History of my first build...

[Allen_VA]

I'm relatively new to TB, and I wish I'd known about this years ago when I built my first instruments. #1 was a bluegrass banjo, but this is talkBASS, so I'll focus on #2. Pics first...









<Wow, I didn't realize how out-of-focus some of those pics were>

Started build in late 2002, finished up in 2004. All the work was done in my basement laundry room (about 10x14 space) with a very minimal amount of typical tools.

5-string, 34" scale
Body Wings: Figured walnut top/back w/ tiger maple core
Neck: tiger maple/bubinga stack-up,5-piece
Fingerboard: Ebony with Phillipine block MOP inlays, 14" rad.
PUP's: Neck = Carvin H50A, Bridge = generic ebay humbucker
Passive electronics: Vol / Vol / Tone (push down for 0.047uF, pull-up for 0.1uF) 3-way switch for bridge 'bucker (series/split/parallel)
Gotoh tuners
Schaller bridge

Comments about the build...
*The neck is WAY too phat. Fingerboard is too thick and neck is too thick. I also didn't plan the center maple piece right, so where the neck tapers down at the nut, bubinga blew out the sides. Looks OK, but not what I wanted!
*The odd curvy part on the headstock was an accident. There was supposed to be a little "wing" at the tip top of the headstock but it was too thin and my router sheared it off.
*I made an ebony "name tag" and inlaid it into the back of the body. It's hard to see, but I carved my last name, the year and "#1" using a dremel. Nice touch, but it was done to cover the hole I drilled straight through the body when trying to drill the pickup wire routing hole from the pickup pockets to the wiring cavity
* It's heavy.

I'm posting this now to solicit thoughts/opinions from the viewing audience out there because I'm planning my second build now!! (Just finished an electric upright bass and I'm finishing banjo #2 for a friend) I'd love some input from you guys about which direction to go in with the new build. I'll save that for a fresh thread in a few days once I get photos of the wood I've been collecting ready!!

[eleonn]

It looks really nice.

[jworrellbass]

Welcome to TB. Their are really smart and friendly builders here and lots of great advice, your in the right place. BTW your bass looks good.

[Tedstor]

Looks like the work of a good craftsman. Congrats.
About the inlays. Did you install them before the frets? Was it difficult? I'm about to undertake a block inlay job on a rebuilt Squier Pbass with rosewood fretboard. I'm going to try to avoid pulling the frets to do the job. Any thoughts?
Also, I'm going start a body build and want to router the edges of the body the same as yours. Do you happen top remember what size/type of router bit you used?

[scojack]

For a first bass this looks fantastic.
The small problems you encountered are those 'done it once, wont do it again' types that weve all had. My only advice would be to get your design full size on paper first.
Maybe slim down the headstock and pull the machines in a bit, so they dont splay out as much after the nut --- well you did ask.
Wouldnt mind a look at the EUB you built too ;-)
Great Stuff.

[Allen_VA]

Originally Posted by Tedstor

Looks like the work of a good craftsman. Congrats.
About the inlays. Did you install them before the frets? Was it difficult? I'm about to undertake a block inlay job on a rebuilt Squier Pbass with rosewood fretboard. I'm going to try to avoid pulling the frets to do the job. Any thoughts?
Also, I'm going start a body build and want to router the edges of the body the same as yours. Do you happen top remember what size/type of router bit you used?

I've never attempted inlays with the frets in the fingerboard. I used ebony and it's easy to find the black CA glue to glue the inlays in to the routed cavities. I used glue liberally and had a lot of squeeze out, but I wanted my router imperfections to be hidden by the black glue-on-black-fingerboard. Sanding was really the major job, with the inlays sitting a bit proud of the fingerboard surface and a lot of hard dried CA glue squeezed out, there was a lot of material to be sanded down flat to the FB. I wouldn't do it with frets installed on a new build, but I imagine it could be done!

For the body round over I used a 3/4" roundover bit with a bearing. Looks like this:



Good luck!

[Allen_VA]

Originally Posted by scojack

For a first bass this looks fantastic.
The small problems you encountered are those 'done it once, wont do it again' types that weve all had. My only advice would be to get your design full size on paper first.
Maybe slim down the headstock and pull the machines in a bit, so they dont splay out as much after the nut --- well you did ask.
Wouldnt mind a look at the EUB you built too ;-)
Great Stuff.

Thanks! I appreciate that I did learn a whole lot on this first bass build. I did NOT get the whole design down on paper first though, and I definitely see the value in doing that. Also, making templates for everything to make routing easier. I kinda winged a lot of that on-the-fly. The design evolved while I was building it, based on how I felt or how I needed to tackle an obstacle at the moment LOL.

My next build is going to have a different headstock (hopefully my "signature headstock" if I decide to build more). I'm going to mock the whole thing up life-size with pine or some other cheaper woods to make sure everything is balanced, fits the way I want, feels comfortable, etc. I have some nice woods planned for use in my next build and cannot afford to mess up those pieces!