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black & blond P makeover (etc)

#161
Finally had an opportunity to work on the JB project today. Used a pulsing table (tube) sander (don't really know how else to describe it) to even/finish the edges, routed for binding, routed the control cavity, started routing the J pu cavity and glued-up the binding. Tomorrow I'll finish the pu routes, do the neck pocket route, and sand the forearm bevel. After that it's finishing details and sealer and off to be final finished. May wait until the smoke clears from holiday mailing - no need to get involved with the chaos of last minute shipping.

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#162
JIO said:
Finally had an opportunity to work on the JB project today. Used a pulsing table (tube) sander (don't really know how else to describe it) to even/finish the edges, routed for binding, routed the control cavity, started routing the J pu cavity and glued-up the binding. Tomorrow I'll finish the pu routes, do the neck pocket route, and sand the forearm bevel. After that it's finishing details and sealer and off to be final finished. May wait until the smoke clears from holiday mailing - no need to get involved with the chaos of last minute shipping.

IMG_7353_zps6ab0a95b.jpg
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That, good Sir, is tre' damn cool.
 
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#164
More work today w/successes and a few bumps in the road. Remind me to never route for P or J pu's, and MM also while we're at it, ever again. Just a PITA no matter how you slice it. I did it, but not w/o much fussing and tweaking. Same with binding, or at least the way I ended up doing it. What I will have when finished is more like 'banding' as it bands around the center of the sides, which was my plan. It eliminates a hard edge, and in this case hides the layers seam. I just thought it would go smoother than it did. The band is going to end up being 1/4" wide, and although I wanted more like 3/8" it will suffice. It broke in two places so more gluing and some tricks learned on-line to make it disappear. All and all life is never as 'straighter forward' as one would like, and so the key is to break it up into sessions w/rest & recharge in between. I weighed it after all routing was done and it's 4.5lbs. I just need to do the forearm bevel which will take off a bit more material. Jam session tonight, woo-hoo!

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#165
JIO said:
More work today w/successes and a few bumps in the road. Remind me to never route for P or J pu's, and MM also while we're at it, ever again. Just a PITA no matter how you slice it. I did it, but not w/o much fussing and tweaking. Same with binding, or at least the way I ended up doing it. What I will have when finished is more like 'banding' as it bands around the center of the sides, which was my plan. It eliminates a hard edge, and in this case hides the layers seam. I just thought it would go smoother than it did. The band is going to end up being 1/4" wide, and although I wanted more like 3/8" it will suffice. It broke in two places so more gluing and some tricks learned on-line to make it disappear. All and all life is never as 'straighter forward' as one would like, and so the key is to break it up into sessions w/rest & recharge in between. I weighed it after all routing was done and it's 4.5lbs. I just need to do the forearm bevel which will take off a bit more material. Jam session tonight, woo-hoo!

IMG_7354_zps714b31b2.jpg


IMG_7356_zps8a926566.jpg
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Looks good. Sometimes oopsies make the best design features. Your hands can sometimes beat your brain to the finish line. I think it's looking quite hip at the moment fwiw.
 
#167
Step by step… did much filing/sanding and getting closer to the goal. Hand rasped the forearm bevel. Not as deep as I usually like to go, but for continuity-sake, it works. I stopped when the banding (binding in this instance) reached the 3/8" mark. One break at that area and will illustrate later what can be done once the other edge sets up and is integrated. Second pic show where Bondo comes in and the third shows a clean removal of the 2nd break for binding replace/repair.

I attached the neck & bridge and strung it up to assure the neck pocket was correct. It's nicely present/loud acoustically with clear upper register and nice definition on the lower notes - so I'm getting stocked that all this fuss is going to pay off sonically. And as assemble/shown, it weighs 7.6lbs. All that's missing is the electronics and pu's. Music to my shoulder! :thumbsup:

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#168
ICM said:
Job well done regardless. I've always found a PJ (p-bass with added jazz pup) unappealing. But a JP is strikingly nice. This thread is proving that.
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I also prefer the J/P version and this one has the P in the exact P position (based on my '66) and a J in the 70's position. (a bit lower than 60's position) I think on some P/J's using a J platform, the P is higher up toward the neck so a standard J pg can be used. (routed for a P of course) So it's essentially a P-bass (can and should sound every bit a P w/the bridge pu off) that has a J body/neck with a pu at the bridge for more tonal variety. Won't sound exactly like a J, but I bet it can come close.
 
#169
more done : routed to set the bridge-plate flush. It was 1/8" thick so I figured lowering it would be a nice integration with the body. The neck sits a little lower in the body due to a thinner profile, (typical J is 1 3/4" and this one is 1.5") and so the whole playing area will be 1/8" lower. The pu cavities are plenty deep enough to set pu height optimally. I'm not a slapper/popper so I'm kinda' diggin' it low and streamline.

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#171
I'm getting close to deciding on a finish/colour choice. I was leaning toward trans-blond with a light opaque halo & back. The binding is only going to be 1/4" wide, so it's ending up more like a creme edge stripe/strip. The colour of the binding and pu covers just might go better overall with the salmon version of Fiesta Red. The blond would make the binding & pu covers look pink because there's no red in the colour. (not good) With the Fiesta red being primarily red, it would let the creme stay 'creme' or neutral. Another thought would be a black back, and a Fiesta Red front. The binding/pu's would go great with that combo. And throw in a satin finish? hummm...

This is the salmon I like - not pink, more of an orange-ie (orange-ish?) hue

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or this from an earlier post View attachment 501431
 
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#175
Hues said:
Maybe with some version of a burst....A tabacco or something lighter?

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That's cool and perfect for a LP, but I'd like to slowly wade into the glitter pool w/something…er, less. (only I would want a subtle glitter finish! :rolleyes:) If I can convince Marty to do this, I think it would be cool if it were like the silver glitter but with a Shoreline Gold tint/hue - now that would be perfection in my book. I think I've finally resolved it in my minds eye - it's the first option that I'm really excited about!

ICM said:
I'm such a big fan of glitter finishes it's not even funny!
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Then this ones for you Ivan! :thumbsup:
 
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#179
Marty is mailing me gold sparkle samples to choose from and I'm confident he'll have one that I'll like. He doesn't 'match' from pictures etc and I understand that. He's developed/perfected a colour range that he knows he can replicate and he is the man when it involves sparkle finishes. So I'll ship it next week but he won't be able to get to it for a while, with winter NAMM looming.

To anyone who will read this today, Dec 24th 2014 - have a great Christmas!

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#180
Here's the sparkle samples. I picked the 1st one on the left. It looks pretty close to the Adam Clayton P pic - regardless, it's my favorite out of the choices. The way I see the choices, from left to right is; silver gold (similar to shoreline gold) / zinc gold (bright yellow/green tint) / Roman gold (standard gold) / copper gold (reddish tint)

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I'm anticipating it will be a while before I get it back, with NAMM coming up, but it will be a wow moment when I open the box for sure. Then, another extended wow moment once it's built-up and playable. I'm not one to spend on holiday gifts etc. (I did however buy some christmas lights 50% off today!) Quality time and food/drink with friends & family is what I focus on. So when the holidays are a distant memory I'll celebrate some box opening in February!
 
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