It feels good to be here

ON the ONE · #1 03-21-2012, 11:23 AM

Ahh, my first build thread on Talkbass..

This is going to be two basses at once with different designs.
One is a rear routed P/J 4. mahogany body with I. rosewood and Maple top layers. flame maple neck and brazilian board. hipshot/nordstrand goodies. maybe a john east?

The second is just my own perversion of the 35" scale 5 String ,a bolt on single cut. Flame maple top and back with a Cedar/walnut padouk core. maple and walnut neck.

I got a bunch of really killer and OLD flamed maple from my friend Dana Bourgeois. It taps fantastic! should make a great neck and its the top layer for the P/J build.

I hope that this thread will keep me moving all the time. Thanks for looking!

J.

ON the ONE · #2 03-21-2012, 11:26 AM

I cant decide!

dave-chaulk · #3 03-21-2012, 01:06 PM

I've seen single-cut bolt on builds here in LC before, but I can't remember who they were by. I know one was a six-string. Take a look through old builds and I'll try to find the link for you. Beautiful woods! good luck

kris pung · #4 03-21-2012, 01:31 PM

I'd go with the burl top, also can you show us some design sketches?

mikebpeters · #5 03-22-2012, 05:57 AM

I'm a sucker for burl any day

good luck

ON the ONE · #6 03-22-2012, 06:40 AM

here are my first draft single cut drawings and template. Like i said, i will prob. change the p/u's

ON the ONE · #7 03-22-2012, 06:53 AM

here are 4 and 5 string taper jigs, Im not sold on the 5 string yet, i need to play with that more. Also, one more top option. seems so far that burl is popular but this Ziricote is pretty sweet. I get hung up on the weight of this wood, but the look!

ON the ONE · #8 03-22-2012, 07:00 AM

Another dumb question,... what type of burl is this anyway? it is dense and sounds good. many burls I've seen sound like cardboard and are about as stiff. here's a close up. burls aren't my specialty.

2nd shot= this top back set sound great and weighs very little. Its cedro

Dave Higham · #9 03-22-2012, 07:34 AM

The ziricote will look tremendous under finish. But that's just my taste.

ON the ONE · #10 03-23-2012, 12:01 PM

Today I started the five string neck and glued up body blanks. I forgot my camera but here is a shot of a....ahem.....guitar i completed 2 weeks ago.
Man, I like the look of Ziricote.

ON the ONE · #11 04-04-2012, 04:17 PM

During last week and today I made some templates and jigs etc for two models.
Here are some shots of various parts in progress.

ON the ONE · #12 04-04-2012, 04:20 PM

here is the body and neck parts laid out.

Gord_oh · #13 04-04-2012, 04:22 PM

looking good, cant wait to see the finished product!

ON the ONE · #14 04-06-2012, 03:17 PM

Thanks Gord-oh!
Here are a few more of my progress. today I routed pickups and did some back contouring. I laid out the controls and pre drilled them but I will rout the control cavity on Monday.
I love taking off the weight...

ON the ONE · #15 04-22-2012, 01:01 PM

I am back from vacation and diving straight into the shop.
since the last post I have routed both neck pockets and finished off the jigs for heel shaping. The single cut ended up with a flame maple top and back with a cedar/walnut core and a strangely light and resonant piece of Padouk.
Still haven't gotten to the control cavities. I decided to re tool all of my older cavity jigs due to cheesy shape. I'll take some more photos tomorrow while gluing up neck lams.
thanks for looking in.
J.

ON the ONE · #16 05-03-2012, 07:14 PM

I have worked on building the five string neck and things are starting to come into view. Neck joints are fit and control cavities routed.
I went perhaps a bit too far with the back contouring. I'll only live once.......

ON the ONE · #17 05-03-2012, 07:27 PM

Neck is Cedar, Walnut ,Maple, and Padouk. The neck and body are both very light in weight and color. I still need to pick a fingerboard. Should I go maple and keep it bright or warm up the whole thing with a rosewood?? I have a week to decide so any advice is welcomed. Thanks

pilotjones · #18 05-03-2012, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ON the ONE

I have worked on building the five string neck and things are starting to come into view. Neck joints are fit and control cavities routed.
I went perhaps a bit too far with the back contouring. I'll only live once.......

I think that contouring is fantastic, and you should add some form to the perimeter of the third "step" down, to match the upper two. And maybe even add another step line, running between the two pairs of screws that are on the third step down to break it into third and fourth steps.

miziomix · #19 05-04-2012, 03:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ON the ONE

I have worked on building the five string neck and things are starting to come into view. Neck joints are fit and control cavities routed.
I went perhaps a bit too far with the back contouring. I'll only live once.......

It actually looks very interesting

and I would explore the direction suggested by Pilotjones. cool!

ON the ONE · #20 05-04-2012, 06:16 AM

Yes, I agree. One more step is in order. It will bring the bottom of the neck pocket to below .750" remaining. Is this a problem? Ive never gone that thin but there is a padouk core piece supporting the bottom of the neck. It should be fine but out of curiosity, what dimensions do you guys typically see here?
I love the idea of re-shaping the end of the heel to match the back contours more. Thanks PilotJones.