Rexel Matador Posted January 12, 2020 Author Share Posted January 12, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: Likewise. Resistance does affect the volume, though. 6.8 ohms sounds very respectable for a home wound You will, in any event, need to allow the pickup to sit as high in the cover as you can because the wood thickness, although sonically invisible, nevertheless still forms part of the string to pole gap. In one of the covers I did, I had to scoop more out of the insides to be able to raise the pup a touch more to prevent the top of the cover being too close to the string. I was a little concerned about that, but it's pretty thin so hopefully it'll be ok - scooping is always an option of it comes to it! My first attempt had holes with the pole pieces poking through, like a normal J pickup, but it was very delicate and I ended up breaking it and didn't want to risk it happening again 😆 Edited January 13, 2020 by Rexel Matador Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 3 minutes ago, Rexel Matador said: My first attempt had holes with the pole pieces poking through, like a normal J pickup, but it was very delicate and I ended up breaking it and didn't want to risk it happening again 😆 Yes, I opted not to have the pole pieces coming through too. Too scary. If the top is thin, you should be fine and, as I say, 6.8 ohms is in 'respectable' territory. I'm really impressed with what you are doing with this project... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 9 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: Yes, I opted not to have the pole pieces coming through too. Too scary. If the top is thin, you should be fine and, as I say, 6.8 ohms is in 'respectable' territory. I'm really impressed with what you are doing with this project... Thanks! So far so good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 I'm starting to regret the offset body shape because I'm really itching to go multiscale - it would be great for the absurdly low bottom string in the new metal band - but don't want to have one of the little bridges practically hanging off the back. Oh well, I guess that just means I'll have to build another one 😀 Apologies that this update is just a general musing as opposed to evidence of some actual work! More pictures soon, I swear. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 8 minutes ago, Rexel Matador said: I'm starting to regret the offset body shape because I'm really itching to go multiscale - it would be great for the absurdly low bottom string in the new metal band - but don't want to have one of the little bridges practically hanging off the back. Oh well, I guess that just means I'll have to build another one 😀 Apologies that this update is just a general musing as opposed to evidence of some actual work! More pictures soon, I swear. Worth drawing it out full-size and seeing where things would end up. Based on where your bridge is drawn at the moment, can't see why it wouldn't be possible - and you don't have to go crazy skewed to give a tangible advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 This bass is only going to have one control knob. I bought a maple one as I figured it would look nice with the pickups, but it's really small and would just look weird and sad sitting there on it's own. So I decided to make one: It's not finished yet, so will be a bit shinier, but I think it'll go nicely with the pickup covers. I've also done a bit more on the body but there's nothing to see yet. The top and back are waiting for me at the post office, so I'll make some real progress soon. I haven't even started on the neck, but I've got some fun time-consuming plans for that too 😆 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 A maple layer that will serve as "binding" once the walnut top is glued on and rounded over: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 20, 2020 Author Share Posted January 20, 2020 A channel to connect the two pickup cavities - made with drill and chisel because I couldn't be bothered to get the router out, but it'll be hidden under the top and serves its purpose just fine. And the top (or back, I haven't decided yet) joint drying - more soon... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 Top in place. It's looking a bit rough right now but I can already tell it'll look lovely once it's finished. Progress has very slow, so, even though there's loads left to do, it's nice to see it beginning to look like an actual bass body. I still have to cut the soundholes before the back goes on. I probably should have done it before gluing it on but I still haven't decided exactly what they should look like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 Which should I go for? Or none of the above? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanOwens Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 2 looks more metal! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 (edited) 16 minutes ago, DanOwens said: 2 looks more metal! I agree - kind of Giger-ish! Admittedly F-holes are not the most metal thing to add to a bass, but I figure Lemmy's had a nice carved walnut body and what's more metal than Lemmy? Even if he did play strictly "Rock n' Roll". Edited January 23, 2020 by Rexel Matador Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Number 2 catches my eye... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimothey Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Number 2 I reckon........👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 (edited) Coming along. The offset body necessitated asymmetrical f-holes and I need to do a fair old bit of shaping to get them looking right. I pretty much messed up by not setting the lower one a bit further back towards the bridge end, but it comes pretty much up to where the control cavity starts so we're stuck with it. I'm not massively happy with them, but I'm not taking the top off and starting again, so I'll work with what I've got and get them looking as nice as I can But the grain on this top is better than I could have hoped for. It almost feels like a shame to add pickups and a bridge and that Edited January 25, 2020 by Rexel Matador 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 (edited) Ok, we basically have a body. It's very rough around the edges (literally) right now, but it's nice to have reached a milestone of sorts. I still have another pickup to build, not to mention a neck. This build has barely begun! Edited January 26, 2020 by Rexel Matador 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 This is VERY exciting. It looks top drawer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 Thanks for the encouragement so far everyone. It always spurs me on! String/bridge question: the band I'm currently playing with tunes to drop B flat (I had no say in this - it was locked in before I joined - but here we are 🤣) so from low to high, Bb, F, Bb, Eb. So - this means that my "B" string is a semitone lower than standard and the other three are a semitone higher than standard. Consequently an off the peg Beefy Slinky set gives me very uneven string tension and I'm going to experiment with a custom set, including a ridiculous .140 B string. Come on, get to the point... ok... should I be filing the slot in the saddle to accommodate it because otherwise it will be connecting with the saddle in two places (the sides of the slot, rather than sitting in it). Some saddles have v shaped slots and some are threaded, so maybe it doesn't matter. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 27, 2020 Share Posted January 27, 2020 2 hours ago, Rexel Matador said: should I be filing the slot in the saddle to accommodate it because otherwise it will be connecting with the saddle in two places (the sides of the slot, rather than sitting in it). Some saddles have v shaped slots and some are threaded, so maybe it doesn't matter. Thoughts? I generally would, simply because then the bottom of the slot is going to be the nut height so you can be sure where it's going to be regardless of the string. Having said that, for a tryout for a string gauge that you might not stick with, initially I would probably leave the slot alone unless it was sitting so high that you can't judge if it's a keeper or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 27, 2020 Author Share Posted January 27, 2020 4 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said: I generally would, simply because then the bottom of the slot is going to be the nut height so you can be sure where it's going to be regardless of the string. Having said that, for a tryout for a string gauge that you might not stick with, initially I would probably leave the slot alone unless it was sitting so high that you can't judge if it's a keeper or not. Many thanks Andy, that's a great idea 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 On 14/01/2020 at 19:50, Rexel Matador said: Yummy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 Finally started on the neck. Not much to see yet, but the joint seems solid. The blank is nice and long so I've given myself plenty of potential headstock area to play with. I have a cool idea for it but it's rather ambitious - we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
durhamboy Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Gotta love that softly triangular knob, it's so good I might have to use it as "inspiration" for some similar efforts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexel Matador Posted January 30, 2020 Author Share Posted January 30, 2020 7 hours ago, durhamboy said: Gotta love that softly triangular knob, it's so good I might have to use it as "inspiration" for some similar efforts. Thanks! I was a little apprehensive about evoking the sign of the plectrum on a bass build, but it works. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 They are like pebbles. In a good way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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