Ric-inspired five-string build - Page 3

afzoomie67 · #41 07-18-2012, 08:43 PM

Cool.

**MAJOR METAL** · #42 07-18-2012, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctmullins

Looking good!

ctmullins · #43 07-20-2012, 08:27 PM

Thanks for the kind comments, guys!

Rough neck shaping with the fearsome Shinto saw rasp:

If you look carefully, you can see the maple dust snowing down on the lawn.

If I'm lucky, I can finalize the profile tomorrow, before my gig...

ctmullins · #44 08-07-2012, 08:56 PM

Wow - have had very little time lately to work on this. But I have been stealing a few minutes here and there, slowly sneaking up on my final neck shape. Like my others, it's a beefy asymmetrical C shape. I'm pretty happy with the heel contouring too.

Shaping the neck has also revealed an interesting anomaly in the figure in the center laminate, visible above. ???

FatStrings · #45 08-13-2012, 06:51 PM

I know it's hard to squeeze a build like this in while going about your day to day, but I'm dying for an update man! It's looking great!

ctmullins · #46 08-13-2012, 08:34 PM

Thanks, bro! Other than some finish sanding, I consider the neck to be essentially done, so it's time to turn my attention to the body. No photos yet, but this evening I started working on the control cavity. I have high hopes for this aspect of the build, but it also means I'm pushing the limits of my skills at this point, so I'm taking it very slowly.

I swear, very soon I'm going to actually take a vacation day so I can stay at home and make some real progress!

Clydesauce · #47 08-13-2012, 09:32 PM

Looks nice. Good work. How much did all the materials cost you so far?

sloppy_phil · #48 08-13-2012, 10:15 PM

wow, this is going to be an awesome build. I have little love for 5 stringers, but I think this one is going to look and sound pretty spectacular.

Are you going for the natural finish like in the picture of the 620 you posted, or some other colour?

ctmullins · #49 08-14-2012, 08:47 AM

Thanks for the interest, guys!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clydesauce

Looks nice. Good work. How much did all the materials cost you so far?

Hmm. The hardware costs have trumped the wood costs; that much is certain. The Schaller 2000 bridge is right around $100, and the TV Jones pickups were about $280 for the pair. The EMG preamp lists for about $80, but I scored a like-new one here in the classifieds for $50. Grover Wavy Titans, when you can find them, are not dirt cheap, but no more expensive than other tuners - let's say $80 for a set of 5. Oh, and $30 for the LMII double-action truss rod.

By way of contrast, the body and neck woods were perhaps $100 all together. The fingerboard was about $20 from LMII, plus $9 for them to slot it.

So it looks like around $580 for hardware (including sundries) and $130 for wood.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sloppy_phil

Are you going for the natural finish like in the picture of the 620 you posted, or some other colour?

I'm planning on using Tru-Oil on the entire instrument. It should make for a very nice natural-looking finish, and should help the cherry contrast well with the maple.

CliftonBonney · #50 10-04-2012, 02:56 PM

How's it coming along? Finished? Like the ThunderBlades?

ctmullins · #51 10-04-2012, 03:00 PM

*sigh* No, not yet. Fact is, lots of other life-stuff has intervened in the last few months. And then Lee had to go and start his brilliant TBird build, so lately I've been planning my own five-string TBird. Glued the neck blank up day before yesterday, in fact. So many cool basses, so little time!

JoseNeville · #52 12-14-2012, 11:25 AM

We need more updates. This is a beautiful project.

Geoff St. Germaine · #53 12-14-2012, 04:14 PM

You're heel looks great and I really like the look of the 3 piece maple neck. I've always loved the look of the ray fleck in necks like that. I'll have to do something like that on a future build. Looking forward to seeing more of how this turns out.

JIO · #54 12-14-2012, 04:46 PM

Good work! Looking forward to seeing this one finished. Just don't let Rickenbacker catch wind of it!

ctmullins · #55 12-14-2012, 06:02 PM

Thanks, guys! This one will definitely get finished. The Thunderbirds are coming along nicely, and then this one will be right behind it, I promise!

Geoff, I agree - I absolutely love maple for exactly that reason. The 'birds have plenty of maple too!

JIO, I'm not really worried about it. My understanding is that it's okay unless one intends to sell Ric copies. I'll never sell this one. All of my builds are for me.