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Finished! It's a bass, Jim...

Andyjr1515

By Andyjr1515,
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Andyjr1515 Grand Master

Andyjr1515

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...but not as we know it.

With apologies for purloining Mr Spock's iconic phrase in the process, @Jus Lukin and I have just finished a few months kicking around thoughts in what should be a very interesting project and - to keep the theme by stealing another programme's punchline - 'all systems are go!'

It's going to be a mix of trad and modern.  And maybe a world first...?

The basic spec starts fairly conventionally:

- Mahogany back; figured walnut top

- Multi-laminate (prob 9 ) neck

- Neck through

- hints of EB-0; essence of Alembic

then is starts pulling into the middle lane:

- headless, single ball

- chambered

- 30" scale

and then we are truly in the fast lane:

- three - YES THREE - SIMS Superquads!!!  And, we think, this might be the world first :D 

 ...and don't worry, @Jus Lukin and I are both fully aware there might be a reason for that xD  

 

I'm still gathering the bits and pieces.  I have a headless system arriving today from Brazil (and quite excited by this, too) and I have the top walnut from my shed stash.

The first stages will be probably in parallel with a rebody project I'm currently on with.  It means I can order the timbers at the same time and, in that my small cellar space means that I have to pull out all of the bigger equipment to use it, I can save set up time by doing the machining stuff for both projects with each piece of equipment needed.

 

So, early days but we have a shape that @Jus Lukin is happy with:

FsHNFfel.jpg

The rear end is a straight copy of an EB-0.  The front end is a modified take of some of the early Alembics

The walnut I had in my shed will darken when the finish has been put on, but I think is going to look just right with the general vibe.  Bear in mind, of course that most of the middle section is going to be bridge and pickups:

D1bRKq9l.jpg

 

More about the headless system when it arrives later today :)

And the SIMS Superquads.  Well, apparently Martin Sims doesn't know of anyone who has fitted three but can't see why it shouldn't work.  And, having fitted a pair of them to @TheGreek 's Silk Bass - well, they are pretty special!

There's a thread somewhere on all the gory details of the save and refit, but this is what it (and they) looked like:

9Rwuhe5l.jpg

 

And here's a video from one of the Basschat Bassbashes with Nick Smith demo-ing them and, mid way through the session playing Mick's Silk bass.  They are pretty special pickups :)

 

 

So, both with the rebody I mentioned earlier and this, I'm in for a real fun time.  And the timing is pretty much perfect:

s8eQBv4l.jpg

 

 I think I'm going to be down in the cellar for some time ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Andyjr1515
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Andyjr1515 Grand Master

Andyjr1515

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And to the headless system.  Now I may be wrong, but I'm sure someone has flagged this in the past.  Maybe @Jabba_the_gut ?

There are relatively few around that are single ball and (I think likewise) @Jus Lukin prefers this to double ball-end types.

And that brings me to Nova Guitar Parts - Andre Passini in Brazil.

He used to sell them on ebay, but to his surprise, the Chinese started 'selling them' - on ebay and complete with knock off graphics!!!  I think if you wanted to describe the word 'blatant', it would be a good example.  I noticed when I went searching them out that both his and the Chinese ones had gone.  Presumably Andre complained to ebay and (there is hope yet) ebay took notice.

So I contacted Andre through Facebook and got a very prompt reply.  And just look at this, arrived from Brazil this lunchtime in less than a week from ordering:

3moHbY4l.jpg

 

And - often the problem area of these types of tuner - look at this :) :

bGe61val.jpg

Yes - ball-races.  These are beautifully, beautifully made.  Using the old engineering adage of 'if it looks right...'

Very excited about this build :)

 

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Andyjr1515 Grand Master

Andyjr1515

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Just now, Andyjr1515 said:

$126 plus postage, Mick.  Worked out about £120 total.

He also sells individual carriers for them so they can be turned easily into separate units (perfect for multi-scale ;) ).  We might end up using those - these are 19mm spacing on the logo'd block and I think @Jus Lukin is more used to 17mm.  Plenty of time to decide :) 

 

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Jus Lukin Veteran

Jus Lukin

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2 hours ago, TheGreek said:

JOOI - if two SimS pups give 15 permutations, how many do you get from three?

God, I'm a bit too thick to work it out- I think I got to 36 one or two pickup selections- steam starts coming out of my ears if I try to add in all the three pickup options!

I'm still pondering the string spacing- I play Gibson/Epi three-pointers a lot, but also 19mm BBOT. If I had to make snap decision I'd split the difference at 18mm but it's funny- never having spec'ed a bass before, I'm learning how something I never really considered before can suddenly feel like a life or death matter! 😄

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Andyjr1515 Grand Master

Andyjr1515

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2 hours ago, TheGreek said:

JOOI - if two SimS pups give 15 permutations, how many do you get from three?

I think it's 42

The three-way switch give you 4 options (1+2; 1+3; 2+3; 1+2+3)

The two pickup options each give you 9 combinations = 27

The three pickup option gives you 15 combinations

So total combinations = 27+15 = 42

:)

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TheGreek Grand Master

TheGreek

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2 hours ago, TheGreek said:

JOOI Andy, how much are these bridges?

 

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

$126 plus postage, Mick.  Worked out about £120 total.

That's very good value. The Chinese ones on eBay are around £80....you might as well buy the real thing. Hope they live up to expectations.

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Jabba_the_gut Mentor

Jabba_the_gut

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5 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

And to the headless system.  Now I may be wrong, but I'm sure someone has flagged this in the past.  Maybe @Jabba_the_gut ?

Yep, I bought one of these (and earlier 5 string version prior to the ball races being fitted). Nicely made and finished and not ridiculously expensive. I actually sold mine without using it as I found myself with too many things going on at the time and a 5 string headless ended up on the back burner. I sold it on here and believe it was used to convert an Ibanez Mikro to headless (can't remember where  the thread was).

I also bought a couple of 4 string headpieces from Andre as they are much better than the ones you find on eBay but without being too expensive. I've got one on the short scale neck I'm tinkering with at present.

duz8kZl.jpg?1

I do have plans for a 5 string headless and have another headless system for that, but that'll be a project for next year once I finish my current project and then have a clear out as there are too many basses at home now!!

Look forward to seeing your build progress - presumably you'll be taking this to the SW bash next year?....

 

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