Koa P

[ctmullins]

Sexy stuff Scoops, you've been busy!!

 

[jeffmensch]

God I love build threads.

 

[kopio]

Lol...you make it look so easy! I'm watching this one for sure!

 

[Scoops]

Sexy stuff Scoops, you've been busy!!

Thanks Todd. It's a good way to see if this is what I want to do in retirement. So far, so good. My basement isn't big enough for all the builds I have going though. I will need to learn to focus on just a few builds rather than the 6 I'm working on.

God I love build threads.

Glad you are enjoying!

Lol...you make it look so easy! I'm watching this one for sure!

Thanks. After you do it a few times it gets a little easier. There is always something that can go wrong though. See below

I haven't updated this for a while. Had to order a set of strings. They were back ordered. Got em yesterday, so I'll get going on this

As I had indicated, the neck on this thing is hugh! 1.3" thick at the 12th fret. 1.5" thick at the heal. I'm wondering if I'm going to like a neck that thick. The best way to find out is to string it up and find out 1st hand. So that's what I'm looking to do here in the next couple days.

When I modeled this up in my CAD, I went to a model of a Hipshot tuner I made a couple years ago, interested multiple instances, printed it out, and cut the head stock accordingly. Stupid Me! The model I used for the tuners was the Y peg. Not the clover leaf. This morning, after I drilled the holes for the tuners, I breathed a sigh of relieve cuz I just dodged a bullet. The clover leaf pegs are larger than the Y's, and they just barely fit.

Today is still a good day!

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[ctmullins]

Lucky about the tuner heads!

My first neck build turned out way too thick. I thought it was good when I shaped it. I thought it was good when I strung it up and tested it. But when I took it to a rehearsal and played it for an hour straight, it was only then that I realized it was giving me hand cramps....

However, it's always possible to shave it down, but not always possible to add wood to it!

 

[Scoops]

Lucky about the tuner heads!
My first neck build turned out way too thick. I thought it was good when I shaped it. I thought it was good when I strung it up and tested it. But when I took it to a rehearsal and played it for an hour straight, it was only then that I realized it was giving me hand cramps....
However, it's always possible to shave it down, but not always possible to add wood to it!

I did have a thick neck on a guitar once. Wasn't totally comfortable with it. As long as I'm here, might as well give it a try.

 

[Scoops]

Been meaning to get back to this instrument.

Here's how I cut a nut.
First I get the nut blank in place and I draw a line on the nut, using the FB as the guide.

Then using my a fixture that I made, I drill the holes for where the strings will go.
Couple things to note in this pic. This set of Dremel bits is really close to the gauge strings I use, and was a no brainer to purchase when I saw it in the store. The jig I'm using is a scrap from when I was testing out various ways to cut a scarf joint

I drill so that the holes are about .020 above the line. From here it's about another 10 to 15 minutes to grind off the top and shape it nicely, and polish out
I SUCK at using a file to carve the slot for the string, so doing it this way makes it nice, neat and tidy. I usually don't have to do too much to the slot once I drill the hole.

 

[Marcury]

I don't know man, I think this build is going badly and when you're done you won't like it at all/ So send it to me and I'll dispose of it properly!



drool

 

[PDX Rich]

Oh man that is so much more practical than filing slots. Thank you for the tip!!

 

[Scoops]

I don't know man, I think this build is going badly and when you're done you won't like it at all/ So send it to me and I'll dispose of it properly!
drool

You really didn't think it would be that easy now. Did you?

 

[Scoops]

Oh man that is so much more practical than filing slots. Thank you for the tip!!

Rich,

Glad to help.

Be aware that the .020 that I drill above the line works well for fretless neck. You'll have to figure out what that distance would be with a fretted instrument.

 

[Marcury]

You really didn't think it would be that easy now. Did you?

Can't blame a guy for trying.

 

[PDX Rich]

Rich,

Glad to help.

Be aware that the .020 that I drill above the line works well for fretless neck. You'll have to figure out what that distance would be with a fretted instrument.

But of course I just love the hack. Really a time saver.

 

[satchelbaglio]

Wow, I am blown away what people can build with their two hands and some insight. Awesome job.
Love your Koa body wood and neck, here is a couple of picture's of my all Koa bass with a
two piece figured Koa body, book matched figured koa top and two piece Koa neck.
Built by Mike Kinal in Vancouver B.C. Cheers Rob

 

[Scoops]

Wow, I am blown away what people can build with their two hands and some insight. Awesome job.
Love your Koa body wood and neck, here is a couple of picture's of my all Koa bass with a
two piece figured Koa body, book matched figured koa top and two piece Koa neck.
Built by Mike Kinal in Vancouver B.C. Cheers Rob

Hey Sach,
Thanks fro the comps. Totally appreciate it!
You have a really nice Koa bass. I just absolutely luv Koa!

I did manage to get it strung up and a pup installed. I really want to find out if i can tolerate the thick neck.

So far, reaching for the B string is a tad uncomfortable. However, of the 5er's I've built, this one definitely has the clearest B string.
Once I started playing it, the wife (who is always interested in my builds) came running down to see what I was doing. She noticed that the low end on this was much better as well.
I'll play it for a few days and dial in the setup. I'm leaning towards keeping it a jumbo neck.

Cheers

 

[ctmullins]

Very cool - always fun to string it up and hear its voice for the first time!

How do you like the P46 for five-string? Any problems with the A string response? I have a pair of them coming soon, and I may use one on a five-string build.

 

[Scoops]

Very cool - always fun to string it up and hear it's voice for the first time! <<<<<Yes! Very much so
How do you like the P46 for five-string? Any problems with the A string response? I have a pair of them coming soon, and I may use one on a five-string build.

It's different. My worldly experience is limited to just a handful of different P pups. A string so far seems fine, but I wasn't really listening for that. I'll let you know more once I jam on it for a bit. I just wired the pup straight to the jack. Now I'm thinking I'd like to wire in the other pup with the controls. Damn! now look what I started.

Edit: I should also note that the Hipshot bridge I'm using has a stripped hex nut adjustment screw. Not really happy about that.

 

[Scoops]

Any problems with the A string response?

It is just slightly louder than the others. I lowered both pups a tad. Seemed to help a little. I'll dial in pickup height when I do the final assembly. I don't perceive this to be a big problem.

Spent some quality time with this bass. Played it a lot. I elected to shaved the neck down far enough to make it comfortable, yet still keeping it very thick. I did this all with the strings still on. I wanted to see if the neck would bow back. It didn't. No dead notes either.

Time to take it apart and start finishing it.

 

[Scoops]

Must be neck week

For this one I finished the sanding, and put it's first coat of sealer on it. The flame is really popping out.
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[GigantorTX]

Holy crap...
This is a thing of beauty! My personal preference would be black hardware, but I can't wait to see that chrome bling when you get the finish finished!