"Headless" Flying V build

[Hopkins]

Ha ha, I noticed that too! This is a well-used set of Smith Metal Masters; essentially a "junk" set of strings used for preliminary setups. I'll probably change them out for a set without silks, for this reason.

This bass is going to be killer man.

 

[mapleglo]

It's like that body style was made specifically for a tuning bridge. Looks great!

 

[ctmullins]

Thanks guys!

It's like that body style was made specifically for a tuning bridge. Looks great!

Yeah, that's what I thought too! Helps with balance, and obviously protects the tuners as well.

Here are a couple more crappy iPhone pics - resting against the 2 x 10 TQWT:

And hanging on the wall with some of its siblings - Serendipity, to the right of it, is essentially a normally-sized 34" scale Fender-like instrument, which should provide a good reference for size:

 

[ctmullins]

And oh yeah - Now I get to use the Flying V Bass gig bag my wife gave me for Christmas! Woo hoo!

 

[Toban.Ivan]

Wow. Great in full size pic as expected.

The fretless in the middle it's even better to me! I just adore the open headstock.

Have you any build docs about it? Do you made it?

 

[ctmullins]

Wow. Great in full size pic as expected.

The fretless in the middle it's even better to me! I just adore the open headstock.

Have you any build docs about it? Do you made it?

Thanks! All of my build threads are linked in my sig.

 

[ctmullins]

Got the nut filed down now to where the action is pretty good. Got the bridge saddle heights set, and intonated. Fixed a high fret. Trashed the Smith strings and installed some DR DDTs (45-105). Knocked the gloss off the back of the neck. Put some little stick-on rubber feet on the tips of the V (thanks for the suggestion gsnad2000!) - "Makes its own stand".

There isn't a whole lot of information on the Duncan SSB pickups, so I wasn't really sure how they would sound. After playing it for the last few days, I can report that they have a nice crispy top end, and plenty of thump down low. Mids seem good to me, but I won't really know until I play it in a band context (Sunday). So far I see no reason to swap them out for anything different. And the East BTB adds a lot of flexibility on both ends of the spectrum; a little goes a long way with those knobs! Very happy so far.

 

[wraub]

That looks freakin' cool.

Nicely nicely, Mr. M.

 

[ctmullins]

Ditched the DDTs and installed a fresh set of FatBeams. The G string sheared right off at the set screw. Grrrrr. Replaced that string with a Roto 66. Took it to rehearsal. My rehearsal amp is a Carvin ProBass 150 combo with a single 15". Nice deep sound. Through that amp the V had loads of low end, and still decent highs (probably due to the fresh stainless roundwounds). I found myself using either one pickup or the other, but not both together, as that scooped all of the mids right out. I was surprised at how full just the bridge pickup was, with a little bit of bass boost from the East.

Got a St. Patrick's Day gig on Saturday. Green bass! Will report back.

 

[ctmullins]

Took the V and the Panther to the gig yesterday. Not the best gig ever. Our regular guitarist, who is also an ace keyboardist, couldn't make it at the last minute. We had a sub guitarist, who is himself a very talented guy, but that kind of on-the-fly substitution makes things a lot more tense onstage, as everybody is simply trying to hold things together, rather than relaxing and enjoying the music. Plus, my TQWT cab sounded like complete ass the whole time (thank deity for FOH). So I wasn't really having as much fun as I should have.

I can say that the output of the V is significantly less than the output of the Panther, a fact which caught me unawares when I switched to it. And while I like these Duncans, they simply do not have anywhere near the responsiveness and articulation of the EMG CS-X in the Panther. Still, not gonna change anything just yet. I mean, aside from throwing the TQWT into the river and building a couple of nice simple 1x12s...

 

[ctmullins]

I've been busy. I:

1. Chopped the TQWT into firewood,
2. Removed the buzzy-rattly tweeter stack from my BFM Jack 10s and grilled the woofers,
3. Learned how to use the HPF on my QSC, and
4. Ripped out the Duncans in favor of a pair of Wilde L90 4H pickups.

Becky told me that this was Bill's recommendation for using one of his twin-blades on bass guitar. And man, do they deliver! This instrument, with all that walnut and maple, is a naturally bright instrument anyway, but the L90s add a nice meaty midrange that the Duncans just didn't have. The L90s also deliver that famous Wilde upper-end clarity, and lots of output without muddiness.

The Duncans are actually nice pickups; they're just not the right pickups for this bass. I moved them into Serendipity, as I feel that their tonal profile is more suitable to fretless.

Looking forward to the next gig with the V....

 

[Dadagoboi]

Missed this...fantastic build, Todd!

 

[joeyl]

I've been busy. I:

1. Chopped the TQWT into firewood,
2. Removed the buzzy-rattly tweeter stack from my BFM Jack 10s and grilled the woofers,

How did the woofers taste?

 

[ctmullins]

Beefy!!