NZ Non-Standard Cleveland - removeable neck and sound post hatch.

[Eric Rene Roy]

Did you see Jean Auray's bridge positioning stick?

[Tumbao]

(+or-) " LOL! Who's squishing your head?! funny stuff!"

[Matthew Tucker]

I didn't see his stick, but a local luthier here scores the distance from tailpiece to bridge top on the end pin to achieve the same thing. I don't see the need, but maybe it helps some people.

[bassist14]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

I didn't see his stick,

here it is:


imho its a great idea.
here you can see how it works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=looCV...e=channel_page

[Matthew Tucker]

What happens if you lose the stick? And what happens if the bridge feet move?

To me it seems a bit like using a GPS to go to the corner store!

[Eric Rene Roy]

If your from outta town the gps might be helpfull...

[Damon Rondeau]

Oh god, I can see it now:

Bridge stick topic = Marker dots topic

[JeffKissell]

My take is that the stick is for the initial factory set-up. If you have a bass shipped and set-up from them that's where they set the bridge. I would assume after that it's all between you and your luthier.
My bass came set-up from AES with steel strings but when I changed to gut strings the bridge and sound post moved slightly to accommodate. In this case, if I had a stick, it would be useless without modification, (this would also be an issue with a pinned sound post.)
My luthier has marked the corners of the bridge feet with a light pencil mark for it's current position, and I know what the string length is so it's up to me to keep it straight.

Mathew,
That removable neck is F*@#in' awesome!!
I assume a strap would work if one were to place small foam blocks over the sound post top and back?

-Jeff

[Eric Hochberg]

Originally Posted by JeffKissell

My bass came set-up from AES with steel strings but when I changed to gut strings the bridge and sound post moved slightly to accommodate.

Why was this necessary? (Changing the bridge position, not the strings.)

And, yeah, Matthew's neck job is the bomb.

[JeffKissell]

Originally Posted by ehochberg

Why was this necessary? (Changing the bridge position, not the strings.)...

It sounds better and more balanced to me. The guts strings are lower tension and I think the top is more open which shifted the sound post position mostly. Please keep in mind these are "slight" tweeks that I exaggerated to make the point that a bass is an ever changing, breathing instrument. Sometimes what is optimal when it's first built is not where it ends up, especially after 10, 20, 50, 100 years.
-J

[james condino]

Oh my! What kind of monstrous ideas did I unleash on a formerly content comminity of of gigantic cased, rigid neck'd, complicated soundpost setting folks just a few months ago.....I've locked my doors in fear that the crusty naysayers might come after me for insighting revolutionary ideas.... I'll chase them away with a cloak of garlic cloves and a beautiful bright green sunburst finish!!!!!

Matthew: I like it, I like it, I like it!!!!!!


For the neck case, a custom order isn't necessary. Pelican cases makes some of the most sturdy, waterproof, and durable cases in the world. Their main application is photography and guns. The stock one that I use is a rifle case, cost about $175 off Epay, and you get lot of different color options.

I didn't use a dzouki to cut the trapdoor. They typically have about a .023" kerf ( you can get others)- about the size of a fret slot and very visible. I used a razor saw which has about half that kerf and costs around $10 at your local hobby store.

A flywheel cutter or razor knife circle cutter is nice to have around the shop, especially if you build guitars or do a lot of rosette work. I kept one around for a number of years, until I watched Eugene Clark (master classical guitar builder) make a cleaner cut than I could get from the overpriced LMI cutter using an exacto knife blade, a popsicle stick, and a thumbtack.


I take off for just a week and this is what I come back to- I LIKE IT!!!

j.

[Peck_Time]

Had my first airline trips with the removable neck Cleveland on Thursday and Friday.

Disassembly was easy and painless: loosen the strings and remove them from the tailpiece. remove the endpin, tailpiece and bridge. Undo the neck-bolt and it's done!
The bass fits into two cases (one for the neck and one for the carcass), and I can fit them into my car- with my old flightcase I had to get a van or trailer to get to the airport. The airline had no qualms about taking the bass, but then I didn't have problems with the old flightcase (I haven't travelled outside NZ though).

Assembly took no more than 10 minutes: Check soundpost. Put the neckbolt on and tighten with an allen key. Place the bridge in its marked position. Attach the strings to the tailpiece and tune.

The strings (old Spiros) kept their tuning overnight without needing more than a tweak in the morning before the gigs.

[Matthew Tucker]

Finally got around to posting this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEk58X6A_s8

its a pity TB doesn't seem to allow embedding video.

Looking at the clip, you can easily see how incredibly light these basses are.

here's what the neck heel looks like again:

[Jazzdogg]

Fantastic video, Matthew! Now that I've seen it, I'm jonesing to make those modifications to one of my basses. Depending on how well I am able to plan and execute, making your modifications could be quite an interesting process , or a complete disaster.

[Uncletoad]

Perfect!

[Eric Rene Roy]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

its a pity TB doesn't seem to allow embedding video.

It's a security issue...there is enough going on in the background of a forum keeping it running smooooooth...no need to make it even harder by leave the front door wide open.

nice work btw!

[JtheJazzMan]

Just to bump this piece of magnificence, was the cost and labour hours mentioned somewhere?