claustra Posted July 10, 2019 Author Share Posted July 10, 2019 Second visit : Body curves ! Close-ups show the curly grain of the unfinished ash. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claustra Posted July 10, 2019 Author Share Posted July 10, 2019 (edited) Fretboard ready to be stuck on the neck with the help of a purpose-made 9.5 radius wedge. White binding just finished. Edited July 10, 2019 by claustra 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted July 10, 2019 Share Posted July 10, 2019 This build could be a real all blonde extravaganza with that flame ash and the flame in that maple neck. Looking forward to seeing the build progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claustra Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 @durhamboy, I might have to call it the Albino Zebra or something like that rather than the P-rick :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Agreed that wood looks amazing, and this looks stellar overall. Judicious flaming of the wood can really make the grain pop and then it can be sealed/stained to choice. For example Blowtorching (prob more than you would do) took it to this and then just stained with good old fashioned teabags went to this i took it further and did other stuff, but could work for you? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claustra Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 @Cuzzie this looks good, blowtorching must take a lot of care. I quite like the symmetry as well ! I had never heard about teabag staining on this side of the Channel, my Fender P is trans wine red How did you eventually finish this body ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 11 minutes ago, claustra said: @Cuzzie this looks good, blowtorching must take a lot of care. Have a pack of sausages ready in case it goes wrong 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 7 minutes ago, Si600 said: Have a pack of sausages ready in case it goes wrong 😉 Yep - sausages were raw on the inside! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 20 minutes ago, claustra said: @Cuzzie this looks good, blowtorching must take a lot of care. I quite like the symmetry as well ! I had never heard about teabag staining on this side of the Channel, my Fender P is trans wine red How did you eventually finish this body ? After the tea stain (which was just 4 bags in water left overnight and then paint and let dry a couple times) I took wire wool and soaked it in vinegar again overnight and used this as a stain and eventually gun oil over the top for a Matt appearance Headstock sand, strip, flame and stain. finished bass with matching headstock, Seymour Duncan pick ups, CTS pots, it was/is punchy as hell. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 Torching can be a fine line between grain popping and scorching the life out of it! example of a gentle pop just subtly different I hope you see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 A nice effect with scorching on something open grained like oak especially quarter sawn is to wire brush it, scorch it black, wire brush it again and give it a final light scorch then seal with sanding sealer and apply a white grain filler (or any other colour) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuzzie Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 1 hour ago, Christine said: A nice effect with scorching on something open grained like oak especially quarter sawn is to wire brush it, scorch it black, wire brush it again and give it a final light scorch then seal with sanding sealer and apply a white grain filler (or any other colour) Seconded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claustra Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 Thanks for the examples and tips for natural / non chemical finishes. I'll stick to the boring natural coulour and satin polyurethane finish on this one, but this gives ideas for possible spare part assembling that could be tempting some day ! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 9 minutes ago, claustra said: Thanks for the examples and tips for natural / non chemical finishes. I'll stick to the boring natural coulour and satin polyurethane finish on this one, but this gives ideas for possible spare part assembling that could be tempting some day ! You won't regret it, that piece of wood is gorgeous 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 If you don't want to take a flame thrower to a body the stain mixed with grain filler route works quite well. This is an ash body, grain filled with filler mixed with dark brown stain to the desired darkness. Apply the filler, wipe of the excess and when fully dry sand the body. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claustra Posted July 18, 2019 Author Share Posted July 18, 2019 One step further 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 There can be no doubt that that is the 100% correct finish, very nice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 2 hours ago, claustra said: One step further Wowsers! As @Christine said, the correct finish decision has been made here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 Oh yeah! That body is as lovely a piece of ash as I've ever seen. This is going to be a beauty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claustra Posted July 25, 2019 Author Share Posted July 25, 2019 (edited) Quick update. No visit this week as the bass was being lacquered when I was available, there would have been nothing i could see, or touch. The body is 40mm thick. The regular size for Fenders is 45mm. That should be roughly 10% lighter with no serious alteration to the sound and resonance. Nut : bone Electronics : Nickel shielding Cloth wire Edited July 25, 2019 by claustra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 Yes, the thinner body shouldn't make any appreciable difference,(especially as no one will ever hear that body at any other thickness...😉) Ricks, Gibson EB's, SG's, and many other thinner bodies guitars and basses, seem to be considered OK, not lacking in "sound and resonance". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claustra Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 (edited) The bass has arrived, I’ll take better photos when possible. First impressions: Well built for sure. The splittable neck pickup is a great addition to the P. and sounds great on its own. I do not have any recording equipment to make decent sound files though. One issue : The two coils at the neck tend to (not sure this is the right way to put this) pull the E string and notes have a slight vibrato. I have lowered the pickup quickly and the tremolo is lighter, but still can be heard. The thinner A, D & G strings don’t seem to be affected. No time to get into more details now. Edited August 19, 2019 by claustra 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 I really like the finished look, it is a beauty. If the "tremolo" effect lessened after you lowered the pickup, hopefully taking it a little lower again (if possible) will fix things. Probably worth discussing this with the builder, if you haven't already. With the effect only being on the one string, the problem may not be pickup height? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claustra Posted September 8, 2019 Author Share Posted September 8, 2019 Sorry not to update the thread. Loads going on these days. I've been back to the builder with the bass and we have lowered the pickups, this has fixed the issue indeed. As the output was originally quite high, I am even more happy with the sound now. I would think that if only the biggest of the four strings was affected, that might come from the fact that it has more mass to be attracted by the magnets. Regarding the neck pickup, the single coil and humbucking positions sound definitely different. The double coils have more volume and a more modern sound. I prefer the single coil with less compression. I will try and find a possibility to make some decent sound clips when possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 Glad the problem is sorted, especially as it's also improved how you feel about the sound. Looking forward to hear how it sounds when you get the chance to record something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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