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Build II - Paradox MJ5 - New design!

#1,326
roberthabraken said:
Thanks!! That makes two of us ;)...

Funny thing is, I never did a bound neck before and the ones I own have their nut at the end of the fb, not in it.. but this seemed the nicest solution to me. Now I Google a bit due to your remark, I find that most people just cut their binding with the nut slot.. and I must admit it was a bit of a pita to make (you have to make a recess in the nut for the binding and you also need to remove the glue inside the nut slot in the very corner of the binding and the nut slot, without damaging the nut slot itself). Nonetheless, I'm gonna keep this feature :smug:
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It is a nice way to do it! That bass looks really good!

I've done it as well (excuse the dust!)

nut_binding.jpg
 
#1,328
Tonight I had a little jam session with my brother. I showed him the bass, we played a bit on both basses and guitars and it was actually the first time I played the Paradox amplified after the nut was finished.

As I told you the second fret caused some rattle when pressing the first fret. When playing I noticed my action was so low it wasn't realistic (compared to the jazz bass of my brother, but also too low for slapping). So I set the bridge a bit higher, but I also gave the truss rod a quarter turn back to dial in some relief (it was too perfectly straight). These two changes got out almost all of the rattle. I know I still have some fret dressing to do, but I first want to know what my problem areas are and have it more or less fine tuned before doing so. All in all it looks pretty good as it is.

It was quite fun to play, and it plays very easy and smooth; now I only need to pick up playing again to get some decent sounds out of it :smug:. It's a low quality picture due to the poor light, but here you can see the bass strung up next to the Hudson Jazz Bass:

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#1,330
Hey Robert, this bass turned out really nice! You should be proud of yourself for not giving in when the finish didn't come out as it was supposed to. To me the design is overall very nice and consistent. And that's not a very easy goal to achieve. All the details you are poured into it are a pleasure to look at and look for ;)

I know, I'm just repeating what everyone else has already said! LOL

Just one minor observation and it is purely a matter of personal taste and playing style. But I find the string height at nut a tad too high. If I had to play your bass it would probably feel a bit tiring. But you are the one to play it - you lucky ... - so it's OK I guess.

Lastly....

roberthabraken said:
...When playing I noticed my action was so low it wasn't realistic (compared to the jazz bass of my brother, but also too low for slapping).
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Hey Rob, there's no such a thing as 'action too low for slapping' :D I know a few mad slappers who would be happy with strings lower than the fretboard itself LOL

Super well done my friend!! Super well done :bassist:

Maurizio - in line, awaiting sound clips
 
#1,331
whodom said:
It turned out amazingly well. To me it looks like a very high end "production" bass. Congratulations on the payoff to all your hard work!
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Thank you, great to hear too, because my aim was to get a production bass quality instrument :smug:.

miziomix said:
Hey Robert, this bass turned out really nice! You should be proud of yourself for not giving in when the finish didn't come out as it was supposed to. To me the design is overall very nice and consistent. And that's not a very easy goal to achieve. All the details you are poured into it are a pleasure to look at and look for ;)

I know, I'm just repeating what everyone else has already said! LOL

Just one minor observation and it is purely a matter of personal taste and playing style. But I find the string height at nut a tad too high. If I had to play your bass it would probably feel a bit tiring. But you are the one to play it - you lucky ... - so it's OK I guess.

Lastly....



Hey Rob, there's no such a thing as 'action too low for slapping' :D I know a few mad slappers who would be happy with strings lower than the fretboard itself LOL

Super well done my friend!! Super well done :bassist:

Maurizio - in line, awaiting sound clips
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Thanks Maurizio!! Thank you for the compliments!

About the nut: you're a good observer, thought it would be hard to tell from the pictures I posted, but you're right. I marked to where to nut slots should go, and made them all about 0.2 mm less deep. I'm a bit uncertain about the whole nut thing and decided to creep to the end result instead of going too far on the first take. So I did it like this, stringed the bass and now I will probably take off some more, just a tiny bit, see if it's okay and otherwise I could always take off some more.

What I find difficult on a very low action bass when slapping, is that if you hit another string very slightly, it will cause a fret rinkle already. But that may be my lack of skills :smug:
 
#1,333
I followed this thread passively now and then... Gratulations to the great outcome! Not only the craftsmanship with bindings, dyed top and such but most notably the design!

Beside the obvious classics and a few modern "classic" designs, I can think of few new attempts of major companies as well as custom builders that look as good as yours!

It is a pleasing blend of "modern" and classic features, unique but reminiscent as well!
It looks very balanced and for me has this instant "I want to grab it and play it"-look :)

I´ll have one in vintage white, maple fretboard, tort pick guard please :)
 
#1,334
Prezel said:
I followed this thread passively now and then... Gratulations to the great outcome! Not only the craftsmanship with bindings, dyed top and such but most notably the design!

Beside the obvious classics and a few modern "classic" designs, I can think of few new attempts of major companies as well as custom builders that look as good as yours!

It is a pleasing blend of "modern" and classic features, unique but reminiscent as well!
It looks very balanced and for me has this instant "I want to grab it and play it"-look :)
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! It's so cool to read everyone's feedback, compliments and tips. I know you're all waiting for the sound clips and video, but I will wait until I have it finished completely (good setup) and I need some track to play too... to be honest, this and my previous build and life in general made me not play for all those years and I still master the technique on the same level, but my routine and repertoire are gone..

Prezel said:
I´ll have one in vintage white, maple fretboard, tort pick guard please :)
Click to expand...

Don't do this to me! I immediately envisioned it and got more building itch... I also have an idea for a simple limba bodied 4 or 5 string fretless variant with a wenge neck, an ebony fingerboard and soapbar pickups (EMG?). And then I have an idea for some kind of acoustic variant with the fingerboard running up to the bridge area, piezo only, very minimalistic. When I read your vintage white, maple and tort idea I think I added another option to that list... And I have a half finished design of a Godin Multiac like acoustic nylon stringed guitar, also piezo, but my take on it.
 
#1,337
Thanks, but my design is not public. I want to build a brand someday and this design is a keeper. It may not be apparent, but it took me quite some time to develop, not something you would give away for free.

Fair enough! I'm not trying to devalue your hard work, quite the contrary. Followed his first design, the Florence, still in its old site. I just thought the design of low beautiful!! I am an amateur luthier and bassist (amateur as well:-P), I just want to make a replica for me. Not long to make money with your design, no time for that! Thank you. Sorry for bad English, do not speak English and had to use Google Translate.
 
#1,338
SaintMez said:
Looks great Robert! This thread has been a pleasure to watch. I love how it turned out.
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Thumpin_P said:
I agree and simply chime in! Doing the setup will take time and finesse. Overall, though, this is a beautiful bass!!! Kudos to you sir!!!
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Thanks!

Serafan Raziel said:
Fair enough! I'm not trying to devalue your hard work, quite the contrary. Followed his first design, the Florence, still in its old site. I just thought the design of low beautiful!! I am an amateur luthier and bassist (amateur as well:-P), I just want to make a replica for me. Not long to make money with your design, no time for that! Thank you. Sorry for bad English, do not speak English and had to use Google Translate.
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Thanks, but your intention doesn't matter, just don't want to share, even if it's for personal use. I encourage you to come up with a design yourself, much more rewarding. Maybe you could start with the Jerzy Drozd Designer's Toolkit, could be very helpful.
 
#1,339
It looks great, Rob. Congratulations. It has a lot of nice touches. The standouts for me are the bound board, the handling of the transitions from dyed front to natural sides, and the matching of the chrome dome knobs to those enormous frikkin' pickup polepieces. And, of course, the shape.

Can't wait for the next one.
 

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