Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 I keep hoarding bits of wood, like offcuts from previous necks, that I think will be useful one day. A while ago I glued a few strips together to see if this might be possible. The blank was shorter than a normal bass neck so I thought about making a guitar. Having left this for a while and having seen the error of my ways, I've decided to make a cheap short scale bass. Here's the build so far... I started this with pretty much no plan as a 'we'll see what happens as it goes along', my starting point is the neck blank I've made a set of D'Arrario XL155 strings that I picked up from here a year or so back. The strings are designed for a 6 string 30" scale Jerry Jones guitar but I'm going to just use four of them for a short scale bass. I'm aiming to have this as standard tuning but that might change depending on how it goes. I'm also aiming for this to be reasonably cheap. I'll have to buy a few things but I'd like to keep that to a minimum. Here's the starting point - offcuts from a couple of previous necks laminated to (just) make up the required width. I've got some bits of hardwood from the edge of an old desk, a narrow offcut of spalted beech and a bit of sycamore I'm going to use. The sycamore was made up to be the central block of another bass but it wasn't good enough for that project but will be ideal for this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 The spalted beech is only about 4 1/2" wide and 1 1/2" thick is the offcut from a top I cut recently - not wide enough for the 'wings' ok be cut into strips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 And this is the bit of old desk to be used for a fretboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 I've cut a strip of the desk and thicknessed it - it's got quite a nice grain to it as it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Looking good. There is great satisfaction in recycling unlikely bits of wood into an instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 The StewMac website has a useful tool for calculating fret positions for a given scale length. The neck for this build is just a little short but I've settled for a scale length of 29 1/2". I'm hoping that this minor adjustment in length won't affect tuning too much. I've measured and marked up and cut the slots (using a jig I bought off here a while back). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 Neck sandwich clamped.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 I've cut the spalted beech into four strips, each about 5mm thick with the aim of joining them to make a top. I'll put these either side of the sycamore block left over from a previous idea. There are a few places where the spalted beech is a little thinner (because I used a normal handsaw to cut them and it didn't go entirely to plan...) so this an the length of the central block will start to dictate the shape of the body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 I've done a bit of scribbling and settled on a shape for the body and neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 I've got some black tuners and individual saddles - they're only cheap ones from China I bought off eBay a while back. I also bought a pickup from the bargain bin of a local guitar shop. It's an EMG 45CS, a little bit scratched on the face but works fine - can't got wrong for £5!!! I like EMG pickups because they are silent, though they're not to everyone's taste. I made neck and body templates from 6 and 8mm MDF. I'd like to have a bit of an angle on the bridge to match the neck join but will probably have to adjust this to get the saddles in the right place for intonation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 The neck has been cut to basic shape... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3below Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Seriously good start. Makes me want to get started on my build again, however rather more pressing matters have appeared Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 One thing I didn't have was anything to use for a body. I bought some sapele from a local hardware store - cost £20 but has quite a straight grain and is quarter sawn. There was an offcut that will be long enough for another neck....... I've used a piece of wenge veneer between the spalted beech and sapele just to provide a little contrast. All glued together and clamped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 And glued and clamped again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 Then roughly cut to shape... And that's where it's up to so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Very nice work. That's going to look beautiful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc S Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Really nice work here! Love the grain of that spalted beech too. How do you manage to keep everything so neat & tidy? If this had been done by me, there'd be trickles & splashes of glue everywhere Will be keeping an eye on this - great work Jabba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Excellent to see another one of you builds, Jez Great concept and I just love that shape. In elepsed time, how long so far to the stage you've got to? It looks fast work to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stearstree1304 Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 You know, I look at these builds by the members on this forum and I'm really impressed. There is sooo much talent amongst you all. This looks amazing and can't wait to see the final outcome. Love the spalted top and using offcuts too!! I would love to have the skills to do this sort of thing but the less said there the better!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastav Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Looks great! Certainly doesn't come across as an off-cuts build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblueplanet Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 Love the spalted beech. Hope to have my little Ibanez Mikro veneered in similar in the not too distant future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 The spalted beech was just a left over bit from where I cut another top which was wider than I needed. This is the other top waiting to be used on another build later..... The black arc is just a mark from the saw - will soon sand out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted March 14, 2017 Author Share Posted March 14, 2017 (edited) [quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1489490602' post='3257321'] Excellent to see another one of you builds, Jez Great concept and I just love that shape. In elepsed time, how long so far to the stage you've got to? It looks fast work to me [/quote] Cheers Andy. It has been pretty fast so far - I've faffed around a lot less with the design this time!! I've also had practice on previous builds making templates so that has been much quicker this time too. I'm not sure how long but I'd guess I've probably spent a day actually building so far. I'll try to keep a track of material costs as well for this one out of interest. Won't be a true cost as such as I'm using some off cuts I already have but here's an approximation so far: Sapele wood for body £20 Truss rod £10 Tuners £6 Bridge £7 Neck wood £0 (offcuts) Central block on body £0 (rejected from another project) Fretboard £0 (recycled) Spalted beech £0 (offcut - I paid £15 for the piece this came from which also made the top in the previous post) Wenge veneer £4 (cut from a larger piece bought for £16) EMG pickup £5 (from bargain bin in local guitar shop) Nut £4 Still need a few bits of hardware like pots, strap buttons and fret wire. Haven't decided on the finish for this yet. Edited March 14, 2017 by Jabba_the_gut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted March 14, 2017 Share Posted March 14, 2017 [quote name='Jabba_the_gut' timestamp='1489533006' post='3257787'] Cheers Andy. It has been pretty fast so far - I've faffed around a lot less with the design this time!! I've also had practice on previous builds making templates so that has been much quicker this time too. I'm not sure how long but I'd guess I've probably spent a day actually building so far. I'll try to keep a track of material costs as well for this one out of interest. Won't be a true cost as such as I'm using some off cuts I already have but here's an approximation so far: Sapele wood for body £20 Truss rod £10 Tuners £6 Bridge £7 Neck wood £0 (offcuts) Central block on body £0 (rejected from another project) Fretboard £0 (recycled) Spalted beech £0 (offcut - I paid £15 for the piece this came from which also made the top in the previous post) Wenge veneer £4 (cut from a larger piece bought for £16) EMG pickup £5 (from bargain bin in local guitar shop) Nut £4 Still need a few bits of hardware like pots, strap buttons and fret wire. Haven't decided on the finish for this yet. [/quote] Wow! That's quick! ...and cheap (in a very good way ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Love the body shape, Jez....Spalted top should look a treat when finished.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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