Jay, your workmanship is fantastic. I'm a "traditional bass" kind of guy, but if I were a "richer" man I would proudly own one of your basses.
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Building 7 Fan Fret Basses
- Thread starter Jay Jillard
- Start date
- Apr 12, 2014
- 87
- 107
- 35
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier, Jillard Guitars
I love traditional stuff too, jsut a matter of finding a way to do it that still makes it my own. havn't done much of that with basses yet, but I will. =]
I need a laser cutter... or just a laser.. maybe 2 lasers
- Apr 12, 2014
- 87
- 107
- 35
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier, Jillard Guitars
I wish I ahd a laser too =P
luckily, outsourcing to my laser guy really isn't that expensive, I only end up putting about $30 of laser work per guitar. I can deal with that for the time it saves me
luckily, outsourcing to my laser guy really isn't that expensive, I only end up putting about $30 of laser work per guitar. I can deal with that for the time it saves me
Billy Bobs shotgun just doesn't cut a nice cavity.
- Apr 12, 2014
- 87
- 107
- 35
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier, Jillard Guitars
got all my neck blanks glued up and rough cut.
really liking the ash/maple ones with the pinstripes.
next up is more neck stuff, and fretboards!
really liking the ash/maple ones with the pinstripes.
next up is more neck stuff, and fretboards!
- Apr 12, 2014
- 87
- 107
- 35
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier, Jillard Guitars
A film is on my bench...
Yep. we're doing a kickstarter for our documentary where I am going to attempt to build a guitar start to finish within a single 24 hour period!!
On top of that, we're doing some give-aways during the campaign, and when the kickstarter gets fully funded, we are going to give away a free guitar.
yep. a guitar.
please check it and share it!
Invalid Link Removed
and heres some progress on these basses.
Havn't been working on these guys too much the past month or so, but got some stuff done on the necks, i'm waiting for a new jigs that I ordered to come in before I do the fretboards.
and here's one of the local clients.. umm..admiring? his bass.
as soon as that jig gets in, its time for fretboards, neck fitting, carving and LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of sanding
Yep. we're doing a kickstarter for our documentary where I am going to attempt to build a guitar start to finish within a single 24 hour period!!
On top of that, we're doing some give-aways during the campaign, and when the kickstarter gets fully funded, we are going to give away a free guitar.
yep. a guitar.
please check it and share it!
Invalid Link Removed
and heres some progress on these basses.
Havn't been working on these guys too much the past month or so, but got some stuff done on the necks, i'm waiting for a new jigs that I ordered to come in before I do the fretboards.
and here's one of the local clients.. umm..admiring? his bass.
as soon as that jig gets in, its time for fretboards, neck fitting, carving and LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of sanding
- Apr 12, 2014
- 87
- 107
- 35
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier, Jillard Guitars
Okay!
so, you may or may not be aware, but I spent a lot of time last month preparing for a documentary where I built a guitar within a SINGLE 24 hour period. and we succeeded! here's the trailer for it.
But now that that's over, it's back to finishing these basses. I have a guitar show this saturday, and really wanted to bring one of these along, so I decided to finish the only 4 string on the run and get it out of the way, and run the remaining 5's together.
the little divot on the mounting hold for the d string gets fully covered by the bridge unit.. template mishap. =/ could have been detrimental but got lucky.
so, you may or may not be aware, but I spent a lot of time last month preparing for a documentary where I built a guitar within a SINGLE 24 hour period. and we succeeded! here's the trailer for it.
But now that that's over, it's back to finishing these basses. I have a guitar show this saturday, and really wanted to bring one of these along, so I decided to finish the only 4 string on the run and get it out of the way, and run the remaining 5's together.
the little divot on the mounting hold for the d string gets fully covered by the bridge unit.. template mishap. =/ could have been detrimental but got lucky.
- Apr 12, 2014
- 87
- 107
- 35
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier, Jillard Guitars
Thanks! i'm exited too, we are so close on the kickstarter =] We're also going to be giving away the 24 hour guitar for free on our social media stuff.
You should be a fan fret guy, everyone should be. ESPECIALLY on a bass, no turning back for me. It has to be done right though, so many people are taking shortcuts with FF just to say they it is indeed' fan frets'. But if great consideration is not taken into required scale lengths, nuetral frets, compound headstocks ect.. then the result could be a very unplayable instrument. I've seen people do a 2" fan with the bridge as a parallel.. they are missing the point.
You, sir, are an artist. Your work is incredible, thanks for sharing!
thank you!
Beautiful stuff, and I like your controls in the vertical scoop wall. Any chance of making that wall tilted out 45 degrees? That might really put the knobs in a nice ergonomic position.
Do you round the fret ends before installation? If so, how much difficulty is there in getting the fret to seat in the exact right position along the kerf, and do you have any tips on that?
Do you round the fret ends before installation? If so, how much difficulty is there in getting the fret to seat in the exact right position along the kerf, and do you have any tips on that?
- Apr 12, 2014
- 87
- 107
- 35
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier, Jillard Guitars
thanks,
I have thought about doing the 45 degree thing, its just realistic for me to do by hand in a way that is repeatable.. this method is already hard as it is. it would also take away from the grain match look when faced head on, althought i'm sure i could find a way around that as well.
It's something i'll consider on other models if i switch them over to cnc.
yes, I ball the ends before installing.. getting them the right length is just slow work... trial and error. I'm still working on getting better at it. key thing i've learned so far is to bevel the edge of the fretboard, then install frets to touch the edge of the bevel, i'd been trying to bevel the boards after installing frets and it usually mucked things up a bit. still better than regular fret ends, but i'm working on perfecting it still.
I live 15-20 minutes away from my parents' place - where "my" shop is located - and that's already too far to get any sort of working groove going. Sometimes all I need to do is glue a few pieces of wood together; am I really going to drive 40 minutes and spend another 30 trying to escape my parents just to glue a few things together? Because leaving my parents' place is always more complicated than it should be.
-You show up, and then spend an hour in the basement and don't even talk to us? Come chat and have a snack with us.
-I've already had dinner, mom.
-If you don't want the veal we have all sorts of desserts.
-It's fine, ma, really.
-How about some rockets?
-Mom, I... yeah sure, I'll have some rockets.
I've been house shopping a bit recently, and a decent sized shop area is a must.
- Apr 12, 2014
- 87
- 107
- 35
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier, Jillard Guitars
lol well.. 'luckily?' i still live in my parents house. that's all changing soon though.. I have a walkthrough on a property i'm looking at this thursday. Lots of room for a shop, but it may take a lot of work to get it up and running. that will be a fun journey to document I'm sure.
Emerson Picked up his bass, very happy with it. I have it back today to do the photography on, so those should be edited and up by next week. =]
Emerson Picked up his bass, very happy with it. I have it back today to do the photography on, so those should be edited and up by next week. =]
- Apr 12, 2014
- 87
- 107
- 35
- Disclosures
- Owner/Luthier, Jillard Guitars
i've already outgrown the space that i've been given. If i stay here while trying to build I will eventually run out of oxygen and the flames will die. Need space to allow the company to grow the way that it is. New building will also allow for better filming/artist features/ a showroom, 220 power... everything I need.
That's a good problem to have
As long as you can handle the additional overhead You can never build too big! My last shop, alone the building area was 1000sq ft with a partition for an office area with a climate controlled setup room and spray room. I still managed to fill it up.When you build you should consider getting a 3 phase electrical service.
I have since moved into a 750sq ft. As of now I I'm relying on wall space to store lumber, I hate that, it just makes accessing the lumber and laying it out cumbersome so eventually I will add on for a storage area and dedicated spray area.
If I had my way Id have 1500 sq ft and partition 500 off for a climate controlled area that is setup for lumber storage,a spray area and an office/setup area. A store front/show room would be awesome, although in my area I don't think it necessary so an office could double for that.
Keep up the great work, I've enjoyed watching your videos and you making a name for yourself.
