• 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.

How to do that?

amadeusex

amadeusex

Aug 16, 2008
126
19
Athens Greece
www.facebook.com
#1
Hi

I'm about to start my 1st selfmade bass (fodera imperial 6-string lookalike) and I'm not sure how to achieve the neck-body transition pictured above.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
My question is: what techniques/tools are needed to get that.

Any input is much appreciated ;-)

I'm really counting on you guys!

Thanks in advance

Theo
 
#2
Create your full-length maple neck blank.

Glue a thinnish layer of something red looking to the back of it. It should only be as long as the body.

Glue a thicker layer of walnut (or alder stained to look like walnut) to the back of that. This should also only be as long as the body.

Use chisels, rasps, files, and sandpaper to shape and smooth.
 
#10
Wow that was quick!

First of all, thanks a lot for your input.

@HaMMerHed

I was asking about the procedure involved to shape the transition, not the assembly of the woods but thanks anyway :-)
The chisel rasp sandpaper strategy is actually what i was afraid of, but hey it's gonna be fun !

@basictraining

To go with a router was my plan. I do not know what Vinny himself uses to do it (maybe Jason is kind enough to enlighten me:-) , but the contours he is achieving look so damn precise that for an woodworking noob like me it seems just impossible to do freehand.

@Nev375

I guess the first bass gonna suck, but as i said before it looks to be a lot of fun :-)

@Pilotjones

I was thinking about an swamp ash tone block and a maple neck, with walnut or macassar ebony for the veneer in between. I guess the natural color of these woods is dark enough to get a nice contour like the one in the picture (provided that my carving chops won't destroy it anyway:-)

I really like your work btw an your tutorials/howtos are a big help ! Much aprecciated here !

@Egilegor Basses

Patience is my second name, after all i play the bass :-)

@Jason (Just Thumpin')

I love you guys at fodera, too bad i missed the opportunity to buy a imperial elite 6-string a couple years ago when i could. Things here in greece are out of control and a fodera is gonna be out of reach for some time for me :-(

Again thanks guys, i'll let you know what's gonna happen with this build
 
#12
I can't imagine Fodera taking the cheap and easy route on anything. They are masters of their craft. I could be wrong, and frequently am as witnessed above, but I'm pretty sure they carve that by hand. They are just very, very good at it, so it always looks wonderful.
 
#13
HaMMerHeD said:
I can't imagine Fodera taking the cheap and easy route on anything. They are masters of their craft. I could be wrong, and frequently am as witnessed above, but I'm pretty sure they carve that by hand. They are just very, very good at it, so it always looks wonderful.
Click to expand...

You may be right about them being masters of their craft but as I witnessed in a lot of videos on YouTube even great builders like Mike Tobias are using routers(Router tables), templates and stuff like that to make the process faster and or more accurate . I'm not talking about cnc, I guess cnc routers and boutique basses don't fit anyway.
 
#16
amadeusex said:
@Nev375

I guess the first bass gonna suck, but as i said before it looks to be a lot of fun :-)
Click to expand...

No no. I never said it could not be done by a beginner, just that it was not going to be easy.


If you are obsessive and patient and think every cut you make through several times and allow yourself plenty of time to make the proper templates, jigs and always use the right tool for the job you can achieve excellent results your first time.

The minute you get excited and impatient and rush through something because you cant wait to see some stage of it finished you will likely screw up and and *THEN* it will suck. BIG time!

It is fun if you enjoy the PROCESS of working with wood as much as playing the end product itself. If this is just a scheme to get a custom dream bass built for yourself on the cheap and you don't enjoy spending hours rubbing finer grades of sandpaper until you get a perfect scratchless finish on a wood surface then this isn't for you.

But if you like the smell of sawdust and you get really excited when two pieces of wood slide into each other's joint perfectly snug without force or excess play. If a tiny splinter in your finger causes you a bit of panic to find out where on the board it came from so you can glue it back in if that area might be near a visible finished surface.... Well, then you might be our kind of crazy.
 
#18
If Fodera is using some sort of router/jig setup to do that cut, it's probably a trade secret that they don't want to divulge.

I would not recommend using a dremel anywhere near that. I don't know many luthiers that use dremels in shaping bodies on electric instruments. I've seen them used for inlays and bindings. Not much else.

Many builders DO use router tables and jigs and templates for certain contours on established production models. But on prototypes and custom builds or one-offs that sort of thing is almost always wood rasp, chisel, file and sandpaper.
 
#19
Nev375 said:
No no. I never said it could not be done by a beginner, just that it was not going to be easy.


If you are obsessive and patient and think every cut you make through several times and allow yourself plenty of time to make the proper templates, jigs and always use the right tool for the job you can achieve excellent results your first time.

The minute you get excited and impatient and rush through something because you cant wait to see some stage of it finished you will likely screw up and and *THEN* it will suck. BIG time!

It is fun if you enjoy the PROCESS of working with wood as much as playing the end product itself. If this is just a scheme to get a custom dream bass built for yourself on the cheap and you don't enjoy spending hours rubbing finer grades of sandpaper until you get a perfect scratchless finish on a wood surface then this isn't for you.

But if you like the smell of sawdust and you get really excited when two pieces of wood slide into each other's joint perfectly snug without force or excess play. If a tiny splinter in your finger causes you a bit of panic to find out where on the board it came from so you can glue it back in if that area might be near a visible finished surface.... Well, then you might be our kind of crazy.
Click to expand...

I'm just realistic about the outcome :-)

I can't expect my first bass to be really good.
And its not a scheme either to get a bass for cheap.
As a matter of fact all my basses are boutique and I know you get what you pay for. I was playing with the idea for two years,but it wasn't until I refinished my Yamaha when I decided to finally build one from scratch.

It's a lot of fun, creative and rewarding. :-D
 
#20
I cant post a pic from my phone right now but I do heavily carved heel transitions on my neck thrus. I start with a router and template to remove the bulk of the material. Then I use a dremel and a cylindrical diamond coated bit to shaped the rough transition. From there I use a french curve cabinet scraper and orbital sander/sandpaper to clean it up.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back