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First Build, Performer Copy

#61
mapleglo said:
North Central, Sunnyslope specifically. I saw a thread in Social Events & GTG's about a Phoenix gathering...
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Well, not as far East as I thought... I know the 'Slope, spent many a day there.
In the far NW valley myself, so gonna have to be a drive to check this thing out regardless.
It's all looking really good so far, the peghead back looks well done.

Hopefully there's a GTG coming up the first of the year.
I started that damn thread and missed the resulting GTG, so really looking forward to the next one.

First of the year is coming up pretty soon... Get back to work! ;)
And get that nail fixed. It doesn't look friendly.
 
#62
charlie monroe said:
You do realize that there is a tradition of a "hair pic" for LC Build Threads?
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I think I'm afraid to ask what that may be...

And yes, the broken nail has been a thorn in my side, or in my paw, as the case may be. I've had to keep it wrapped in a bandaid all week. It's like a super hang nail at this point. I cut it down as far as I could, but there's still a piece hanging off. ouch.

I'm totally up for a GTG. I've been out of the community for far too long.

In the mean time, I've been working on the bass. First I drilled holes through the neck for the dowels, to hold everything in place for gluing.

DSC02011.jpg


Next, a very soft 1/8" radius round over on just the back of the body panels. I still may do the front, but I'm not sure yet. I'll have to see how it feels.

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Lining up everything, getting ready to glue and clamp.

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And glued and clamped into place.

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I'm glad my husband was there to help. Sometimes, you just need two sets of hands to get the job done, especially on a shoestring budget.

It was pretty nerve racking there at the end, making sure everything was in place and clamped right before cranking down the handles, and wiping off the excess glue that was pushed out between the neck and body panels. I think I need a drink :P
 
#63
mapleglo said:
I think I'm afraid to ask what that may be...

It was pretty nerve racking there at the end, making sure everything was in place and clamped right before cranking down the handles, and wiping off the excess glue that was pushed out between the neck and body panels. I think I need a drink :P
Click to expand...

The hair pic is just that, a pic of your hair. Doesn't have to include face, and, based on a few pics I have seen here,
hair seems somewhat optional also.

And, if the tools are put away and the power tools unplugged, I say have a drink. What the hell, it's Saturday.
 
#64
wraub said:
The hair pic is just that, a pic of your hair. Doesn't have to include face, and, based on a few pics I have seen here,
hair seems somewhat optional also.

And, if the tools are put away and the power tools unplugged, I say have a drink. What the hell, it's Saturday.
Click to expand...

I had to post a (loosing my) hair shot.:D
 
#66
This may fit the bill for a "hair shot". When Yes came to town in July to play the Celebrity Theatre, my husband treated me to a dream of my lifetime, by purchasing a pair of "meet and greet" tickets, so we got to meet them and have our pictures taken after the show. For me, meeting Chris Squire was one of the most exciting moments.

meandyes02.jpg


From left to right - Steve Howe, Jon Davison, my husband, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Me, and my hero with his hand on my shoulder, Chris Squire. My face muscles hurt as I was smiling so big. It was thrilling. By the way, my hair is in a pony tail, so only the front can be seen.
 
#67
mapleglo said:
This may fit the bill for a "hair shot". When Yes came to town in July to play the Celebrity Theatre, my husband treated me to a dream of my lifetime, by purchasing a pair of "meet and greet" tickets, so we got to meet them and have our pictures taken after the show. For me, meeting Chris Squire was one of the most exciting moments.

meandyes02.jpg


From left to right - Steve Howe, Jon Davison, my husband, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Me, and my hero with his hand on my shoulder, Chris Squire. My face muscles hurt as I was smiling so big. It was thrilling. By the way, my hair is in a pony tail, so only the front can be seen.
Click to expand...
That is so awesome.
 
#69
mapleglo said:
Ah, so for some, it's a head shot, as opposed to a hair shot. I'll have to see what I can come up with.

In the mean time, here's a body shot. Of the bass, that is. I see lots of sanding in my future...

DSC02015.jpg
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This is where your new router comes in - as you can see on the front face, after base sanding the shape and carving out the body bevels, I rounded the edges w/a router. The front arm-bevel and the belly-bevel were started w/a rasp, then finer files and then a hand sander. (a flat block of wood w/sandpaper) I don't use an orbital sander due to it's tendency to create all the tiny swirl marks. The routing/corner rounding can probably be done prior to the body-bevels, I probably did it in this order because I had access to a rasp before I had shop time.

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And just to show these tuners installed. (I'm not trying to temp you or anything... :rolleyes:

aduRDhDw.jpg


acrJWEXZ.jpg
 
#70
JIO said:
...

And just to show these tuners installed. (I'm not trying to temp you or anything... :rolleyes:

aduRDhDw.jpg


acrJWEXZ.jpg
Click to expand...

Those tuners do look nice. And thanks for the advise about the round over. Yours is a bit more deep in the radius than mine. For the time being, I'll keep mine shallow. I can always make it deeper.

Clamped down to trim off the bottom of the neck.

DSC02016.jpg


Trimmed and some rough sanding to level down the face.

DSC02017.jpg


and the back.

DSC02018.jpg


It's actually starting to look like a bass :hyper:

Of course, my arms are now starting to feel like rubber, so I'll break for the day. I may start mounting the tuners and then the bridge, and string it up this week. I picked up a set of Rotosound Swing Bass 66 yesterday. And then I'll have to start thinking about pickups. I may not go with the Rickenbacker pickups I had originally planned. I'm tending toward soap bars now - they're less expensive, and many are of a standard size and shape, for subsequent tweaking.

I'd just like to add a thank you for everyone who has provided feedback and comments. You've all been extremely helpful and supportive :)
 
#71
I fully understand the price difference when it comes to the Ric pups. But, if I were you? I go with 'em! How many builds has one seen on here involving those pups? None that I can remember, at least. Now, how about soap bars? Those are as common as the day is long. And, so is the tone, to be honest. So, I'd suggest you go with your original gut feeling, and use the Ric pups.
Think a little outside the box and be different. Just my 2 cents.
 
#73
JIO said:
The transition area between the neck and the body deserves some graceful shaping/beveling not only to allow complete and fluid access to the lower frets, but just as importantly to flow w/the body curves/lines.
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Yes, I agree. I'll have to start thinking about how that should take shape.

And the pickups, well, I guess I'll have to do more thinking on that. For some reason, I started to be concerned about noise. Perhaps the HB style from the 4004 series.
 
#74
mapleglo said:
Yes, I agree. I'll have to start thinking about how that should take shape.

And the pickups, well, I guess I'll have to do more thinking on that. For some reason, I started to be concerned about noise. Perhaps the HB style from the 4004 series.
Click to expand...

Pickup choice is a very dynamic decision. One or two, where they are positioned, what type (single-coil, split-coil, humbucker), what configuration (P-style, J style, soaps), active or passive. Many different brands also. So many options and all will sound different. The question is what do you want your bass to sound like? Start there and it hopefully will narrow your choices down.
 
#76
So I started lining up the bridge for mounting using the old string trick.

DSC02019.jpg


Marked few of the holes, and drilled a pilot hole for the center mounting screw. And just as I'm tightening it down, the head rips off the body, with the stud of the screw in the body of the bass, in the exact position where the center bridge mounting screw needs to be.

That Babicz bridge looks and feels all high quality but the supplied mounting screws? Very disappointing. Any ideas as to how to remove the screw body out of the bass, and where to find some quality mounting screws?

DSC02020.jpg
 
#78
Buy a screw extraction kit, get the broken screw out, and plug the hole with epoxy or toothpicks/small dowel. Always pre-drill in hardwoods, and I also like to rub a screw across some wax or a bar of soap to lubricate the threads. Also use a screwdriver and not a drill, as those tend to strip smaller screws if the bit isn't an exact fit.
 
#79
Yes, I did drill a pilot hole and used a #2 philips hand screw driver. I guess I should have used soap to lube the threads. With such a thin and shallow screw, I didn't think it necessary.

Do they make a screw extraction kit for such a small screw? I was thinking perhaps I could dig around the area and grab the stud with a vice grip?
 

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