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JC Basses Snakewood Fretless 4

#44
mikeyswood said:
Perhaps we can refer to the fingerboard on a fretless as the - intonating plane :)
Click to expand...

Fixed. :D

Well, for me it would be an *apparently-unable-to-intonate plane*, so I'll just stick w/good old tradition: Fingerboard. The hummingbirds agree. :)

Back on topic/still-almost-griping-but-definitely-not-about-this-bass ;), your soundport* is worlds better(IMO)than the traditional-for-the-violin-family *F-hole*.

*I'm open to a different term for this feature, as long as it's not 'F-hole'. :ninja:
 
#46
roberthabraken said:
This bass turns out beautiful indeed :)..

I've got one more question about the hollow part (sorry): how much wood did you leave between the outside of the bass and the hollow cavities? I was thinking about 17,5 mm (11/16").. And how much wood do you need around the pickups?
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I want to say I left 1" around the outside just to be safe since it was my first semi-hallow body. That was way too much, you could get away with 11/16" just fine. I think I left 1/4" around the pickups. Again I was playing it safe since it was my first. You don't really need anything around them. Just make sure the bridge is solid and the neck is solid and that there is a place to screw the pickups into. The string tension won't cause the top to bend or break if you don't have the extra support underneath. All the sides and back leave plenty of strength.
 
#47
Jeronimofesto said:
I want to say I left 1" around the outside just to be safe since it was my first semi-hallow body. That was way too much, you could get away with 11/16" just fine. I think I left 1/4" around the pickups. Again I was playing it safe since it was my first. You don't really need anything around them. Just make sure the bridge is solid and the neck is solid and that there is a place to screw the pickups into. The string tension won't cause the top to bend or break if you don't have the extra support underneath. All the sides and back leave plenty of strength.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot! Glad to hear this, I just made a drawing with 11/16 round the sides and a little over 3/8" around the pickups (orange are cavities, red are body and sound hole outlines).

Link Removed

How's your weight distribution? Do you have neck-dive on a semi-hollow easily?
 
#48
i did 1/2" rim on mine. still havent rounded the edges. hope it's enough. is your goal to heavily chamber, and create a hollowbody look, or have a semi acoustic? i am shooting for semi acoustic. i am still trying to figure out the details, but from what i am hearing, if you go semi-acoustic, then the area below the bridge should be hollowed, and a block of spruce below it. still not 100% on that though... great builds, both of you. btw, did you have to scrap the snakewood fb, or is it still good for use?
 
#50
roberthabraken said:
Thanks a lot! Glad to hear this, I just made a drawing with 11/16 round the sides and a little over 3/8" around the pickups (orange are cavities, red are body and sound hole outlines).

Link Removed

How's your weight distribution? Do you have neck-dive on a semi-hollow easily?
Click to expand...

You do have to worry about neck dive on these. Make sure the upper horn extend far enough (12th fret area) and you should be good. Mine has a small upper horn so I made the body a little thicker than normal to make it heavier.

jordan_frerichs said:
i did 1/2" rim on mine. still havent rounded the edges. hope it's enough. is your goal to heavily chamber, and create a hollowbody look, or have a semi acoustic? i am shooting for semi acoustic. i am still trying to figure out the details, but from what i am hearing, if you go semi-acoustic, then the area below the bridge should be hollowed, and a block of spruce below it. still not 100% on that though... great builds, both of you. btw, did you have to scrap the snakewood fb, or is it still good for use?
Click to expand...

The snakewood is still good for now...
 
#51
Jeronimofesto said:
You do have to worry about neck dive on these. Make sure the upper horn extend far enough (12th fret area) and you should be good. Mine has a small upper horn so I made the body a little thicker than normal to make it heavier.
Click to expand...

Mmm.. the upper horn just touches the 12th fret. My body is also somewhat ticker than normal and I'm thinking of only hollowing out 1" deep. I hope it doesn't dive, but one only knows when it's ready (or already too late anyway).
 
#52
I am pretty sure I finished everything there is to do on this bass as far as woodworking goes. I made the control cavity cover and lip it goes in, drilled dozens of various screw holes and sanded for hours. This is how the bass stands after 1 coat of tung oil.

snakewood27.jpg


snakewood28.jpg


I wish it wasn't dark out so I could get a picture of the top in natural light...
 

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