I have a dream!

[NancyJohnson]

Chaps!

For some time I've been harbouring a dream to build something (nay, screwing a load of parts together) to emulate the Spectorbird that Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx used in the mid-90s. I've always loved the Thunderbird body shape, but have a real dislike of the Gibson headstock - it has always looked wrong to me. For me, the offset Spector headstock design is a thing of wondorous beauty...you could pretty much put this onto any bass and it would look peachy.

So anyhow, cut to the chase, I've acquired a T-bird body (thanks 211 of 500!) and a loaded Spector neck (cetera!) and while I've been [on holiday] in Italy a BadassII bridge, Dunlop strap locks and some other odds and sods have arrived. I'm just waiting for a Spector truss rod cover.

The plan is to fill the body dings and prep it for paint. A paint shop near my work have said they'll paint it for £40.00 (which is great) - I want it black hi-gloss without a scratchplate. They're insisting it doesn't need to be stripped to bare wood as long as there's a key for the paint to stick to. The neck pocket on the body is a tad small, so I'll need to make it a touch wider.

Electrics wise, I've not really done any homework on replacement pickups right now, so I'll check BassLines (et al), but I just want a single volume control and a pickup switch (like one on a Les Paul).

Photo's attached including a mocked-up Photoshopped version of the general design vision.

Wish me luck! I'll post updates!

P

[Dr.Dave]

Q parts do a knobs with various black inserts which would look great on the vol pot. Just make it stand out enough so to speak.

Thinking about the strap buttons. Where will you put them?? It may balance better on the back of the body rather then on the end by the bridge. Does with my EpiEx and others around here say similar with Tbirds. The shorter Spector head might not cause such an issue though.

[NancyJohnson]

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='234139' date='Jul 7 2008, 01:40 PM']Q parts do a knobs with various black inserts which would look great on the vol pot. Just make it stand out enough so to speak.

Thinking about the strap buttons. Where will you put them?? It may balance better on the back of the body rather then on the end by the bridge. Does with my EpiEx and others around here say similar with Tbirds. The shorter Spector head might not cause such an issue though.[/quote]

I think I'm going to leave the strap buttons in the same location as they are - they're in the same positions as those on my Waterstone 12-string bass (a loose Les Paul-ish shape) and this baby has some awful neck dive issues which have pretty much been resolved by using something as simple as a Levy's wide strap. The body and neck on this project weigh about 50% of the Waterstone, so hopefully not an issue!

P

[SJA]

um, a 24 fret neck going on a T-bird body set up for 20frets...are you planning to move the bridge forward, or rout out the neck pocket to move it into the body?

[NancyJohnson]

[quote name='SJA' post='234590' date='Jul 7 2008, 11:08 PM']um, a 24 fret neck going on a T-bird body set up for 20frets...are you planning to move the bridge forward, or rout out the neck pocket to move it into the body?[/quote]

I'm going to get the body routed out to set the Spector neck further into the body. Retaining the 34" scale (and keeping the bridge in roughly the same position) will mean a rout of an additional 4cm in the neck pocket. I know a very good chippy with a brace of tools that he's putting at my disposal! I think aesthetically it'll look fine.

P