The Legoheads Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 Cleaned up the tailpiece ready for chroming. Also finished the color coats and clear coats and started sanding and polishing. The sheen on the neck is from a 6000 grade micro-mesh. Unfortunately, I don't have any 12000 right now so that's as good as it gets until I do. At this rate, I might even forgo a full polish... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 This looks great, always liked these basses, and you're obviously a skilled maker. I'm envious! Can't wait to see the finished bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon1964 Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 (edited) Wow! This has to be one of the best builds ever on Basschat Edited September 3, 2012 by simon1964 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 [quote name='The Legoheads' timestamp='1345515053' post='1778426']Hopefully, it won't take 20 coats to do that... :hmm:[/quote] Many years ago when I was contemplating having an EB3 refinished I read that Gibson do 25 coats of colour & 15 coats of clear on a cherry finish. It may be that such info is available on line - I haven't looked. Just to say that this project is incredible - I can only watch in awe at skills such as these, I'm pretty handy at woodwork etc but wouldn't dream of trying such a thing. If I had a hat, consider it doffed in your direction sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legoheads Posted September 4, 2012 Author Share Posted September 4, 2012 All very kind gents and you comments are appreciated. With no false modesty, it has been a terrifying journey with plenty of nail biting moments, bag loads of patience and a lot of research. Even then, there are a host of mistakes, some of which, only I know about and some of which can be easily seen if you know where to look. All that said, I'm proud of this effort, hence all the photos along the way, almost as many photos as I took of my kids. I never expected it to turn out this well, certainly not at first attempt. Although not especially skilled in woodwork or "luthiery", I've spent much of my life in engineering and those skills certainly helped, along with a healthy dose of OCD. I'm hoping to wrap up in the next couple of weeks and then I'll have to find something else to do to kill my time. For anyone who doubts they can achieve something like this, I'd say, just give it a go. There's a guy from India on another forum I frequent who has designed and built an amazing bass with the most basic of tools. His only power tool is a drum sander that he built himself...!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legoheads Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 Almost there... just a few tweaks and a bit of soldering and she'll be all done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watton_earth Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 That really is amazing work....sound clips please. May I ask about the headstock? Why change the design from the original? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 [quote name='The Legoheads' timestamp='1347149065' post='1797522'] Almost there... just a few tweaks and a bit of soldering and she'll be all done... [/quote] Words fail me, stunning work! I think 3 is a crowd though, and you should sell it to me, to even things up!! Very, very jealous. Incredible, hats off. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 [quote name='watton_earth' timestamp='1347182081' post='1797653'] That really is amazing work....sound clips please. May I ask about the headstock? Why change the design from the original? [/quote] I believe that may have something to do with our favourite person Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Amazing work!! Is the neck glued in yet? I was surprised to see you finishing the neck and body separately - never seen that before on an instrument that didn't have a bolt on neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watton_earth Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 [quote name='charic' timestamp='1347182767' post='1797659'] I believe that may have something to do with our favourite person [/quote] Mum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Completely missed this thread till today, absolutely fantastic work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Apple Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Outstanding build. Much respect to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legoheads Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1347185812' post='1797700'] Amazing work!! Is the neck glued in yet? I was surprised to see you finishing the neck and body separately - never seen that before on an instrument that didn't have a bolt on neck. [/quote] Funny you should ask as I decided not to glue the neck in, at least not for now until I'm happy with everything. This leaves me with a couple of worries: 1. At present, under the tension of the strings the neck is being levered forward which is pushing against the back panel... probably not good in the long term. 2. Even though it's a snug fit, when I played it acoustically, there was some "rattling vibration" which may or may not have come from the joint of the 2 parts not being actually bonded. It seemed easier to finish the two main parts individually. I did consider fitting them together before starting on the clearcoats but figured that would make the sanding an buffing more difficult and the whole thing less manageable. When I finally set the neck properly, I'll probably add stain to some glue to "finish" the joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legoheads Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 [quote name='watton_earth' timestamp='1347182081' post='1797653'] That really is amazing work....sound clips please. May I ask about the headstock? Why change the design from the original? [/quote]Smoke and mirrors my friend... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legoheads Posted September 22, 2012 Author Share Posted September 22, 2012 I now have it wired up and jacked in to the amp. I love the sounds it's putting out and switching and mixing the 2 pickups has some fantastic variations. It sounds nothing like my 4003 save for a common Ric growl. One of the main reasons I made this bass is that I'm a big Stone Roses fan and always loved Mani's bass and his playing. The real weird thing is, it sounds so out of place playing along with anything other than Rose's tunes. It blends really nicely with This is the One, Resurrection, Adored, etc. but when I try to play along to some non-Roses tracks it almost sounds like it's out of tune at times. I was checking the tuning and intonation every few minutes and scratching my head as it was spot on. Guess it's such a different unique sound...? Hopefully I'll post some video soon so you can see what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 [quote name='The Legoheads' timestamp='1348281390' post='1811913'] I now have it wired up and jacked in to the amp. I love the sounds it's putting out and switching and mixing the 2 pickups has some fantastic variations. It sounds nothing like my 4003 save for a common Ric growl. One of the main reasons I made this bass is that I'm a big Stone Roses fan and always loved Mani's bass and his playing. The real weird thing is, it sounds so out of place playing along with anything other than Rose's tunes. It blends really nicely with This is the One, Resurrection, Adored, etc. but when I try to play along to some non-Roses tracks it almost sounds like it's out of tune at times. I was checking the tuning and intonation every few minutes and scratching my head as it was spot on. Guess it's such a different unique sound...? Hopefully I'll post some video soon so you can see what I mean. [/quote] And what's wrong with only playing Roses songs?? I still play them at home more than anything else! I'm contemplating getting a 4005, one's turned up thats rather tempting, and this thread has revitalised my interest. It would be a big improvement to my somewhat ropey Mani-a-like. Your's is just stunning, impressed and jealous is an understatement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 ive just noticed you finished it on my birthday, its a stunning piece of work, chapeau! may you have many moons of enjoyment with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legoheads Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 (edited) And then I got my hands on a 3D printer and swapped out the 2D printed truss rod cover for a 3D version... Edited February 23, 2015 by The Legoheads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legoheads Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 Another fine 4005 build. A few steps ahead of my effort... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7FC0VbDjmA&list=LLw9hfMFsykPArCi-CG1KrLw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legoheads Posted February 25, 2015 Author Share Posted February 25, 2015 (edited) Not sure I ever posted this video of the entire "Mickenbacker" build history...? [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G78DbodhqQM[/url] Edited February 25, 2015 by The Legoheads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kempy535 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I cant believe you cut the top with a hand saw! You Sir have skills Great bit of building work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subbeh Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Absolutely, I really love a good build thread and this one is a stunner! Well done, it must be so rewarding to be able to build something so damn cool yourself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Love it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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