Aircraft Carrier Theme Bass

[Doner Designs]

I work for the Department of Defense in Bremerton - I was going to ask if you needed anything to help with your project - but it seems you definitely have got a handle on it. Looks incredible!

I appreciate the thought. It has been a big help to run ideas by military folk along the way. At one point the pickguard proof had land based planes on it. I had no idea but it stood out like a sore thumb to every military guy who saw the proof.

 

[huckleberry1]

blown away, I was on CVN 68 USS Nimitz, the aircraft carrier during the Gulf War, not to mention I love Jim Lovell and a bass player ta boot...

 

[bassbenj]

I just love your theme bass designs and with that major attraction to draw dollars to important charities even the crowd here at TB can't get negative about this!

 

[Spectrum]

Did your dad cross paths with Lovell at all?

No, I think Lovell was in the astronaut program by the time my dad joined the ship.

 

[Doner Designs]

If anyone is interested in the earlier conceptual design stages there is another thread out there which one of the moderators closed. He did not realize that we are not a commercial enterprise (which is why I have that long caveat on my signature now).

 

[Doner Designs]

Almost wrapped up with this one. In the past few weeks we visited Sweetwater Sound in Ft Wayne Indiana to get some professional photos taken (one of which is our new logo and avatar). We also visited our local Guitar Center in Villa Park Illinois where Accessories Manager (and bass player) Kyle Meiser took the bass for a test drive. We hope to post sound clips and a couple of other videos soon.

 

[Doner Designs]

Sound clips here. The intro is the Navy bass as well where Richard played both guitar and bass to the Hey You intro.

 

[Doner Designs]

Here's a couple of demo videos - one at Guitar Center and one at Sweetwater Sound. GC sponsored accessories and SS sponsored photos. Kyle, accessories manager at GC is the player in the GC vid. The Sweetwater vid is in the back room where they do inspections and setups (and photos) of every incoming guitar before they go into inventory.

 

[SunnBass]

I guess I don't understand.
What is the JDRF going to do with this?
Auction?

 

[Doner Designs]

I guess I don't understand.
What is the JDRF going to do with this?
Auction?

Exactly. They have a big auction at their annual gala and this will be one of the auction items. The theme's seem to do well at auctions. We have previously donated a couple to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Donation is outright, so 100% of auction proceeds go to the charity.

 

[Yango]

That is one seriously cool bass, my friend. The fact that Jim Lovell signed it, is just the icing on the cake—I was, and still am, a complete Apollo geek. Who ever ends up with this package will be one lucky human being!!

 

[SunnBass]

Gotcha.
So, do you write off expenses as charitable donations?

 

[klejst]

That is overall really awesome!

 

[Doner Designs]

Gotcha.
So, do you write off expenses as charitable donations?

I had never planned to, but we took a small deduction on the first couple which were self funded. A lot of the materials cost has been covered by others on the most recent projects so there wont be much left to deduct. The big investment is labor and there is no deduction we can take for that.

 

[GKon]

That looks really great! Very good work, tastefully put together. And all for a good cause. Bravo!

I'm curious. What are the "rivets" on the back side of the bass? Is it part of the theme or do they serve a purpose?
Also, I notice the "propeller" has a few screws (no pun intended) in it. Isn't it a decal? If so, why the screws?

 

[Doner Designs]

That looks really great! Very good work, tastefully put together. And all for a good cause. Bravo!

I'm curious. What are the "rivets" on the back side of the bass? Is it part of the theme or do they serve a purpose?
Also, I notice the "propeller" has a few screws (no pun intended) in it. Isn't it a decal? If so, why the screws?

Thanks GK! The rivet looking things originate with our first project which was an Army/Tank theme. On that one we used huge bolts to give it an industrial machinery look. On later projects we used these inserts which accomplish the same kind of thing while being flush with the body which gives more flexibility in terms of placement. The prop on the back is made of a pickguard material. We have tried to stay away from using stickers.

 

[GKon]

Thanks GK! The rivet looking things originate with our first project which was an Army/Tank theme. On that one we used huge bolts to give it an industrial machinery look. On later projects we used these inserts which accomplish the same kind of thing while being flush with the body which gives more flexibility in terms of placement. The prop on the back is made of a pickguard material. We have tried to stay away from using stickers.

Thanks for the clarification.

I'm sure the pickguard material gives it much nicer, and 3D look. Stickers may have made it look cheap.
I assume the anchor is made of the same stuff?

 

[Doner Designs]

Thanks for the clarification.

I'm sure the pickguard material gives it much nicer, and 3D look. Stickers may have made it look cheap.
I assume the anchor is made of the same stuff?

Pickguard and anchor are full PG thickness. The prop is thinner, but otherwise the same. All are from Axetreme Creations. They can take any image and make it into a custom guard.

 

[Doner Designs]

As far as themed basses go, that is really, really cool. Can't wait to see it at 100% completion. [SPAM REMOVED]

Take a scroll through the thread. She's all done.

 

[Fender05]

That was me playing in the video (I'm not a fretless player, can you tell?) I can speak firsthand, this bass is amazing. The amount of detail that's in it is incredible, and it plays damn good too. Steve and Richard are legitimately good people, and we're honored to be able to help them accomplish their mission with these builds.