Kev's "Bird of Prey" a NMG prototype

[ThaCoast]

Yours definitely has a better look with the sharper Eagle style cuts, & i think your offset is a little more pronounced than the Schecter Riot.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Also, that forearm bevel line? On mine you won't "see" it. I don't really know why I put it in the printout. It will be a soft bevel/rolloff like an eagle or wave. Pretty much following the bcr bevel "rules".
Also spec'd out pretty darn BCR'ish.
34" 4
BADASS bridge
Big stupid heavy Grover Titans (chrome)
DiMarzio dp122's (black, reversed)
And Neal's full circuit.
Yes I realize I have absolutely no use for the varitone on my bass, but that cute little chicken head just can't be left out.
...(dang ol cork smelling better every day. )
And... maple/ebony ... that's it.
No hippy sammichy stack wings or 5 - 9 piece neck, or painful multi level hook/scroll thing, or rainbow stripey tops, or matching wooden pickup covers!!
Just a dang bass. ... (aaaahhh)
Here we go.

Here's the neck break angle template for a badass 1.
It's koa... probably old af, and has miles of history. It might even have come from... the golden times! Yeah whatever.
(My phone cam is jacked... some pics will suck, sorry)

2 pc neck!

Here's the wings

& ebony stringers

So, besides the break angle for the badass which needs about 5/8" vs the 1/2" for pretty much everything else... the bcr construction methods employs a shim under the board starting at the 16 fret.

Ebony plate on traditional headstock.

Ebony fingerboard

Neal's "Marlin" router machine is great for establishing neck thickness and doing the main facet bevels.

I built this simple sled fixture to thickness route headstocks. (Before, Neal did them on a belt sander). I only had to screw up 1 doing it that way, before I built this.

Carving:
It's a Moser, so it's getting the cute little volute bump that Neal does.

One good thing about being here?
I've gotten kinda good at carving necks after 160-ish...

if I dare say ...

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Love it. The template is Koa? That makes it all perfect.

 

[Flying B]

Why the shim? Why not just start the break angle at the end of where that shim is?

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Neal's "Marlin" router machine is great for establishing neck thickness and doing the main facet bevels.

I have one of those machines tucked away here. I don't remember the name Marlin on it, I remember them being sold as the Dupli-Carver brand, back in the '60's and '70's. It looks identical otherwise. Mine was modified, making the two side rails about 3' long. A retiring Luthier friend gave it to me. He had messed around with it for a while, trying to use it to shape acoustic guitar necks. He was never really happy with it, so he gave it to me.

That was over 20 years ago. I played with it a little bit back then, but I was disappointed by how much flex there was in the frame. I never did anything more with it. But it's still here in my museum of machinery. Maybe someday I'll give it another chance.

 

[Slidlow]

Why the shim? Why not just start the break angle at the end of where that shim is?

You would then need a thicker board to start.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Why the shim? Why not just start the break angle at the end of where that shim is?

Because a Badass or TonePros (on guitar) needs a lot of break.
If you broke leaving the end of the fingerboard flush on top of the body, that 3 inches or so of body wing (upper horn) that runs along the neck would encroach on the edge of the fingerboard.

You would then need a thicker board to start.

No we cut the neck halves from flatsawn 8/4 then stand em up to be quartersawn oriented in glue up... so we got plenty to work with.

What boggles my mind is the fact that all the golden era necks were ONE PIECE. So that lump of timber needed to be at least 4"x4'' to start.
All that old Koa... & so much of it turned to sawdust.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Because a Badass or TonePros (on guitar) needs a lot of break.
If you broke leaving the end of the fingerboard flush on top of the body, that 3 inches or so of body wing (upper horn) that runs along the neck would encroach on the edge of the fingerboard.View attachment 7095107

No we cut the neck halves from flatsawn 8/4 then stand em up to be quartersawn oriented in glue up... so we got plenty to work with.

What boggles my mind is the fact that all the golden era necks were ONE PIECE. So that lump of timber needed to be at least 4"x4'' to start.
All that old Koa... & so much of it turned to sawdust.

It’s just the way it was then. I’ve got a budget, when it was made, Kay hollowbody and an old Teisco neck that have Brazilian rosewood fretboards. The Kay (actually 2 necks) I’m pretty sure about, the Teisco is probably but, yeah, cheap guitars in their day with unobtainium wood today.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Here's where I'm finding joy these days.
In this method of construction there's a whopping total of ..9.. individual pieces of wood that need to come together to make a guitar blank.

I just did a piece tally of Rockhewer's Astaroth for comparison?...... 79 ...

Stringers on wings:

Wings on neck:

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Here's where I'm finding joy these days.
In this method of construction there's a whopping total of ..9.. individual pieces of wood that need to come together to make a guitar blank.

I just did a piece tally of Rockhewer's Astaroth for comparison?...... 79 ...

Stringers on wings:View attachment 7095274
Wings on neck:View attachment 7095275

I take it someone really liked that body blank?

 

[Gary_M]

I take it someone really liked that body blank?

Yes, yes they did.

 

[Slidlow]

Five pieces on the left and seven on the right.

 

[Rôckhewer]

I'm a little "meh" right now about the overall look.
I mean, I wasn't planning on fancy. ... actually going for anti-fancy.
Like... I didn't cap the neck like we're doing a bunch of at the cs...(Old school)
I'm sure once it's contoured & has some color applied I'll dig it more.

I'm thinking some kinda purple.??

 

[Rôckhewer]

I'm also torn about what to do for inlays.
I've named it... Bird of Prey... because... birds ? (eagle, mockingbird, seagull, raven, etc...)
But this bird I'm relating to the Klingon warship in Star Trek... cuz of that whole nerd thing.
So here's the first idea...
Inlays of different Klingon hand weapons.
...huh? Bat'leth on the 12th?... eh??

Yeah I know... probably won't happen

 

[Slidlow]

I'm also torn about what to do for inlays.
I've named it... Bird of Prey... because... birds ? (eagle, mockingbird, seagull, raven, etc...)
But this bird I'm relating to the Klingon warship in Star Trek... cuz of that whole nerd thing.
So here's the first idea...
Inlays of different Klingon hand weapons.
...huh? Bat'leth on the 12th?... eh??
View attachment 7096600

Yeah I know... probably won't happen

Eagle inlay with wings spread and claws out at the twelfth fret. Maybe smaller eagles in flight for other positions. I don’t feel the sharp point on the upper horn and the rounded end of the lower horn work on the same body. I would have both either pointed or rounded (actually on a personal note I am not impressed with the hooked point much).

 

[mapleglo]

My vote is for the Bat'leth on *all* the inlays!

 

[Rôckhewer]

Eagle inlay with wings spread and claws out at the twelfth fret. Maybe smaller eagles in flight for other positions. I don’t feel the sharp point on the upper horn and the rounded end of the lower horn work on the same body. I would have both either pointed or rounded (actually on a personal note I am not impressed with the hooked point much).

I did that already... not gonna repeat it.

...although this bore more resemblance to a turkey vulture. Lol
Can't complain, I didn't cut it, it's DePaule.

 

[Rôckhewer]

I'd sooner inlay an Osprey... They're badass and ugly... & I believe they're the only natural predators of Eagles?...idk lol

 

[Slidlow]

I did that already... not gonna repeat it.
View attachment 7096609
...although this bore more resemblance to a turkey vulture. Lol
Can't complain, I didn't cut it, it's DePaule.

But that one doesn’t have the claws out ready to strike.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

I'm a little "meh" right now about the overall look.
I mean, I wasn't planning on fancy. ... actually going for anti-fancy.
Like... I didn't cap the neck like we're doing a bunch of at the cs...(Old school)
I'm sure once it's contoured & has some color applied I'll dig it more.

I'm thinking some kinda purple.??View attachment 7096584

Carve it before you get all down on it. It doesn't look like its plan without carving done.

...and if it's a bird of <bleeping> prey, inlay a bird of prey (the spaceship you were referencing.) Lots of choices there over nearly 6 decades of Trek...

And if you want an earth bird, consider this one.