Bass out of rehab

[ctregan]

Here is the bass in parts.

The neck block has been replaced, new neck heel, and a belly patch has been added to the top plate.

[ctregan]

I decided to hop on the carbon fiber bandwagon. Seemed to be a good decision.

Shaping the heel to blend in with the old neck. Made a positive D stop with a nice spot for the thumb.

[ctregan]

Got a little fancy on the bass bar. This is a fan brace system, its supposed to spread out the vibrations better. Sort of Kadinski looking. Hope it works.

Lots of clamps.

[ctregan]

Gluing the finger board back on.

I made a temporary bridge to test out the bass, its out of cherry.
The bridge worked fine but I will order a real one this week (I was impatient).

[ctregan]

Thats the bass holding me up after a marathon weekend putting it all back together. By the way, how long does it take hide glue to set up?

First test string up; works great! Neck is super stiff and lined up straight with the body. Plays different with the new neck angle; much easier on the hands. Still sounds like the same bass but way more sustain and better middle notes.

Thanks to everyone for the great tips and advise, There is no way I could have pulled this off without these threads.

Craig

[arnoldschnitzer]

Originally Posted by ctregan

Got a little fancy on the bass bar. This is a fan brace system, its supposed to spread out the vibrations better. Sort of Kadinski looking. Hope it works.

That's a Kasha bass bar. I hope you paid your royalty. The work looks great; please move closer, I need a helper.

[Jake deVilliers]

Nice work! How does it sound now?

[fretlessman71]

Originally Posted by ctregan

Thats the bass holding me up after a marathon weekend putting it all back together. By the way, how long does it take hide glue to set up?

I hope less time than it took you to restring your bass!

Nice work.

[MingusAmongUs]

Looks good CT.
Arnold -- is that a one-time royalty, or do you have to pay that for every use?

[MollyKay]

Awesome work…you should be very proud and I hope your son is appreciative of your fine skills and efforts. I think it is wonderful when threads like this show how much talent is out there…it is also great when master luthiers and skill craftsmen openly share their knowledge.

In the words of Big Russ…Man what a country!

[forester]

skilz CT..now..get back to that cherry bass

[Gearhead43]

Awesome work, and that bass is a real beauty.

[MollyKay]

CT…when you were working on the fingerboard of your bass did it smell like maple syrup? We are working on a 1950 AS bass in complete original condition with the original fingerboard. The board came loose so we are reattaching it…when it first came off I smelled maple. Then I smelled it again when my husband was dressing the fingerboard…he smelled it too.

I thought original AS basses has some type of mystery “box wood” for a fingerboard. Let me know…I am curious…and hopefully not crazy. I have a very keen sense of smell and it definitely was maple sugar/maple syrup. What a weird question to ask…

[ctregan]

Luckily my fingerboard was ebony, no maple syrup aroma. Any pictures?

[MollyKay]

Yep…I got pictures…they look pretty much the same as yours…clamps…dust…woodworking mojo…etc. This is a nice original AS bass, good solid neck joint, nice original finish except for the lower rear bout which we will get filled in an touched up to match the rest of the bass. For the most part a nice solid bass…I am patiently waiting to hear it come back to life. I want to see if it can kick butt at the local jam.

So no maple smell…okay this one is just a weird bass. I guess it could smell unpleasant like cigars, mildew or cat pee…I’ll take maple syrup…now I need some blueberry pancakes to eat while I play it.

[MollyKay]

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