Basvarken Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 It's alive! The Brooks DDB (DoubleDuaneBird). A double-neck Thunderbird with a traditional Thunderbird 4-string neck. And a 30 1/2" scale 12-string bass neck. I can finally share another completed build with you guys. The idea had been brewing for a while but the actual build started out early july 2024. I'll share the pics of the build proces in separate posts below this opening post. Specifications: - Korina body - Korina 12-string neck 30 1/2" scale - Korina 4-string neck 34" scale - Candy Apple Red Nitrocellulose finish - Ebony fretboards - Circle position dots - Jumbo frets - Buffalo horn nuts - Three ply (vintage) white/black/white pickguard - Custom made ETS twelve string brass bridge set. Chrome - Wide travel Thunderbrid style bridge. Chrome - Spokewheel double action trussrods - Carbon reinforcement strip in 12-string neck - Gemini Dominator pickup for 4-string - Gemini Devastator pickup for 12-string - Bourns pots (volume/tone volume/tone) - Mullard capacitors - Toggle switch to choose 12- or 4-string - Gotoh GB 350 lightweight bass tuners - Gotoh ST-31 Stealth tuners - 1 x Pure Tone Multi Contact jack output - d'Addario custom set strings (12 string) - Rotosound RB 50 (4 string) - Weight: 7.9 kg 25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 😍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 Looks amazing. The shape looks perfect for a twin neck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 The initial idea was to build a double-neck Firebird/Thunderbird. But when Duane Daniels saw the sketch he asked me to change the Firebird part into a Twelve string Thunderbird. Duane has a crazy collection of twelve string bass guitars and he commissioned the build of the DDB (DoubleDuaneBird) The first step was to order all the parts. Starting with the Korina body blank and neck blanks. And the two ebony fretboards. I asked my good friend Frank Hoffmeyer of Holz-Faszination to pre-radius them (16") and also have them slotted. While all the other parts were also ordered from all over the world, I set out to make the templates. In the past I used MDF. But laser cutting MDF is not very healthy so I switched to using Plexiglass. I made the vector files on my computer using Adobe Illustrator. Them exported them as DXF files and loaded them into the laser cutting software. Very clean looking templates! First cut out the rough outline. Then routed along the template 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 Next step was to use the other template for the neckpockets And the pickup cavities And the controls cavity on the back Drilled the output hole And took out the shinto rasp to make a belly cut 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 Then switched to making the necks Routed the trussrod slot for the 4-string And routed the slot for the carbon reinforcement strip for the 12-string neck Then routed the two slots for the two trussrods for the 12-string neck Sawed the headstock angle for both necks and planed them nice and flat Prepared the fretboards for the position dots Made the 12th position ring inlay Cut out the truss rod access slots And made the covers 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 Then fretted the fretboards for both necks Glued the fretboards on and started shaping the necks Made the side dot markers and filled the gaps under the fret tangs And then there were two paddles 😉 Shaped the headstocks Made the faceplates from a material called Richlite. Which is a composite substitute for ebony. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 Drilled a lot of holes... Two necks Shaped the heels for the neck pockets And after a lot of fitting (and cursing) they finally both fitted Then I weighed the bare ones bass to see what the sale would say... It weighed in a a disturbing 6.2 kilograms Without any hardware! So I decide to route ways some wood underneath the pickguard area. the bass lost 400 grams! Next step was the point of no return: glueing the necks in 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 Drilled the holes for the bridges and tail stops Before I started the pore filling I decided to stain the bass red. Just to see if the red color that I had i mind would suit this bass. And as an advantage the red stain would also be good back up in case spraying the Candy Apple Red would not work out properly. I used Glitsa parquet varnish as a pore filler this time. After several layers of sanding sealer and nitro primer I sprayed three layers of Shoreline gold nitro. And then the transparent red to get the Candy Apple Red effect. After plenty of layers of clear coat I applied the decals. (yes I live in Velp) And signed the bass for Duane Applied the decals on the faceplates And after a few more layers of clear coat I sanded the entire bass with 1400, 2000 and 2500 grit. Then polished it. And mounted the hardware. Cut the two top nuts from buffalo horn 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 When I started the build I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find a case that was large enough to fit this monster. But it turned out the Rockcase The Beast (by Warwick) is large enough. I happened to have one in my house for another build (an explorer bass). Laid it in the case and found out I only had to remove the little compartment in the left corner. So I ordered another one and modified that. Made a nice foam insert and put some velours fabric over it. I'm never going to be a real upholsterer, but it turned out quite nice The last step was done by my good friend Bas Becu (BQ Music). He is an electronics wizard. Although this was pretty straight forward electronics, he can do a much better job soldering the wiring than I can. So I asked Bas to do it for me. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 And made the unavoidable vide demo...;-) 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 Wow... what a wonderful flick-book like journey of a build... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si600 Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 You madman! 🤩 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwillett Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 Dear god, I look at my feeble efforts and realise I'm not worthy. For some reason I imagined this guitar being used by Thor or some sort of Norse god. That nut is amazing. I take my hat off to you, Sir. What clear coat did you use please? Thanks Rob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 10 minutes ago, rwillett said: Dear god, I look at my feeble efforts and realise I'm not worthy. For some reason I imagined this guitar being used by Thor or some sort of Norse god. That nut is amazing. I take my hat off to you, Sir. What clear coat did you use please? Thanks Rob I used a few coats of Nitrocellulose clear. And let that cure for a bit. Then switched to Acrylic. Because it's cheaper and easier to work with basically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwillett Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 11 minutes ago, Basvarken said: Then switched to Acrylic. Because it's cheaper and easier to work with basically. Thanks. Any particular acrylic brand? I've tried a few and not had fantastic results in the past. Building or rather 3d printing another one and would like to do a better job this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 13 minutes ago, rwillett said: Thanks. Any particular acrylic brand? I've tried a few and not had fantastic results in the past. Building or rather 3d printing another one and would like to do a better job this time. I use really cheap rattle cans from a store called Action. €3 per can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwillett Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 18 minutes ago, Basvarken said: I use really cheap rattle cans from a store called Action. €3 per can. Wow, I had assumed with that fantastic finish it was a high end acrylic finish. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 It's really good quality. Just dirt cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 Jaw dropping! I read the through to the end before I realised it's a 12 string bass, not a 12 string guitar. Did you make the two piece bridge and string-ends, or are there suppliers for such niche items? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 I'm really not sure whether that's a feat of engineering or a work or art, it's probably both. Wonderful 👍 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 Another absolutely stunning build. Congratulations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 Oh, and hoping the Firebird/Thunderbird still gets built (not that I could commission it)! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted October 3 Author Share Posted October 3 9 hours ago, Richard R said: Jaw dropping! I read the through to the end before I realised it's a 12 string bass, not a 12 string guitar. Did you make the two piece bridge and string-ends, or are there suppliers for such niche items? The 12-string bridge set was custom made by ETS Hardware in Germany. And the 4-string set comes for Philadelphia Luthiers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nice Guy Rich Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 Sweet Jesus !! It's a beauty and a beast rolled into one. I'm seriously impressed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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