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ACG Harlot Fretless 4: FINISHED :: "Looks like a Mediterranean ocean under an indigo sky"

Sugden

By Sugden,
in Build Diaries

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Sugden Explorer

Sugden

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Well as others have said only one ACG is just not enough. My complete love of fretless has given me the prod to make the move on a second ACG with the wipe out of any other hobby ever getting a look in again. Plus a summer of major work to do.

So heres the spec:

Body core Black Limba with quilt maple back and front black accent veneer and ebony centre line.
Neck Flame sycamore/wenge 5 piece with an Acrylic impregnated Purpleheart finger board with black semi-tone markers. Quilt headplate,backplate and heel all with black accent veneer.
Hardware in black.
Hipshot Type A. Ultralite tuners. Schaller Straploks.
ACG Fatbas humbuckers.
ACG filter pre-amp 18 volt.
Finish. Trans blue/purple.

First renders and woods can be viewed here: [url="http://www.acguitars.co.uk/Gallery/112/"]http://www.acguitars.co.uk/Gallery/112/[/url]

Heres the render i was working seem abit better than when i started. But you get the genral idea and plan ::





Things started out abit different with a plan to make an all blue bass, but with the purpleheart board been so lovely and it been a little rare i though o why not purple so the body will be a mix between purple and blue, and the flamed purple heart board with black fret markers setting it off.

Some newer pics now:



Mines the nice and simple 5 peice neck I was offered 7 and more but well you know.



Heres the fretboard cut and black fretlines in :)

Edited by Sugden
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Kiwi Grand Master

Kiwi

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Looks like you've got a very similar finish to that on the custom Jaydee Jazz I used to own :)



How is Alan going to do this? I know how John did it and I wasn't really happy with the results at the end of the day.

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skelf Mentor

skelf

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I would be interested in how your bass was done.
what I intend to do is to stain the bass with purple first and sand most of it back out just leaving it where it has went in the deepest. Then either stain with a blue until we reach the colour we are looking for or add the blue to the lacquer and spray it on. The first method I think gives more depth to the finish but can be difficult to get a consistent colour through out the whole bass especially with 3 different woods being coloured. The second method is certainly more consistent and easier to remove if it does not go to plan but does I feel not quiet have the depth I mentioned above.
Your experience with your bass would be appreciated.
Cheers
Alan

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Kiwi Grand Master

Kiwi

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[quote name='skelf' post='4944' date='May 23 2007, 09:23 AM']I would be interested in how your bass was done.
what I intend to do is to stain the bass with purple first and sand most of it back out just leaving it where it has went in the deepest. Then either stain with a blue until we reach the colour we are looking for or add the blue to the lacquer and spray it on. The first method I think gives more depth to the finish but can be difficult to get a consistent colour through out the whole bass especially with 3 different woods being coloured. The second method is certainly more consistent and easier to remove if it does not go to plan but does I feel not quiet have the depth I mentioned above.
Your experience with your bass would be appreciated.
Cheers
Alan[/quote]

John did exactly the same as you were proposing and encountered exactly the same issues you identified. I think he started with red and encountered major problems with porosity on the front facing when it came to the blue. The maple was sponging up vast amounts of stain with little increase in terms of colour depth. The result was a very patchy and inconsistent finish on the front of the bass.

I don't know if the wood needed sealing first but the back facing (denser grain?) was absolutely fine when treated in the same way. I asked John to incorporate a pearlescent tint because I liked the Modulus red over blue tint and wanted it to shift in colour when held up to the light.

I'm no expert but it seemed to me that the finish was more successful on less porous and brighter coloured (ie white or pale) wood.

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Kiwi Grand Master

Kiwi

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He definitely started with a stain. I think the second coat might have been stain as well because of the consistency problems, but I'm not sure. I think the more successful route would've been to have a consistent sprayed clear tint over the top, but it might be worth just experimenting with an offcut perhaps? I don't know how much the wood would affect the results.

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skelf Mentor

skelf

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Having thought about it. I think I will be staining with the purple seal that then spray with a tinted lacquer. I think this will give a more even colour to the bass.
I expect the Limba to take in a fair amount of the purple stain as it is more porous than the maple what I hope to end up with is a darker perimeter on the bass with the face of the bass being lighter.
Alternatively I may not stain the limb at all and just the maple leaving the limba just to be coloured by the lacquer.

One of the things I tried out on a guitar I stained. To get the stain more consistent over the whole guitar was to give it a soaking in lacquer thinner this did make the stain work better with regard to even colour.
Alan

Edited by skelf
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Sugden Explorer

Sugden

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[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='18874' date='Jun 16 2007, 05:57 PM']someone, it seems, likes to have their bass at a very high angle. That's crazy but i suppose that's what makes it nice. I doubt grand designs would have got through the first season hed kevin mcloud not been able to come up with new and imaginative ways to say that for every show![/quote]

Ok in the face of seeming stupid I have no idea what you just said sorry :)

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velvetkevorkian Mentor

velvetkevorkian

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I think he's suggesting that the bass will sit at a very high angle- the headstock will be much higher than the body. I'm not sure where he's getting this from though as the body and top horn are fairly normally situated, in comparison with a Fender or something similar.

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Sugden Explorer

Sugden

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Couple more pics:





Well if he persumes that the harlot balances very well, i wear the bass quite high up so its a much more level well than alot of people anyway, and when i had a quick go on alans harlot prototype i think it feels stunning sits perfectly on me. Wear the bass like this:



Excuse the shirt apparntly Im not allowed to gig without it as I bring tropical joy to the stage.

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Sugden Explorer

Sugden

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Oo another pic with the new musicman style pickups installed can't wait to hear them on the fretless. The soap bar humbuckers I have at the moment are stunning, but double bucks couldn't refuse. Plus its 18V as well so an even greater range of tone could be there.

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Sugden Explorer

Sugden

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Hehe dont worry I was the one who thought I might have to dodge flames putting fret lines in the neck. I do love the look of plain fretboards but I also like the fret lines.

Its just I dont see any point in not having the lines, and at the moment I need them, and in the future even when I dont I think I would choose to have them too.

Plus when its all strung up with black or blue strings, had the finish put on I think they will suit the look of the bass :ph34r:

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steve-soar Mentor

steve-soar

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[quote name='Sugden' post='23319' date='Jun 26 2007, 12:20 AM']Oo another pic with the new musicman style pickups installed can't wait to hear them on the fretless. The soap bar humbuckers I have at the moment are stunning, but double bucks couldn't refuse. Plus its 18V as well so an even greater range of tone could be there.

[/quote]
Lets spread the tropical joy all around. I love the way your ACG looks, high, low who cares. Great shirt, the world would be a happier place with more colour. I'm having the MM's in my 6 string and with a nod to you, the 18v option. Your bass is going to be on ACG forums for years to come.

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Sugden Explorer

Sugden

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Bit more of an update body curves on and some more shaping. Hopfuly gonna have some colour samples on way by end of the week :)







Steve think yours will go down as a stunning lefty the wood on yours is beautiful. I gave into alans pleeding eyes with the 18v he was just mentioning casualy he wouldnt mind trying 18v couldnt turn the guy down :huh:

Edited by Sugden
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