Ziricote/Walnut/Mac Ebony 5 String
 

I'm starting a new build

35" scale 5 string
Set neck
Ziricote top
Walnut body
Walnut neck
Mac Ebony fretboard.
Delano Xtender Pickup
Duncan 2 band pre
black hardware

This is the design, I will probably repeat this model quite often, but I can't come up with a name for it


The woods



I didn't get any progress shots on the neck up to this point


Back of the head stock


Body roughed out, neck pocket cut



I love walnut


Neck in the pocket, Its a nice tight fit


Top glued together


I am undecided on my next step. My original plan was to plane the end of the neck to where it is flush with the body, then glue the top on and the fingerboard last.

But I'm now thinking that is not worth the effort. My other idea is to just glue the top on, and leave the extra length on the fretboard all the way down to the pickup and use it as a ramp.

pretty nice! I love ziricote, funny thing is that it is hard to get it this day even when it grows in Yucatán.

If you plan to repeat this model with ziricote top as standard, you could call the model "Zero". That would be fun. Great work!

How many builds are you working on!?

Two at the moment, Ill probably start another (TeleJazz 3.0) before these two are both finished.

Well the bass kind of looks like a shield, so a Hopkins Heritage bass or maybe Hopkins Valor bass line.

Ahura Mazda Bass!!!

Do you have a router sled that you can use? I'm planning on using mine to get that part of the neck flush with the body before I put the top on mine. I think you could even glue the fretboard on before gluing the neck in unless I'm not thinking of something.

Thats what I was talking about doing, use my router to cut the neck flush with the body.

Then glue the top on around the neck. The part of the neck that sticking out of the body is the same thickness as the top. So if I cut that flush with the body' the fret board would be glued on last and there would be no gap on the overhang.

If I glued the fretboard on first, I the fretboard will have to be alot longer because the neck pocket is cut so deep into the body. But I think that could be a cool feature. There is about 6 inches of wood left after the 24th fret that I can use as a ramp all the way to the pickup.

Why would it have to be longer if you glued it first?

I dont want the walnut neck heal to show from the top. If I cut the heal of the neck down flush with the body, I can glue the ziricote top on, then the fret board wont have to be as long as the neck because the top would cover the heal. If I glued the fret board on the neck, and the top on the body first, the ebony fretboard would have to be long enough to cover the heal of the neck.

Im leaning towards the second option as of now. It would make for a simpler build process and I think it would look pretty cool

Oh! I was thinking glue the fretboard on, glue the neck in, then use the router to shape the end of the fretboard and level the neck flush, then glue the top on.

Oh ok. That would work, but I prefer a bit fretboard over hang. I also dont want to risk any tearout. on the ebony after the neck is glued in.

I see. I think it would look cool with fretboard overhang.

"George".

This will yield the cleanest result. Looking good Hopkins!

Did quite a bit of work on this one today, but did a poor job of taking pictures.

First I glued the top on, did the round over and cut the pickup cavity


Then I glued the fretboard on and tapered it



The fretboard overhang goes all the way to the pickup and will serve as a ramp



Next steps will be to shape the neck, rout the control cavity, a ton of sanding.

This one probably wont progress to quickly. I will be working on it while I'm waiting for paint to dry on the TeleJazz 2.0 so this bass isn't my top priority.