$100 Bass Challenge - Nucifera (The Violent Squirrel)

[michaelwayneharwood]

If it's anything like maple, you're doing the right thing.

I did some test pieces first, and it was worse.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

The hickory top was successfully carved out without mishap. A shallow cavity was routed out in the walnut base to try and avoid drilling for pickup wires later. I think I have landed on a psuedo Warwick pickup location fairly close to the bridge with the pickup angled. It's my first experience with Titebond III - I wanted a longer setup time so that I could line the top and bottom up as perfectly as possible. I have fallen into the habit of spreading glue with my fingers. I like the control and have found my glue joints to be much improved. Tomorrow will see the clamps come off.

I did a quick weigh in with the top and bottom and it was just over 3 pounds.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Here's an updated concept drawing. I am planning the pickup placement to be fairly close to the Warwick Thumb jazz pickup bridge position, though a bit north to add a bit of fundamental to the tone. I have been wanting a bass with a bit more growly bite, so I am string this one up with halfround / groundwounds to get more of a roundwound tone that won't chew up the walnut fingerboard too much. The floating bridge will have fretwire as the contact material, and I am on the fence as to whether I should use walnut or hickory for the base material.

I am pretty agnostic in the "tonewood" debate, but I am curious as to what adherents to the theory might think of the effect the wood choices will have on the overall tone of the instrument, though I am not interested in a war over whether it matters or not. Thoughts?

 

[Marcury]

Can't wait to see this finished.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

@Marcury - Thanks so much! I will ordering truss rods this week....hopefully. I need to finalize the neck blank so that I can get the set neck channel routed, but there are plenty of tasks to be completed before I am ready to glue it in.

Here are a few shots of the blank out of the clamps. I am really happy with the results, and I think that I may start gluing tops using the method I pursued here out of necessity. The result is much cleaner than all of the previous work so far. Barring the router burn marks anyway...

 

[hrodbert696]

The build looks great. But I'm trying to figure out your Latin. At first, the name of the bass was Oculus Nucis, "The Eye of the Nut." Now it's Liberatorem ex nucibus, "He who frees from the nuts," but I can't figure why "Liberator" is in the accusative. Is someone doing something to him? Is there a preposition missing? Whom is he freeing from nuts, and how did the nuts imprison them in the first place? I'm confused.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

The build looks great. But I'm trying to figure out your Latin. At first, the name of the bass was Oculus Nucis, "The Eye of the Nut." Now it's Liberatorem ex nucibus, "He who frees from the nuts," but I can't figure why "Liberator" is in the accusative. Is someone doing something to him? Is there a preposition missing? Whom is he freeing from nuts, and how did the nuts imprison them in the first place? I'm confused.

*blush*

I blame Google Translate. The spirit of the names are to capture the nature of the woods used. Oculis Nucis translated fairly well as it was using Walnut and Birdseye maple. The second name was intended to translate the phrase "Deliverer of Nuts" due to the both woods being pulled from nut bearing trees (Hickory and Walnut). "He who frees from the nuts" is not really what I was going for... I am aiming more for something feminine that translates to "She who delivers nuts" or similar. Cold reality hath dashed my cool sounding name.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Looking really good. I like the stylie shape... I've never played a bass with a body that is so.... Lacking in width... But that shape looks like it would, for some reason, be very ergonomic....?

So how do you come by a 5 string humbucker pickup for only $12.50?

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Looking really good. I like the stylie shape... I've never played a bass with a body that is so.... Lacking in width... But that shape looks like it would, for some reason, be very ergonomic....?

So how do you come by a 5 string humbucker pickup for only $12.50?

The pickup is a cheap Chinese 5 string soapbar. I have worked with quite a few of the Chinese pickup knockoffs, and they sound decent. They aren't high end by any means, but they get the job done satisfactorily.

The shape was the end product of this thread after a lot of really helpful advice and feedback from the TalkBass community. I have one bass I made with this shape and love it! It's light (less than 6 pounds) and is very comfortable to play. I have received really positive feedback from other's who have played it, so it must strike a chord that other's find pleasing as well. It's certainly not for everyone, but it's currently my go to shape for my basses.

 

[PDX Rich]

With that slim shape, you must fare pretty well selecting lumber, not to mention more builds for the buck. Good stuff!

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

With that slim shape, you must fare pretty well selecting lumber, not to mention more builds for the buck. Good stuff!

Oh yeah! My blanks end up being about 10" by 21", but uses less lumber for two board glue ups as the treble side horn is pretty short.

 

[hrodbert696]

*blush*

I blame Google Translate. The spirit of the names are to capture the nature of the woods used. Oculis Nucis translated fairly well as it was using Walnut and Birdseye maple. The second name was intended to translate the phrase "Deliverer of Nuts" due to the both woods being pulled from nut bearing trees (Hickory and Walnut). "He who frees from the nuts" is not really what I was going for... I am aiming more for something feminine that translates to "She who delivers nuts" or similar. Cold reality hath dashed my cool sounding name.

Ah.... Google Translate, the source of endless merriment.

The word you want is Nucaria, the nut-bearer(ess). Like the constellation Aquarius, the water-bearer, but replace the -us with -a to make it feminine.

Of course, kind of sounds like a radioactive warhead too...

EDIT: another option would be "Nucifer," but I'm not so sure what the feminine form would be. Possibly Nucifera. That one strongly resembles the light-bearing angel Lucifer, of course, who fell into darkness...

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Ah.... Google Translate, the source of endless merriment.

The word you want is Nucaria, the nut-bearer(ess). Like the constellation Aquarius, the water-bearer, but replace the -us with -a to make it feminine.

Of course, kind of sounds like a radioactive warhead too...

EDIT: another option would be "Nucifer," but I'm not so sure what the feminine form would be. Possibly Nucifera. That one strongly resembles the light-bearing angel Lucifer, of course, who fell into darkness...

I LIKE that! Nucifera it is.

 

[mapleglo]

I like Nucifera also. I kinda miss the liberatorum verbiage though, as if to play the bass would be liberating. Well, perhaps another build.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

@hrodbert696 - What does "sonum experior" translate to?

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

I like Nucifera also. I kinda miss the liberatorum verbiage though, as if to play the bass would be liberating. Well, perhaps another build.

I have a feeling that I am going to be building lots of basses this year...

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

So I have this cheap Chinese soapbar humbucker, I have no idea how it sounds, and I am much more used to single coil J pups than anything else. Rather than try to guess I pulled a bunch of pix of different basses off the internet and measured their pickup positions by scaling them up to the correct scale length in Inkscape and started to record the basics of different takes on positions. I then searched for representative samples of the pickup positions in question on Youtube and could not find what I was hoping to find...to my great surprise actually.

So I said to myself 'Self, the only way to know for sure it to try a few different positions and see what tone you like best with this particular pickup!", and I could not help but agree.

I pulled the original ghetto piano pin tuner prototype out of my oldest son's bedroom closet and got to routing. The result is even more ghetto, but it does what I need fairly well. I have a nice open area where I can slide pickups around for testing and get at least a general an idea of placement. I think I am going to use the spare Aleph "Stout" body I have on hand to eventually build a somewhat more refined version that I can use for future tests. It would be a great luthier tool to have on hand when I want to test out pickup positions and combinations, especially when working with customers to find the perfect position for their pickups.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Great idea
So... In the course of your clinical trials, if you happen to come across THE definitive elusive "Sweet Spot"... You know, the one all luthiers are questing to find... & the heavens open, a chorus of orgasming angels sing... A vortex rift in space and time opens in front of your amplifier & out steps John Paul Jones who hands you a golden ticket that says: "congratulations, you have found the lost chord!".... Yeah, that sweet spot.

You gonna share your findings with the rest of the class??

 

[hrodbert696]

@hrodbert696 - What does "sonum experior" translate to?

"I attempt a sound" (or a tone). "Experior" is a verb we get "experiment" from, has to do with trying, testing, or attempting something. "Sonus" is a sound or tone. You can tinker with translations within that range of meanings, like "I am trying out a tone."

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Great idea
So... In the course of your clinical trials, if you happen to come across THE definitive elusive "Sweet Spot"... You know, the one all luthiers are questing to find... & the heavens open, a chorus of orgasming angels sing... A vortex rift in space and time opens in front of your amplifier & out steps John Paul Jones who hands you a golden ticket that says: "congratulations, you have found the lost chord!".... Yeah, that sweet spot.

You gonna share your findings with the rest of the class??

I will definitely share my findings, but I doubt very seriously that I am going to find a spot everyone agrees is "the" sweet spot for this (or any) pickup. I will also share the measurements I came up with based on visual evidence for pickup locations and we can all scrutinize and "discuss" them. I need to pick up a set of strings to test with and I will post my findings and sound clips in another thread.

"I attempt a sound" (or a tone). "Experior" is a verb we get "experiment" from, has to do with trying, testing, or attempting something. "Sonus" is a sound or tone. You can tinker with translations within that range of meanings, like "I am trying out a tone."

Awesome! That one actually turned out the way I wanted! Thank you VERY much for your Latin expertise.