NBD - my first scratch build

[TeaTime]

Completed my first from scratch build. It's giggable (I've been playing it for about a month now) but of course flawed. I've learned a LOT about building through this process, and the second build (underway!) will reflect that.

Big thanks to the users of TB who endlessly share their decades of building experience!

I'll post a comprehensive build thread in the luthier forum this weekend.

Note: it is not as orange as my Android photo makes it out to be. There are tasty orange accent bits, but it is otherwise the proper shades of black limba. Another user just told me that the green of the grass is throwing the phone's color balance off.

30" scale bolt-on
24 fret
Body: Chambered mahogany
Top: Black Limba
Neck: Black Limba/Flame maple
Fretboard: flame maple
Frets: nickle med-jumbo
KD headless bridge and headpiece
Two MM style pickups, mounted in a custom black limba/maple enclosure
Passive V/V/T, with series/parallel/outer coil toggle for each pickup.
Weight 7.2 lbs

 

[TeaTime]

A better idea of the body wood colour -

 

[xiaoma]

Hey it looks great! Two questions:
1) when you say flawed, what exactly aren't you fully happy with?
2) what is that bridge? never seen one like that!

 

[Taustin Powers]

That's a cool design, and I dig the giant pickup!

 

[Cleezmo]

Looks very inspired by the Reverend Mercalli/Thundergun shape. Cool build!

 

[BassicJazzy]

Completed my first from scratch build. It's giggable (I've been playing it for about a month now) but of course flawed. I've learned a LOT about building through this process, and the second build (underway!) will reflect that.

Big thanks to the users of TB who endlessly share their decades of building experience!

I'll post a comprehensive build thread in the luthier forum this weekend.

Note: it is not as orange as my Android photo makes it out to be. There are tasty orange accent bits, but it is otherwise the proper shades of black limba. Another user just told me that the green of the grass is throwing the phone's color balance off.

30" scale bolt-on
24 fret
Body: Chambered mahogany
Top: Black Limba
Neck: Black Limba/Flame maple
Fretboard: flame maple
Frets: nickle med-jumbo
KD headless bridge and headpiece
Two MM style pickups, mounted in a custom black limba/maple enclosure
Passive V/V/T, with series/parallel/outer coil toggle for each pickup.
Weight 7.2 lbs

View attachment 7533092

I love how you built the p'ups into their own ramp, and that bridge, wow!

 

[TeaTime]

The biggest flaw was in execution. I didn't make templates, which any knowledgeable builder would have done. I did everything one bit at a time, either freehand or with ad hock shaping guides, like clamping a ruler in place for a straight cut. This made the build take much longer than needed, with more worrying and correction.

There is some silly correction work at the headpiece. I'll be posting that this weekend in the luthier section.

Cosmetically, the fret position markers are sloppy. I did them 3 times, with each pass having to be a bit larger since I had to drill them out.

Hardware - I dislike the bridge. It's an ALP-4, and I really liked that it doesn't look like a headless bridge. Restringing takes way too long. But the big issue is tuning - It's all back and forth sharp and flat until you finally land on the spot. It stays in tune once there, but takes too long, especially when the rest of the band is staring at you

I didn't use template or pattern for the body shape. I cut, rasped, sanded, repeat, until I got a happy shape that felt good in my hands. Wasn't deliberate, but I like Reverend basses, and their 6-string guitars are my absolute favourite guitars. I usually play the Six Gun TL when I guitar, and except for the lower horn this came out very close to that body. If I'm going to borrow someone else's thinking I'm happy with it being theirs.

Happy Jamming!

 

[Dincrest]

Like others said, I like how it reminds me of a headless 24-fret Reverend with unfettered upper-fret access. Such a thing did not exist... until now!

I always admire when someone imagines a vision then builds it, makes it real.

 

[Wyvern]

Looks nice! almost Reverend like.

My only concern is access to the dusty end, I wrote a tune that has chord work to the 23rd fret and some basses I simply can't do it.