Finished Pics! Single Cut 5-string Short Scale

[Andyjr1515]

I'm still on with the final settling down and tweaking of the fretless and the Wal save but I have another live project on the drawing board - a single cut shortscale (30") for our very own @Matt P 

I get the impression that this has been gestating in Matt's mind for some time and, to be honest, Matt has done a lot of the hard work - which is great   - that is, designing the concept and broad shape in the first place.

This is my rough cobble together of Matt's sketches ( there should be round bits where my rubbish Inkscape attempt has given me sharp corners) with a broadly scale neck (albeit this shows a 4 string width rather than the correct 5 string width). 

 

This will have a headstock - this is just a quick full-scale view mainly of the body length and positioning for me to check out one of the critical design criteria...that is must fit into this:

..which is a 6-string electric Fender Jaguar guitar case.

It will be a 

- through necked

- single 5-string SimS Super-Quaded

- Hipshot bridge and tunered

- Ebony fretboarded

- Mahogany backed

- Laminated necked

- top to back demarcated

- sucked lozenged carved

- 7lbs beauty  - with this top:

 

And I'm VERY excited

 

 

 

 

  

 

Edited June 30, 2021 by Andyjr1515

[ezbass]

Ooh, goody! Having just discovered the delights of SS, I’ll be following this with even more interest than usual, although I’m not sure that’s possible.

[Matt P]

To say that I'm excited about this is a bit of an understatement! I have been thinking of a bass like this for quite a while and seeing the triple Sims-pickup build just pushed me over the edge.

This is my 40th Birthday present from my parents and my wonderful wife, it's a dream bass build really.

 

Matt

 

[MoonBassAlpha]

Looks good and would work nicely as a headless, especially with one of those gorgeous bridges @Sidlanir has posted in his thread recently

[Andyjr1515]

1 hour ago, MoonBassAlpha said:

Looks good and would work nicely as a headless, especially with one of those gorgeous bridges @Sidlanir has posted in his thread recently

No - definitely going to have a head

 

[Si600]

Begorrah man, do you never stop? 

[Andyjr1515]

48 minutes ago, Si600 said:

Begorrah man, do you never stop? 

Well, one has to fill the remaining lockdown with something

Besides, MrsAndyjr1515 is always so much happier when I'm out of the way down the cellar.

[Hellzero]

Interesting project that I'll be following.

[Richard R]

11 hours ago, Si600 said:

Begorrah man, do you never stop? 

With apologies to Lin-Manuel Miranda:

"After his tea Andy went to the cellar
(Despite what he says he's a clever little fella)
He finishes his cocoa and he does his lutherie
'I practice lutherie, Jabba lives not far from me'

Even though they started at the very same time
Andrew J Rogers began to climb
How to account for his rise to the top?
Man - the man is non-stop!"

[Andyjr1515]

1 hour ago, Richard R said:

How to account for his rise to the top?

You know what they say about "The further they rise, the faster they will drop"...   

Well, hot on the heels of @Matt P 's build is another project that may well have to be called "Andyjr1515's Nemesis"!  Good job that Matt's will be done before Andyjr1515 is a broken man (well, more broken than he already is).  

[HazBeen]

You get all the fun projects, last thing I got to build for someone was a finger ramp 😂

[Hellzero]

You are lucky, the last thing I built for a for someone was a wooden truss rod cover. 🤣

[Richard R]

You're all lucky. All I get is Ikea wardrobes!

[Si600]

8 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

 "Andyjr1515's Nemesis"!

How many nemesis is that now?

Psilos, the first African build, The Three Sim Special?

You just make nemeses look easy to dispatch 

[3below]

Whilst at last (the pleasures of lockdown) actually getting to grips with my 5 string (after 3 years of starting and repeatedly giving up since 4 is the natural order of things)  and being a PORG,  the idea of a short scale 5 is very appealing. If this is to be BEADG, @Matt P, @Andyjr1515 what are your thoughts on strings in particular the B ?

[Geek99]

Another day, another nemesis ... ho hum.
 

He’s better at jumping tall buildings in a single bound, mind and that dodging bullets stuff is child’s play 

[Andyjr1515]

3 hours ago, 3below said:

Whilst at last (the pleasures of lockdown) actually getting to grips with my 5 string (after 3 years of starting and repeatedly giving up since 4 is the natural order of things)  and being a PORG,  the idea of a short scale 5 is very appealing. If this is to be BEADG, @Matt P, @Andyjr1515 what are your thoughts on strings in particular the B ?

Not sure yet.  I'm sure that will be one of many ponderings

[Matt P]

20 hours ago, 3below said:

Whilst at last (the pleasures of lockdown) actually getting to grips with my 5 string (after 3 years of starting and repeatedly giving up since 4 is the natural order of things)  and being a PORG,  the idea of a short scale 5 is very appealing. If this is to be BEADG, @Matt P, @Andyjr1515 what are your thoughts on strings in particular the B ?

most of my basses seem to end up with flatwounds fitted, so flats would be my first choice, i definitely want BEADG though as that is what i find most useful.

I believe that LaBella and Dunlop both make short scale 5 string flats so some investigation might be required as i've not used either of those brands before (current basses wear Ernie Ball group flats, D'addario Chromes, GHS precision flats and Status ground wounds.)

 

Matt

[Andyjr1515]

I've just drawn this out full-size and cut a reverse paper template so that I can bounce off @Matt P the choices he has in terms of orientation of the grain  

 I'll post a photo in the morning of how the top will look in terms of the body shape and bridge/pickup positions.  And NO - I'm not going to show you all the choices...there's only one guy's opinion that matters here 

[Chopthebass]

Lovely top wood!

[TheGreek]

Agree....hope the grain isn't lost under the hardware.....

[Andyjr1515]

43 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Agree....hope the grain isn't lost under the hardware.....

I think it will be fine

[eude]

On 05/03/2021 at 16:02, Andyjr1515 said:

Ooooooh, I very much like that!
Watching with intent.

Eude

[Andyjr1515]

No physical cutting yet, but there has been a gathering of materials and a number of question/answers with @Matt P to pin down the remaining questions on the spec.

And I think we are pretty much there - at least enough to start ordering stuff and cutting and joining some of the pieces 

One of the first things I do in my slightly unconventional way of building neck throughs is join and cut the top - I actually use the top as my template...and no, you won't see that in the text books and so it probably sits in the don't do this at home territory 

And to do this, I needed to know which orientation of the four available @Matt P preferred.

And we're going for this one:

The light line in the middle is just an edge and won't appear once I've jointed it properly.  This is dampened to show the depth and tone of colour but the finish will make the figuring pop out beautifully!  Clearly the 5-string fretboard will be wider than @Fishman 's borrowed Wal one here, but this is broadly where the book-matching will be hidden by board, bridge and pickup.

And that's going to be a SimS 5-er Super-Quad 

 

It's going to have an oak back...and don't panic!!  I know oak is heavy but it's oak from the same plank as this, which was the lightest guitar I've ever built

 

And it will have a 'sucked lozenge' carve at the extremes, similar to this same build:

 

It's going to be a 7-piece laminated neck of maple, walnut and purpleheart and a bound ebony board with demarcation stripes

So in short - it's going to be flippin' beautiful 

 

 

 

[Fishman]

8 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

@Fishman 's borrowed Wal one here

Now… what can I make with the old Wal board?