Finished Pics! Single Cut 5-string Short Scale

[Owen]

I find the best way to get a really tidy job is to pay someone else to do it.

[Andyjr1515]

47 minutes ago, PatrickJ said:

@Andyjr1515 - what's the art / trick in getting the foil down so neatly into the cavities.  I had to shield a precision shaped pickup cavity on a Sandberg bass and I could not get a neat job done of it like you demonstrate here.

Bit of practice and a bit of luck, to be honest.  For the bottom pieces I run my thumb round the sheet still with it's backing on around the outside of the chamber to allow me to form an impression of the shape and cut it.  I do a trial fit with the backing still on and then peel the backing off to try to line it up in the chamber in the same way as best as I can (although, as you have found, once you take the backing off it has a mind of its own).  Once in guestimated position, I then smooth it to stick it to the wood from the middle outwards. 

For the sides - especially this one where I have a 'hanging rebate' giving an overhang - I've done it in a series of relatively narrow vertical strips which overlap.  Because they are narrow, it's easier to line up the bottom edge, smooth the back face right into the overhang corner, round the bottom of the overhang and round to the edge, and finally to the top of the rebate where it will make contact with the hatch.  I then cut the excess with a single edged razor blade.

It has to be said that, for this job, a sharp single-edged razor blade is your friend

When it's all done, I'll be wiping a trace of solder over the joints of the various pieces to make sure there's earth continuity (checked with a multi-meter).

Edited June 24, 2021 by Andyjr1515

[PatrickJ]

1 minute ago, Andyjr1515 said:

When it's all done, I'll be wiping a trace of solder over the joints of the various pieces to make sure there's earth continuity (checked with a multi-meter).

oooff.

this is the level of attention to detail that gets me excited !!!

[Hellzero]

Exactly the way I do the shielding with adhesive copper @Andyjr1515, and I've done a LOT. Adhesive aluminium is a bit harder to get very neat, there I use the soft plastic end of my small pliers to have it perfectly stuck.

[Andyjr1515]

15 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

Exactly the way I do the shielding with adhesive copper @Andyjr1515, and I've done a LOT. Adhesive aluminium is a bit harder to get very neat, there I use the soft plastic end of my small pliers to have it perfectly stuck.

I have a couple of dental scrapers for the same job! 

[Andyjr1515]

Just a couple more tips and tricks I have reminded myself while I've been doing the pickup chamber and cable tunnel, @PatrickJ . 

I generally add an overlap and find it easier to pre-bend the edges before I take the backing off:

 

Now, of course, these mostly disappear when you take the backing off, but the lines act as a datum for placing the main shape in the right place.  Then I smooth from the middle towards the edges, finishing off running my fingernail into the corners and securing the overage.

If I get a split (the double rout in this chamber was a bit too much compound bending for the large piece I was trying to put in) I just fit a covering strip.  Again I prebend and aim to get that corner into the corner of the wood first:

The tags of wiped solder will ensure that the continuity is maintained so it's no problem that the one-piece is now a two-piece of copper

 

And...shielded:

 

And, even though I say it myself - looking very pretty

 

[HazBeen]

1 hour ago, Hellzero said:

Practice, @PatrickJ, practice !

Or use shielding paint …..  

[bassadder]

So apologies in advance I wasn’t intentionally trying to promote another builders instruments and take away from the Sterling work done by Andy your bass looks beautiful, and for complete transparency I did work for Overwater Basses for 18 years...

My point was I to see how many people on here play short scale 5 strings and to gauge what the feeling 

So I got in 30” scale instruments for health reasons firstly and secondly because I’ve been studying with Evan Marien for the last 18 months and he’s introduced me t a 30” scale 5 string instrument.... Though my guitar friend has been on at me for years to go down the short scale route.

Obviously I’m interested in jazz & fusion improvisation.... Evan’s solo voice is something I really identify with and so I started taking lessons.... 

Because of health issues and having relatively small hands I’ve found the 30” a god send... There elements to playing a 30” B string which are very different especially with your right hand and you certainly have to adjust to the closer together notes placement on the fretboard but I love it. I also have another 30.5” 5 string made from different materials etc.

Anyone else have experience with a 30” scale 5 string 

[Andyjr1515]

1 hour ago, HazBeen said:

Or use shielding paint …..  

Yes - given a few precautions to ensure electrical continuity, a lot of folks (and most volume commercial manufacturers) have great results with conductive paint. 

[Andyjr1515]

43 minutes ago, bassadder said:

So apologies in advance

No apologies needed.  My threads tend to meander anyway - and usually it's me doing the meandering 

It's also useful your comment about the low B with a 30" - because it is something that a number of folks do wonder about.  But, like you, I've never had an issue.  And we have all marvelled at @Jabba_the_gut 's very short scales at various Bassbashes where they seem to defy gravity with such hefty strings played so low on such small instruments.

Short-scale is by far the most frequent requests I have been getting over the past three or four years and there is a lot to be said for them from a player's point of view.

 

[bassadder]

Agreed as long as you get your right hand technique together you can pretty much get the same sound but more plumier and fatter it can be less defined than a longer scale bass but within the group context but with the right EQ etc. It sounds fine.

I’ve been using short scale DR Sunbeams 45 - 125 they sound good but a little to stiff more me.... I have some short scale Dunlop Super Bright in Nickel on order, these are more flexible and airey and have that really pleasant splank ring to them.....

Edited June 24, 2021 by bassadder

[Andyjr1515]

That's enough for one day...SimS holes are drilled 

 

[Hellzero]

Glad it's not Sim S holes are drilled...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I already have my coat.

[Andyjr1515]

Just weighed it, by the way.  7 1/4 lbs with just the pots and strings to add.

[Merton]

13 hours ago, bassadder said:

Anyone else have experience with a 30” scale 5 string 

Hey Laurence,

I do - I have a glorious 5 string fretless built for me by a friend. I don't wish derail this thread with it but if you're interested all the deets are here: 

Mert

(PS, I bought the OriginAL preamp pedal from you last year, still loving it!)

[Merton]

12 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

That's enough for one day...SimS holes are drilled 

 

Glorious 😍

[Andyjr1515]

Just clarifying what I meant by 'a wipe of solder across the copper foil joints' - it's just to make sure that there is electrical continuity in all parts of the shielding.  The "conductive glue" claim for many of these sticky-backed foils sometimes isn't very

I simply pop a small bridge of solder anywhere along each joint.  I wipe it across the joint so there isn't a thick blob of solder that might interfere with, say, the fit of the pickup in the chamber:

 

I then check for earth continuity across various points in the shielding, including between the back chamber and the pickup chamber.  The SimS cover is conductive and earthed too, so there should be a pretty good faraday cage protection against HT interference.

 

Next job is levelling and recrowning the frets and tidying up the fretboard so that anything that has iron filings around is all sorted and vacuumed before any of the electronics or magnets are fitted

 

 

[Andyjr1515]

Tomorrow is a family day and so I've concentrated on the doing rather than the explaining. 

I'll fill in the middle bit on Sunday, but it starts with the levelling beam:

 

And finishes with the levelled, re-crowned, polished and fretboard finished

The set up will take a little longer, but I can't see why the remaining assembly jobs won't be finished by the end of Sunday

 

 

[Andyjr1515]

Wiring isn't soldered up yet but all the components are in place and hatches are on

Still to finish: soldering (what little there is); strap buttons; setup

Here's how it's looking:

 

 

 

[benh]

A properly classy instrument, without being OTT. Lovely!

[Frank Blank]

Delicious!

[Andyjr1515]

Oh - there were two other targets.  One met, one missed a bit.

Will it fit into an Hiscox electric guitar case?

Yes it will:

Did I meet the target of 7 1/2lbs?

No - not quite.  It's actually closer to 7 3/4lbs.  I'm surprised that the strings and pots (the only things added since the last check) added 1/2lb!  That said, because it balances well, it's going to feel feather light on the strap... 

 

[AndyTravis]

I really like that - 34” 4 string - wonder if that’d work…😘😘😘

[SpondonBassed]

Gorgeous!

[ezbass]

That is top is very nice. However, it's the back that blows me away, absolutely lovely!