Yes, it does seem like this project is taking a mighty long time... about a year in the running it seems. Though, I just recently got a few vital tools that have furthered the progress of it tremendously.
Of course, I'm sure that none of you want to read any more of what I have to say, so I'll let the pictures do the talking. :cool:

Clicky! (http://tbbassprogress.blogspot.com)

Looking great! even with the the hep cat;)

Nice!
Better luck with this neck!

This neck was carved out of a nice, near quartersawn piece that has stayed perfectly flat since I glued up the first neck. I don't foresee it going crazy like the others, but I suppose we will see.

Neat idea for the inlay. What is it, exactly? Is it a snail shell out of metal? What kind of significance does it have?

How is it shaping wenge? I've never worked with the stuff yet.

Looks like it shouldn't be long now!

It's actually an ammonite fossil. They were, at one point, sea crustaceans. The significance is a little far fetched, but I enjoy making wild connections between things. The name of this project is Concordis, or harmonious (also translated as beautiful occasionally) in Latin. The spiral of the ammonite relates very closely to the Golden Ratio in the way it is proportioned. Being as the Golden Ratio, when applied to structure, is considered very pleasing to the eye, or beautiful, it directly relates to the basses given name. I told you it was wild, but that's just how I think sometimes :P.

The wenge gave me no problem at all. This is coming from a youngin' who's never once worked with wood before building this bass. I'm sure that you will have no problem with it if you ever decide to use it.

Hopefully you are correct about it not being long now. The only thing that is going to hold me back is the buying of the electronics and tuners. That looks like it will set me back another $340.

I, myself, cannot wait until it is done. This will end up being the most time consuming, expensive project I've ever taken on. The thing I enjoy the most is being able to include things that I look for in a bass. The best example I can think of is the fact that I made the neck big enough to hit a home-run with. This is by far the chunkiest neck that I've ever seen on an electric instrument, and I absolutely love it. The fingerboard is 3/8" and the neck blank started at 3/4". Very, and I mean a very small ammount of the thickness was taken off of the neck. So, basically, I'm thrilled :D.

Looks great. Cool idea for the inlay... very cool.

I dig the inlay! And the symbology behind it is what makes it so cool. Thanks for explaining.

Looks awesome. I can't wait to see one of your fossil inlays in a finished state. They're gonna be sweet.

-Nate

The inlay and the headstock are, more than likely, going to be my favorite things in the finished product. Though it's a very slight change from some other modified Fender headstocks, I absolutely love the shape. It's a modification of a modification if you will.

More neck and fingerboard progress. It isn't much, but it's still something :).

love that body design man.

Lots of progress has been made over the past 2 weeks: Body glued to neck, neck heel shaped, pickup cavities, battery box cavity, fingerboard radiused, inlaid straplocks, carbon fiber epoxied into neck, upper and lower bouts fully shaped. Go check out the pictures.

Coming along nicely! :cool:

Coming along great!! Don't you just love it when you get a lot of work done?

cool beans, Cerb - looking really good!

all the best,

R

Great stuff Cerb.

That's looking VERY nice!!
How old are you again?

Jon

Just a little over 16. I started when I was just a little over 15. The bass has taken quite a while to actually start looking like a bass, but at this point it is coming together very quickly, and I'm very pleased with it as a whole.

Just a little over 16. I started when I was just a little over 15. The bass has taken quite a while to actually start looking like a bass, but at this point it is coming together very quickly, and I'm very pleased with it as a whole.


you are my insperation for life....

Im 18 and havent gotten off the ground:crying:

edit: 17 sorry, i forgot

what kind of shop do you work with? do you use alot of powertools other than just a router?

I really would like to just see a setup or a tutorial.. even though this is kinda what this is... i just dont know how your doing everything...

but, this is an extremely awesome bass...

Yeah, looking sweet. Although I take it you're not going for a lightweight bass.

you are my insperation for life....

Im 18 and havent gotten off the ground:crying:

edit: 17 sorry, i forgot

what kind of shop do you work with? do you use alot of powertools other than just a router?

I really would like to just see a setup or a tutorial.. even though this is kinda what this is... i just dont know how your doing everything...

but, this is an extremely awesome bass...

Well, I suppose it's great to be an inspiration for something as large as another's life, but there really is no trick to what I'm doing :). My shop is a 10'*15' area that I cleaned up in our horribly messy 2 car garage. The only powertools I've needed so far have been the router, drill press, and the $80 can't-cut-a-straight-line-to-save-its-life bandsaw that I used to rough cut the body. Of course, my most useful tool has been this forum. The research I did for building this bass has been the most research I've ever done on any one thing, and it's still ongoing. Also, lots of improvising has been done, considering I had two neck blanks warp on me. I've run into so many problems that I no longer get that "Oh crap" adrenaline rush thing when a bit slips or something that wasn't supposed to break breaks. It's been said before, but just do it. The only thing you have to lose is a bit of wood... and maybe a finger or two (but they can usually sew those back on).


Yeah, looking sweet. Although I take it you're not going for a lightweight bass.

That certainly wasn't the intention, but it is somewhat lighter than I had originally imagined that it would be. My main want for this bass was for it to be pleasing to the eye and sound good. Being as I don't gig, standing and playing for long periods isn't really a problem. Also, the bass I have now weighs in at about 10 pounds, so I'm somewhat used to it. The 4" strap helps a lot too.

Thanks for the Insparation man... like i said...

ps. is this your first bass? or did you start out on something a bit easyer?

This is my first. Actually, it is my first woodworking project aswell. I had never had an interest in anything of the sort until this build.

This is my first. Actually, it is my first woodworking project aswell. I had never had an interest in anything of the sort until this build.


I figured as much... geez...

I hope my first comes out somewhere near close to as good as yours....


also... was the neck hard to make? i mean, I was thinking of tacking on a cheap mighty mite to my first bass, but heck, if its not extremely hard, i may as well go what everyone at my school is starting to call:

"balls out"..

oh geez... public school is getting to me

anywho... did you have any help? like a father or uncle (or of course a mother or aunt ) thats had woodworking experience?

just wondering if you basically built that "by the book" rather than someone thats done something like it before hovering around helping you out if you have questions or need some guidance...

so erm... didja?

The neck was actually my favorite part of the build thus far, and certainly wasn't as difficult as you would think.


anywho... did you have any help? like a father or uncle (or of course a mother or aunt ) thats had woodworking experience?


Nope, though it certainly would have been helpful in times of questioning. The only real guidance came from the forum and my gut feeling.

Looks sweet, I like what you did with the neck. The purpleheart on the back. I might do something like that on my second bass. Wow, I a already talking about my second bass when I haven't started making sawdust on the first yet.

lowsound