$100 Bass Challenge - Nucifera (The Violent Squirrel)

[gsnad2000]

That looks like the same Chinese soapbar i got for my challenge bass. I was surprised how good it sounded during the short time i had it all together and wired!

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

That looks like the same Chinese soapbar i got for my challenge bass. I was surprised how good it sounded during the short time i had it all together and wired!

I think they sound pretty good as well! It's potted in black epoxy and I believe they are blade style magnets, which provides decent string coverage no matter what spacing you are using. It was a bit noisy though....hence the copper foil.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

The pickup has been glued into the cover. It's not exactly a work of art, but it's much nicer than the bare pickup wrapped in copper foil. It needs a bit more attention in the finish department, but it's 90% done.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

A quick trip to the bead store for a $.20 8mm inky orb gave my little squirrel friend some depth of character. His little cranium has been filled with epoxy to keep bubbles at bay during inlay, and if all goes well he will be ensconced in the bass in the next few days. Isn't he cute!

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

A crevasse was hewn out to prepare a tomb for the skull, and it's deep. I considered briefly attempting to cut the skull in half to lesson the amount of material removal required, but my common sense won out. The space has been prepared with ferric acetate and the hole is black. Deep and black. Nucifera approves. Tomorrow, when the chasm is dried, I will shape the edges a bit and then drop in some epoxy. If I can get the skull placed in such a way as to eliminate movement when the liquid is poured in I will do it in one stage, otherwise I will take it in two layers - one shallow layer at the bottom using 5 minute epoxy to get the skull placed, and a 20 minute epoxy for the rest. I will, or course, be accounting for the epoxy costs in the final reckoning, but honestly if I go over I am not too worried about it. I have fallen in love with this bass.

I am leaning towards using a dual coil pickup over the single coil to get a bit more meat out of the tone, but I am still tottering on the fence as of now.

 

[mapleglo]

This is looking extremely cool. Mapleglo approves of this build!

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

This is looking extremely cool. Mapleglo approves of this build!

Thank you so much! Having @mapleglo's seal of approval to me is like a completing a rite of passage and entering into a sacred sphere.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

The first pour of epoxy is done. I had some issues with bubbles, so I pulled off the top layer to remedy it a bit. It's not going to be pristine, but the dirty look suits the build. I need to invest in some casting resin for any future inlays like this or my gear logo.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

A quick change of plan may be in the offing as I am experimenting with a low impedance pickup design that may end up being pulled into this build. Swapping the Chinese dual coil for this pickup will add an additional $20 to the tally, but I will still be well under the $100 mark so it won't pull me out of the challenge. I need to clean up the prototype and make a cover for it, but it will take up less real estate on the top of the body and my tests so far show it sounds very close to a Lace Alumitone.

If I am able to make a decent enough pickup this is going to end up being my standard going forward for all of my builds as it's very easy to extend it for any number of strings. Credit is due to @SamanthaCay and her amazing build for inspiring me into getting my butt into gear on this long planned design. Details on this and other designs can be found here.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

The last layer of epoxy was laid down this evening. Earlier in the day I was a bit depressed about the murky look to the epoxy, but the more I sat with it the more pleased I became. The bubbles and imperfections add an air of age and it has a strong appeal for me. The epoxy is yellower than the picture portrays and it almost looks like a skull trapped in amber, though it's not quite that yellow. I like that it's not fully obvious from a distance when the object is that is embedded in the resin, and closer examination reveals it's grisly beauty. I sent picture of the inlay to a friend and he responded with "Ew!". Higher praise could not have been granted.

A quick eyeballing of the shape and size of the new pickup design on the body also meets with high approval. I like the smaller size, and am a big fan of the sound of a narrow aperture. Jazz pickups are fairly moody when it comes to extraneous noise, but this pickup is dead quiet. I am aiming for a pickup location of just a bit north of a standard Warwick Thumb jazz pickup bridge position. I want this thing to have some seriously meaty snarl.

Here's the list of outstanding tasks:

1. Get the new pickup boxed up into a pickup cover and get the pickup cavity routed
2. Drill out the jack hole
3. Drill the piano tuner holes
4. Fashion a headpiece
5. Dye the fingerboard
6. Final sanding, "clean up" shaping / scraping, and finishing

 

[Hopkins]

What epoxy are you using? With the amount of bubbles you are getting I would say it is something that is drying to fast. A product like System 3 mirror coat that takes a good two or three days to fully cure would work well for something like that, still I would pour it in about 1/8 to 1/4" thick layers and build it up slowly.

 

[Imperfectly Spliced]

I love the antique look it gave the skull, but wow that epoxy really did bubble and yellow a pretty good bit. Did you use super glue or clear nail varnish anywhere on the skull? I know that most of the time those two things will cause resin to yellow or become cloudy.



If you do another build in the future with another skull inlay I suggest using an epoxy resin called Little Windows....it is the least toxic resin, cures crystal clear, and hardens in 8-12 hours.

 

[Jon Clegg]

I dunno, the cloudiness kinda makes it look like something found at Miskatonic University. Now if it was illuminated from behind with a green LED....

 

[Imperfectly Spliced]

I dunno, the cloudiness kinda makes it look like something found at Miskatonic University. Now if it was illuminated from behind with a green LED....

Personally that's what makes me love it. lol

I agree that it would also look neat backlit with LED, but not for this one. Just my opinion.. I like the antique and slightly creepy theme it's got going on so far.

 

[mapleglo]

I like the idea of rear illumination, though it's likely too late for that. I found with the epoxy I used, stirring the hardener in gently, helped to prevent any bubbles from forming, while more violent stirring would cause bubbles.

 

[Imperfectly Spliced]

I like the idea of rear illumination, though it's likely too late for that. I found with the epoxy I used, stirring the hardener in gently, helped to prevent any bubbles from forming, while more violent stirring would cause bubbles.

Yep this is correct. I am currently just a ghoster on this forum and have yet to build my first bass, but I have worked with epoxy resins for many years. If you use it often in your builds I would recommend getting a heat gun to pass over the resin once it is fully mixed...this will immediately bring the bubbles up to the surface and burst them leaving you with nice clear resin.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

Thanks for all of the feedback!

Here is the method I used:

1. I filled the skull cavities with 5 minute epoxy from the hobby shop ahead of time to fill the cranial cavities in an attempt to avoid large bubbles
2. I secured the skull in the cavity with an 1/8" layer of the same epoxy
3. I then used StewMac's 20 minute epoxy for the rest of the inlay in two stages and used a lighter to heat off what bubbles I could.

I stirred the hardener in pretty vigorously, and it was definitely aerated and saturated with bubbles after that.

I love the idea of the back lit illumination, but not for this build as it would require a control cavity and a battery. I am going to wire the pickup straight to the jack and avoid any pots or controls. Though I obviously need more skill in working with epoxy resins I love the way it turned out. The antique "Miskatonic University" look really fits the spirit of this bass. I have plans for more skull inlays in the future and am honestly surprised that more builders don't use them. I could easily see it appealing to bassists from metal groups. Imagine how cool a Mothman remake would be with a stylized Moth skeleton inlaid? Hmmmm.....

 

[Hopkins]

Thanks for all of the feedback!

Here is the method I used:

1. I filled the skull cavities with 5 minute epoxy from the hobby shop ahead of time to fill the cranial cavities in an attempt to avoid large bubbles
2. I secured the skull in the cavity with an 1/8" layer of the same epoxy
3. I then used StewMac's 20 minute epoxy for the rest of the inlay in two stages and used a lighter to heat off what bubbles I could.

I stirred the hardener in pretty vigorously, and it was definitely aerated and saturated with bubbles after that.

I love the idea of the back lit illumination, but not for this build as it would require a control cavity and a battery. I am going to wire the pickup straight to the jack and avoid any pots or controls. Though I obviously need more skill in working with epoxy resins I love the way it turned out. The antique "Miskatonic University" look really fits the spirit of this bass. I have plans for more skull inlays in the future and am honestly surprised that more builders don't use them. I could easily see it appealing to bassists from metal groups. Imagine how cool a Mothman remake would be with a stylized Moth skeleton inlaid? Hmmmm.....

There is your problem, the 20 minute epoxy dries much to fast for a project like this. There is no way you would get all the bubbles out before it set. Mirror coat is expensive but it is about the only epoxy I would recommend for a project like this. It dries crystal clear, and very slow so any air bubbles have time to find the surface and pop before being trapped in the curing epoxy.

I understand how you could like the look of the yellow bubbly epoxy, but personally, it makes it hard to make out that there is even a skull in there. I think I would rout it back out and start over with a new skull, and a different epoxy.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

There is your problem, the 20 minute epoxy dries much to fast for a project like this. There is no way you would get all the bubbles out before it set. Mirror coat is expensive but it is about the only epoxy I would recommend for a project like this. It dries crystal clear, and very slow so any air bubbles have time to find the surface and pop before being trapped in the curing epoxy.

I understand how you could like the look of the yellow bubbly epoxy, but personally, it makes it hard to make out that there is even a skull in there. I think I would rout it back out and start over with a new skull, and a different epoxy.

Word! I am going to keep it, but I really appreciate the advice!

 

[Hopkins]

Word! I am going to keep it, but I really appreciate the advice!

Anytime, looking forward to the next skull inlay.