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First Build - And May My Mistakes Be Minimal

#21
PDX Mathias said:
With the narrow-ish nut, I assume that you won't be doing the bizarre SB1000 parallel string wide-nut-narrow-bridge thing? You could still no a narrow bridge - Hipshot makes ones down to 16.66mm string spacing, the original Arias were apparently 16mm. That said, one of my regrets on my latest build (the short scale Talman-style one) is that I spaced the strings too narrowly.
I don't think the width of the neck should dictate your fingerboard radius, just pick one you like on your other basses. I personally prefer a really small radius. You might just want to use whatever radius your slotted brass nut uses, so they will match without much adjustment.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the 80s SB1000s had, I believe, 16mm spacing nut to bridge. Mine actually spreads "normally" much like a Jazz. I need to find my calipers to get an accurate measurement. As for my Aria's radius, I want to say 12". And you are right, I pretty much decided on radius when I ordered the nut. If it is a well-made part, I'll just go with that.

Wow! So many details! I couldn't imagine trying to keep all of this organized in my head.... :D
 
#22
I've decided to purchase a single SB-1000 custom pickup from Kent Armstrong. I've heard good things about both his pickups as well as dealing with him.

Also ordered:
LMI gold 'Evo' fretwire (FW9665). The gold hardware should work nicely, I think.
Ziricote slotted/radiused fingerboard
Hipshot TransTone bridge (gold).
 
#23
I cleaned up the headstock drawing. As you can see, I am sticking with a "modern-ish" Aria end design as opposed to the older "batwing" scrolly thing. I am not trying to exactly mimic it, as I feel the general shape is distinctive enough and I do not want to give myself a stroke trying to be 100% accurate.

headstock.png


I also balanced out the body. Note that it again not exactly like Aria's design. I wanted an approximation. Plus I like my lower horn better. :)

body.png
 
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#30
I knew I couldn't be the first person to do a scratch build based on the wonderful SB* design! At some point, I need to mess around with CAD, but at this time, I have not the time, so Inkscape seems to suit me while I meander my way through this process!

I do not have experience with Babicz, but I hear good things. I have done bridge replacements with Gotah (I like!) so I decided on Hipshot based on reputation and the fact that the one I selected looks pretty sweet! :)

One change coming up: LMII emailed me this morning informing me that the ziricote FB I ordered was too thin for a radius, so I am waiting to hear back from them with my in-stock options. Not a show-stopper by any means.
 
#31
Prostheta,

I will be purchasing one of your SB-1000 pre-amp reproductions. I see that I can find rotary switches online, as well as a double battery box. 25K pots, right? I have yet to work with active stuff, only gutting passive P-Basses. Other than that, looks like I'll need to know what kind of capacitors to use and then it's just a matter of following the diagrams (so glad we have these available!)

And serious thanks to you guys that are Aria gurus. :D
 
#32
Prostheta,
Nice CAD drawing, long time Autocad guy, never used Turbocad. What tools does Turbocad have for drawing smooth curves? I've tried joining various radius line segments, ellipses, etc., never seem to get a clean curve. On my current build, I "traced" a body outline from high resolution photos using the "spline" command, which basically smooths out curves between multiple points.
 
#33
PDX Rich said:
Howdy folks!

First off, I appreciate the fantastic builds and advice offered up in this forum. Build newbies like me are quite fortunate to have such a resource as this.

Although I am still in the design phase, I thought I'd go ahead and get this build thread started at the very least to help me keep track of what I need to do.

With that said, here is what I have so far:

Overall Design:

I am a huge fan of Aria basses. So elegant and quite fun to play. Not a bad place to start, eh? Nope, not a bad place at all. Although there will be differences, namely bridge, pickups and other hardware, the general shape will be a close proximity. So, I will go ahead and state that this bass guitar will be for myself, and at no point will it be sold.

Specs:

Neck: Neck Through, 24 frets (fretted)
Scale: 34"
Woods: Laminate of Maple, Peruvian Walnut and Purpleheart (wood pattern pending)
Fingerboard: Pre-slotted Ziricote

Body: Hickory. My hickory boards are 1" thick, so I am going to laminate each wing to 2" and plane down to 1 7/8.

Nut: 40mm Brass MIJ, slotted
Tuners: Hipshot Ultralite - Gold
Bridge: Hipshot TransTone (gold)
Pickup(s): Ordering custom SB1000 single humbucking pickup from Kent Armstrong
Wiring: Active. Unsure of controls for now...

As you can see, I still have some decisions to make.

Here is the rough trace of the shape--I need to go back and refine it and make sure it's all symmetrical and on-line before final printing. As you can see right away, I need to fix my Bezier curves on the headstock!:
View attachment 573960

And here, we have my wood selection:

Left to right: 2 hickory boards, maple and Peruvian Walnut lashed to the purpleheart for ease of carrying out of the store.

View attachment 573961

So I still have some things to clear out of my garage and schlep down to the basement, but I was able to cut and joint-prep some lumber for a nice strong work bench. Once that is done (mid-week, depending on work), I'll be able to actually start building templates from 1/2" MDF shelves that I had sitting around. I'm quite excited to get this going!

-Rich
Click to expand...
You have to have pictures throughout the build for us addicts.
 
#34
Canadian APII said:
You have to have pictures throughout the build for us addicts.
Click to expand...

That's the plan! In fact, without the build threads in this section, I may still be saying, "I wish I could afford Luthier classes" or "wouldn't that be cool to build something like this?"

I made it my goal to not only build something that I love, but also share my experience with others.
 
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#35
TurboCAD has a number of curve tools. Control/fit splines and Beziers as you'd expect. I prefer fit splines so I can choose the exact position of the nodes for where I "feel" curves need anchoring, centring, propagating or whatever you'd prefer to term it....places like the absolute tips of horns, the waist, cutaways, etc. I use Platinum as a hangover from a job purchase. In all honesty their lowest rung "Designer" version does all you need for 2D CAD on guitars/bass, and last I remember that was something like $40. Inkscape (sorry, not familiar) probably has all of the capability you need though. Not sure if TurboCAD is available on 30-day trial but worth road-testing if it is.

For my sins I run ProjectGuitar.com so I'll chime in what I can. Neck-through is always a challenge, but done right it's incomparable.

This totally reminds me that I have an article on "how to design a guitar/bass in CAD" totally overdue. Ergh. Where do my weeks go....?
 
#36
Prostheta said:
TurboCAD has a number of curve tools. Control/fit splines and Beziers as you'd expect. I prefer fit splines so I can choose the exact position of the nodes for where I "feel" curves need anchoring, centring, propagating or whatever you'd prefer to term it....places like the absolute tips of horns, the waist, cutaways, etc. I use Platinum as a hangover from a job purchase. In all honesty their lowest rung "Designer" version does all you need for 2D CAD on guitars/bass, and last I remember that was something like $40. Inkscape (sorry, not familiar) probably has all of the capability you need though. Not sure if TurboCAD is available on 30-day trial but worth road-testing if it is.

For my sins I run ProjectGuitar.com so I'll chime in what I can. Neck-through is always a challenge, but done right it's incomparable.

This totally reminds me that I have an article on "how to design a guitar/bass in CAD" totally overdue. Ergh. Where do my weeks go....?
Click to expand...
I've been experimenting with Inkscape for about a month now. Free is always a selling point. It seems good although I don't have much experience with CAD. I have been using it to cleanup script for a future project. Many ways to draw and modify the curves. Enough for me to get the exact curves I needed.
 
#37
As you can tell from my rough drafts, it is my first time using Inkscape. :)

I fixed my headstock by finding the side I liked better, clipping it in half, and mirroring the "good" half. Again, I just wanted an approximation, and not a spot-on reproduction. :)

It does seem OK for Bezier curves, however. Frankly, I need more time with it, but I think I will be able to get what I want for this build. Reminds me, I need get the calipers out to grab actual measurements and refine the design. Need more hours in the day!!! Hoping it is not raining tonight so I can drag the tablesaw out and rip plywood for my benchtop. At least then I can have a surface to actually use the tools I need to start the body and neck laminates. :P
 
#38
The most difficult part of the headstock is the central part. The outer "book pages" are within the radius of a smaller router cutter whilst the centre needs a good eye, a square file and possibly a sharp chisel. My headstock template is more or less made how you describe drawing it; flipped. I made it with holes for screws where the tuners are located to cinch a plate up at the back of the headstock "like a vice".
 
#39
Since the ziricote was not available, I went with Macassar Ebony for the fingerboard. I do love ziricote, so will use it on a future build.

Back to the schematic.... How do you guys normally plot out where the tuners will be located on the headstock? Sorry for all the questions. As I start to get more of a feel for what I need to do, more details that demand attention pop up. :| I am sure this is common for the first-timer.
 

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