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Build #01: Mahogany Neck-Thru Fretless 4

Truss rod--top or heel adjust? (explain answer, please)

  • Top.

    Votes: 6 66.7%

  • Heel.

    Votes: 3 33.3%
  • Total voters
    9
trayner1

trayner1

Jul 1, 2010
423
8
La Jolla,CA
#1
Hallo, meine Freunde an der Gitarrenbauer's Corner!!!!
This will be my FIRST actual build, when I'm fresh from 2 successful refinishes. I am super excited (and inspired by all of the talent here on the LC), and so is my slab of Honduran mahogany.

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I took the liberty of doing some rough cuts with a Skil reciprocating saw (with the wrong sized blade), then a hand saw, a week ago. I just cut off the pieces for lamination, to be jointed on Tuesday.

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As you can see, I am quite young, though not the youngest Luthier (or, more appropriately, builder) on the site.
However, I will use my youth to my advantage, as I get to borrow the woodshop at my high school for four days, namely using the jointer, bandsaw, sanders (belt, spindle, disk), and superior lamination stations.
I took the liberty of doing some rough cuts with a Skil reciprocating saw (with the wrong sized blade), then a hand saw, a week ago. I just cut off the pieces for lamination, to be jointed on Tuesday.
 
#2
Lookin' forward to the updates.

There's something special about a Fender style build. It gives a warm fuzzy feeling, like curling up with a good leather bound book in front of a brick fireplace.
Peterman catalogue, much?

I noticed the pickup outline. Will that be a musicman-ish pickup? And in looking at the headstock (I personally couldn't see it very well because of the computer I'm using), but is it going to be a five string? Or is it going to have the three tuners on top and one on the bottom?

Neck-thru bass? noyce.
 
#3
I'm going with a J-shape body and a 'stock very derivative of the MM (3 +1 tuner arrangement)...but I can't decide on whether I should do a 'bucker (Bartolini) or 2 soapbars (which would be Seymour Duncan Bassline Active IIs, due to my tight budget). I am also thinking about buying an SD Antiquity II neck j-pup, since I already have the bridge pup just lying around, and not selling.
And then, with the bridge, I was thinking either the Hipshot Triple Lock Down single-string bridges, or else a Kahler bass trem, for some crazy sound.
What I'm looking for is a sound like that of, say, Manring in "Selene," but I want versatility.
Any advice will be well appreciated.


Oh, the options...
 
#4
I made some sawdust today!!
Yesterday, I got the edges trimmed with a table saw:
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I then finished drawing the lines (a more difficult task than I expected), drilled holes, and cut with a scroll saw, then band saw:

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And then I glued/clamped.

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The heavy Mahogany tonewood, plus the neck thru design, plus maybe single string bridges, and a fathead will give me the truest tone imaginable. The sustain will be longer than my lifespan.
More pics coming tomorrow!! :bassist:
 
#5
Well, I didn't follow through with my promise of new pictures on Friday. But I do have a TON of pics from Fri, Sat, and today. So, let's pick up where we left off.

FRIDAY
My last day to work in the shop, then I have MIDTERMS!!!:hyper: So, here's what I got done:
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The scroll saw would not cut through the wood very efficiently, so I had to improvise (like Jaco or Manring) by cutting it roughly with a band saw, using only straight lines. Needless to say, I'm going to need to do some sanding. Granted this is, again, my last day to enjoy the myriad of bench-top, industrial grade power tools at the shop; however, the benchtop sanders are all worn out because of the 100+ students actually enrolled in the class who press with all of their might on the wholesale sanding belts/disks/tubes. Well, at least I took care of my top priority: lamination. And there's a good, solid joint there too. (Speaking of joint, the sanding room is often "hotboxed" by the students, who may be some of the most idiotic people I have ever seen)
WITH THAT, I shall finish this with my limited tool supply at home. It'll make a man of me.
I will make a trip to Home Depot to get a spokeshave and some sanding supplies, and then I should be set.

SATURDAY (YESTERDAY)
It was a b-e-a-yootiful Saturday morning in sunny San Diego.
I broke out the 'ol planer and began with the simple task of planing down the neck.
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After:

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My next task is to remove the excess wood from the now-thin-enough-to-cut-with-a-jigsaw headstock, with a jigsaw...
...and that's where I made my first mistake, which is a giant wrench in my plans.
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As you can see, the jigsaw obviously got possessed by the devil and managed to cut a hunk off the side of the neck. This is a deviation which will leave me to alter the string spacing to something possibly even tighter than a J-Bass (but I think not considerably), and maybe even make my own nut. But, it could be a blessing in disguise, because, having much experience as a guitarist (THAT'S RIGHT PURISTS!! I PLAY GUITAR ON THE SIDE!! I'M A GUITARD!! CRUCIFY ME!!!) and being a J-Bass fan, I have grown accustomed to a tight string spacing. At its thinnest point about an inch down the neck, the neck is 1-1/2 inches, BEFORE completion of tapering. So, with that, I'll have about...a 1-6/16" nut, 2/16" shy of the j-bass nut. My current plan is to buy a J-bass nut blank, shorten it, and slot it myself. I've already worked out spacing.
This was my progress at the end of the day:
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More pics coming tomorrow (but don't count on it) of today's work. I want to go to bed, now.
 
#6
Well, I came through with my claim, though it is hard to post when no one is looking or commenting...except for one person. That led me to post a link in my sig, to very little avail. But, I'm not going to stop updating. So, this chrinicles the adventure I had on Sunday, working (when I should have been studying, which I now regret because I got an 84% on an open-book test) on my project.

I started the day off with a trip to the Home Depot, in search of a spokeshave, which whould run me down about $18, and then some sanding supplies. Turns out, the HD has a very limited selection of specialty hand tools, which led me to grab a shaver, and some special drillbits (2 flap discs and a disk sander attachment.)
I then got home, set up, donned my aviators and got to work.

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I attached the 60 grit flap disc and began sanding away, which was cumbersome. What I ended up doing was using the shaver to rough cut the curves, and then removing the support handle on the drill and clamping it between the panes of the workmate, creating...

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THE PO' BOY'S BENCHTOP SPINDLE SANDER!!! (surprisingly effective.)

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I repeated this process until I decided to go to the bottom:

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This is where I got by the end of the day:

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Not much progress on the neck mistake...
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Well, that's all I have for now, since for much progress to be made, I need my bridges (I decided on the Hipshot Triple-Lock-Down: http://store.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=223) and my nut, and, of course, a fingerboard. Can't decide on species, but I'm leaning towards Pau Ferro ($25). I'm also going with a heel-adjust truss rod, $15. As for pickups, I'm looking for something along the lines of active soapbar (s).
 
#7
I ordered the pickup today!! A single Seymour Duncan Bassline active phase I soapbar (for 5 string, because that was the best price I could find.) I got it on eBay for $30...killer deal, but here's the catch: it only comes with the pickup itself, no wiring or battery stuff. So, I'll have to find a good kit. I also got a 6-string pup of the same variety for my 5-string project, for another $30.

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#14
You guys have no idea how much these comments have made my day...after a long period of no feedback, thank you guys!

Angus said:
Er, am I the only one thinking that setting it up with zero neck angle is going to be...difficult, to say the least. Yikes!

Pretty cool that you are doing this project, though!
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Well, neck angle is not imperative. I am using a low enough bridge system to where my action will be relatively even with a straight neck. And I'm setting up the truss rod with plenty of backbow, so that when I string it, the tension will balance out.

Johnius said:
This isn't just neck-thru, this is slab construction. Looks like 99% of that bass is one piece of wood. I am very interested in seeing the final bass. Are you going to put a fingerboard on it?
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Well, technically it's all the same piece of wood, but I laminated it, if that's what you mean. And, yes, I'm going with a fingerboard. Pau Ferro, most likely.
 
#15
Good for you for diving into this so early in life. Its a lot of fun.
I'll keep my eye on this build.

Here are 2 ideas for you if you find your action is way to high.
1. counter sink the bridge
2. remove some wood thickness from the entire top of the body-- but leave the neck and fboard alone.
 
#16
trayner1 said:
Well, neck angle is not imperative. I am using a low enough bridge system to where my action will be relatively even with a straight neck. And I'm setting up the truss rod with plenty of backbow, so that when I string it, the tension will balance out.
.
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Most builders I know- including a lot of big ones- substantially disagree. Every guitar and bass you've ever played has a rearward neck angle to facilitate comfortable reach/playability and that makes certain setup issues better- one of the ways that an experienced eye can tell if someone is a new builder is that they don't build in enough neck angle.

It's not the same issue as having a truss rod and controlling backbow, as I know you'll have no issue with that.
 
#18
Angus said:
Most builders I know- including a lot of big ones- substantially disagree. Every guitar and bass you've ever played has a rearward neck angle to facilitate comfortable reach/playability and that makes certain setup issues better- one of the ways that an experienced eye can tell if someone is a new builder is that they don't build in enough neck angle.

It's not the same issue as having a truss rod and controlling backbow, as I know you'll have no issue with that.
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Fender seems to have a loyal following :hmm:
 
#20
Dead Ed said:
+1 to that. Look at a Fender.

Nice job Trayner1. Already fixing mistakes (the best part of bass building). :D
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Haha thanks...first build is kinda the "it's okay to make mistakes" build, and first lesson I learned: never ever EVER use a jigsaw on hardwood to attempt accurate cuts. EVER!! :D
But, yeah, so long as the bridge is (roughly) flush with the nut and the FB is level, no neck angle is needed. The action can be adjusted just fine, no problems.
 

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