Build II - Paradox MJ5 - New design!

[pushifier]

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That inlay looks great! Is that wenge and mahogany?

 

[roberthabraken]

That inlay looks great! Is that wenge and mahogany?

Thanks! The inlay is made from Sucupira, Oak (wings and belly) and Ash (eyes, nose, ear and mouth). Just some pieces of wood I found at the hobby shop (Hornbach) when they still sold pieces of hardwood. They used to sell planed pieces of Oak, Ash, Alder, Sucupira, Birch etc. but stopped doing that about a year ago... I bought some small pieces that were 3/8" thick and planed them down with my router to about 1/16" and cut the inlay from that. Not ideal but it worked.

 

[octaedro7]

Guess that somebody is getting closer and closer to block inlays...

 

[roberthabraken]

Guess that somebody is getting closer and closer to block inlays...

LOL... I guess you're guessing right... I might drop the compound radius so I can more easily do block inlays and sand the radius in by hand afterwards (not sure if I did mention this already over here). Only thing is that the block inlay material seems to be very expensive, or I haven't found the right resource yet. Too bad I cannot ship it from the USA...

 

[herndonbassist]

Love the box inlay! My kids are CRAZY into dragons right now, can't wait to show them this thread!

 

[roberthabraken]

Tonight I spent a few hours sanding the body with 80 grit to smooth out the roundovers and remove minor marks from the router and planer. Now the body is ready for further carvings / routings. Not much difference with previous pictures, but otherwise it would be a rather uninteresting post:

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Furthermore I made these pictures to see how the Macassar fingerboard blank looks on the body:

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Right now I'm a little bit in doubt about the pickguard and pearl block inlays, as they take away a considerable part of those good looking woods....

.. to be continued!

 

[roberthabraken]

Question: should I do a tummy cut? The body doesn't really need it with its tight waste, weight is very low too, but somehow I think it looks better, more dynamic. What do you think?

 

[Puavo]

I think a tummy cut would be great aesthetically.

 

[T-34]

Agreed.

 

[octaedro7]

+1

 

[pushifier]

Yeah just an slight tummy cut, would make it more dynamic as a hole. Also a arm cut on the front would compliment the different woods.

 

[CH Design]

Right now I'm a little bit in doubt about the pickguard and pearl block inlays, as they take away a considerable part of those good looking woods....

.. to be continued!

+1
If you need/want a pickguard, you could always use transparent polycarbonate or acrylic.

 

[Hopkins]

Right now I'm a little bit in doubt about the pickguard and pearl block inlays, as they take away a considerable part of those good looking woods....!

Go with the pearloid pick guard. Your design for the pick guard isn't very big and that body shape is nicely accented by it. The block inlays will look great as well.

A tummy cut would be cool, but probably not necessary. I wouldn't do an arm cut. If it were me I probably wouldn't do a tummy cut

 

[roberthabraken]

Thanks for the input! That's what I needed to take the plunge..

Yeah just an slight tummy cut, would make it more dynamic as a hole. Also a arm cut on the front would compliment the different woods.

No offense, but I think a forearm cut is not so pretty when having a laminated top, as the body shape gets distorted by the line of the veneer (personal opinion). I do like a drop top (when the top is bent over the forearm cut), but with the tools I have and the thickness of the top, I decided not to.

Go with the pearloid pick guard. Your design for the pick guard isn't very big and that body shape is nicely accented by it. The block inlays will look great as well.

I think you're right. I will definitely make the pg, but not yet drill the holes in the body, so I can decide later on (probably when the body is finished with dye).

 

[Thumpin_P]

^Smart thinking Robert!^

Love how this is coming along!

 

[roberthabraken]

Thanks Paul!

I planned working on the last templates tonight, but actually I'm fed up with those tempates.... needed to do something a little bit more fun.

A freshly routed pickguard:

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I still need to route the edges to a 45 degree angle, and the pickup route needs some attention, it's not as smooth and straight as I want it, but this is how it'll look on the body:

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And a nice shot with the pickup, getting funky :

 

[Darkstrike]

Definitely agree that the pickguard should stay, small enough that it doesn't distract from the top.

 

[Dave Higham]

Can't understand why anyone would want to cover such nice wood with lumps of piano accordion plastic, i.e. MOTS. But that's just my opinion and only worth what you paid for it.

 

[adam.beauchene]

Looking great Rob! I'm just catching up on your build thread... I LOVE this design, still!

Great wood choices too, as we've come to expect from you. But I have one hope... that instead of the wood sammich, you'll just grain fill it, prime it, and shoot it the same color red as the first pic of the thread... There, it's off my chest.

EDIT- my bad - I just noticed that it's a tint, not paint. Carry on, sir!!!

 

[Thumpin_P]

Well Robert, Hmmmm...the pickguard may have to grow on me, but, that's only my opinion. It's not my bass. With the red, though, I think it will look spectacular!

Keep up the good work, sir!