Mykesbass Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 19 minutes ago, honza992 said: It feels like cheating. I feel as though I should be doing it freestyle, with only my keen luthier's eye and maybe a beret..... Just had to add this to the Basschat Great Quotes thread! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted June 10 Author Share Posted June 10 36 minutes ago, Mykesbass said: Just had to add this to the Basschat Great Quotes thread! Thanks @Mykesbass I'm well chuffed with that! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted June 15 Author Share Posted June 15 Although it's not finished, I've strung this one up to see whether the top was going to implode. It's been a couple of days, so I'm definitely pretty relieved. There's still quite a bit to do - the bridge is a temporary one, the nut is just a piece of scrap, the heel cap needs to be glued on, everything needs to be sanded properly, and of course it needs some finish applied. There's still set up and fret leveling and installing the pickup etc etc. However, I know you lot haven't been sleeping with the anticipation of it all, so here's a sneak low-res preview. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowB_FTW Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 5 hours ago, honza992 said: However, I know you lot haven't been sleeping with the anticipation of it all, so here's a sneak low-res preview. Once I've come down from the joyous expectation I had for this update, I'll finally get some sleep tonight. 😂 Mark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 That's looking very lovely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 17 Share Posted June 17 Superb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTool Posted July 4 Share Posted July 4 WOW! 😲 Great work 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼 👍🏼 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted July 4 Author Share Posted July 4 Thanks all. Things have slowed a bit because my daughter is off school for the summer holidays - all three (yes 3!!!) months of them. But, we're pretty much reaching the finish line. Literally. I started finishing the body yesterday with a seal coat of epoxy. Today I started the Tru-oil. The neck still needs a bit of tweaking before starting on the tru oil. I'll do a full finish write-up once it's done. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted July 4 Author Share Posted July 4 Oh and I also went to the wonderful Riwoods outside Milan to re-stock on walnut, maple and spruce. Can't think what for.....🙄 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 Finished! OK, it's not there's still fret levelling, etc etc, but here's a poor quality mobile phone pic... 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 I'll do a proper write-up once it really is finished, but some initial thoughts are: - it looks amazing! At some point I'll get some proper photos done. My phone and workshop lighting do not make for a David Bailey experience.... - the geometry has mostly come out well. The metal bridge looks nice, but is sh_te. I may replace the string retainer with a handmade ebony thing. - The acoustic sound is very nice. It's slightly louder and much more complex than the last prototype I built. More overtones, more focussed, less 'flabby' sounding. - the traditionalists will crucify me, but I used Tru-oil for the spruce top and the walnut back. On the spruce top it looks completely amazing. Better than the french-polished shellac I used on the previous guitar. - The piezo pickup isn't installed yet. I'll do fret levelling, set-up and finish everything else before installing. I'll need to drill a hole in the top for the wire, so I want to make sure the bridge is in the right place first.... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Beautiful job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 With an ebony tailpiece, it will look even more stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 13 hours ago, honza992 said: I'll do a proper write-up once it really is finished, but some initial thoughts are: The metal bridge looks nice, but is sh_te. I may replace the string retainer with a handmade ebony thing. 13 minutes ago, Hellzero said: With an ebony tailpiece, it will look even more stunning! Ebony will be stunning, and suit the overall aesthetic. Fantastic work @honza992 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honza992 Posted August 10 Author Share Posted August 10 OK, last few bits and bobs with this one. Setup first. I like to be able to get the action pretty low. 1.75mm for the E string at the 12th and 1.5mm for G string. That's with only a touch of relief on the truss rod. I've stopped using nuts and instead have a zero fret. The fretwire is the same for the zero fret but I don't level it when I'm doing the other frets. All this means that the action is incredibly light. Particularly the first 5 frets. My daughter's guitar teacher (who's a far better bass player than me) came round the other day and said it felt like playing a fretless! That's definitely my goal. Most people probably will want to raise the action a bit, particularly since this is an acoustic, but it's nice to know it can go low if necessary. My setup routine is probably similar to everyone. The only thing slightly unusual is that I level the frets under string tension. First step is getting it to tension (or actually a semitone below), then using a straight edge on top of the frets to get the neck as straight and flat as possible: I then use an aluminium C-shaped beam with 400 grit sandpaper on the bottom to level all the frets (as mentioned above, apart from the zero fret). More or less the final job is the pickup. I'm using a fishman matrix Infinity piezo which is under the saddle. This means I need to drill a hole in the top for the cable. After countless hours of work this was definitely a job not to do with a hangover. Or given I've got an eight year old, high on gummy-bears. Mark up the bridge location with tape, then a 2.5mm through the top, praying that my plans are accurate and I'm not about to drill through the X brace..... Phew. Done. Tomorrow I'll string it up again and plug it in for the first time.... One thing that has turned out beautifully on this build is the finish on the top. It was an epoxy seal coat then 5 or 6 wipe on/wipe off coats of tru oil. As a finish it look stunning. The last one had a french polished top which was nice, but dare I say it this one is better. It's hard to see in my rubbish photos, but the wood glows.... 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Superb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Nice way to do the fret dressing under tension, way faster than using the Stewmac bench and all the gauges. Very very very few luthiers do that fret dressing under tension and the only one I know is Leduc who is also doing a differential dressing (the treble side is straighter than the bass side) aka B-Bow when done by the Dobbratz brothers (Le Fay basses). Again congratulations for your excellent work @honza992! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Top notch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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