Down the rabbit hole again - Project 4350

[ChickWithaRic]

I agree and that's the way I've done it since 1985. Here is my most recent.View attachment 4540764

Exactly. I've actually gone a little further and "scooped" out the entire heel area, or at least the area where the heel would have been. This in some ways has made a rod for my own back, as it will be a bit of a pig to blend in, but I think it will be worth the effort.

 

[Black Out Jazz]

I agree and that's the way I've done it since 1985. Here is my most recent.View attachment 4540764

Wow.

 

[ctmullins]

Nice. I’d hit that.

Agree on the heel, although now I think I need to carve mine back some more, just to hang with the cool kids….

 

[Flamingo21]

Nice. I’d hit that.

Not me. I'd caress it.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Overheard during the 2020 disturbances:

Protestor to cops: "You shoot like storm troopers!"

Ummmm…. So the protestor would have preferred that the police were more accurate while he was protesting?

 

[Slidlow]

Exactly. I've actually gone a little further and "scooped" out the entire heel area, or at least the area where the heel would have been. This in some ways has made a rod for my own back, as it will be a bit of a pig to blend in, but I think it will be worth the effort.

That one is pretty scooped, need to leave a little to transition to the body. (finish in progress picture)

 

[Lo-E]

Exactly. I've actually gone a little further and "scooped" out the entire heel area, or at least the area where the heel would have been. This in some ways has made a rod for my own back, as it will be a bit of a pig to blend in, but I think it will be worth the effort.

Ibanez used a similar shape for the heels on the early Musician series but the scoop had.... I guess you could call them "deltoids".... which helped make a smooth transition from the neck to the body. They might have added strength as well, but I don't know how much that was needed with those three-piece, rock maple necks.

 

[ChickWithaRic]

That one is pretty scooped, need to leave a little to transition to the body. (finish in progress picture)View attachment 4541138

That's very much what I have in mind with this. Once I begin to work it in I expect mine will look very similar. I love that body shape, by the way.

 

[Slidlow]

That's very much what I have in mind with this. Once I begin to work it in I expect mine will look very similar. I love that body shape, by the way.

Thanks, It was my second design I created in 1985. Here is the very first one that I still have and play.

 

[ChickWithaRic]

Today was "watching glue dry". I didn't take pictures of setting glue. As the glue went about its slow business, I started sketching up my side project.

I bought an Affinity Tele for $30. It's in absolute mint condition. I don't think it has any idea what's about to happen to it.

I already have most of the parts. The bent piece of tin that the strings fit into, a RW Jazz neck with pearl blocks and a paddle headstock that's about to get a Stingray 3+1 head, a set of unused still in the box 3+2 tuners (I'll throw one away), and an undrilled tele control plate. I just need a pickup and some electronics. I'm thinking SD and John East for those. I'll need to make the pickguard, too.

 

[Videojunkie]

Today was "watching glue dry". I didn't take pictures of setting glue. As the glue went about its slow business, I started sketching up my side project.

I bought an Affinity Tele for $30. It's in absolute mint condition. I don't think it has any idea what's about to happen to it.

View attachment 4544630

I already have most of the parts. The bent piece of tin that the strings fit into, a RW Jazz neck with pearl blocks and a paddle headstock that's about to get a Stingray 3+1 head, a set of unused still in the box 3+2 tuners (I'll throw one away), and an undrilled tele control plate. I just need a pickup and some electronics. I'm thinking SD and John East for those. I'll need to make the pickguard, too.

Keep the spare.that way when you make a five string, you just need a 4 set.

 

[ChickWithaRic]

Keep the spare.that way when you make a five string, you just need a 4 set.

I won't **really** throw it away. It will go into my Big Box Of Useful Things. Which is where I found them, along with the Stingray bridge.

 

[Lo-E]

Today was "watching glue dry". I didn't take pictures of setting glue. As the glue went about its slow business, I started sketching up my side project.

I bought an Affinity Tele for $30. It's in absolute mint condition. I don't think it has any idea what's about to happen to it.

View attachment 4544630

I already have most of the parts. The bent piece of tin that the strings fit into, a RW Jazz neck with pearl blocks and a paddle headstock that's about to get a Stingray 3+1 head, a set of unused still in the box 3+2 tuners (I'll throw one away), and an undrilled tele control plate. I just need a pickup and some electronics. I'm thinking SD and John East for those. I'll need to make the pickguard, too.

Looks like fun. Also looks like it could be a recipe for neck dive.

Back in the Eighties when the ASAT basses premiered I thought they were the bees’ knees…. until I played one and found that even with a very slim neck, heavy bridge and lightweight tuners it only barely balanced. They sure do look purty, though! Maybe hang a window sash weight from the rear strap button!

I hear tell that the Mojo 2-band preamp is a dead ringer for the original MM 2-band pre. Don’t know if that’s what you’re after, but it’s an option.

 

[ChickWithaRic]

Looks like fun. Also looks like it could be a recipe for neck dive.

Back in the Eighties when the ASAT basses premiered I thought they were the bees’ knees…. until I played one and found that even with a very slim neck, heavy bridge and lightweight tuners it only barely balanced. They sure do look purty, though! Maybe hang a window sash weight from the rear strap button!

I hear tell that the Mojo 2-band preamp is a dead ringer for the original MM 2-band pre. Don’t know if that’s what you’re after, but it’s an option.

I'll power it off a 9v motorcycle battery. That oughta do it.

The ASAT was part of the inspiration but I want more Stingray in the flavor. I was looking at the Mojo 2 band, John East's Stingray preamps, and also Retrovibe's Stinger. I think John East's 3x3 stacked knob version is the most versatile as it covers the all 2 and 3 band Stingray options (with the mid sweep set flat it's essentially bypassed and you have the original 2 band) and even has the "bright" circuit from the Cutlass. It's not cheap, but it's also not expensive especially when you consider I already have almost all the parts for the project to hand. Literally all I need to buy is the pickup, preamp, and a sheet of 3 ply black pickguard material. I think I'll rout out the middle of the body to make a big rectangular hole to delete the existing pickup routs, and glue a block of ash in there. I will call it "The Tone Block" and charge myself extra. The pickguard will cover everything anyway.

I don't need to worry about finishing, the Affinity body is shiny and black already (and I have a full on auto-body polishing machine in case of mishaps), so it's really just a little bit of routing for the neck pocket, pickup, (I still have the MM pickup template I made ten years ago) and battery box (I have one of those too). I even have thru body string ferrules hanging round.

I should have enough change for a pizza and a Coke from $300.

I'm a cheap date.

 

[Flamingo21]

I will call it "The Tone Block" and charge myself extra.

 

[Lo-E]

(with the mid sweep set flat it's essentially bypassed and you have the original 2 band)

I believe the treble in the original 2-band is voiced much lower than that in the 3-band (which is why I’ve always preferred it). I’m not too familiar with how the East addresses that.

I think I'll rout out the middle of the body to make a big rectangular hole to delete the existing pickup routs, and glue a block of ash in there. I will call it "The Tone Block" and charge myself extra.

Cheeky. Carl Thompson once told me a funny “tone block” story (with props) but it might be somewhat off-topic here. Suffice to say he didn’t hold them in any higher regard than you do!

I'm a cheap date.

Noted.

 

[Flamingo21]

Cheeky. Carl Thompson once told me a funny “tone block” story (with props) but it might be somewhat off-topic here.

Nothing's too off-topic for this thread. Do tell!

 

[ChickWithaRic]

Nothing's too off-topic for this thread. Do tell!

You can't just come into my crib, dangle your carrot and then put it away, you know. Share with the group.

 

[Lo-E]

Okay, okay... he and I were discussing a certain bass luthier who made a very big deal about the "tone blocks" at the heels of his necks back in the late '80s. He touted it as this epiphany he had that would change bass design forever, improve sustain, blah, blah, blah....

This luthier also worked in Carl Thompson's shop as an apprentice in the '70s, although he never mentions it publicly that I know of. Now neither Carl nor I have any issue with the guy's skills as a luthier; He makes really nice basses and he's also a great player but the hyperbole in his advertising was a little much.

During the discussion Carl said "Wanna see the first tone block?" What was I gonna say, no?!? He dug around under a workbench and pulled out a bass. Beat to hell, various spots where it had obviously been routed, filled and routed again, no strings, no tuners.... it was his prototype. Carl Thompson #001. It had spent years as his test bed for anything he might want to try out and then more years covered with sawdust under a workbench. And it had an ebony tone block. In 1971.

"There it is." he said, "The first tone block. Wanna know why I put it there? Because I screwed up the neck pocket and if I filled it in with the same wood it would have looked like a mistake but if I filled it in with a contrasting wood it would look deliberate, so that's what I did. He saw this bass hanging up in the shop the whole time he worked for me. Tone block?!? Goof block is more like it!"

So there you go: Carl Thompson's take on "tone blocks."

 

[ChickWithaRic]

Okay, okay... he and I were discussing a certain bass luthier who made a very big deal about the "tone blocks" at the heels of his necks back in the late '80s. He touted it as this epiphany he had that would change bass design forever, improve sustain, blah, blah, blah....

This luthier also worked in Carl Thompson's shop as an apprentice in the '70s, although he never mentions it publicly that I know of. Now neither Carl nor I have any issue with the guy's skills as a luthier; He makes really nice basses and he's also a great player but the hyperbole in his advertising was a little much.

During the discussion Carl said "Wanna see the first tone block?" What was I gonna say, no?!? He dug around under a workbench and pulled out a bass. Beat to hell, various spots where it had obviously been routed, filled and routed again, no strings, no tuners.... it was his prototype. Carl Thompson #001. It had spent years as his test bed for anything he might want to try out and then more years covered with sawdust under a workbench. And it had an ebony tone block. In 1971.

"There it is." he said, "The first tone block. Wanna know why I put it there? Because I screwed up the neck pocket and if I filled it in with the same wood it would have looked like a mistake but if I filled it in with a contrasting wood it would look deliberate, so that's what I did. He saw this bass hanging up in the shop the whole time he worked for me. Tone block?!? Goof block is more like it!"

So there you go: Carl Thompson's take on "tone blocks."

There's a lot of magic involved in marketing speak, very little of which survives the initial contact between a PowerPoint presentation and the reality of the stage or the studio unscathed.

The guitarist in the first band I actually enjoyed playing in (note I didn't say my first ever band) had an original late 70s Yamaha SG-2000. The one with the brass "sustain block" under the bridge. It was an absolutely beautiful guitar in a cherry burst, and I've wanted one ever since I saw it but I can never justify the cost. I was like, dude that must sustain for days because of the brass sustain block, am I right? He was like, no not really it's about the same as my Squier Strat, which has nothing but fresh air under the bridge.

Sustain comes from a structurally rigid neck joint that transmits vibrational energy well. Not from mass or a magic wood species. A well constructed bolt on can match any other type of construction in this regard. Tone is the same, although player input does has a significant influence, but basic characteristic tone is a function of construction. You can't change the "voice" of a bass.

Also, as far as sustain goes on a bass, it's a nice indication of good construction, but given that, as players, we dedicate hours of our woodshedding to left and right hand muting techniques, I'd question its validity as a measure of "how good is that bass?".