Lightweight EB/Eagle/Phoenix mashup - mystery woods

[ctmullins]

I've been busy building BFM PA cabs, but this little guy's been stewing off and on some too.

It all started when I bought a body blank on eBay advertised as mahogany. It's not mahogany. It's much too blonde and much too light in color to be mahogany. But it was cheap, and I am in need of some lightweight basses, so I stashed it away until the right opportunity presented itself.

Meanwhile....

I love Gibson shapes, and while the EB/SG shape is iconic and very rock-n-roll looking, something is just, well, off in its proportions. I think it has something to do with the relative sizes of the upper and lower bouts, and how the lower bout just isn't beefy enough...

But I love the ideals behind the design; namely, the thin, light body and the chiseled look of the bevels.

I'm also a big fan of several of the B.C. Rich body shapes, particularly the Eagle. I remember coming very close to snatching a Warmoth version back when they were available, but never did. Unlike many Rich models, the Eagle is graceful, elegant, and sexy!

My very first decent guitar was an Electra Phoenix X150, a fantastic gem from the Matsumoku plant, with the best-sounding pickups I've ever heard, and a devilishly handsome faux-neck-through body. I always liked the way they combined the graceful Strat-style lower bout with the pointed (yet still offset) horns of the upper bout.

As I've said before, the great thing about building basses is the complete freedom to combine attributes of existing models into something that previously didn't exist. With that approach in mind, I decided to use the Phoenix silhouette with the bevels of the EB/SG, yielding something resembling the Eagle!

But what the hell kind of wood is this anyway?

It's very lightweight (currently exactly 3 lb as pictured above), fairly open-pored, and rather stiff. It has a bright "tap tone", for those of you who believe in such things. My best guess so far is the much-maligned Paulownia, but I'm no expert...

Meanwhile....

My wife's uncle refurbishes homes in the historic New Orleans Vieux Carre. He knows that I dabble in wood, so he brought me a board a couple years back. He told me that it was a baseboard from an old home they were doing, and handed it to me complete with a thick layer of vintage lead-based paint! I was able to work around the nail holes enough to extract a decent neck blank from it. It's beautifully straight-grained, with a velvety orange color and very fine closed grain. I think it's Cypress, but I'm not sure. I know that Cypress isn't a traditional neck wood, but I don't care, I'm going to build a neck out of it anyway. In fact, the neck is nearly done now, needing only shaping. The fingerboard is a Granadillo board from LMII, slotted to 32" scale. Here's a shot of the side, showing my scarf joint:

Pickups will be a pair of DiMarzio Model Ones, because I've always wanted to try them. The neck will have a long tenon, extending about an inch and a half past the 24th fret. Narrow string spacing, using a Hipshot .669 bridge.

I think this body will need a decently hard finish, so I'm gonna try MinWax PolyShades in Bombay Mahogany on a test piece.

So how 'bout it, luthiers? What kind of woods do I have here, and who wants to take bets on whether this will wind up as a decent bass?

 

[DOMIT]

Well... I'm not a Luthier... nor do I play one on Television... and I'm offended at your snarky B.C. Rich comments (just kidding!)

I would say that you have genuine, natural wood... and that it will wind up being a decent bass.

I like your "train of thought" on the body shape. Subscribed!

 

[ctmullins]

Lol, thanks, and for the record I'm a huge Mockingbird fan as well! Anything pointy is good - I'm a child of 80s hair metal after all!

 

[PDX Rich]

I like the mashup! Matsumoku instruments were fabulous. Being a big fan of early Aria ProII Sb-1000 bass guitars, I love that you incorporated some of the design aspects of the Electra. That mystery board does somewhat look like Philippene Mahogany.

 

[DOMIT]

BTW that wood really looks to me like Douglas Fir. It is a "softwood" but REALLY stiff and strong for it's weight... it is the "second choice" for wooden aircraft construction, right behind Sitka Spruce. Also the presence of it in construction of a house would lead me to believe that I'm right- it was commonly used for construction (still is in areas where it is plentiful.)

It is pretty light for it's size, right? (I mean the neck piece)

Body... hmmm... could be Mahogany, could be "African Mahogany" which is not even the same family as Mahogany, it is more properly called Okume or Okoume and is related to Cedar.

 

[ctmullins]

Yes, the neck wood is pretty light. Definitely lighter than the traditional maple. But heavier than the body wood...

 

[ctmullins]

A couple of design decisions as yet unresolved:

1. Bolt-on or set-neck. My preference, for instruments to be cherished and played regularly, is set-neck. But my frankly unsubstantiated and subjective opinion is that this cheap, light mystery wood has insufficient structural integrity to warrant a set-neck. Further, should the neck prove satisfactory but the body not (or, less likely, the inverse), a bolt-on makes separation trivial. Yet, set-neck is my preference...

2. Electronics. I can't decide amongst:
a. Passive, single volume control
b. Passive, single volume control, three-way switch
c. Passive, stereo outputs (for fun)
d. Active, MM-style two-band
e. Active, East BTB-01 two-band
f. Active, embedded dirt pedal (TC Spark Booster)

Any opinions?

 

[DOMIT]

Yes, the neck wood is pretty light. Definitely lighter than the traditional maple. But heavier than the body wood...

Well... Okoume/Okume/African Mahogany is about half the weight of Birch... (I know more about aircraft woods than guitar woods... LOL) Douglas Fir is just SLIGHTLY heavier than Sitka Spruce. And Douglas Fir is heavier than Okoume.

 

[DOMIT]

A couple of design decisions as yet unresolved:

1. Bolt-on or set-neck. My preference, for instruments to be cherished and played regularly, is set-neck. But my frankly unsubstantiated and subjective opinion is that this cheap, light mystery wood has insufficient structural integrity to warrant a set-neck. Further, should the neck prove satisfactory but the body not (or, less likely, the inverse), a bolt-on makes separation trivial. Yet, set-neck is my preference...

2. Electronics. I can't decide amongst:
a. Passive, single volume control
b. Passive, single volume control, three-way switch
c. Passive, stereo outputs (for fun)
d. Active, MM-style two-band
e. Active, East BTB-01 two-band
f. Active, embedded dirt pedal (TC Spark Booster)

Any opinions?

Can you build in such a way that a bolt on could be converted to set-neck later?

If the neck wood is Douglas Fir, it is about the weight and strength of White Pine. Not exactly, but pretty close.

 

[JustForSport]

The body wood grain and 'tear-outs' look like a mahogany, as it has short grain like that. It can be very light- reminds me of some old cigar boxes.

The neck could well be cypress- plenty of that locally, and it was used for framing in many wooden boats. Lighter than oak, good resiliency to flex, cracking, and Toredo worms.

 

[ThaCoast]

A couple of design decisions as yet unresolved:

1. Bolt-on or set-neck. My preference, for instruments to be cherished and played regularly, is set-neck. But my frankly unsubstantiated and subjective opinion is that this cheap, light mystery wood has insufficient structural integrity to warrant a set-neck. Further, should the neck prove satisfactory but the body not (or, less likely, the inverse), a bolt-on makes separation trivial. Yet, set-neck is my preference...

2. Electronics. I can't decide amongst:
a. Passive, single volume control
b. Passive, single volume control, three-way switch
c. Passive, stereo outputs (for fun)
d. Active, MM-style two-band
e. Active, East BTB-01 two-band
f. Active, embedded dirt pedal (TC Spark Booster)

Any opinions?

I'd go bolt-on just t be safe if ever. LEss hassle if ever one or the other "fails". As for electronics: Active, MM style 2 band (i'd go for 3 band just to have the midrange cut/boost - i like messing with the midrange first before dialling in bass & treble) & have a 3 or 5 way lever switch to (5 if the pickups can be split) to have various options in pickup choice. That's my two cents on this anyway, having flexibility is always good

 

[Beej]

If the neck wood is Douglas Fir, it is about the weight and strength of White Pine. Not exactly, but pretty close.

Not really, Doug fir is considerably stiffer, especially when vertical grained. It is functionally a lot more like a soft hardwood. I've not used any other softwood like it, it's really in its own category. that said, I've only had success with it in a neck when vertical grained and using stiffeners...

 

[ctmullins]

Fretboard inlaid, radiused, and fretted.

My usual 20" radius, 24 frets. Thinking on stringing it up B E A D.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Cool body shape, I dig it. That really does look like mahogany to me, but there are a lot of different varieties being called mahogany. I bought a solid blank that looked a lot like that, and they called it mahogany. If you don't know how stiff it is, id go bolt on. I don't really see much advantage to set neck over through neck or bolt on. Subd!

 

[ctmullins]

I don't put too much stock in the alleged tonal profiles of the various neck attachment methodologies. I have experienced excellent results from all three, with one caveat: I always install threaded inserts for a bolt-on, and use stainless machine screws. Neck-through is a difficult build, so it's my least favorite from a construction point of view. Set-neck is better than bolt-on for me from an ergonomic standpoint, but given that I'm using a deep tenon, it's really rather academic; the bolts would be well out of the way on this one anyway. I'm thinking bolt-on at this point. That may change tomorrow....

 

[ctmullins]

Bolt-on it is!

 

[PDX Rich]

Once I start building bolt-on as opposed to neck through, I am sure my workflow will be much simplified!

 

[Manton Customs]

The body shape looks nice .

Difficult to tell from the pics, but could the body be White Limba/Korina? The last picture of you drilling for the ferrules looks like it, but having said that I've just finished working a load of it, so maybe I'm seeing Limba where there isn't any! Attached a web pic which looks similar. If it has kind of a yellowy hue to it when wet, it could well be. Limba/Korina is also nice and lightweight.

Regarding the neck wood, if it is Douglas Fir, it'll make a fine neck. Melvyn Hiscock (the guitar book guy) built a bass with a Douglas Fir neck and had good things to say about it.

 

[ctmullins]

Thanks for all the input, guys. I agree that the body wood does have a similar grain pattern to many of the "mahoganies" that I've seen, but I'm just not enough of an expert to tell. Are there any experts out there? I could mail you an offcut...

I can also tell you that it cuts super-easy. Not nearly as tough as the khaya or sapele I've worked with in the past.

???

 

[ctmullins]

Hmm.

I have this cool Delano SBC quad-coil just sitting in the parts drawer...