My V1 bass

[micguy]

I'm sorry, but my parents put this programing into me, and they're not here to do it:

You're gonna put somebody's eye out with that thing!

Seriously, a tiny bit of radius will one day make you happy that the tip of your bass point didn't break off, and the person you impaled with it will be somewhat less pissed off.

Yes, it looks very cool.

Oh..... by the way, did you have to make a case for it, or does it fit into some off the shelf case?

 

[BruggyisGawd]

That's a nice one, and well executed for a first build!

I think the skewed V-shape actually works very well with the fanned fret design. It's like the last frets and the body are stretched into the same direction.

that's part of the reason I decided on going multiscale with this body, and the offsetting V really works nicely with the tuning bridges, which made it possible for me to remove the headstock and negate any neck dive.

 

[BruggyisGawd]

I'm sorry, but my parents put this programing into me, and they're not here to do it:

You're gonna put somebody's eye out with that thing!

Seriously, a tiny bit of radius will one day make you happy that the tip of your bass point didn't break off, and the person you impaled with it will be somewhat less pissed off.

Yes, it looks very cool.

Oh..... by the way, did you have to make a case for it, or does it fit into some off the shelf case?

I was actually concerned that leaving the long point quite so pointy would make it a weak point, so we'll have to see how things play out. Also, I'll have to build a case for it. It's too long for a standard off-the-shelf case.

 

[micguy]

I was actually concerned that leaving the long point quite so pointy would make it a weak point, so we'll have to see how things play out. Also, I'll have to build a case for it. It's too long for a standard off-the-shelf case.

Yes. having it that pointy does make it a weak point (2 of them, actually). If I were you, I'd make a few points like the one on the bass out of the scrap wood (grain orientation matters a whole lot), and commence to abusing them to see how fragile they are - find out what amount of point rounding it takes to get them strong enough for normal bumps and such. Maybe you can figure out how to make a sturdy enough point that you never experience the horror of a broken point.

 

[lidl e]

This is my first build, and I'm very happy with how it all came together. It's a spalted maple body, flame maple neck, rosewood fretboard (12" radius, 37" B string, 34.75" D string) with mandolin frets and a custom copper inlay. Nordstrand Zen Blade 4 pickups into an 18V Darkglass Tone Capsule preamp. ABM 3901B bridges/7011B head pieces. View attachment 4875541 View attachment 4875536

Wow! Love it.

 

[SpaceJockey]

That's a killer build! I've always love V shaped bodies, but never really see any basses like this.

How would you rate the quality of the ABM hardware?

And how about the Darkglass preamp?

 

[BruggyisGawd]

So far, the ABM hardware seems to be pretty solid. I've had no issues yet, but I'll update as the instrument settles into itself. Also, I really like the Darkglass preamp so far. Still some dialing in to do on my big amp, but so far so good.

 

[Engle]

Awesome!
Do you cut the fret slots? I was wondering how you did it.

 

[ctmullins]

Nice! This checks a lot of my boxes: I love pointy shapes, I love ABM headless, I love the Nordstrand blades, I love the DarkGlass. Sweet!

 

[BruggyisGawd]

Awesome!
Do you cut the fret slots? I was wondering how you did it.

yes I did cut the slots. I did it pretty basic, used an aluminum straightedge as a guide for each slot, clamped it down in each position, and just did it by hand with a fret saw. I did the cuts before I radiuses the fretboard, so I just deepened them again once I finished radiusing. I found a program online to calculate the fret intervals. Worked really well.

 

[Engle]

yes I did cut the slots. I did it pretty basic, used an aluminum straightedge as a guide for each slot, clamped it down in each position, and just did it by hand with a fret saw. I did the cuts before I radiuses the fretboard, so I just deepened them again once I finished radiusing. I found a program online to calculate the fret intervals. Worked really well.

I have slotted a few fingerboards with a fret saw and a straightedge many years ago, so I guess there's no reason I couldn't do the same.
I think I found your post describing it last night. You printed out the slots and taped the paper onto the fingerboard.
Thanks!