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Build #3: "The Bird"

#21
The body is certainly large enough that, depending on wood choices and minimal chambering, it could keep the balance just fine. The long horn over the bridge has good leverage, and allows you to control the angle while playing, like an explorer. Nevertheless, I'd consider lightweight tuners for this one.
 
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#22
TerribleTim68 said:
I think my concern regarding the crackle is, similar to a swirl, the crackle does what the crackle wants. There's less control over "how" it cracks, so I feel like there's a high risk of not getting a desired result and sanding it back off. I've watched a TON of videos from "Guitar Guts", he has done a lot of crackles, and even he says it's tough. There's a lot of variation out there, from the large crackle -
View attachment 4632404 View attachment 4632406
to the very small, tight crackle -
View attachment 4632405
I'm not set up to do it from a spray gun, so we'd be talking the Montana spray cans, which seem to give a much smaller, tight crackle. And my problem is, I prefer the larger crackle. Ideally, you'd want a very bright neon base coat and a very large black crackle top coat like the first two pics. I'm just not convinced I'm set up to get that result.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's been a couple decades since I did one and I had a full finish dept with a down draft spray booth to work with and it was a PITA then. That's why I want you to do it, and not me.
 
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#23
BishopJP said:
Yeah, it's been a couple decades since I did one and I had a full finish dept with a down draft spray booth to work with and it was a PITA then. That's why I want you to do it, and not me.
Click to expand...
HAH! From what I've gathered from "YouTube University" it seems like there's a trick to blowing the right amount of air over it after you apply the crackle layer and depending on the amount of air and the pressure used you can somewhat control the cracking and force larger cracks. But yeah, again, that's using a proper spray rig and compressor, not rattle cans.
 
#24
IIRC, how much of the "crackle" part you spray on will effect the size of the cracks. A heavy coat will produce larger cracks. Don't quote me on that, though.

I did a cool "ghost crackle" once that was a clear base and top coat, then I put a colored glaze on top to highlight the edges of the cracks. I thought it was cool, anyway...
 
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#25
TerribleTim68 said:
So, this sickness just continues to get out of hand. :meh:
I've kind of had this planned for a couple years now, it originally popped up in one of my other build threads so now that build #1 and build #2 have basically come to a close (aside from sorting out some minor setup things), it's time to start taking another look at this one. Thus, we need a post placeholder, and here it is! :woot:

The Bird -
In my collection, I own a 90s B.C Rich Warlock Platinum Series -
View attachment 4632239
My wife bought this bass for me as an anniversary gift one year. It was the display model and has a decent sized dent in the face of that beautiful trans-blue burst, thus we got it at a steal. Her favorite color is blue, so that helped. It is the model with the "Widow" headstock, making it more sought after (and more metal if you ask me).
I also have this pretty cool looking B.C. Rich Mockingbird MKII -
View attachment 4632251
It's one of those less than desirable models from here recently with the quilted maple top. I'm not sure if the top is one of those fake prints or if it's just a mega-thin laminate. This one has the "Tombstone" headstock on it. I paid cash for it from a local music store that cuts crazy deals for cash customers.

Get To The Point (See What I Did There? ) -
Anyways, I told you that story so I could tell you this one. The "collection" needs an Ironbird to complete the pointy bass trifecta! :woot:
I've looked at original Ironbirds and IF you can even find one, they sell fast and go for stupid prices. So, let's just build one. First we need a plan, so I went to AutoCAD and threw this together -
View attachment 4632259

We'll go reverse standard headstock on this one, because I currently do not own a reverse headstock bass. I try to build things I don't have, and reverse headstock fits the bill here. ;) I'm also not a fan of the original Ironbird headstock, so we'll just use the standard B.C. Rich headstock, because more pointy anyways! :woot:

Things To Ponder -
I'm still debating what bridge I want to use, which will dictate the design a little around that area. The Ironbird basically has a little "block" hanging off the rear that the bridge mounts to. Using a hardtail bridge it would fit just in that block. I'm considering using a tremolo, which may dictate a larger block, depending on which tremolo I choose. And yes, I know, bass tremolos are useless. That doesn't mean I don't want one. :smug:
I'm still playing with the headstock a bit. Typically, those late 80s / early 90s pointy hair metal basses had some horrible string angles after the nut. All the B.C. Rich, Jackson, Charvel "hockey stick" headstocks shared that same basic layout. You get one string pulling straight and the other three are all willy-nilly. The question becomes, do I want to "rotate" the whole thing so that the straight-pull string is the D? Or do I just leave it alone and not care? There's literally thousands of basses built like that and it's not really a problem, so maybe I just don't care.
I also straightened up a few of the body lines. The original design had a more curved line from the bridge section down -
View attachment 4632273
And also had more of a weird little "point" at the upper rear tip -
View attachment 4632277
I've eliminated those and just gone more "straight". I've also rounded off the points a bit more, just to make building easier. It also has the added benefit of making my design "less original" and less likely to obtain a "cease and desist". :roflmao:
No, I do not plan on ever selling it, so I know it doesn't matter.

Anyway, everything else is pretty typical here. We're gonna go 24-fret, 34" scale length, 4 string. I'm still not sold on the pickup configuration, because I already own a double-P bass. But the problem there is, I already own a P-J, I already own a double-P, I already own a dual humbucker / soapbar. I'm kind of out of setups I don't already have covered. About the only thing I don't own is a double-J and honestly, I don't really like that sound anyways. So I don't know yet.

Let's Talk Finish -
So there's a really REALLY big part of me that wants to do this thing in neon yellow with black/yellow taxi-cab checkers on the sides. Something similar to this -
View attachment 4632286
Let's be honest here, we're building an 80s hair metal bass and what's more 80s hair metal that neon and taxi-cab checkers? :roflmao:
There's also a smaller part of me that wants to try a crackle finish, because I don't own one and I've never tried it.
Either way, it means we don't need super fancy high end woods here. If we're gonna paint it anyways, basswood/ash/alder is fine as far as I'm concerned.

So there you have it, a design, a concept, a plan. This is how we'll give 'em all the bird! :smug: :cool:
Stay tuned as this start moving forward. Right now this is just a placeholder. I haven't even begun gathering wood yet. We're waiting on the budget. I may or may not join the "Great Guitar Build-Off 2022" in the community build category (which is NOT part of the actual judged competition), but if I do this will be the build. GGBO22 timeframe is right now through the end of October I think.
Click to expand...

Awesome. Looking forward to seeing the finished results. Best wishes on your new venture!
 
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#28
What about extending the bottom end of the bottom so you don't have the square bridge block and the bridge just sits on the body?

I think a crackle pattern would be perfect, but so would a gaudy big-cat-stripe pattern. Or bevel the edges, paint the top an obnoxious color, the bevel a contrasting color (black?), and the sides and back the same gaudy color as the top.

A couple of reversed EMG Ps would round out the 80s hair metal vibe.
 
#29
Jo Bench would approve. Awesome build idea.

A-404644-1621437940-2900.jpg
 
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