First attempt of a thru-neck bass

[Andyjr1515]

11 minutes ago, Si600 said:

What would happen tone-wise if you angled the pickups the other way, so they and the end of the fretboard made a V shape? Not suggesting that you should mind, just curious.

Yes - that's actually quite a good thing to do to even out the tone differences, but maybe a bridge too far (excusing the pun)  in terms of the aesthetics?

Jack Bruce's Thumb was like that:

[Jimothey]

19 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

No (that is, yes - it would be a problem) - heavily slanted  saddle-holders are absolutely a multi-scale thing. 

The bridge saddles have to be in the correct positions relative to the scale length (with relatively minor adjustment backward movement - usually 1mm to 4mm back from scale length for intonation ) .  And therefore, whether a fixed bridge or individuals, the saddles themselves are going to need to be in the same positions.  

I’ve had a little play with the saddles and I probably could get away with slanting them and keep the saddles all in a straight line 

I think this would work??...........🤔

[fleabag]

That doesnt look like a good idea to me.

The saddles that are at extreme ends only have intonation adjustment in one direction

[Jimothey]

29 minutes ago, fleabag said:

That doesnt look like a good idea to me.

The saddles that are at extreme ends only have intonation adjustment in one direction

Yeah I did think that but it’s only an idea if I have to do them straight then it’s not the end of the world, I just thought that it might look better slanted..........😀

[fleabag]

I know what you're saying, and i agree.  On the skew looks good  but intonation is way more important 

 

[Andyjr1515]

It depends on the strings and the action height, @Jimothey but for the bottom E, to be sure you need to allow for around 5mm longer than the scale length.  The G will be close to scale length - maybe scale length plus 1mm.

You also don't want the bottom string saddles too far back if you are going for a top loading option as you might find that the string bindings end up going over the saddles.

So yes, you may be able to stagger them a bit but, as @fleabag says, you will need to be careful not to compromise function for form

 

 

[Jimothey]

Thanks @Andyjr1515 in an ideal world I would prefer them staggered but as you and @fleabag have said function over form is more important so the saddles will be in line with each other........👍

[Jimothey]

I’ve rough cut the fretboard today and did some measurements and the saddles can be really slightly staggered and I will still have enough movement on the saddles to intonate properly

Here’s a quick mock-up............😀

 

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, Jimothey said:

I’ve rough cut the fretboard today and did some measurements and the saddles can be really slightly staggered and I will still have enough movement on the saddles to intonate properly

Here’s a quick mock-up............😀

 

If that works for the string gauges you have in mind it certainly looks good.  The pickup is likely to give you a bit more top end definition to the E string than the G.  The G being closer to the sweet spot for the fundamental.

Edited March 18, 2020 by SpondonBassed

[Andyjr1515]

5 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

If that works for the string gauges you have in mind it certainly looks good.  

Yup, certainly looks good to me.  Nice that you were able to get a touch of an angle - it compliments the end of the fretboard nicely.

[Jimothey]

1 hour ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Yup, certainly looks good to me.  Nice that you were able to get a touch of an angle - it compliments the end of the fretboard nicely.

Thanks, the saddles a staggered by about 10mm in total so I’ll still have adjustment on them but I’m thinking of changing the angle at the end of the fretboard slightly to mirror the saddles a bit more.........🤔

[Jimothey]

After I finish my $$ build I need to get back to doing this build I've been thinking about how to go forward with it..... 

I still dont like the headstock on it I think it looks too small for the body shape so I've been having a little play around and I've come up with this shape which isnt radically different but I think it's better?.... 

[TheGreek]

(The darker line) Looks like a lot of other stuff where as your original stands on it's own. I prefer your original design personally.

[Jimothey]

18 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

(The darker line) Looks like a lot of other stuff where as your original stands on it's own. I prefer your original design personally.

The darker line is the original (Ibby copy) and the pencil line is what I'm thinking of doing instead I'll just have to glue some extra on the headstock and reshape it 👍🏻

[Si600]

The pencil line shape is a bit like Jabba's builds.

Or maybe just in my imagination!

[Andyjr1515]

Don't underestimate how much difference to the look of the headstock happens when you add the tuners.  Take an Ibanez - without the tuners it looks positively skinny but with them if looks absolutely fine.  I agree with @TheGreek - your original in the pics looks fine to me

By the way, to look back at the original headstock design I re-read the saddles issue.  I'm still a bit bothered at the desire for the saddles themselves to be lined up in a particular way (this might be an interpretation problem my end).

Just for the avoidance of doubt - the position of the saddle blocks themselves are determined by the physics and geometry of the bass and strings.  They will have to go where they need to go to intonate.  In very general terms, that tends to be G=scale D=scale+1mm A=scale+2mm E=scale+3mm.  For safety, I make sure that the G has at least 1mm extra backward movement (that is, scale + 1mm) and the bottom E a further 2mm (that is, scale +5mm).  The bridge elements themselves - the saddle holders - or bridge in the case of an integrated bridge, can be put anywhere as long as that allows the saddle blocks to have the above movement or more.

 

[Jimothey]

17 minutes ago, Si600 said:

The pencil line shape is a bit like Jabba's builds.

Or maybe just in my imagination!

No you are correct I have taken inspiration for jabba's and the Ibby BTB style headstocks? 

15 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Don't underestimate how much difference to the look of the headstock happens when you add the tuners.  Take an Ibanez - without the tuners it looks positively skinny but with them if looks absolutely fine.  I agree with @TheGreek - your original in the pics looks fine to me

By the way, to look back at the original headstock design I re-read the saddles issue.  I'm still a bit bothered at the desire for the saddles themselves to be lined up in a particular way (this might be an interpretation problem my end).

Just for the avoidance of doubt - the position of the saddle blocks themselves are determined by the physics and geometry of the bass and strings.  They will have to go where they need to go to intonate.  In very general terms, that tends to be G=scale D=scale+1mm A=scale+2mm E=scale+3mm.  For safety, I make sure that the G has at least 1mm extra backward movement (that is, scale + 1mm) and the bottom E a further 2mm (that is, scale +5mm).  The bridge elements themselves - the saddle holders - or bridge in the case of an integrated bridge, can be put anywhere as long as that allows the saddle blocks to have the above movement or more.

 

Yeah I get what your saying regarding the size of the headstock and on a different bass it looks fine (I had it on my first 5 string build)  but I just dont particularly like it on this build, I'm reconsidering the saddle positions and thinking of using a standard type bridge instead and perhaps go for gold hardware for a change? 🤔