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  #81  
Old 01-28-2013, 04:16 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
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Quote:
Originally Posted by miziomix View Post
You're very kind. Yeah, this bass will be true to its name The owner and I have put together a lot of ideas to make this bass a slap machine.



Thank you so much.

Update time.

Shaping the neck is still one of my favorite tasks. This one is a very special neck. I'll explain why when it's finished. For now these are the WIP pictures.

Not much of a picture really. But my old man's rasp gives it a sentimental value.


What are the pencil lines on the back of the neck for?
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  #82  
Old 01-28-2013, 09:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ Bebop View Post
What are the pencil lines on the back of the neck for?
They help you keep track of where you have and haven't removed material, as you work.
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  #83  
Old 01-29-2013, 12:04 AM
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^^ Like he says. Thank you PJ.

I can only add that, albeit seemingly low tech, it is the most effective way to keep track of your rasping/filing/sanding. I use it every time one of the above is required. Especially when radiusing the fretboard.
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  #84  
Old 01-29-2013, 12:08 AM
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Thanks
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  #85  
Old 01-30-2013, 09:51 AM
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You're welcome.

Quick update. I will be away from Friday for two weeks. On the 10th the Chinese New Year festivities start and that usually lasts the whole week. I will double that and ride to Thailand on my bike

There won't be and WIP pictures until my return, although I can upload some other kind of pictures if you like

Keep it groovy!
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Last edited by miziomix : 01-30-2013 at 09:53 AM.
  #86  
Old 02-28-2013, 08:16 AM
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My holiday is over and Chinese new year too. I took two weeks off to go riding in the South West region of Thailand. It's a fantastic area if one is careful enough to avoid the classic touristic places like Phuket and Krabi. Here's a little souvenir



It seems impossible that just about ten miles away the beaches were loaded with tourists.

After my trip I had a few days to dedicate to the builds, then I had to focus on a project to ensure that Über-basses gets sufficient financing Now that that too is finished I'm back to make more saw dust.

So, without further etc etc...



This build is almost ready for spraying. I have finished shaping neck and headstock. There's just a final sanding to be done right before spraying it.

This neck is impossibly thin. The owner asked for the thinnest I could go. I usually go with 20mm at 1rst fret and 21mm at 17th, which I suppose is quite thin without being too thin.

This one is 19mm at the 1rst fret. 1mm isn't exactly a huge difference but I didn't think I could go much thinner than that.



So the way I approached this task was to try and make the neck 'feel' thin regardless of the actual measurements. The idea is to keep the thickness consistent all the way to the heel. Then, right where the neck joins the body, the heel quickly increases its thickness to join the body contour.



The result is a neck shaped like a ( as opposed to a classic C. It also gets flatter than usual beyond the 12th fret. But IMO it's quite comfortable because it flattens in the center and at that point the thumb is already following the lower half which is curved.



I must confess, this neck has given me quite a few nightmares. Hopefully my calculations are correct and I'm not going to bump into a truss rod.



The extremely thin neck is one of the reasons for such a large Purpleheart center laminate. That and the Ebony fretboard make the neck very stiff.







The neck pocket is overly tight and it takes some effort to insert the neck. It will now sit for a few weeks and if there's any shrinking it'll be good as is. Else, I'll sand it slightly to compensate for the lacquer on the neck.

Now I'm waiting for my supplier to deliver the cavity cover. Of course, they are late. Just like me

In the next few days I will route the bridge/tuners recess. Then we'll get into pore filling and spraying. I am targeting early April and by then at the least one more build should be ready too - the Wenge/Padauk/Cmaphor Burl in the other thread.

Thank you for following my builds and for your support
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  #87  
Old 02-28-2013, 08:55 AM
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Stunning as always
  #88  
Old 02-28-2013, 08:57 AM
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That's thin!! interesting what you say about making it "feel" thin by keeping the thickness consistent
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  #89  
Old 02-28-2013, 11:20 AM
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The concern I'd have re the thin neck and truss rod is when you put tension on the rod that it make break through the back of the neck. I've seen this several times and strangely they all had purpleheart as the center strips. It may not happen right away. I saw one that didn't break through for a couple months after it was built.
  #90  
Old 02-28-2013, 11:50 AM
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Looking neat!
How are you pore filling this one Maurizio?
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  #91  
Old 03-01-2013, 02:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by suraj View Post
Stunning as always
Thank you Suraj. BTW, I'm following your build and it looks great. You are very skilled and creative.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jmorbita View Post
That's thin!! interesting what you say about making it "feel" thin by keeping the thickness consistent
Hey jmorbita. Yes, I have thought about this a lot. Allow me to bore the heck out of you with those thoughts

I suppose one of the reasons why necks get thicker towards the heel is to counter the strings tension especially in that area. (I once read that that is where the strings tension is stronger. is it true?).

Is that still necessary? After we have learned how to laminate woods for stiffness, after the introduction of double action truss rods and carbon fiber reinforcement spars, do we still need the low part of a neck to be thicker?

That increment in thickness is what I always found most uncomfortable about necks in general. Right where my hand would need less constrain, not only a neck gets wider, it gets thicker too.

Paradoxically, thickness at the nut doesn't bug me as much as at the heel area. Of course I, like many, just got used to it and forgot all about it. This build has reminded me of that.

I have also observed that, as I shape my necks by feel, they tend to feel right as the gap between two ends narrows. So they end up being rather consistent in thickness - whatever the chosen thickness is. Like, say, 20mm at 1rst fret and 21mm at 17th.

20mm thickness is not very thick anyway, therefore the impression of thickness must come from somewhere else. It seemed to me that, to remove that feeling the only viable alternative was to remove the extra thickness as the fretboard widens.

This build has thrown so many interesting question at me. I hope I found the right answers.

Still awake?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue Blood View Post
The concern I'd have re the thin neck and truss rod is when you put tension on the rod that it make break through the back of the neck. I've seen this several times and strangely they all had purpleheart as the center strips. It may not happen right away. I saw one that didn't break through for a couple months after it was built.
Indeed I have given a lot of thoughts to that. When you think of it however, 19mm is not such a thin neck. Some make it 20mm, even 19.5mm.

Based on my calculation there are 3mm under the truss rod, which should be enough. Adding to what I wrote in my previous post re. wood combo, the strings on this bass will be in the super light gauge territory - think .30/.100 or less - therefore the tension the truss rod needs to counter isn't that much really. I would have not ventured in this territory otherwise.

For this bass to be a true slap machine we needed to step into uncharted territory. Of course I might have miscalculated the amount of wood the router or the scraper has taken off. In that case... well... I'll get drunk. That I'll build it again

Quote:
Originally Posted by octaedro7 View Post
Looking neat!
How are you pore filling this one Maurizio?
Hi, the woods in this neck are not porous. I will sand the neck to 240 grit then spray a first coat of lacquer, maybe two. If any filling is needed I will do it after that with epoxy finish. The body is a lot more porous and I will fill the pores with epoxy finish after a first coat of lacquer.
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  #92  
Old 03-01-2013, 03:31 AM
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Whenever I open your builds I know exactly what I'll find...

Once again I am not disappointed!!!!
  #93  
Old 03-01-2013, 05:04 AM
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Love this! The trimmed U-J body looks proportionately right!
  #94  
Old 03-01-2013, 05:24 AM
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I've followed a few of your builds, and must say your work is simply stunning.
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  #95  
Old 03-01-2013, 08:33 PM
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Yelo, Metallutca, Vincent, thank you so much!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yelo View Post
Whenever I open your builds I know exactly what I'll find...
I have become predictable!!
Just joking. Thank you Yelo.
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  #96  
Old 03-02-2013, 05:15 AM
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oops... I mistakenly wrote that the strings gauge for this bass will be .30/.100. I should have written .30/.110. Still very light

As a side note - I really like a .30 G string on a fiver. It will be fun to test this one when is ready.
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  #97  
Old 03-18-2013, 05:22 AM
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Quick update. The hardware finally arrived.

This the cavity cover I'm now having made for my builds. I will still make the wooden one upon request. Otherwise it is either chrome, satin, black, shiny or satin gold.



The cover is machined with German über-precision and matches my template perfectly so I can go ahead with the last routing chore on the body.

Getting there
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  #98  
Old 03-19-2013, 08:23 AM
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That's a nice detail Maurizio! Very classy!
  #99  
Old 03-19-2013, 09:08 AM
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always an inspiring build.
  #100  
Old 03-19-2013, 12:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SaintMez View Post
That's a nice detail Maurizio! Very classy!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DwaynieAD View Post
always an inspiring build.
Thank you so much. Really glad you like it.
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