Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Fretless five competition: Mad scientist edition
- Thread starter Big B.
- Start date
Lab Journal #29: After a string of out of town gigs I am looking forward to just being a mad scientist for a couple of days. Got the lab fired up and running again and the test subject's vital signs are good.
I prefer wood nuts over bone or composites and my favorite material is pink ivory. It is very hard and has an oily feel that seems to help lubricate the string slot. I also find the color very striking.
A couple of pics, the nut is still just rough carved at the moment.
At the moment it still has sanding burns from my spindle sander but before I cut the strings slots I will sand the nut down with the radius sanding block.
After the nut is in place the truss rod cover can be fit against it. Once the back angle fits tightly against the nut I placed a magnet at the very back of the truss rod cover that conveniently sticks to the square stock of the truss rod.
I also have a bigger diameter magnet I will install over the end of the truss rod nut when I get the right sized drill bit. For now the one magnet holds pretty well so here are some pics with the cover in place.
(completely off topic: Whenever I talk about anything pertaining to the nut on TB I find myself spending an inordinate amount of extra time editing to make sure I dont post a statement that ends up sigged all over TB.
Is that just me? Anyway, back to our regularly sceduled programming...)
While I was in the lab today I noticed that in an amazing turn of the improbable, fate actually smiled at me. Way back when I glued the control cavity plate to its backing veneer it almost immediately developed a slight bow that made it stand slightly higher than the body in a couple of places. I have been waiting and hoping it would decide to flatten out so I could get a sealer coat on it and stabilize it. Over the past 2 months our temperatures have switched back and forth from sheets of ice to upper 70's so often that it seems to have finally just given up the good fight and accepted defeat. If there was a roaring viking smilie waving a bloody sword in the air I would totally use it right now.
Considering how rarely a piece of wood actually moves in the direction you want it to I took the opportunity to finish sand the cover and seal it with a couple of coats of shellac. The shellac really brings out the grain
In place the contrast is striking:
That's all for today. This mad scientist is tired of being productive so relaxation is the evening's experiment now. Thanks for visiting and look out for more to come.
I prefer wood nuts over bone or composites and my favorite material is pink ivory. It is very hard and has an oily feel that seems to help lubricate the string slot. I also find the color very striking.
A couple of pics, the nut is still just rough carved at the moment.
At the moment it still has sanding burns from my spindle sander but before I cut the strings slots I will sand the nut down with the radius sanding block.
After the nut is in place the truss rod cover can be fit against it. Once the back angle fits tightly against the nut I placed a magnet at the very back of the truss rod cover that conveniently sticks to the square stock of the truss rod.
I also have a bigger diameter magnet I will install over the end of the truss rod nut when I get the right sized drill bit. For now the one magnet holds pretty well so here are some pics with the cover in place.
(completely off topic: Whenever I talk about anything pertaining to the nut on TB I find myself spending an inordinate amount of extra time editing to make sure I dont post a statement that ends up sigged all over TB.
Is that just me? Anyway, back to our regularly sceduled programming...)While I was in the lab today I noticed that in an amazing turn of the improbable, fate actually smiled at me. Way back when I glued the control cavity plate to its backing veneer it almost immediately developed a slight bow that made it stand slightly higher than the body in a couple of places. I have been waiting and hoping it would decide to flatten out so I could get a sealer coat on it and stabilize it. Over the past 2 months our temperatures have switched back and forth from sheets of ice to upper 70's so often that it seems to have finally just given up the good fight and accepted defeat. If there was a roaring viking smilie waving a bloody sword in the air I would totally use it right now.
Considering how rarely a piece of wood actually moves in the direction you want it to I took the opportunity to finish sand the cover and seal it with a couple of coats of shellac. The shellac really brings out the grain
In place the contrast is striking:
That's all for today. This mad scientist is tired of being productive so relaxation is the evening's experiment now. Thanks for visiting and look out for more to come.
oh wow, when the whole bass is finally finished like that, it's going to be... the most beautiful instrument i think i've sever seen.
absolutely incredible.
absolutely incredible.
Ok this is absolutely gobsmacked me. I love the build even though there are elements
personally would have done differently (assuming I could do at all).
+1 for not doing gold hardware
+1 for the smoothing of the neck to body joint. A thing of sheer beauty.
+1 for hoping you'd do black hardware to play off the accents.
Question: What made you opt away fron EMG's? I have no experience with SGD p'ups but will say they look great.
Yeah I'm subbing this thread too.
personally would have done differently (assuming I could do at all).
+1 for not doing gold hardware
+1 for the smoothing of the neck to body joint. A thing of sheer beauty.
+1 for hoping you'd do black hardware to play off the accents.
Question: What made you opt away fron EMG's? I have no experience with SGD p'ups but will say they look great.
Yeah I'm subbing this thread too.
I am curious why you guys think the truss rod cover is too thick? The strings will clear the top of it if you were concerned about the function of it. If I were using a plastic cover or something unattractive I would probably make it thinner but since it looks so nice I like the extra profile it adds to the headstock. The other thing is that the magnets require the cover to be a certain thickness as well and I would hate to sand through to the magnet.
The other option would be to inset the cover into the headstock but then the accent lines on the bottom would be covered and that is not going to happen.
I have used thick covers like this in the past and while it looks a bit odd now once the machines and strings are in place it will blend in nicely.
As far as the EMG pickups go I am not completely happy with the eq potential for the kind of sound I like. I found that I was really boosting the lows and almost completely cutting the highs. They are really great for getting a super clean sound but I had a hard time getting the fatness I look for.
The other option would be to inset the cover into the headstock but then the accent lines on the bottom would be covered and that is not going to happen.
I have used thick covers like this in the past and while it looks a bit odd now once the machines and strings are in place it will blend in nicely.
As far as the EMG pickups go I am not completely happy with the eq potential for the kind of sound I like. I found that I was really boosting the lows and almost completely cutting the highs. They are really great for getting a super clean sound but I had a hard time getting the fatness I look for.
i agree with the truss rod cover, statements, but your the only one with it infront of you, but if you had to make it thinner i would taper it with the angle of the strings, so the magnet is at full thickness and the top is as thin as a plastic cover;
looks good, i love pink ivory nuts;....pink nuts are my favorite...... now you have something to post all over
looks good, i love pink ivory nuts;....pink nuts are my favorite...... now you have something to post all over
Musiclogic
Commercial User
- Aug 6, 2005
- 6,505
- 73
- 60
- Disclosures
- Owner/Builder: HJC Customs USA, The Cool Lute, C G O
i agree with the truss rod cover statements
looks good. I love pink ivory nuts;....pink nuts are my favorite...... now you have something to post all over
This could be why nobody uses the Pink Elephant analogy for drunks anymore....LOL
Lab Journal #30: Hours of sandpaper, scrapers, chisels, rasps and whatever else I can bang on this thing with and I am finally finish sanded. Absolutely my least favorite part of any build is the finish sanding. I find it very hard to stop sanding and carving, I just have to finally draw the line and say "no more". I still have a little work to do sanding the top but the back is ready to go so a couple of coats of shellac as a sealer and I will flip the bass and sand and seal the ziricote top. I find sealing one side makes it easier to finish sand the other side without leaving new marks or skin oil stains. There will be a build up line where the two coats meets but after it gets sanded smooth a couple more sealer coats go on and then they will be sanded smooth.
Like Drake mentions in his comp build thread I dont mind the pores showing through the finish so no filler was used before the sealer coat but it is quite possible that the finish will be thick enough to leave a glass smooth surface once it is polished. Hopefully tomorrow I will have pics of the front of the bass sealed as well. That's all for today so have yourself a mad, mad evening...
Like Drake mentions in his comp build thread I dont mind the pores showing through the finish so no filler was used before the sealer coat but it is quite possible that the finish will be thick enough to leave a glass smooth surface once it is polished. Hopefully tomorrow I will have pics of the front of the bass sealed as well. That's all for today so have yourself a mad, mad evening...
