Über-Groove with graphite neck

[miziomix]

As promised, here's the picture of the fiber optics switches.



The placement had to take in account the truss rod adjustment and the lay out of my string anchors - which on this bass are different from others I've made.

All I need to do when I'm back (11 days....) is to drill the headstock for anchors, cut the nut, wire the electronics and assemble the bass.

I'm really eager to test this bass. I've always liked graphite necks and this will not be the last one for sure.

Cheers from getting cold Europe.

[Beej]

Boy Maurizio, you have really come along in the last few years. Beautiful designs, fine execution, class-act communicator and all around good guy. Guys like you make me proud to post here - I hope this community appreciates that you find the time to share what you do...

[miziomix]

Originally Posted by Beej

Boy Maurizio, you have really come along in the last few years. Beautiful designs, fine execution, class-act communicator and all around good guy. Guys like you make me proud to post here - I hope this community appreciates that you find the time to share what you do...

Thank you. You're very kind. These last few years sharing and discussing ideas on TB, have been a great experience for me. I can't even begin to say what an impact it has had and still has on what I do. Posting here has become a part of building that I simply couldn't do without.

I am truly grateful to you and to all TBers

[miziomix]

On 10/19/2012 miziomix wrote:

Originally Posted by miziomix

All I need to do when I'm back (11 days....) is to drill the headstock for anchors, cut the nut, wire the electronics and assemble the bass...

Ah! Life has a way to make you look stupid

Anyhow...I'm back, so lets revive this thread.

I'm currently doing fine sanding with 1000, 1200, 1500 (as we speak), 2000 grit. After that I'll do buffing and clean up the lacquer powder from all the tiny hiding places.

It will be done by tomorrow and I'll have pictures of the finished body.

Thank you for following this build

[droppedurpocket]

WOOOO! I've been patiently waiting to see the finished result. I'm so excited!

[millsbass5]

Did you try to get Moses to do a different headstock shape for you? I love the headstock on the Uber-J. Great stuff.

[bassman74]

Which type of router bit did you use for the round over?

Great looking body by the way....

[miziomix]

Originally Posted by droppedurpocket

WOOOO! I've been patiently waiting to see the finished result. I'm so excited!

Thank you! The future owner and I are 100% with you on the patience and excitement department

Originally Posted by millsbass5

Did you try to get Moses to do a different headstock shape for you? I love the headstock on the Uber-J. Great stuff.

Thank you. Actually the basic headstock shape is very similar to the original Ü-G design so using Moses' headstock was not much of a departure. The main difference is that Moses' HS is flat whereas mine is contoured, just like the Ü-J's. Since the custom order included a prism finish, I could not shape the headstock further. You'll see the Ü-G actual HS on one of the upcoming builds.

Originally Posted by bassman74

Which type of router bit did you use for the round over?

Great looking body by the way....

Thank you and I'm glad you like the body shape. For the round over, use a round router bit. Here's a link to a video that explains how.

Off to final sanding and buffing.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in the States.

[jeppu]

Hi Maurizio.
It's me Jeffry from Indonesia.
Always amazed by your builds since the first uber-j till now.
Can't wait till this bass done.
Sub'd.

[miziomix]

Originally Posted by jeppu

Hi Maurizio.
It's me Jeffry from Indonesia.
Always amazed by your builds since the first uber-j till now.
Can't wait till this bass done.
Sub'd.

Hey Jeffry! Great to find you here man I'm glad you like the builds. Were the links I emailed working? The Eldorado is the Mark II prototype of the Ü-J project. BTW, I just found another amazing Indonesian wood. I'll be damned if I remember the local name ahahahahha but it's got a grain to die for! I'm going to use it as top for sure

......

Today I finished sanding and buffing. I really enjoy doing this. It's too late for pictures. Till tomorrow...

ciao

Maürizio

[miziomix]

Sanded, buffed, cleaned up and shielded.



The threaded inserts for the p-ups' screws are in. I had to lightly sand off a bit of lacquer in the corner of one pick up cavity to let the p-up in. Lacquer never fails to trick me when it comes to that. But I'm getting better. This time around I only had to sand off this, the pots holes and of course the holes for the cavity cover threaded inserts. That's a long way from the troubles of my first build. But I have a solution in mind to eliminate those buggers as well



I love Claro. These two sets are so beautiful. The one on the back is a bit more traditional looking than the one on the top- which is why it's on the back anyway. But the grain is so nice and colours so rich!



Originally I had something else in mind for the cavity cover - something visually more outstanding. Then I found this leftover from the Claro set which almost perfectly matches the grain of the body on one side and gradually changes both colour and grain orientation on the other side. The idea seemed to me much more intriguing than what I had originally in mind so I went for it. Sometime one has got to improvise, right?

The signature is actually silver gray but the angle at which this picture was taken makes it look white.



The two knots are probably what I like the most about this combo. They were a pain to handle and I had to fill ever smaller holes even during the final stage of sanding. But the result is very, very rewarding.

Filling tiny holes in between coats is relatively simple - CA, sand, spray. It's a little more tedious when it happens after the last coat has dried, as in this case. Needless to day, one should check the bass carefully before spraying the last coat. But these little buggers have a talent in hiding from me.

Spraying the whole thing again would be an unnecessary waste of time, material and a pretty good coating.

So, to fill up tiny holes over the last coat of lacquer, use a tiny drop of CA. Let it dry. I do this either before lunch break or at the end of the day. That's a good way to keep my eager finger away from it

Then take a razor blade, tape it with masking tape so as only the center section of the blade shows. Make that just about as wide as the CA droplet you want to scrape.

Gently scrape the little bump until it's flush with the surface. The tape will protect the area around the bump and will add a slight thickness so when there's nothing left to scrape there is still a minute layer left which the blade cannot reach. Wet sand it off with the same grid you were using at that stage - 1000 in my case.

Hold the guitar at an angle so as you can see in the reflection if there's still some extra CA left. If you can't see any difference anymore move on to a higher grit, 1200>2000. Buff.

Next, I have to cut the nut, drill for anchor bits, fit p-ups and electronics and assemble the beast. Till then...

Thank you!

ps: Those interested will find more pix on the Über Facebook page. The link is in the signature.

[metallutca]

Superb as always, Mau. Gloss finish is the correct decision on this one

[miziomix]

Originally Posted by metallutca

Superb as always, Mau. Gloss finish is the correct decision on this one

Thank you! Gloss seems somewhat out of fashion these days. But some builds just scream for it loud enough to be heard Glad you like it.

[jeppu]

Originally Posted by miziomix

Hey Jeffry! Great to find you here man I'm glad you like the builds. Were the links I emailed working? The Eldorado is the Mark II prototype of the Ü-J project. BTW, I just found another amazing Indonesian wood. I'll be damned if I remember the local name ahahahahha but it's got a grain to die for! I'm going to use it as top for sure

......

Today I finished sanding and buffing. I really enjoy doing this. It's too late for pictures. Till tomorrow...

ciao

Maürizio

Yeah the links works well.
Grazie Mau.

C'mon Mau tell us what wood you found..share us some happines..hahahaha...

[miziomix]

Originally Posted by jeppu

...C'mon Mau tell us what wood you found..share us some happines..hahahaha...

LOL... actually I really don't remember the name. I just came across a sample and said I was interested to get some. We'll see when that happens. I'll post some pictures

[miziomix]

The other day I cut a nut out of Corian nut,. Spent some time rounding the edges and shaping it. I was done. That's when the bugger broke. I never knew Corian could split like that and for no reason apparently. It didn't fall, no particular pressure was applied. Oh well.... It was the last one. Now I have to order some. I think I'll get Tusq instead.

[miziomix]

The headstock is now drilled for string anchors. Working on a finished neck does make me feel a tad nervous especially since this Prism is not a finish I can easily touch up.



Anyway, with enough patience, enough masking tape, pilot holes and coffee it went pretty well. I know I'm repeating myself, but I dig working with graphite. This is the beginning of a long term relationship I believe



Here's the finished headstock with anchors and ferrules.

I'm suddenly early on this build. Sandeep has postponed the deadline to January - he wants to pick it up himself.

Plenty time to get some Tusq blanks to cut a new nut. When the last Corian nut split unexpectedly I hoped Sandeep would go with brass - of that, I have tons lying around And I've always been biased towards brass LOL

I told him: "...So, you can choose between Tusq and... brass!".
He replied: "I leave that decision in your capable hands. So long as it is black".

Sandeep is a cool guy

[miziomix]

I thought I'd share with you these pictures of the Anti- matter assembled before fitting pre and hardware.



This bass is going to feature a new design of anchor strings I have been working on lately.

Now I'm left with cutting the nut. The pre is being installed as we speak. Next week I will assemble the bass



Thank you

[miziomix]

While cleaning the neck I noticed that one of the threaded inserts was loose. I'm not too sure why as I fitted them exactly as advised by the builder. Be as it may, the insert came off as if it had no grip at all.

So I widened the hole with a larger bit, and then plugged it with a dowel and extra strong epoxy. Clamped overnight.



Sand off the protruding wood and mark the center where the new thread goes. Drill.



The insert went in just nice. Then again, so it did the first time around. No surprise then, when a second thread came off just as nicely.

At this point I have lost any faith in these inserts. The thread looks a bit too small to me and I don't see enough grip. maybe I'm wrong. Lets see what a macro picture tells us.



Oh well, I am going to replace them (insert on the left) with the one on the right or the center one.

[metallutca]

Originally Posted by miziomix

At this point I have lost any faith in these inserts. The thread looks a bit too small to me and I don't see enough grip. maybe I'm wrong. Lets see what a macro picture tells us.



Oh well, I am going to replace them (insert on the left) with the one on the right or the center one.

Yeah, the left one looks very short with small threads. Guess you'll be luckier with the one on the right. Got more numbers of threads and goes deeper into the neck.