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Beginner Builder - Flying V Bass project

pitagorinpoucak

pitagorinpoucak

Guest
Jan 20, 2013
47
25
37
Zadar, Croatia
#1
so i was thinking about building my first bass.

first off .. i am no luthier and most of my woodwork so far consisted of putting together a few shelves and glueing some wood for fun.

this time, i want to seriously delve into bass building world and try my luck (and nerves) with building one (or more) bass the way i want it.

the reason for starting this thread is really because i don't know what wood to choose, and some other specs i'm not too informed about.

The Body:

as I said, Flying V style, probably four strings. not sure should i do it from one piece or is it easier or better to build it from two/three pieces or whatever.

The Neck:

also, not sure should it be bolt-on, glued or neck-trough (sorry, my terminology is not the best, but i think you understand what i want to know). also what are pros and cons for each neck/body connection?

The Electronics:

I wanted to go with PJ passive setup. no need for some fancy-name pups, just some regular, normal priced ones. probably two vol and one tone pot.

fow strings, i'd love that they go trough body and then onto bridge, so i can put some shiny plate there.

color scheme will probably be black/silver or black/red, but that's mostly a minor concern at the moment.

as for wood available, i'll do my best to translate croatian names:

1. Spruce
2. Slovenian spruce
3. larch (european/syberian)
4. pine
5. beech
6. ash
7. maple
8. cherry
9. nut
10. lime
11. oak

just to note, all these would be bought as planks about 3 meters long, 3.8-6.5 cm thick and from 20 to 30 cm wide. ofc, cherry holds the highest price.

so i'm looking to buy at least one or two planks which i can use for both body and neck.

for the tone, as beginner i just want clear and well rounded tone.

also, what should i watch out for when buying planks? the grain stuff and other things to look for...

thanks in advance :D

this post will probably be updated with sketches and photos as i create the. also with additional info and specs as i decide about them

EDIT 1: forgot to add that scale will probably be 34". don't really like short scale basses (tried a few), and extra long ones are too big for me.
 
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#5
My advice - keep it simple and relatively inexpensive for your first build. It sounds like you're going to be learning some basic woodworking techniques as well as specific instrument building techniques. This means that you will make mistakes on your first build. This is not a negative comment; rather, we learn best by diving in and trying things! When I started building about six years ago I was much like you - little actual woodworking experience, beyond very basic carpentry. But I have good mechanical sense, which gave me the confidence to get started cutting and gluing wood. And I learned a TON from reading other build threads here in the LC (a hearty "Thank You!" to all of you!).

I say all this to point out that you will certainly end up with a satisfying instrument, and you will enjoy playing it, but you will notice certain things that could be improved upon for your next build. It's an iterative process (my therapist discourages the word "addiction"...) that takes years, perhaps decades, to master. But that's the fun of it too!

Specifically:

- Don't spend a lot on wood, but get the nicest piece you can. For a beginning builder, the species is less important than choosing a board with relatively straight grain, as few voids/knots as possible, as dry as possible, and as straight as possible.

- Having said that, some of the woods on your list are easier to work with than others. Maple is a staple (this is true because it rhymes), because it's very stable and consistent, but it is also relatively hard and somewhat heavy. Oak is hard and heavy, and also can tend to splinter easily. Pine can have pockets of pitch that are hard on blades and make finishing difficult. Though I've never used it, spruce might be a good place to start if it's cheap in your area.

- A two-piece body is easier, simply because straight, clear boards large enough for a body are not as common as smaller boards.

- Bolt-on for your first build, definitely. It's a lot easier to make the body and make the neck separately, then join them at the end. And threaded inserts can make a bolt-on neck joint just as good as the other methods.

- PLEASE learn how to safely use your power tools! It's really hard to play bass when you're missing fingers.
 
#6
My first instrument was made with Carvin through neck - Making a neck seemed overwhelming to me (It's not that hard, but buying one is easier). I don't think a through neck is any harder to make, in fact it some ways it's easier - you don't have to worry about that neck pocket, you're just gluing wood to wood. The easiest through neck is one where you can see the neck wood from the front - then you're just gluing wings to a center spine.
 
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#8
i decided to go with spruce body and maple neck. i think i'll do it neck-trough for the first build. it's less carving and fitting. the rough and detailed sketches will be done by weekend. also the list of everything i need before i even start is comming close to an end and will bi published as well.
 
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#9
Awesome, looking forward to following this. Here's my first build (started about 6 months ago). You can spot a number of mistakes I made that hopefully you won't replicate. Virgin voyage (first build)! 6 string "P Style" bass | TalkBass.com

Probably the main headache I encountered was fretting the bass fretboard. Is this bass going to be fretted? You may wnat to consider purchasing a pre-slotted fretboard, but I'd say "go for it, have a go yourself!".

For hardware, get the cheap "made in china" bridges and tuners as they're fine for your first build. Same for pickups. Or for a p bass pickup, I would strongly suggest the EMG P series as they require no grounding and very little soldering, plus they come with the pots (1 tone one vol).

What tools do you have? Most vital in my view are: lots of clamps, titebond wood glue, shinto saw rasp, hand "jack" plane, router. Jigsaw is very nice.
 
#11
thanks for the advice @ctmullins , @yoshi and @joseplluissans , i think i might go with ash instead of spruce. te maple board will put me back about 50$ so i think i can cash out as much for the ash board as well.

now, since i'm going with nwck-trough, i was thinking about making fretboard separately and then gluing it onto the neck. what wood would be better suited for the role? ash or maple?

i don't think i'll be able to get any scraps of some other wood to use just for that so i'll have to make-do with that is there (or will be when i buy it). i'll hopefully use this wood for some more builds later on so it won't go to waste after this one bass.

as for the tools, atm i have none. router is the one i'm planning to buy, some other will be borrowed from brother's practice job as a luthier (just beginning his second year in school and practice so hopefully i'll get to use him and the tools as much as possible).

and now for the question in my mind: angeled/tilted headstock? why? what are the benefits or why is itdone that way exactly? my Performer Jazz's headstock is parallel with the neck so i'm not sure why almost every out-of-the-ordinary build uses that type of headstock. mine will be an arrowhead, just not sure should i go with straight or tilted version.

unfortunately, sketches and photoshop mockups are not done yet since my scanner broke and my PS skills are not that good yet (and adobe illustrator skills are rusty from not using them in about six years or so).
 
#12
pitagorinpoucak said:
Let me rephrase and sum everything up into one question...

What would be the easiest materials for a beginner builder to work with?
Click to expand...

bolt on is easiest to follow. Set neck (glued) is easy to mess up if everything isn't perfect to join together. Neck though: some say it has more sustain than bolt ons or set necks (but i don't buy that bull) + if it breaks, you'll end up needing to build a new one from scratch. bolt on at least you can always swap out the neck for something different if you wanted.
 
#13
well, i'm going with neck-trough just because it's the easiest to make. bolt-on is not that hard, i believe, but neck-trough is easier for the fist time. it's less fitting and less routing and less digging the body. and if it ever breaks, i can rout the neck pocket and build a new neck a remake it as bolt-on. sustain is not something i'm worried about since it's my first build. i just want everything good and playable with the least problems. when i'm sure i can make it mostly OK, i'll probably try my hand at bolt-onm neck and some other body type.

also, one question about wood prices in your area... here it's about 50$ for a maple or ash board 3 or 4 meters long and about 25-30 cm wide, up to 6 cm thick. i'm sorry, i'm not that familiar with imperial units, only metric ones, so you'll have to use google or something to convert these to inches

just to mention, @ctmullins , safety is not a problem since my day job is possibly more dangerous than those tools, i'll probably break a leg or something worse than loose any fingers. besides, already had my fair share of finger and hand injuries, so i'm very careful while using any power tools
 
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#14
pitagorinpoucak said:
what wood would be better suited for the role? ash or maple?
Click to expand...
I would go with maple as Ash needs filling before lacquering. Both need a hard surface coating.

pitagorinpoucak said:
and now for the question in my mind: angeled/tilted headstock? why? what are the benefits or why is itdone that way exactly?
Click to expand...
There are many reasons for doing either:
Fender has used the non angled version probably for cost effectiveness. I think it's more of a style and looks issue. Other non angled brands include other Leo designs such as musicmans and G&L's.
If you choose to do a non angled headstock, you need a string tree to hold "D" and "G" strings down.
Angled headstock does not need a string tree, as the headstock itself will pull the string "down" after passing the nut. The only negative issue that I can think of, besides the obvious extra work, is that if an instrument with an angled headstock falls down, the headstock can break off.

Wikipedia has a good entry on headstocks, with the following illustration:
Guitar_headstock_angle.png
 
#16
just an offtopic question ..

i've been digging out a lot of roots at work, and i was wondering if i could somehow quick-dry it and use it to make pot covers and things like that. they are all multicolored (don't know if they keep same colors when dry) and would be an interesting side project and details for any guitar/bass.

so .. is there any way to quickly dry smaller pieces of wood?

unfortunately, i don't have a pic atm. maybe tomorrow.
 

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