My "sea-monster" bass progress thread

THIRSTYGUMS · #1 06-20-2006, 06:19 PM

Ok heres my first bass Woooo hooo!
its going under the working title of Kraken for a few reasons.. but yeah- heres where i got to so far:
Six string,
Fanned Fret 36" - 33" scale, through neck
Body: walnut
neck: Maple and purpleheart
top: flamed maple
fingerboard: wenge f
Active artec 3-band preamp, vol, balance, bass, middle, treble. 2x GC (?) Emg style soapbar pickups, neutrik locking jack,
purpleheart nut and medium-low guitar frets from stew mac.
flat (no radius) fingerboard and d-profile neck.
as far as inlays and logos e.t.c goes, i havent decided yet!
o.k! on with the pics

my general shape and layout: but actually changed shortly after:

my neck blank:

me tackling the scarf joint:

THIRSTYGUMS · #2 06-20-2006, 06:22 PM

my bits and bobs:

a "before" shot of my workspace:

installing the spoke truss rod:

THIRSTYGUMS · #3 06-20-2006, 06:32 PM

finger board on with a little hole to adjust the truss and body shaped a little:

my larrvely top wood, flamed maple:

being glued then pressed:

levelling and routing the headstock for its matching top:

roughing out the neck shape:

Tidying up the neck with rasps:

sawing the fret slots VEEEERRRYYY carefully!:

my body shaped and ready for a good sanding:

detail of the accent veneers (dyed black sycamore and maple):

a early mock up with the goodies on it:

fish man · #4 06-20-2006, 06:32 PM

looks great. I strongly approve of the spoke wheel. those things shoud be mandatory on all basses.

spudmaster34 · #5 06-20-2006, 06:32 PM

nice, lookin' good. Any plans to incorporate your kraken theme into it, some tastefull 12 fret inlay perhaps...

THIRSTYGUMS · #6 06-20-2006, 06:38 PM

Absolutely would love to do some inlaying, just have to get practising first! this is the image that inspired me,

it was a t-bers avatar for a while and i loved it, i live by the sea so i want to run with a ocean monster theme. Id like to inlay an etching of this or a printed logo on the headstock in the fender style maybe...
you can see in the photos where my scarf joint slipped, proving once again that you have to practise first then do!... oh well...

pilotjones · #7 06-21-2006, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by THIRSTYGUMS

you can see in the photos where my scarf joint slipped, proving once again that you have to practise first then do!... oh well...

Looks like a job for a rear veneer.

spudmaster34 · #8 06-21-2006, 08:46 AM

with the inlay, I just had an idea, if you put it on the body you could make the tentacles go into the bridges (so the strings would be continuations of the tentacles)

erikbojerik · #9 06-21-2006, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by THIRSTYGUMS

Kids, just remember....when you take the body to the bandsaw, keep the cut just outside the line.

Seriously, that's looking pretty nice.

Nice Chuck Taylors too.....but really, green???

THIRSTYGUMS · #10 06-21-2006, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erikbojerik

Kids, just remember....when you take the body to the bandsaw, keep the cut just outside the line.

Seriously, that's looking pretty nice.

Nice Chuck Taylors too.....but really, green???

Ha ha! damn straight! Mean and green! the ones in the second pic are black and pink vans, and i even gots a pair of leopard print all-stars

klocwerk · #11 06-21-2006, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotjones

Looks like a job for a rear veneer.

ok, that just sounds dirty!

anonymous278347457 · #12 06-21-2006, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by THIRSTYGUMS

my neck blank:

it would have been really cool if you somehow managed to get a fully functional and great sounding bass that looks like that

anyway, great looking bass, what bridge is that?

Thonk · #13 06-21-2006, 12:43 PM

Looks sweet you going to seafoam trans burst it? i think that would look pretty cool myself somthing like this

for your sea-monster inlays you could try email one of those Taiwan ebay inlay guys to see if they could cut a design for you

look up these 2 sellers

bruceweiart , inlaidartist

Ive ordered guitars from both of these guys with dragon inlay work there refret work was a little ****ty but the inlays where first class im sure they'ed both be willing to cut you a custom design

Edit heres some of the work from the seller inlaidartist workshop

http://images.andale.com/f2/118/122/...4_IMG_8165.jpg

THIRSTYGUMS · #14 06-21-2006, 04:35 PM

Thonk thats amazing! i didnt even think about stains but thats a shot in the arm right there! maybe more slimey green perhaps like the washburn 'DIMESLIME' dimebag darrell signature guitar?!? well worth considering.

THIRSTYGUMS · #15 06-21-2006, 06:50 PM

headstock with a coat of oil

the body oiled:

spudmaster34 · #16 06-21-2006, 07:29 PM

it looks even beter, i like the burst idea though

deathbloomslife · #17 06-21-2006, 08:43 PM

Man, I really dig your baody shape! Did anything (anyone) inspire your design, or did you just sit down and go to town?

-Ryan

Giel · #18 06-22-2006, 03:46 AM

Good thing you went with the oil finish, looks awesome!

THIRSTYGUMS · #19 06-22-2006, 04:27 AM

The body is a mix of some of my favourites. A little bit Conklin in the upper horn a little bit ken smith in profile and a wee bit of JP in the bottom! Thanks everyone. Im looking forward to getting her strung and playing

THIRSTYGUMS · #20 06-22-2006, 06:22 AM

i need the advice of someone who knows about this, i dont know whether to angle my pickups or have them flat across the bass because of the fanned fret bridge setup? see pix:

Orrr:

??? Is there much of a sound difference? im not sure about the proximity of the treble C strings bridge to the pickups but that cant really be avoided too much, but i can bring the low B rear pickup closer to the bridge. What do you think?