Padouk/Wenge/Ebony 5 string

[Hopkins]

Here is my full scale drawing.



And the wood

[kris pung]

I think it looks great

[octaedro7]

Great wood combo and nice design, just keep a good eye on the weigh

[bearhart74]

IMHO upper horn a little too thick.
When its done i'm interested.

[Hopkins]

Originally Posted by octaedro7

Great wood combo and nice design, just keep a good eye on the weigh

Yea, that wenge board is pretty heavy, but the chambering should help. Its still going to be a heavy bass though.

[JoeDeF]

Originally Posted by Hopkins

This is a preliminary design for a future build. Its going to be a 35 scale 5 string, chambered wenge body with a padouk top. ...


....I welcome any suggestions, comments, or criticism

I like it - nice general shape, nice headstock design (I like the upper bass-side corner headstock curve).

One thing that jumps out at me, and this is simply an observation and not a criticism, is that the lower (treble) cutaway, which looks nice, is deep enough to give you easy access to, say, 24 frets if you wanted them.

There is certainly no rule of any sort about treble cut depth. Many basses, such as a jazz, have a cut that is not as deep as the penetration of the fretboard into the body. On others, such as a Peavey Millennium, the cut depth and the end of the fretboard are about even. Yours would fall into the probably less common category of a cut that is deeper than the end of the fretboard. It exists for aesthetic (and maybe weight) reasons, but it doesn't give your left-hand access to anything (except maybe some very high harmonics).

There's nothing wrong with that, but if you think you might ever find it advantageous to have more frets, you have plenty of room to go to 24 and still have easy LH access with the current outline. There will still be plenty of room for pickups with 24 frets, if you decide that you want them.

Another option, if you don't want 24 frets, is to lengthen the treble side of the body with a shallower cut and a treble horn that extends back further (towards the headstock end of the bass). This would allow the lower curve to be back a bit further towards the headstock, and the bass might balance a little better if you play sitting with that lower curve resting on your leg.

Just a few observations....

[Hopkins]

Originally Posted by JoeDeF

I like it - nice general shape, nice headstock design (I like the upper bass-side corner headstock curve).

One thing that jumps out at me, and this is simply an observation and not a criticism, is that the lower (treble) cutaway, which looks nice, is deep enough to give you easy access to, say, 24 frets if you wanted them.

There is certainly no rule of any sort about treble cut depth. Many basses, such as a jazz, have a cut that is not as deep as the penetration of the fretboard into the body. On others, such as a Peavey Millennium, the cut depth and the end of the fretboard are about even. Yours would fall into the probably less common category of a cut that is deeper than the end of the fretboard. It exists for aesthetic (and maybe weight) reasons, but it doesn't give your left-hand access to anything (except maybe some very high harmonics).

There's nothing wrong with that, but if you think you might ever find it advantageous to have more frets, you have plenty of room to go to 24 and still have easy LH access with the current outline. There will still be plenty of room for pickups with 24 frets, if you decide that you want them.

Another option, if you don't want 24 frets, is to lengthen the treble side of the body with a shallower cut and a treble horn that extends back further (towards the headstock end of the bass). This would allow the lower curve to be back a bit further towards the headstock, and the bass might balance a little better if you play sitting with that lower curve resting on your leg.

Just a few observations....

The final product is probably going to to be 22 or 24 frets with a fretboard overhang. I didn't put it in the drawing because I wanted the drawing to show the neck pocket location, if that makes any sense.

Tanks for the input

[Hopkins]

I got the body and neck roughed out. I didn't get any progress pictures because I didn't have my phone or camera on me.

Its going to have Bart MK-1 Pickups and Preamp, Hipshot A style bridge , Sperzel tuners, all satin aluminum/chrome hardware.

[iamlowsound]

That padouk on the body looks fantastic.

lowsound

[NightTripper]

I can't wait to see the end result. This wood is giving me wood.

[miziomix]

Very nice Love that W/P combo. I would have probably chosen a Wenge fretboard... but I'm a sucker for minimalism... LOL

[Hopkins]

Originally Posted by miziomix

Very nice Love that W/P combo. I would have probably chosen a Wenge fretboard... but I'm a sucker for minimalism... LOL

That was the original plan, but that mac ebony was just to nice not to use.

[miziomix]

Originally Posted by Hopkins

That was the original plan, but that mac ebony was just to nice not to use.

I know..... Mac E is the ultimate temptation

[Hopkins]

A couple more pictures with the neck on the body. I'm going to have to exchange the bridge. I ordered a .750 string spacing, but I had a little slip with my router table so my neck is slightly narrower than I planned. .669 will work perfectly so its no big deal.

With and without flash.

[Tribbinator]

Mmm. I myself love a good ol' chunk of padouk. It's by far my favorite wood to work with - just soft enough, beautiful and a pleasure to work (the smell is wonderful). That is a pretty piece you have right there, I look forward to seeing this complete!

[Hopkins]

I used my radius block to get the board down to a 12" radius. I use double sided tape to stick the neck down to a saw horse, this works really well, because you can stand directly behind, and push the block straight forward instead of having to stand to one side.


I can never get a down the neck picture to turn out good.



I also used 3/16" aluminum rod for side markers. This neck isn't getting markers on top of the fretboard.


I got all the hardware and electronics in also. I think the satin aluminum/chrome is going to work quite nicely with this wood combination.

Hipshot A style, .669 spacing, Sperzel locking tuners and some knobs I got from Allied electronics. The manufacture is Kilo International #DD-75-1-5 if anyone is interested. I had a hard time finding anything that matched the rest of the hardware. I'm glad I didn't need a stacked knob.


Mk-1 Pickups and Pre out of a Lakland 55-01

[Hopkins]

Got lots of progress done this weekend.

I got the tuner holes drilled and test fitted


Body Rounded over and cavities routed




Started carving the neck, couldn't get finished because my sander went up in smoke, but I got it roughed out with my Shinto rasp.





I haven't decided on a set neck or bolt on yet.

[crazygtr]

That's a nice build you got going there, though in my opinion, you should've left more tenon for a secure glue joint.

[Hopkins]

Originally Posted by crazygtr

That's a nice build you got going there, though in my opinion, you should've left more tenon for a secure glue joint.

There is plenty of surface area in the neck pocket for a glue joint, if I decide to go that way. I just feel that the advantages of a bolt on out way set or neck through, but I also kind of want to do something different.

[IconBasser]

that bass looks awesome! Nice work so far.