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Build number 4
- Thread starter J Lund
- Start date
I think I speak for everyone when I say
Where's the updates? It's been two weeks. We need to see progress.
Fantastic work!
Where's the updates? It's been two weeks. We need to see progress.
Fantastic work!
This is one of the best TB bass builds I've seen in a long while. So sleek. The F hole design is something else. I am eager for updates as the rest of you guys have already mentioned.
Wow...you guys rock. It's really nice to have all of your support. Although I'm beginning to feel like my pedestal is getting too high...
I haven't been able to do much on this in the last couple weeks because I was finishing up my other build (build thread No. 2). I did get out the neck and carve it more to my liking, but other than that, this has been sitting in the humidity-controlled room.
Hopefully this week I will be able to get a lot done. I'm expecting a lot of my time to be occupied by acoustic work, but if I work efficiently, I'll have some gaps in my schedule to fill.
Thanks again for the kind words. Keep watching (and being patient).
I haven't been able to do much on this in the last couple weeks because I was finishing up my other build (build thread No. 2). I did get out the neck and carve it more to my liking, but other than that, this has been sitting in the humidity-controlled room.
Hopefully this week I will be able to get a lot done. I'm expecting a lot of my time to be occupied by acoustic work, but if I work efficiently, I'll have some gaps in my schedule to fill.
Thanks again for the kind words. Keep watching (and being patient).
If you go with a semi-acoustic version, bear in mind that these instruments are highly susceptible to feedback when amplified. I would recommend the bolt on neck. 4 or 5 string is your choice. Grover machine heads. Schaller make very powerful pick ups and of course the choice is yours. Bridges : Schaller have a range but there are probably some top things from newbies nowadays. There are tone wood specialists around the world: we have two good ones here in U.K. Touchstone Tonewoods and Luthier supplies. Others on the Internet so plenty of choice.
...
LOL... exactly my reaction when I read that. Most of the sentences I cannot place, especially the last one "Others on the Internet so plenty of choice"
.About the feedback, I wouldn't worry too much. I did this too on my first build and got no feedback at all... only a somewhat louder tone when unplugged and a more acoustic feel to the sound, but just slightly.
Beautiful bass. It's looking better and better since the first drawing you posted. The f-hole that you settled on was the best of the bunch.
I'm just wondering if the angle of the tuners' shafts will be a problem. The strings won't be perpendicular to the shafts. Will the strings slide out of place or will there be stresses on the shafts that might cause the tuners to jam? Just a thought. I'm sure you know better than I do. Aesthetically, the head looks great - modern and antique at the same time.
I'm just wondering if the angle of the tuners' shafts will be a problem. The strings won't be perpendicular to the shafts. Will the strings slide out of place or will there be stresses on the shafts that might cause the tuners to jam? Just a thought. I'm sure you know better than I do. Aesthetically, the head looks great - modern and antique at the same time.
Paul, thanks for the compliments. As for the headstock, I am confident the tuners will not be a problem. My NS Design CR5M has a very similar headstock design, and I have not noticed any constructional/functional issues. If the strings are wound around the posts properly, the headstock will be fine and dandy.
As for progress on this build... I know I said I would try to get to this instrument this last week, but it turned out to be very busy. With all the work needing to be done on the acoustic and Christmas gifts to make, this animal might not get much attention until after the break. I did get to do a little bit of minor sanding, but nothing too noteworthy.
Stay tuned, and stay patient...
Hi everybody. It's been a while since I updated. Thanks for being patient.
So there isn't a whole lot visually for you guys to see, but I have made "significant" progress on this. I took the neck out to get the final carving done (3rd time carving it). I realized that it still felt a little too square for my taste. A contour gauge really helped me out there.
Then I plugged the tuner holes and re-drilled them with a 9/16th brad point bit. The bit I originally was not large enough, and a reamer would not work to enlarge the holes, so I had to use this method. Luckily, everything worked out great. The tuners fit perfectly.
Next, I finally decided on fret markers. I chose to do small abalone dots with a silver ring around each one. They are offset similar to the way that NS Design does their dots. I think they turned out well.
The dots were difficult to photograph at that particular time of day, but they actually look pretty neat in person. The aluminum ring around each dot reflects light whereas the abalone does not, so it is an interesting combo. I am definitely going to polish this ebony board up to 1000 grit.
Like I might have mentioned, I finally received my Hipshot D-style bridge the day before the holiday break. It is a pretty cool bridge, but it has cause a lot of little issues with this bass. The main issue was neck pitch. The D-style saddles at their lowest settings are about 16/32nds high. My neck pitch projected off the fretboard was at 12.5/32nds so I needed to add quite a bit of pitch. At first I tried this by hand sanding the neck heel, but that didn't last long before I realized there had to be a better method. I ended up re-routing the neck pocket using a large router base and a shim to create the proper neck angle. After some hand sanding to clean things up, I achieved the pitch I desired.
Another issue with the bridge was the tailpiece (which I did not order, but received anyway). There was no room for the tailpiece with my design, so I was debating whether to make a custom ebony tailpiece or to just anchor the strings through the body. I ended up choosing the latter because I felt adding a tailpiece would be too busy aesthetically.
The final little hang-up I've had is a tiny gap that appeared on one edge of my neck pocket. I finally decided that I couldn't stand looking at it, so I made a shim and re-routed that area. It looks much better from the top, now, but I still have some touch-up work to do from the heel view.
That's about all I have. This thing is darn near ready for finish sanding! I'm probably going to do a tung oil finish on this. Let me know if you have other suggestions.
So there isn't a whole lot visually for you guys to see, but I have made "significant" progress on this. I took the neck out to get the final carving done (3rd time carving it). I realized that it still felt a little too square for my taste. A contour gauge really helped me out there.
Then I plugged the tuner holes and re-drilled them with a 9/16th brad point bit. The bit I originally was not large enough, and a reamer would not work to enlarge the holes, so I had to use this method. Luckily, everything worked out great. The tuners fit perfectly.
Next, I finally decided on fret markers. I chose to do small abalone dots with a silver ring around each one. They are offset similar to the way that NS Design does their dots. I think they turned out well.
The dots were difficult to photograph at that particular time of day, but they actually look pretty neat in person. The aluminum ring around each dot reflects light whereas the abalone does not, so it is an interesting combo. I am definitely going to polish this ebony board up to 1000 grit.
Like I might have mentioned, I finally received my Hipshot D-style bridge the day before the holiday break. It is a pretty cool bridge, but it has cause a lot of little issues with this bass. The main issue was neck pitch. The D-style saddles at their lowest settings are about 16/32nds high. My neck pitch projected off the fretboard was at 12.5/32nds so I needed to add quite a bit of pitch. At first I tried this by hand sanding the neck heel, but that didn't last long before I realized there had to be a better method. I ended up re-routing the neck pocket using a large router base and a shim to create the proper neck angle. After some hand sanding to clean things up, I achieved the pitch I desired.
Another issue with the bridge was the tailpiece (which I did not order, but received anyway). There was no room for the tailpiece with my design, so I was debating whether to make a custom ebony tailpiece or to just anchor the strings through the body. I ended up choosing the latter because I felt adding a tailpiece would be too busy aesthetically.
The final little hang-up I've had is a tiny gap that appeared on one edge of my neck pocket. I finally decided that I couldn't stand looking at it, so I made a shim and re-routed that area. It looks much better from the top, now, but I still have some touch-up work to do from the heel view.
That's about all I have. This thing is darn near ready for finish sanding! I'm probably going to do a tung oil finish on this. Let me know if you have other suggestions.
Paint it Shell Pink!
Just Kidding, J...the work is phenomenal! Believe me guys, I consider myself lucky to see his work in person. You are making one heck of a luthier!
( and you should paint it seafoam green...haha)
Just Kidding, J...the work is phenomenal! Believe me guys, I consider myself lucky to see his work in person. You are making one heck of a luthier!
( and you should paint it seafoam green...haha)
+1
Looking like a great build man, I think we need some full pics of this beauty though!
-Greg
Full pics will be coming soon. By the time I get my laptop fixed (or a new one...or get back to Omaha to my desktop), this thing will be finished and strung up!
A question or two about the finish... I have decided on doing a hand-rubbed finish, something like Tung Oil or similar. I would like a nice honey-amber color. I know that Tung Oil does not amber significantly. Could I use something like TransTint or some other dye to get the amber color I am looking for? In addition, if I wanted to do a very subtle amber burst, could that be accomplished by a hand-rubbed dye or some other colorant? What is the best way to accomplish that. (I would rather not spray lacquer).
Thanks for being patient, everybody. This thing is sanded to 150. Once I get it up to 320, I'll be ready to start wiping on finish!
A question or two about the finish... I have decided on doing a hand-rubbed finish, something like Tung Oil or similar. I would like a nice honey-amber color. I know that Tung Oil does not amber significantly. Could I use something like TransTint or some other dye to get the amber color I am looking for? In addition, if I wanted to do a very subtle amber burst, could that be accomplished by a hand-rubbed dye or some other colorant? What is the best way to accomplish that. (I would rather not spray lacquer).
Thanks for being patient, everybody. This thing is sanded to 150. Once I get it up to 320, I'll be ready to start wiping on finish!
