Bassworks Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Hi folks, following on from Sam's Custom PMM4-T "The Mule", here's a build diary for a stock instrument now for sale at a crazy "Black Friday" deal that I'm honouring for a little longer. I'll start with a finished instrument shot (next to my personal JPJ5 in Sonic Blue) and then show you how I built the instrument "from soup to nuts" as they say! Hope you enjoy. Please feel free to comment and ask questions along the way and thanks for stopping by to take a look. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 Necks. Arguably the most important part of the instrument. Mine start to take shape slowly, removing material in stages and allowing time for the internal stresses to equalise and for any movement to occur. These blanks are bandsawn with a good 10mm of excess material on their profiles at this stage. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 My headstocks are generally lightly chambered North of the last tuner, where mass does not contribute to the sonics of the instrument and potentially contributes to unwanted "neck-dive". The headstock plate is not simply a flat piece of timber, but a 3D carved 5mm thick plate, finished to 4mm in final form, where the curved element matches the curve from the top of the fretboard down to the deck of the headstock. The detail is often unseen my anyone but the player. But if you know, then you know 😉 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 On the flip side... I use Hipshot Ultralite tuners exclusively. My headstocks are thicker than the traditional headstocks putting mass around the tuners and contributing to structural rigidity around the nut. In string physics this is of fundamental importance to the clarity of the sound from fundamental through the hamonic series. If the two end points of a vibrating string are not themselves rigid, all is lost frankly! Destined for the woodburner in my shop! I also sneakily recess both the rear and the face of the headstock to accommodate the precision milled Hipshot tuner rears, so they sit flush and nuts and washers to the front. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 All my bass necks and indeed my guitar necks feature aerospace quality cabon fibre stiffening rods, bonded in with aeospace epoxy and high quality two-way adjustable truss rods. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 Fretboards are glued on next. I am able to adjust the truss rods during the manufacuring process if I need to to ensure parallism with the plane of the CNC router bed. The middle neck is the one destined for the Surf Green. The right-most is a Macassar Ebony fretboard destined for the Surf Green bass' sister, in Daphne Blue. More on her later in a separate Build Diary... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 One of my favourite moments in production. I form the headstock, milling out a scoop down into the headstock by 1mm in depth and put the tuner recesses in and the pocket for the Bassworks logo. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 Block inlays are a luxury item. Why not? You're worth it you know. If you have watched the usual mass manufacturers's factory tour videos, you'll see inlays being floated into large pockets filled with (usually) black epoxy where the epoxy fills the gap between the inlay and the fretboard pocket sides. My word. No such thing on a Bassworks instrument. Each inlay is a light and precise push fit in its pocket and absolutely no "filler" is used. A water thin CA glue is all that is needed to get this job done. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 See what I mean? No gap to be filled here folks! 😉 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 Final post for tonight folks. Stay tuned for more soon! This is the detail of my 3D headstock plate meeting with the fretboard. The Surf Green PPJ5 sports a Nitrocellulose Surf Green painted neck, satinised down to P3000 for a super-slick fast playing surface. Sort of inspired by Larry Graham's all white painted bass. Please feel free to ask any questions Bass chatters!... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassybert Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Well this was a fantastic read so far, very much looking forward to the next instalment 😁 It’s very clear through your production methods and your writing that you’re hugely passionate and love getting technical. I’m genuinely blown away by the quality of the instruments and this post itself!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
songofthewind Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Love this! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz39 Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 The necks look alarmed! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Wow, I love the thought that went into your design and the attention to detail, and those recessed tuners are incredible! The tight fit on them (and the block inlays) is impressive. The styling of the P-style bass isn't for me, but I do like your JPJ! That upper cutaway on both basses is so high up I bet it almost has singlecut-like rigidity. I'll be watching this thread closely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamPlaysBass Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 I love the ‘Aero’ fret ends. That’s something really worthwhile doing. I love the design and the engineering know-how going into this. Keep us posted! Definitely the beginning of something beautiful. Very impressed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 23, 2020 Author Share Posted December 23, 2020 Today, let's move on to the body for a bit... Here we have Red Alder and Swamp Ash bandsawn body blanks up for their first machining operations, which require registration and workpiece hold down features being put in. It looks busy there on the machine bed and that's down to lateral cam action clamps and vertical hold down fixtures. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 23, 2020 Author Share Posted December 23, 2020 As a player myself, there's nothing more wearing than wielding 6Kg or so of bass around a stage for 2 hours. Even if it does sound amazing. My current JPJ5 and PPJ5 instruments are coming out at 4Kg all up, hardware, strings, batteries and all! Part of this is down to selecting my body woods carefully based on density (it's remarkable the variation in density of the same species even from different boards from the same tree) and by placing chambers in the body in the areas that have no contribution to strength and tone. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 23, 2020 Author Share Posted December 23, 2020 Here's a close up showing the cavity geometry and the recess for a cover plate that will be bonded on over the cavities, made from the same tonewood billet that the body blank is made from. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 23, 2020 Author Share Posted December 23, 2020 Last one for this morning is a nearly complete PPJ5 body front. There's stock left on the outside profile for final profiling and the heel pocket geometry has not yet been put in. This is proprietary Bassworks intellectual property, so sadly I can't reveal that detail to the public domain in picture form. Suffice to say that it's innovative and confers better sonic transfer, joint rigidity, alignment accuracy and structural strength than a tradiational heel pocket. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 24, 2020 Author Share Posted December 24, 2020 Good morning Bass fans! A few more insights for you. This is the rear detail of the body nearly complete. having just had it's electronics cavity put in. It's optimised for John East's UNI Pre, 4 knob 3 band EQ, but can accommodate other brands. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 24, 2020 Author Share Posted December 24, 2020 "The Devil is in the detail" as they say. Here's the side jack socket recess for a Neutrik NJ36C locking jack socket. It's a three stage rout with a manual router using a special fixture that houses three different router guides for the three stages. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 24, 2020 Author Share Posted December 24, 2020 I guess it's my Mechanical Engineering backgound but I really don't like woodscrews! 😂 My Pickup fixation and adjustment solution involves supporting each unit from behind with three socket head cap screws running in brass threaded inserts. The front screws act as lock-down screws. Set and forget. Solid and there's no foam to degrade over the years and no springs to rattle. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassworks Posted December 24, 2020 Author Share Posted December 24, 2020 To finish off this morning, here's the finish I used on the Surf Green PPJ5. It's old school Nitro colour, plus slighly yellow tinted clear-coat. Then it gets a "cryo-relic" by apllication of heat followed by rapid and deep cooling. Not for everyone I know, but I think she's pretty sweet! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammybass Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 Hello all! If you're enjoying Bruce's diary, you may want to check out my diary of the making of The Mule. Bruce took my concept and refined it into my perfect instrument - this was not a stock design. The whole process was an absolute pleasure from start to finish, and although other basses will come and go, I'll never part with The Mule. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 Just had a quick look at your website - I do like it... http://www.bassworks.co.uk./ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.jpg.7e18f76540598a8efc0e6ca9be453059.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.