As with most of the East coast of the US, we're baking hot right now, I did a short ride this morning before it got too hot, but it was still 100% humidity so it was insanely easy to overheat. I spent the ride consciously not exerting so I wouldn't overheat.
An afternoon in the shop was a good alternative.
I did mostly touch up stuff.
I made a truss rod cover - I cut a section of ambrosia out of the scrap from the fingerboard and followed the line of the ambrosia to make the shape. Kind of funky, I need to get some black screws. I also fine tuned the nut a bit, it was sticking up too far on each end.
I put screws in the control cavity cover, this is a moral defeat for me, I've been using magnets for all my covers lately. I could have used them here, but it would have been a lot of work - and in this case where the cover doesn't match the back, I don't think it's as important.
I reworked the bridge, it ends up that in this configuration with the fingerboard all the way down the body, the strings only need to be about 2 mm over the board. While that bridge piece is in place I'm sure it's fine, there's no pressure bending it, but boy it's careful work when you're sanding or filing it. There's barely anything there. Once I got the strings low they were hitting the pickup, so with a couple more turns on the screws to pull the pickup down, I think they are the right length.
I made a stacked knob pair for the treble/bass. The weird thing is these two are smaller than the originals in every dimension, but they look bigger in every way. I may have to make the smaller knob bigger so it doesn't look so tall.
I also installed strap locks, the embedded kind, it balances well, very slightly neck heavy, but just barely.
I played it for about an hour as I was finalizing the bridge, it sounds good, definitely on the bassier side, which you would expect with tapewounds. I tried recording a song, I wasn't happy with it, but I'll have to listen to it tomorrow to see if it's worth posting.
I am not 100% happy with the neck profile. I carved it before putting the fingerboard on, which is not how I usually do it. I left the shoulders too big on it, especially at the top. That may be the impetus behind Black Widow II (that's the name of this one), or at least a complete tear down, fine tune and refinish.
Also those points on the bass side aren't cool if you're playing in a recliner, no problem sitting or standing, but if it's leaning back into you those things stick into your ribs. I guess that's one of those design things. I might be able to round them off on the back a bit.
An afternoon in the shop was a good alternative.
I did mostly touch up stuff.
I made a truss rod cover - I cut a section of ambrosia out of the scrap from the fingerboard and followed the line of the ambrosia to make the shape. Kind of funky, I need to get some black screws. I also fine tuned the nut a bit, it was sticking up too far on each end.
I reworked the bridge, it ends up that in this configuration with the fingerboard all the way down the body, the strings only need to be about 2 mm over the board. While that bridge piece is in place I'm sure it's fine, there's no pressure bending it, but boy it's careful work when you're sanding or filing it. There's barely anything there. Once I got the strings low they were hitting the pickup, so with a couple more turns on the screws to pull the pickup down, I think they are the right length.
I made a stacked knob pair for the treble/bass. The weird thing is these two are smaller than the originals in every dimension, but they look bigger in every way. I may have to make the smaller knob bigger so it doesn't look so tall.
I also installed strap locks, the embedded kind, it balances well, very slightly neck heavy, but just barely.
I played it for about an hour as I was finalizing the bridge, it sounds good, definitely on the bassier side, which you would expect with tapewounds. I tried recording a song, I wasn't happy with it, but I'll have to listen to it tomorrow to see if it's worth posting.
I am not 100% happy with the neck profile. I carved it before putting the fingerboard on, which is not how I usually do it. I left the shoulders too big on it, especially at the top. That may be the impetus behind Black Widow II (that's the name of this one), or at least a complete tear down, fine tune and refinish.
Also those points on the bass side aren't cool if you're playing in a recliner, no problem sitting or standing, but if it's leaning back into you those things stick into your ribs. I guess that's one of those design things. I might be able to round them off on the back a bit.
