Hey all,
This is my first post here, so I'll tell you a bit about myself. I am a luthier/bassist from Pittsburgh, PA - started about 3 years ago because, well, I wanted a few custom guitars and didn't have the money to shell out! This Bass VI was my second build ever, and it took me a little over a year and a half to complete. It got pushed to the back burner while I completed other builds/moved/did grad school/work/life/etc.. I now have about 10 builds under my belt and am feeling much more confident about my build abilities. I am constantly learning about this trade...and learned that 90% of your time is spent sanding something.
This was a bit of an experiment for me; doing a neck-through for a second build was a bit ambitious, but I learned a lot about what to do (and more so about what to NOT do). I have a good friend who builds some incredible furniture and owns a KILLER woodshop, so while not knowing "much" about luthiery, he was and continues to be a fantastic help as far as woodworking goes (and let me use his tools before I had my own planer/jointer/bandsaw). I have also frequented this forum over the years for different tips and tricks from you builders that are FAR more talented than myself, and I thank you for sharing your knowledge.
On to the specs...
Bass VI Body (Oversized Jaguar shape)
Neck-through
Mahogany Wings; Ipe/Curly Maple/Padauk neck
Mahogany stepped scarf joint (14 degrees)
Curly Maple fretboard/walnut veneer beneath
Walnut Headstock veneer
30" scale
12" radius
Graph-tech nut (took a lot of refining)
Vintage sized frets (6130?)
TOM Bridge/tailpiece
Fender Vintage Noiseless Pickups
Custom 5-way Rotary switch (B/BM/BN/MN/N)
Gotoh Mini Roto Matics
Circle K 24-106 Strings (Drop D)
Custom Warmoth Pickguard
Flush-mount Straplocks
Tru-Oil Finish
12+ lbs
And now, pics!
Wood:
Template (always a good idea!)
Neck blanks cut:
Glue-up:
Glue time (probably should have used the body cut-offs...):
Roughing the heel:
Getting there...bad chisel gouge in the ipe (whoops...):
Rout - changed this to a swimming pool rout to cut down on weight:
Truss rod and steel stiffening rods - this neck is SOLID:
Spokeshave love:
Now this is where/when I moved and finished a semester up (genetics/pathophysiology/embryology consumed the vast majority of my time), so I don't have any pics of the neck tapering/headstock shaping, but this was the "next" step...
All done, first coat of Tru Oil - headstock done (no tuners yet), frets done ($7 gent's saw and a makeshift miter box did the trick), posts drilled:
And all done!
Like I said, I learned a ton from this build. It is far from perfect, but it was a great learning experience. I have also (since completing it) recessed the TOM bridge a bit just for lower intonation. Ideally, I should have angled the neck, but the action really is not too bad...having huge strings on it kind of cancels out "normally" high action. It was my first experience with Tru-Oil, also, and I really enjoyed using it as a finish. This is by no means a bass guitar replacement in a band, but adds a very cool dimension when used in a more guitar-type role (fuzz/delay = goodness).
Since completing this, I have built myself a Ritter R8-inspired 5 string (36" scale) and am currently working on a Gibson RD Artist clone (also for me). This build also made me develop a severe curly maple fetish and I've used it on every build (bass & guitar) that I have done since!
Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks!
This is my first post here, so I'll tell you a bit about myself. I am a luthier/bassist from Pittsburgh, PA - started about 3 years ago because, well, I wanted a few custom guitars and didn't have the money to shell out! This Bass VI was my second build ever, and it took me a little over a year and a half to complete. It got pushed to the back burner while I completed other builds/moved/did grad school/work/life/etc.. I now have about 10 builds under my belt and am feeling much more confident about my build abilities. I am constantly learning about this trade...and learned that 90% of your time is spent sanding something.
This was a bit of an experiment for me; doing a neck-through for a second build was a bit ambitious, but I learned a lot about what to do (and more so about what to NOT do). I have a good friend who builds some incredible furniture and owns a KILLER woodshop, so while not knowing "much" about luthiery, he was and continues to be a fantastic help as far as woodworking goes (and let me use his tools before I had my own planer/jointer/bandsaw). I have also frequented this forum over the years for different tips and tricks from you builders that are FAR more talented than myself, and I thank you for sharing your knowledge.
On to the specs...
Bass VI Body (Oversized Jaguar shape)
Neck-through
Mahogany Wings; Ipe/Curly Maple/Padauk neck
Mahogany stepped scarf joint (14 degrees)
Curly Maple fretboard/walnut veneer beneath
Walnut Headstock veneer
30" scale
12" radius
Graph-tech nut (took a lot of refining)
Vintage sized frets (6130?)
TOM Bridge/tailpiece
Fender Vintage Noiseless Pickups
Custom 5-way Rotary switch (B/BM/BN/MN/N)
Gotoh Mini Roto Matics
Circle K 24-106 Strings (Drop D)
Custom Warmoth Pickguard
Flush-mount Straplocks
Tru-Oil Finish
12+ lbs
And now, pics!
Wood:
Template (always a good idea!)
Neck blanks cut:
Glue-up:
Glue time (probably should have used the body cut-offs...):
Roughing the heel:
Getting there...bad chisel gouge in the ipe (whoops...):
Rout - changed this to a swimming pool rout to cut down on weight:
Truss rod and steel stiffening rods - this neck is SOLID:
Spokeshave love:
Now this is where/when I moved and finished a semester up (genetics/pathophysiology/embryology consumed the vast majority of my time), so I don't have any pics of the neck tapering/headstock shaping, but this was the "next" step...
All done, first coat of Tru Oil - headstock done (no tuners yet), frets done ($7 gent's saw and a makeshift miter box did the trick), posts drilled:
And all done!
Like I said, I learned a ton from this build. It is far from perfect, but it was a great learning experience. I have also (since completing it) recessed the TOM bridge a bit just for lower intonation. Ideally, I should have angled the neck, but the action really is not too bad...having huge strings on it kind of cancels out "normally" high action. It was my first experience with Tru-Oil, also, and I really enjoyed using it as a finish. This is by no means a bass guitar replacement in a band, but adds a very cool dimension when used in a more guitar-type role (fuzz/delay = goodness).
Since completing this, I have built myself a Ritter R8-inspired 5 string (36" scale) and am currently working on a Gibson RD Artist clone (also for me). This build also made me develop a severe curly maple fetish and I've used it on every build (bass & guitar) that I have done since!
Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks!
