, it looks to me as if some remodelling of the lower horn had taken place to allow fret access but I've not completed the research yet [/quote] From what I remember. . . . The body was drawn up by Peter, Explorer shape and sized to keep everything in scale, so it doesn't match up exactly with any other Explorer shaped bass. It had a raised centre section, as per a Thunderbird, used Thunderbird electrics and bridge and of course the P neck and tuners. From memory, the body was made from Mahogany. There are various makers around the world "Who" have done this before, many times, so it will be interesting to see how the project moves forward. Good luck. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 [quote name='deaver' timestamp='1332158495' post='1583970'] Hardware, looks like earlier Thunderbird electrics and bridge - not sure how I'll replicate this, originals will be out of budget [/quote] Mike Lull and Thunderbucker Ranch do fairly accurate chrome T.Bird replicas. They're still quite pricey (especially Mike's stuff) but nothing like what you'd pay for an original set. Fly guitars [url="http://www.flyguitars.com/"]http://www.flyguitars.com/[/url] is a good resource for comparing/contrasting Gibson bass hardware and features. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaver Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1332159531' post='1583985'] Surely an Explorer-bird would be a cross between a Thunderbird and an Explorer, whereas what you are planning to make is a cross between an Explorer and a Fender... ...Fexplorer? ...Expender? [/quote] It appears in the Bass Culture book as a Fender Explorer-Bird (Fender neck\Explorer body\Thunderbird pickups and hardware) - I'm not going to get too hung up on the etymology though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaver Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 [quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1332162114' post='1584027'] From what I remember. . . . The body was drawn up by Peter, Explorer shape and sized to keep everything in scale, so it doesn't match up exactly with any other Explorer shaped bass. It had a raised centre section, as per a Thunderbird, used Thunderbird electrics and bridge and of course the P neck and tuners. From memory, the body was made from Mahogany. There are various makers around the world "Who" have done this before, many times, so it will be interesting to see how the project moves forward. Good luck. Cheers. [/quote] Thanks again, those who have carried out this build before would probably be best averting their eyes once this is under way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deaver Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='henry norton' timestamp='1332162828' post='1584040'] Mike Lull and Thunderbucker Ranch do fairly accurate chrome T.Bird replicas. They're still quite pricey (especially Mike's stuff) but nothing like what you'd pay for an original set. Fly guitars [url="http://www.flyguitars.com/"]http://www.flyguitars.com/[/url] is a good resource for comparing/contrasting Gibson bass hardware and features. [/quote] Thanks for the info, the Thunderbucker Ranch set [url="http://www.thunderbuckerranch.com/index.html"]http://www.thunderbuckerranch.com/index.html[/url] might be the long term answer to this. In the short term I might look at some kind of artistic bodge - cheap plastic chinese humbuckers sprayed gold or some other kind of terrible DIY affair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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