karlthebassist Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 (edited) Well, I'm getting back into the swing of things now, so I'm going to aim to finish this bass I started a couple of months ago next. [attachment=22421:Image058.jpg] The wings are not glued to that neck block so dont panic! The wings are walnut with 10mm thick ash tops (35mm overall) with bubinga strips between the wings and the neck The neck is walnut with maple stripes. Fingerboard will be maple, and fretted. Pickup is a Status MM Passive electronics wired with silver that I've got left over from some interconnects I made for my hi-fi, paper film cap for tone pot, gold outupt jack Black hardware - headless tuners and nut block from Status Satin finish Should be quite cool. Then I'll try and finish that [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26144&hl=karlthebassist"]fretless P-bass[/url] I started ages ago too.... Edited April 7, 2009 by karlthebassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 hi Karl, does Rob have tuners and headpieces back in stock now? Or did you buy them a while ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlthebassist Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 [quote name='Crazykiwi' post='440569' date='Mar 20 2009, 07:22 PM']hi Karl, does Rob have tuners and headpieces back in stock now? Or did you buy them a while ago?[/quote] Hey, I have had these tuners and bits for YEARS as they were from a first bass build attempt that I'd rather not mention... I believe I briefly met you the Friday before last at Live music in peterborough... You were with Nick and I think you had your rather lovely headless 6 string with you, that I have only just recently read about - that is one sexy bass sir! I would love to have a six string again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_C Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 stylish socks ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 nice, i've always wondering why more people don't use silver for electronics rather than gold, it being cheaper and more conductive.... Looks like a nice build, looking forward to seeing the end result, would look stunning with a red stain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlthebassist Posted March 20, 2009 Author Share Posted March 20, 2009 Silver does sound a lot clearer and more detailed than Gold. I don't know why, just I have heard the difference in Hi-Fi equipment. I figure it can't hurt to use a bit of silver. Got some copper shield stuff I can use too. I'm really excited about this bass. The only concern I have is over the final fret dressing/leveling and setup etc. May have someone do that for me - although I really would rather not. And thanks Paul - I'll post a pic of some truly astounding socks later on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_C Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 [quote name='karlthebassist' post='440760' date='Mar 20 2009, 11:39 PM']I'm really excited about this bass. The only concern I have is over the final fret dressing/leveling and setup etc. May have someone do that for me - although I really would rather not. [/quote] maybe first time round you need to pay a pro to show you how it's done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 [quote name='budget bassist' post='440724' date='Mar 20 2009, 11:58 PM']nice, i've always wondering why more people don't use silver for electronics rather than gold, it being cheaper and more conductive....[/quote] It depends what you're using it for. Gold is used to coat contacts because it's very non-reactive, so it stays clean. Silver tarnishes so it's not as good for surface coating on contacts. If you're making a soldered joint, though, the coating is irrelevant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlthebassist Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 (edited) had a day in work today doing various things to a couple of guitars. sorted the contouring out on a body ive built for a jazz neck - shall upload pics when finished. also installed a j pup into my p bass - thread is on here - disasterous ending as half the coil doesnt work!!!!! one thing that did go well though was my headless build. here are some pics [attachment=23405:Image061.jpg] [attachment=23406:Image065.jpg] [attachment=23407:bass.jpg] there you have it. i'll do more on it tomorrow. Edited April 6, 2009 by karlthebassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlthebassist Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 oh, and the wings arent actually glued on yet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 looking gooooood, wish i had the skill to do this myself! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlthebassist Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 (edited) did quite a bit today. glued body wings to neck sanded back totally flat sorted out tail end where tuners will sit pickup hole control cavity and jack/pot holes bridge earth adn pickup wire holes rads around the tops and bottoms i cant believe how light this bass is! i hope its not too light.... i;ll weigh it soon. this pic shows the back. hadnt put one of those up yet. did the control cavity etc. [attachment=23440:Image064.jpg] heres one of the front. the pickup hole IS NOT WONKY! i know it looks like it is in the pic but i promise it isnt. [attachment=23441:Image067.jpg] going to start on the neck and heel profile tomorrow. Edited April 7, 2009 by karlthebassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlthebassist Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 er.... as it is in the photo above - the bass weighs 5.2lbs!......................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 niiiice, but hey don't forget, you gotta add a bridge, tuners, pickups, strings, they weigh a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlthebassist Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 today i nearly cried. well not cried. but got very upset. the neck started to seem VERY VERY bendy while doing the profile. not good. so i called it a day and came home so i could put some hardware on it and string it up to see how it acts under tension. happy now. it didnt bend. its actually stayed pretty strait withoug touching the trussrod. i just nipped it up a little and its fine. obviously there are no frets, nut etc but they are tuned to pitch. this is what it looks like at the mo. couple more days work and it should be ready to fret then oil. all the major body work has been done. [attachment=23484:Image054.jpg] question. im going to do an oil and wax finish - so im guessign tru oil, several coats, then bees wax or something. what do i do to the fingerboard though?????????? do you oil and wax that too? its maple. thinking of getting it all done apart from the finish, puting the rad on the fingerboard and fretting, then take it to a pro who would be willing enough to show me how to do the board and fretting. pay them obviously. i just dont want to do it myself and make a hash of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Looking good!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Nice SG there! is it an old one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey R Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) [quote name='karlthebassist' post='457508' date='Apr 8 2009, 03:48 PM']question. im going to do an oil and wax finish - so im guessign tru oil, several coats, then bees wax or something. what do i do to the fingerboard though?????????? do you oil and wax that too? its maple.[/quote] You could mask it off and put on a couple of thin coats of satin varnish - I guess you just need to seal off the wood so that finger grime doesnt get into the pores? Waxed maple seems to pick up quite alot of dirt, experienced from a non-bass related project. [quote name='karlthebassist' post='457508' date='Apr 8 2009, 03:48 PM']thinking of getting it all done apart from the finish, puting the rad on the fingerboard and fretting, then take it to a pro who would be willing enough to show me how to do the board and fretting. pay them obviously. i just dont want to do it myself and make a hash of it.[/quote] If you dont so it right the first time, you can always take the frets out and try again! Edited April 9, 2009 by Mikey R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlthebassist Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 [quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='458735' date='Apr 9 2009, 07:16 PM']Nice SG there! is it an old one?[/quote] The SG is an epiphone. Its not very old. I've had it maybe 4 years, they guy who had it before owned it from new for less than six months and snapped the headstock off it during a gig! Gave it to me and I repaired it. The neck is painted a matt black now to hide the repair. Actually looks really nice in the flesh - was amazed that I actually managed to fix it - was my first attempt at doing anything like it. Never play it though, I love bass, love acoustic guitars, but electric guitars just dont do anything for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlthebassist Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 [quote name='Mikey R' post='458847' date='Apr 9 2009, 09:35 PM']You could mask it off and put on a couple of thin coats of satin varnish - I guess you just need to seal off the wood so that finger grime doesnt get into the pores? Waxed maple seems to pick up quite alot of dirt, experienced from a non-bass related project. If you dont so it right the first time, you can always take the frets out and try again! [/quote] Yeah, I was thinking maybe giving the board a few coats of a celulose type finish, as wax really does get grubby. Rosewood boards never seem to have anything on them at all, and maple seems to always be coated somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey R Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 (edited) [quote name='karlthebassist' post='458933' date='Apr 9 2009, 11:39 PM']Yeah, I was thinking maybe giving the board a few coats of a celulose type finish, as wax really does get grubby. Rosewood boards never seem to have anything on them at all, and maple seems to always be coated somehow.[/quote] Ive not yet laquered / varnished my maple board yet - its had the strings on and off for a coupla weeks, and Ive noticed the maple already getting grubbier just from finger grunge. The dirt seems to be right in the pores of the wood, so I dont know how I can clean it. All the rosewood basses Ive owned have always ended up with loads of grime on the fingerboard, but it just doesnt show on the darker wood, and it does just wipe off, maybe because rosewood is oily. Edited April 15, 2009 by Mikey R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlthebassist Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='Mikey R' post='463360' date='Apr 15 2009, 08:21 PM']Ive not yet laquered / varnished my maple board yet - its had the strings on and off for a coupla weeks, and Ive noticed the maple already getting grubbier just from finger grunge. The dirt seems to be right in the pores of the wood, so I dont know how I can clean it. All the rosewood basses Ive owned have always ended up with loads of grime on the fingerboard, but it just doesnt show on the darker wood, and it does just wipe off, maybe because rosewood is oily.[/quote] wire wool with some lem oil would probably clean the fretboard quite deeply. pain in the arse though. i have no idead what im going to do to the board as a permanent coat. im going to go see a chap next weekend to set up my p bass, but he's going to teach me how to do fret dressing which is cool. i'll ask him what to do as he builds LOADS of guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 [quote name='karlthebassist' post='464255' date='Apr 16 2009, 06:29 PM']wire wool with some lem oil would probably clean the fretboard quite deeply. pain in the arse though. i have no idead what im going to do to the board as a permanent coat. im going to go see a chap next weekend to set up my p bass, but he's going to teach me how to do fret dressing which is cool. i'll ask him what to do as he builds LOADS of guitars.[/quote] A thin coat of polyester is the answer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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