It's hard to believe its been 3 months already. So much work, so many learning experiences, and so many new power tools. =p
To my surprise everything worked after I wired up the electronics. I was honestly expecting it to catch fire or something. =/ When I was looking at the wiring diagrams for the pots it may as well have been in Chinese. I can solder, but I'm definitely not an electrician. =(
I think I will wire the next one 100% myself. I was perpetually streaming profanity when trying to maneuver things around in the control cavity. I found all the wires were kris-crossed and had no slack. I really didn't have the patience left to re-wire the entire thing in order to make things fit better. I think I would have learned MUCH more by wiring it myself, but I definitely need to do it during some downtime when I'm not restless. =p
I leveled the fret board with a piece of aluminum angle iron and some double-stick taped sandpaper. I still need to lower the nut a little bit to bring the action down more. I couldn't find any dead frets or inordinate fret buzz. Although, I can hear one the truss rods rattle a little bit if I really bang on it. Oh well, something to improve on for Build#2.
I made the mistake of using brush on polyurethane to start with... Even using a small amount it would run like crazy. Wiping it off was fruitless since it started getting tacky in less than a minute. I sanded and scraped as much as I could off and switched to a wipe on poly. Soooo much better. I won't make that mistake again.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Pic from before I strung it up and set the knobs, but much better lighting.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Family photo with my cheapo basses. =)
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
In the end, it sounded better than I could have hoped, and that was enough for me. For my first build I set the bar pretty low, conceding the fact that I would screw up constantly and that it would help me in the end. I think I did well enough to justify another try, I had more fun during this build than any other hobby I have had.
Honestly... I couldn't be happier at the moment.
Not because I finished my first bass... but because I get to go to the Woodwerks expo tomorrow and buy a butt-ton of lumber to make an entertainment stand and another bass. 
If I'm feeling frisky I may try to use the scraps and make a guitar for my brother-in-law for Xmas.
To my surprise everything worked after I wired up the electronics. I was honestly expecting it to catch fire or something. =/ When I was looking at the wiring diagrams for the pots it may as well have been in Chinese. I can solder, but I'm definitely not an electrician. =(
I think I will wire the next one 100% myself. I was perpetually streaming profanity when trying to maneuver things around in the control cavity. I found all the wires were kris-crossed and had no slack. I really didn't have the patience left to re-wire the entire thing in order to make things fit better. I think I would have learned MUCH more by wiring it myself, but I definitely need to do it during some downtime when I'm not restless. =p
I leveled the fret board with a piece of aluminum angle iron and some double-stick taped sandpaper. I still need to lower the nut a little bit to bring the action down more. I couldn't find any dead frets or inordinate fret buzz. Although, I can hear one the truss rods rattle a little bit if I really bang on it. Oh well, something to improve on for Build#2.
I made the mistake of using brush on polyurethane to start with... Even using a small amount it would run like crazy. Wiping it off was fruitless since it started getting tacky in less than a minute. I sanded and scraped as much as I could off and switched to a wipe on poly. Soooo much better. I won't make that mistake again.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Pic from before I strung it up and set the knobs, but much better lighting.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Family photo with my cheapo basses. =)
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
In the end, it sounded better than I could have hoped, and that was enough for me. For my first build I set the bar pretty low, conceding the fact that I would screw up constantly and that it would help me in the end. I think I did well enough to justify another try, I had more fun during this build than any other hobby I have had.
Honestly... I couldn't be happier at the moment.
Not because I finished my first bass... but because I get to go to the Woodwerks expo tomorrow and buy a butt-ton of lumber to make an entertainment stand and another bass. If I'm feeling frisky I may try to use the scraps and make a guitar for my brother-in-law for Xmas.
