Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
More Fun with the Modelo Uno: Forward and Lateral Motion
- Thread starter Freekmagnet
- Start date
Here's my pseudo-update -
Basically since getting laid off last month from my job at the ad agency due to Cabronavirus, I've been winding pickups almost every day. After deciding that my multi-coil neodymium sidewinder with laminate blades was more trouble than it's worth, I turned my focus toward more simple and easy-to-make pickups. Now, to make one pickup, I only need to make about 12-15 parts as opposed to 50. And, I have yet to experience any physical injuries like the ones I endured making my Exotica pickup. For now, I've just been making these plain old mini-humbuckers and it's been pretty awesome, actually.
I'm actually making 3 different variations using the same parts. Pictured here are a pair of pickups; one bridge and one neck. I also made a third pickup with a shorter coil, a bigger magnet and a wider aperture. Anyway, I think this period has been a good phase of my pickup-making process. I've learned a lot about making bobbins and pickup winding in general.
Additionally, I discovered how to use a few features I designed into my pickup winder. For one thing, I figured out how to calculate the exact number of turns-per-layer I'm getting, and how to more precisely adjust according to the gauge of wire. I actually knew about this (I designed and programmed my Arduino-powered winder so that I could do this), but using it in a practical sense was lost to me until now for some reason. Anyway, it really helps when I need to calculate how much wire I'm laying down and how much I can lay down.
This is actually kinda cool, too. I used to tape these bobbins to the platten with foam tape. What a nuisance. Getting the bobbins centered was a PITA and they'd always fly off. Well, thanks to the two holes Bruce drilled into my platten, I was able to make this stupid simple fixture for my bobbins:
I just wedge the blade in the slot and voila! Centered bobbin securely attached to the platten!
I'll have some more updates on this bass project soon - one of the pickups I'm working on is for this very bass.
Basically since getting laid off last month from my job at the ad agency due to Cabronavirus, I've been winding pickups almost every day. After deciding that my multi-coil neodymium sidewinder with laminate blades was more trouble than it's worth, I turned my focus toward more simple and easy-to-make pickups. Now, to make one pickup, I only need to make about 12-15 parts as opposed to 50. And, I have yet to experience any physical injuries like the ones I endured making my Exotica pickup. For now, I've just been making these plain old mini-humbuckers and it's been pretty awesome, actually.
I'm actually making 3 different variations using the same parts. Pictured here are a pair of pickups; one bridge and one neck. I also made a third pickup with a shorter coil, a bigger magnet and a wider aperture. Anyway, I think this period has been a good phase of my pickup-making process. I've learned a lot about making bobbins and pickup winding in general.
Additionally, I discovered how to use a few features I designed into my pickup winder. For one thing, I figured out how to calculate the exact number of turns-per-layer I'm getting, and how to more precisely adjust according to the gauge of wire. I actually knew about this (I designed and programmed my Arduino-powered winder so that I could do this), but using it in a practical sense was lost to me until now for some reason. Anyway, it really helps when I need to calculate how much wire I'm laying down and how much I can lay down.
This is actually kinda cool, too. I used to tape these bobbins to the platten with foam tape. What a nuisance. Getting the bobbins centered was a PITA and they'd always fly off. Well, thanks to the two holes Bruce drilled into my platten, I was able to make this stupid simple fixture for my bobbins:
I just wedge the blade in the slot and voila! Centered bobbin securely attached to the platten!
I'll have some more updates on this bass project soon - one of the pickups I'm working on is for this very bass.
Last edited:
The last week or two I’ve basically just been making pickup prototypes. I’ve got a few parts coming in the mail this next week. When they arrive, I can get to finalizing some of these.
From L-R: The first pickup I ever made. I pull it out every once in a while to compare it to my newer pickups; a single coil with one A5 bar magnet - my next project will be to make make a single coil with either a solid bar or P90-style with the magnets underneath; a bridge and neck version of a mini-humbucker - these are pretty much done, and I’ll be building a few of these soon; a pair of C8 humbuckers - I made one to go in the bass I’m building. It’ll be a bridge pickup with a preamp. The other I’m making for a client - it’ll be a passive pickup in the P position. I’m actually really loving this pickup.
I’ve been on a pickup-designing frenzy, which is good because now I have the foundation already built for my next two bass builds. The only trouble is that now I have to design two more bass builds!
From L-R: The first pickup I ever made. I pull it out every once in a while to compare it to my newer pickups; a single coil with one A5 bar magnet - my next project will be to make make a single coil with either a solid bar or P90-style with the magnets underneath; a bridge and neck version of a mini-humbucker - these are pretty much done, and I’ll be building a few of these soon; a pair of C8 humbuckers - I made one to go in the bass I’m building. It’ll be a bridge pickup with a preamp. The other I’m making for a client - it’ll be a passive pickup in the P position. I’m actually really loving this pickup.
I’ve been on a pickup-designing frenzy, which is good because now I have the foundation already built for my next two bass builds. The only trouble is that now I have to design two more bass builds!
Or find some other friendly neighborhood Luthiers who have interesting projects needing innovative pickups. There are more people building basses than are building bass pickups.
Haha - I haven’t ruled that out - it’s part of the plan! However, with these last few prototypes, I can’t help but think, “Dang, I want a bass that sounds like this!”
I took a break from pickup making and laid this finish down.
it’s WB Varathane and the color coat is Duplicolor MetalSpecks Blue. The Duplicolor required a base coat, so I laid down a few coats of Varathane mixed with General Finishes Arctic White Milk Paint.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with it. I think this was the most trouble-free finish I’ve done. Although, because it was a little more complicated, I let a few minor things go that I normally wouldn’t have. If I was going to do it again, I’d do a solid color or dyed wood on the back; the seam where the painted sides meet the binding was troublesome.
Now, I gotta (re)finish the neck. I’m trying to decide if I want to do solid black or transparent black over maple. I have some black dye stain, and last time I put it on the neck, it finished completely opaque.
Other than that, I’ve been really focused on making pickups lately. I designed 3 last month - now I have to decide if I’m going to use a small humbucker or a fat P90-style single coil. Today I’m leaning toward the single coil ‘cuz the test wind sounds freakin’ awesome!
it’s WB Varathane and the color coat is Duplicolor MetalSpecks Blue. The Duplicolor required a base coat, so I laid down a few coats of Varathane mixed with General Finishes Arctic White Milk Paint.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with it. I think this was the most trouble-free finish I’ve done. Although, because it was a little more complicated, I let a few minor things go that I normally wouldn’t have. If I was going to do it again, I’d do a solid color or dyed wood on the back; the seam where the painted sides meet the binding was troublesome.
Now, I gotta (re)finish the neck. I’m trying to decide if I want to do solid black or transparent black over maple. I have some black dye stain, and last time I put it on the neck, it finished completely opaque.
Other than that, I’ve been really focused on making pickups lately. I designed 3 last month - now I have to decide if I’m going to use a small humbucker or a fat P90-style single coil. Today I’m leaning toward the single coil ‘cuz the test wind sounds freakin’ awesome!
Just working on touch-ups today.
The body is looking good. I hit the sound hole insides with a little sparkle paint. I used a spotting brush. I felt that the body could use some more polishing, so I buffed it some more with the buffing machine. I think it looks a lot better.
The neck is giving me a small amount of trouble. I cut the the neck pocket really tight, and I painted the neck black. I had to be really careful with the amount of paint I was laying down. I put roughly half as many coats as I usually do. When I went to buff the headstock, I had a little sand through. Fortunately, I didn’t sand through the color coat. I used the General Finishes Milk Paint, and that stuff is really tough for what it is.
Tomorrow, I’ll have to come up with a strategy where I mask the heel section and spray everywhere else. Then, I’ll have to follow the same routine with my sanding process. Not a big deal, but I already broke my spray booth down.
The body is looking good. I hit the sound hole insides with a little sparkle paint. I used a spotting brush. I felt that the body could use some more polishing, so I buffed it some more with the buffing machine. I think it looks a lot better.
The neck is giving me a small amount of trouble. I cut the the neck pocket really tight, and I painted the neck black. I had to be really careful with the amount of paint I was laying down. I put roughly half as many coats as I usually do. When I went to buff the headstock, I had a little sand through. Fortunately, I didn’t sand through the color coat. I used the General Finishes Milk Paint, and that stuff is really tough for what it is.
Tomorrow, I’ll have to come up with a strategy where I mask the heel section and spray everywhere else. Then, I’ll have to follow the same routine with my sanding process. Not a big deal, but I already broke my spray booth down.
Last edited:
I joined the neck to the body today. So far so good.
Next, I need to make the pickup, cut the pickguard, install the hardware, and cut the nut. Then I’m done!
Next, I need to make the pickup, cut the pickguard, install the hardware, and cut the nut. Then I’m done!
Very nice! I keep telling you, you've designed and developed a sellable bass here. Find somebody to build the bodies and necks for you, if you don't want to get into that yourself.
Aw shucks, Bruce! Thanks for your support.
Trust me, I have vivid daydreams about having bins of prefabed parts so I can just assemble this stuff and send it on it's merry way. I'm working towards that with my pickups - that's something small enough for me to manage by myself.
But what I don't understand is how running a business works or how to sell stuff like guitars and basses. I wish I did. I don't have a problem designing and doing R&D - in fact, I have another design I'm going to start on as early as next week, and I go two more instruments on the back burner. They all kind of fit in my funky yet elegant, retro yet modern vibe. In addition, I can make beautiful print and web collateral, logos, products names etc., but when some one asks me what I want to do with this stuff and where I want it to go as a business, my mind draws a blank and my eyes completely glaze over.
Reminds me of a semi-recent situation with a certain Canadian builder/company who tried bringing a new product to market and took a bunch of pre-orders and then completely botched the whole thing. Hype. Crowd-sourced input from TB. Promises. Timelines. Demo models. Band endorsements. NAMM hype. Overseas supplier issues. Communications breakdowns. Failure to deliver. Refunds. Damaged reputation. And ultimately no new basses for anybody. No bueno.
Not that I know anything about running a business. But good advice seems to be to start small and don't make promises you can't keep.
Last edited:
Reminds me of a semi-recent situation with a certain Canadian builder/company who tried bringing a new product to market and took a bunch of pre-orders and then completely botched the whole thing. Hype. Crowd-sourced input from TB. Promises. Timelines. Demo models. Band endorsements. Overseas supplier issues. Communications breakdowns. Failure to deliver. Refunds. Damaged reputation. And ultimately no new basses for anybody. No bueno.
Not that I know anything about running a business. But good advice seems to be to start small and don't make promises you can't keep.
Yeah, that's a sad, but classic story.
But, you raise a good point. @Bruce Johnson is always happy to point out that I live down the street from what amounts to an actual luxury guitar factory. I suppose I could crowdfund a run of say, 50 instruments, and pre-sell them as high-end pieces completely manufactured in Fillmore, CA. That's keeping it small, fairly low-risk, and getting a cool piece out to market. I'd just have to come up with a price where everyone makes a little money, post it online and see how many people bite.
I have a passing familiarity with that situation.Reminds me of a semi-recent situation with a certain Canadian builder/company who tried bringing a new product to market and took a bunch of pre-orders and then completely botched the whole thing. Hype. Crowd-sourced input from TB. Promises. Timelines. Demo models. Band endorsements. Overseas supplier issues. Communications breakdowns. Failure to deliver. Refunds. Damaged reputation. And ultimately no new basses for anybody. No bueno.
Not that I know anything about running a business. But good advice seems to be to start small and don't make promises you can't keep.
A positive current example I can give is Broughton Audio pedals. Josh's method, while certainly more frustrating for buyers, appears to help protect the builder in the long run. That is, build in small batches and only sell what you have in stock. No pre-orders. No wait lists. No custom orders. Downside, builder fronts the money for the builds, and some people will get turned off in the scramble to buy when a batch becomes available. But at the end of the day the builder retains control of the sales and minimizes risk exposure. Broughton came to this method after years of operating by word of mouth and wait-list sales for some of his more popular products, which became increasingly cumbersome to manage. Demand for his pedals is currently very high due to reputation, so the Broughton Scramble on release day is just brutal to watch/experience. lol
A pre-sold fixed quantity run would certainly help, VS a free-for-all wait list. Obviously overhead material costs on a bass will be higher than building pedals, per unit.
I figured a few people here would know what I was talking about. I was THIS close to buying into that bass pre-order myself.
SGD pickups is another, slightly older example.
Last edited:
Well, yeah, that’s just the thing. Undertaking such a project would be too big for me to do myself. I’d have to work paying a few people to help me out - otherwise there’d be no way I could deliver. Something like pickups or pedals are pretty small, low-ticket items. One guy could pull off a small production run. Something like a bass would require more man-power.
But this is just talk...
. Food for thought, anyway.Latest posts
-
-
-
Would you play gigs with a band that doesn't have a great PA?
- Latest: buldog5151bass
-
-