Making my bass lighter

[jbybj]

Did some fine tuning today of the edges, corners, and contours. (Dremel MultiMax is my friend). I get the impression that poplar is not known for its inherent beauty and interesting grain, but the smoother it gets, the more I feel like I’m gonna keep the finish natural. I had toyed with making it black but I don’t trust it to look like I imagine it.

 

[jbybj]

Today I routed the battery compartment.

Made a little access slot to the lower chamber, unintentional of course. But now I have a place to hide the diamonds.

Tomorrow I’m going to drill some holes and mount the neck and the new Hipshot aluminum bridge, then string her up. I want to make sure it’s working and everything is placed correctly before I sand and oil it up. It will be cool to hear what it sounds like “unplugged”.

 

[jbybj]

I have no more drilling, routing, or sawing to do. Sanding, oiling, soldering, and lastly playing it are what remains.

It will come in under 8 1/2 lbs. 8 lbs 5.8 ozs includes the battery and the strings, everything but the oil.

Lining up the neck pocket holes to the pre-existing holes in the neck is not easy. I made very careful measurements repeatedly, and still had to expand a couple of the holes about 1/32 of an inch to get the neck to seat properly.
It’s difficult to tell without a direct a/b comparison, but my memory tells me the acoustic sound has a bit more “ping” with the new body.

 

[Basically Bob]

Looks great!

 

[Chad Michael]

Please, don't put paint on that interesting and clever piece of wood.

 

[wraub]

Another vote for unpainted, here...

 

[jbybj]

The problem with being a part time, hobbyist Luthier, (and I use the L word loosely here), is that when your paying job gets busy, your project takes a back seat.

I am painfully impatient when it comes to sanding. This body will look perfect, from 8 feet away. I have a couple of coats of Tru oil on it. I really like the way the Poplar takes the oil. It feels even and thin.
I am also reminded of how a brown paper bag has the perfect level of abrasion for in-between coat sanding.

 

[jbybj]

Fourth coat.

 

[Macht-0]

Wow jealous, I have a tribute L2500 that should go on a diet. How much do the pups and bridge weight separately?

 

[jbybj]

I went to put the 9th or 10th coat on today and thought, hell no, I’m done oiling. I put it all together save the soldering. Saturday will be a solder and set up party at my house. Even with an empty control cavity there is no appreciable neck dive. Can’t wait to hear it.

 

[jbybj]

Wow jealous, I have a tribute L2500 that should go on a diet. How much do the pups and bridge weight separately?

Sorry, installed the pups before I thought to weigh them. I’m certain that the bridge and pups are heavier than any other bridge and pickups I’ve ever encountered. I’m happily replacing the bridge with an aluminum Hipshot, but the pickups are the crux of the biscuit, they stay.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I always thought the crux of the biscuit was the apostrophe.

Nice looks no bass. I like the color variations across the body.

 

[jbybj]

I always thought the crux of the biscuit was the apostrophe.

Things change. Sometimes I really miss Frank. I mean I really miss him.

 

[jbybj]

Got home from work early today, fired up the iron, and finished it.
8lbs 5.2ozs
I put the same flats back on that have I have been using since I got the bass, a few years ago. Did my initial set up, plugged it in, and thought, yup, that’s pretty darn close to how I remember it. I was playing and tweaking the action, when I noticed I had forgotten to adjust the pickup height. I don’t tend to measure the pups, I eyeball it, and listen to them. Raised the neck pup about 2-3 mm, and the bridge pup about 1-2 mm. Boom, there it was. That big, fat, MFD sound that I love so much. I have no doubt that there has been a change in the tone with the new body, but my ears and my memory could not discern what that difference may be. It also feels very much the same, only lighter.

So, I have learned that I can successfully pull off a wholly functional, sufficiently pretty bass body, but I lack the patience to make it look pro.
Overall I’m extremely happy with the results.

If nothing unexpected pops up in the next few weeks, I’ll be putting my G&L body and bridge up for sale.

 

[wraub]

'twere me, I'd keep those stored away in a box. You may have reason later to be glad you did.
Things change.

Congrats on the epic success.

Got home from work early today, fired up the iron, and finished it.
8lbs 5.2ozs
I put the same flats back on that have I have been using since I got the bass, a few years ago. Did my initial set up, plugged it in, and thought, yup, that’s pretty darn close to how I remember it. I was playing and tweaking the action, when I noticed I had forgotten to adjust the pickup height. I don’t tend to measure the pups, I eyeball it, and listen to them. Raised the neck pup about 2-3 mm, and the bridge pup about 1-2 mm. Boom, there it was. That big, fat, MFD sound that I love so much. I have no doubt that there has been a change in the tone with the new body, but my ears and my memory could not discern what that difference may be. It also feels very much the same, only lighter.

So, I have learned that I can successfully pull off a wholly functional, sufficiently pretty bass body, but I lack the patience to make it look pro.
Overall I’m extremely happy with the results.

If nothing unexpected pops up in the next few weeks, I’ll be putting my G&L body and bridge up for sale.

 

[jbybj]

'twere me, I'd keep those stored away in a box. You may have reason later to be glad you did.
Things change.

Congrats on the epic success.

Yeah but if you were me, you’d realize you want to move in the opposite direction of keeping stuff around just in case.
If I ever feel compelled to own a legit L2000, I’m getting something that suits me as it left the factory. I’ve no interest in going back.
Remember, the bass I started with was already a parts bass, mismatched models as well. It was never legit.

It may take me a while, but I’m guessing someone out there will be very happy to find the old body.

 

[wraub]

Fair enough, and, obviously, well considered.

Play on.

Yeah but if you were me, you’d realize you want to move in the opposite direction of keeping stuff around just in case.
If I ever feel compelled to own a legit L2000, I’m getting something that suits me as it left the factory. I’ve no interest in going back.
Remember, the bass I started with was already a parts bass, mismatched models as well. It was never legit.

It may take me a while, but I’m guessing someone out there will be very happy to find the old body.