honza992 Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) Hi All It's been a while since I've posted anything here. We ended up moving to Italy in the middle of the first wave of COVID. We've been re-structuring a house and finally, 4 years later, I've got a workshop set up in the basement. Sooo..... I'm making a fully acoustic bass. I've been planning it for what seems like forever. The idea is to make an acoustic bass that is designed to be amplified. It's not designed for acoustic volume, for that the body needs to be much bigger. My thinking though is to make the top as flexible as possible, then amplify the movement of the top with a K&K piezo, stuck on the inside of the top, under the bridge. It's a 'flarchtop'....So the spruce top is pushed into a tight radius (15 foot) by the braces, it's not carved like a normal archtop would be. It will have an archtop style floating bridge and tailpiece. I strung it up for the first time yesterday and the top didn't immediately collapse. Which is a good thing..... I didn't take pictures along the way, never got round to it. It still needs sanding, and heel cap and a few other bits, but the end is definitely in sight. A couple of pics.... Edited January 27 by honza992 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 (edited) Nope, cant post images. Something's changed in the last 4 years. i used to just cut & paste the BBCode from ibb. Any pointers anyone? EDIT: ok, I've cut and pasted the photos themselves rather than the links, like I used to. Is that how it's done these days? I'm feeling old..... Edited January 27 by honza992 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowB_FTW Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 51 minutes ago, honza992 said: Nope, cant post images. Something's changed in the last 4 years. i used to just cut & paste the BBCode from ibb. Any pointers anyone? You don't need code, just the image URL, that'll automatically embed the image in your post. Mark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Welcome back! It must be a while the method of posting images changed several years ago, which is why there are now lots of old threads with broken image links. That bass looks great! If there is no real requirement for being able to hear the acoustic sound and pickup is using the soundboard vibrations how thin could you actually make the body? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 That's beautiful. Good to see you back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 11 hours ago, BigRedX said: Welcome back! It must be a while the method of posting images changed several years ago, which is why there are now lots of old threads with broken image links. That bass looks great! If there is no real requirement for being able to hear the acoustic sound and pickup is using the soundboard vibrations how thin could you actually make the body? Thanks BigRed. It's good to be here! Good question, I don't exactly know the answer. The body is 60mm at the heel, and 55mm at the neck join. So it's definitely thicker than a standard electric (45mm ish), but not dramatically so. I think the limitation probably doesn't relate to the top/pickup, more the neck joint. 55mm probably isn't enough for a dovetail joint, so I've gone for a mortise & tenon variation. Another thing about a thin body is that although I can get my hand in the sound hole, the body isn't wide enough to do anything once it's in there - the braces get n the way. So the neck bolts need to be done from the outside. I don't think body thickness will affect the amplified tone though. Acoustic volume yes, amplified tone no. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 8 hours ago, SpondonBassed said: That's beautiful. Good to see you back. Thanks SB. Note to self, must take some volute pics.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 27/01/2024 at 21:28, honza992 said: Nope, cant post images. Something's changed in the last 4 years. i used to just cut & paste the BBCode from ibb. Any pointers anyone? EDIT: ok, I've cut and pasted the photos themselves rather than the links, like I used to. Is that how it's done these days? I'm feeling old..... If you do that, files called image.png (IIRC) get created on the BC server, which are bigger than they need to be. My approach (other approaches are available) is to load the original picture into Irfanview, reduce it in size, save it as a named file, then either drag the named file to the area under the composition window that says "Drag files here to attach, or choose files..." or click on "choose files" and select the named file. Then click "Insert" on the picture and it'll get inserted wherever you've got to in the composition window. It takes less time to do it than it did to type all that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Great to see you on here again, John!! And very pleased that you were able to make the Italy move in spite of all the challenges! Hope all well with you and yours. Your levels of quality always did put mine to shame, but that looks the bees knees. Lovely job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 3 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: Great to see you on here again, John!! And very pleased that you were able to make the Italy move in spite of all the challenges! Hope all well with you and yours. Your levels of quality always did put mine to shame, but that looks the bees knees. Lovely job Thanks Andy. Having no workshop for several years has meant this one has literally been planned to death! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 (edited) OK, the body and neck are ready for finish. This is the plan... Spruce top - sand to 600, then wipe on a seal coat of West Systems Epoxy, wipe off after 15 mins. I'll then french polish with shellac. I got this from Ken Parker (who does the most detailed instructional vids ever which are amazing) who does epoxy then Tru oil. I quite like french polishing though..... Body - sand to 400, then Osmo 1101 (which is the thinned version), followed by Osmo Polyx rubbed on. Neck - sand to 1000, then Osmo 1101/ Polyx. That's the plan, how it will actually turn out is anyone's guess. I have a history of applying a finish, sanding it off, applying a finish, sandi.....well you get the idea. Edited January 31 by honza992 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 While the finish is finishng, I made a bridge.... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 I also want to have a finger rest/pickguard thing that you get on archtops. The bridge is ebony but I get more and more uncomfortable using exotic woods, so I wondered about using some nice figured maple, then ebonising it. Which I guess means dying it black. Here's the maple. Does anyone know anything about dying wood? Any idea how deep the dye goes? Deep enough to sand I would guess? I was also going to bind it, which means scraping off glue once it's glued. The binding will be wood, so dying after gluing the binding isn't an option....I don't thnk. Any idea what sort of dye? The Americans sites talk about using a leather dye, no idea if you can get that in Italy. Anyone with any ideas or pointers? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Hi @honza992 Yes - Fiebings Black Leather die is available on the Italian Amazon site (and probably elsewhere). It is very black and pretty much the standard go-to for staining fretboards, etc. No stain penetrates particularly deeply and so the usual method is to apply the stain, let dry, sand a few times to fully raise and flatten the grain, and then apply a couple of coats before adding your final finish. What are you using for that final finish? I use a variation of the Tru-oil slurry and buff method for stained finishes, either as a final finish or as a silky smooth undercoat for compatible gloss finishes (polyurethane varnish covers this very well) but most other finishes will work with the stained wood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 That looks great! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 5 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said: Hi @honza992 Yes - Fiebings Black Leather die is available on the Italian Amazon site (and probably elsewhere). It is very black and pretty much the standard go-to for staining fretboards, etc. No stain penetrates particularly deeply and so the usual method is to apply the stain, let dry, sand a few times to fully raise and flatten the grain, and then apply a couple of coats before adding your final finish. What are you using for that final finish? I use a variation of the Tru-oil slurry and buff method for stained finishes, either as a final finish or as a silky smooth undercoat for compatible gloss finishes (polyurethane varnish covers this very well) but most other finishes will work with the stained wood. Hi Andy, on the body I haven't grain-fllled so my goal is a low satin finish at most. I've used Osmo Polyx gloss, on the body and the neck. On the body I think it's gone ok, I'm a bit less convinced by the neck. But I haven't quite finished, so I'll do a full report once I have. The bridge & tailpiece are unfinished ebony. I've just done a quick test using Dartfords Spirit wood dye (which sounds pretty similar to the Fiebings you mentioned, both alcohol based dyes) using mostly black with the a little bit of brown added in. The ebony definitely has some brown in it. I think they match ok. Once it's dry tomorrow I'll do some light sanding, then put some Osmo on it and see what happens.... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 3 hours ago, Richard R said: That looks great! Thanks Richard, I appreciate it! The real test will be to see if the top collapses once it's been at tension for a while.... I fumbled my way through the electronics today. It's my least favourite part. It's got a K&K Pure piezo glued on the inside of the top and a 2 band EQ by EMG. Not complicated but my tiny brain blue screens whenever I start reading about impedence and resistance and potentiometers..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Love the look of this! The ABG thing is becoming a big part of my sound these days… Very jealous! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted February 10 Author Share Posted February 10 (edited) 16 minutes ago, AndyTravis said: Love the look of this! The ABG thing is becoming a big part of my sound these days… Very jealous! Thanks Andy, you've got a nice looking pair yourself! The one on the left is obviously acoustic, but the Yamaha? I don't think I've seen particular model before. Semi-acoustic? If you don't mind can I ask what you like about the ABG thing? What's the sound in your head that an ABG helps you with? Are you after a double bass sound? Or something else completely? Edited February 10 by honza992 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 The acoustic is an old 70’s/80’s Italian made bass - flats, defret, I mic this up when recording…gets a fairly DB sound. The Yamaha is a late 90’s/early 2000’s BEX4c, gives a P bass sound with piezo sounds too - handy when I can’t take my ripper and the acoustic. I think the direct tone sounds of the piezo help the bass sit in the busy ish sound of the band I’m in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 Bugger, just scratched it. That's it, it's going for firewood... 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Aw. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Where? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snorkie635 Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 For sale: 1st ever Honza992 reliced acoustic bass. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 2 hours ago, Richard R said: Where? Fair comment. Even i had to go looking for it...And given my real worry is that the top explodes 3 days after stringing i t up, scratching the back hardly even registers. 😟 2 hours ago, snorkie635 said: For sale: 1st ever Honza992 reliced acoustic bass. 😉 I like it. The old turn a mistake into a feature routine. Nice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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