The first was so much fun I thought I'd make another....

jongor · #1 06-13-2006, 03:41 PM

The first bass I'm making is going so well

I thought I'd start another!

Here's the plan:

Here's a pic of the woods:

Another maple/african mahogany/maple body, a maple/cocobolo laminate neck with a cocobolo fingerboard.

What do ya think?

spudmaster34 · #2 06-13-2006, 04:13 PM

looks good, a verry well thought out design, make sure you have enough space between the side of controll cavity and the edge of the bass, you dont want a hole

jongor · #3 06-13-2006, 06:33 PM

Good eye! You're right, I'll move that back a bit.

I changed the upper horn a bit too...is it too bulbous?

superbassman2000 · #4 06-13-2006, 07:12 PM

the changes you made were the ones i was thinking, and my thoughts are that you could even beef up that upper horn just a little, and also that sketch in the first pic gave me an idea for that bridge pickup...you should through in an ibanez triple coil humbucker

otherwise, it's going to be an awesome bass!

spudmaster34 · #5 06-13-2006, 07:57 PM

verry good, i look forward to the progress thread

jongor · #6 06-13-2006, 08:10 PM

Here's a different take, with a MM pu and a different headstock shape

superbassman2000 · #7 06-13-2006, 09:04 PM

i like the new headstock shape

spudmaster34 · #8 06-13-2006, 09:06 PM

I liked the old one beter.

And, once again be carefull of tearout, the controll cavity is awfull close to the pickup route.

g00eY · #9 06-13-2006, 09:29 PM

i like the MM one. the horns kinda remind me of FBB... but that's good since i like FBB

.

Giel · #10 06-14-2006, 12:31 AM

I like it!
Stick with the first design, the J-style pickups suit the bass much better.. IMO.. Same for the headstock..
One question, why not make that neck pocket a bit deeper and make it a 24 fretted neck?

Suburban · #11 06-14-2006, 01:00 AM

First headstock. Add 1/4" to the neck length and install a zero fret. And I agree with the JJ-pup config, since I prefer that sound.

Go, go, go!

Suburban · #12 06-14-2006, 01:10 AM

First headstock. Add 1/4" to the neck length and install a zero fret. And I agree with the JJ-pup config, since I prefer that sound.

Go, go, go!

jongor · #13 07-19-2006, 10:35 AM

Should I be concerned about using Cocobolo in the neck?

It's laminated with hard maple, and I plan to use graphite rods too.

klocwerk · #14 07-19-2006, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jongor

Should I be concerned about using Cocobolo in the neck?

It's laminated with hard maple, and I plan to use graphite rods too.

I wouldn't be... cocobolo is a really hard wood.
in fact... "Cocobolo is the second most dense wood in the world, Ironwood being the most dense of all. " reference

and I like the first design, but I almost always prefer the appearance of jazz p'ups so that's no surprise.

I like the first headstock slightly better, but only slightly. They're both nice.

FBB Custom · #15 07-20-2006, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by klocwerk

I wouldn't be... cocobolo is a really hard wood.
in fact... "Cocobolo is the second most dense wood in the world, Ironwood being the most dense of all. " reference

Why would they say "second most dense"? Isn't "among the most dense" good enough and less probably wrong? (they also list Goncalo's SG as .56, which is way off)

Anway, Cocobolo is very dense but your concern with cocobolo is that it is oily and can be difficult to glue. It's oiliness is also a problem for abrasive tools like a thickness sander if you are planning on using one to machine it.

Musiclogic · #16 07-20-2006, 11:20 AM

Cocobolo may be one of the oilyist, next to bocote, but nowhere near the most dense. when I think dense, I think Lignum Vitae....used for Marine bearings on ship motors and drives. As far as guitars go, Jatoba, Bloodwood, Purpleheart, Gaboon Ebony, zircote, Kingwood, Granadillo, Goncalo Alves etc. have much higher specific gravity than Cocobolo. (reference: Encyclopedia of Wood)

As far as Cocobolo in a neck. Clean the gluing surfaces an hour before gluing with denatured alcohol, and you should have no problem with gluing.

Good luck with your project

mahrous · #17 07-20-2006, 11:54 AM

the neck pocket might cause you some problems if its bolt on. the neck might move out of place or swing to the bottom horn with the tension of strings. you need to add some wall at the bottom to keep it fixed in place.
also in general, the pocket seems to be a bit small.
you might want to consider moving the whole neck + pups + bridge into the body more. the bridge can be closer to the edge of the body and also move all the controls way back.

for the control cavity, if you are not using any active controls, it might be a bit too spacious. consider making it smaller and arranging the controls in a Les Paul manner rather than inline. this way, you will not run into problems with the wall of the cavity and edge of the bass/pickup route.

you also need to move the rear cavity closer to the back of the bass or how are you going to wire the input jack? is it going to be top mounted? again, the controls are way up in the front part of the bass and perhaps too close to the pickups that might limit some movement (depending on your playing style).

i kind of feel that everything needs to be moved back into the body.

on a sidenote, some of those curves dont seem to be perfect smooth curves. could it be the low quality of the photo?

pilotjones · #18 07-21-2006, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahrous

the neck pocket might cause you some problems if its bolt on. the neck might move out of place or swing to the bottom horn with the tension of strings. you need to add some wall at the bottom to keep it fixed in place.

I disagree on this one point. The rotation of the neck joint should be fixed by a proper bolted/screwed connection. About a million Fenders and Fender-alikes with gaps in the neck pocket-sides testify to the fact that this is sufficient. The presence of that gap and absence of a side-and-end-of-heel contact is also likely a large part of any difference in sound between a bolt-on and a set-neck instrument.

mahrous · #19 07-22-2006, 01:16 AM

not a single Fender was made with a neck pocket that is THAT small and without a side wall for the lower side (bottom small horn).

show me a pic of any Fender or any era that was made with such pocket. hell, even show me any guitar by anyone that was made like that.

i think the best way to avoid such problems is to go neck thru route. which i will start doing in my next set

pilotjones · #20 07-22-2006, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahrous

not a single Fender was made with a neck pocket that is THAT small

True. But that could be made up for by using four bolts, into threaded anchors instead of simple wood screws. Some Fenders in the past even had only three screws.

Quote:

and without a side wall for the lower side (bottom small horn).

Inconsequential in most Fenders. They generally have an air gap around the sides, which means that the sides of the body pocket are lending zero structural support to the sides of the neck heel. In a Fender with the neck screws insufficiently tightened, the gap in the neck heel-body pocket interface can be loose enough to allow twisting of the neck way out of whack, with the strings even going off the edge of the fretboard, before the side walls in this area start to have any effect to prevent rotation. So the key necessity is a solid bolted joint.

Quote:

i think the best way to avoid such problems is to go neck thru route.

A neck through version of this design would certainly be far more structurally strong. It might not sound the same, though.