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8-string build

#61
Did the fifth coat of oil this morning. It's no longer soaking in, so I think I'm nearing the end. So it's probably one more coat of oil tonight (before rehearsal), with some sort of buffing tomorrow morning, then it's assembly time tomorrow night (before the other band's rehearsal). I've already pre-wired the controls, so there's not much soldering left to do. But I do need to finish filing the height on my bridge saddles, as well as fine-tuning the nut slots.

Down to the wire - the gig is this Saturday night! :bassist:
 
#62
Well, I have absolutely no patience whatsoever...

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Action is still high, and I need to deepen the neck pocket (and add a bit of neck angle after all), but I'm taking it to rehearsal tonight!
 
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#71
Thanks guys! Played it for most of rehearsal last night, and it is very comfortable to play while seated. Standing, it does have a tiny bit of neck dive, but nothing serious (and I was using a shiny smooth leather strap). I'll get to play it standing for perhaps half of tonight's gig, so we'll see!

I'll post soundclips soon; probably after I've worked out the saddle compensation. But I can tell you this:

- I had read that the Dark Star was very responsive to right hand position - this is very true for this bass. I'm happy about this; it gives more tonal variety than one would expect from a single-pickup bass.

- the Villex PRTB does exactly what I wanted it to. Set flat, it produces a clear, almost shimmery tone. The other three positions add beef and thickness to the tone, while attenuating the highs. A bass can sometimes sound great solo, but not have enough meatiness to carry a band, and the PRTB is a great way to guard against that.
 
#73
Some amateur glamour shots from my sunny backyard:

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It looks awfully red, doesn't it? The oil should darken it up a bit in a year or so.

I still need to get off my butt and finalize those bridge saddles...
 
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#74
Really handsome bass there, I would have angled the top of the headstock a little in either direction, otherwise I really dig it. like the fact that though it's very professional looking, it still looks hand made.

Have you used denatured alcohol instead of water with Trans-tint stains? That's what I was advised to do, to avoid raising the grain and having to do more sanding, but I'm not really happy with the result, I haven't tried using water, I should experiment with that I suppose.
 
#76
Thanks! Yeah, everybody keeps nagging me about the headstock. It is a little plain, and I might do something with it, but I sorta like it as it is!

This was my first time with Trans-tint, and I really didn't have any problem with it. As I was finish sanding, I did several iterations of sand-wet lightly-sand again, etc. So I think I took care of all of the grain raising before I even got to the staining stage.
 

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