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New build starting

thebassbuilder

thebassbuilder

Mar 7, 2012
1,013
378
Spartanburg SC
Disclosures
guitar builder, Meyers Guitars
#1
I am about to start another build. This one will be based off a design I did back in 2005 and just now getting around to building it. I think I was just not sure of the design till I found it recently and knew I had to build it. Anyway I have all the wood needed at this point. It will have the following specs:
- 5 piece Neck thru Mahogany/maple/padauk/maple/mahogany
- a beautiful Padauk top, with poplar wings with a thin walnut lam between the two
- at this point a 4 string Cocabolo finger board 35" scale. I have not made my mind up if I want to go with a different wood maybe maple or wenge
- I am going to do custom pickup covers to match Padauk top
- black hardware which this is all I need to order

Below are some picture of the full scale drawing and woods. This will be a very slow build at least at first. My shop is at my Mother-in-law's home which is a drive and not to mention when the cable company came out to run new lines they cut the power to the shop somehow and they will not fix it. So now she is going to have to get someone out there to run a new line. I hope this happens this week! I am dyeing to start this project. Well hope you like it and look forward to your comments.
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#6
Not much of an update here but just info for those that have not done this. Since I have my full scale drawing complete I will be adding it to a board to make the templates. So I went to Staples and had them make extra copies and also scan an image to my email. All this for $5.00 is well worth it. I did not want to get my only full scale drawing on the board and make a mistake and be left to start over. So if anyone else out there is looking to build from a drawing, this could come in handy. Not to mention I now have an extra copy to frame and hang on the wall. I love looking at my full scale drawings on the wall. To me they are art. Anyway just wanted to put that out there. Have a great one.
 
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#7
Tell me what you think about this idea (See pic). I was thinking of a 3 pickup system on this bass but do not want to do it showing 3 individual pickups. So I was thinking of doing the big mono block pickup cover. Tell me if you think it would look good on this neckthru? I love the look of the neckthru showing between each pickup in the original drawing but like the 3 pickup idea for sound reasons. I could make the cover out of scrap from the neck and make an illusion of the neckthru in the middle of the block making it look like there are two pickups but everything will still be flush across the top of the cover. I hope that made since :). Let me know what you think.

I have also altered the upper horn to make it the way I really wanted to in the first. The original drawing was based off a pre-set dimension. Now that I am not using the top wood I was going to use originally, I know longer have to stay in the box so to speak. It was a very small change made an 8th to 0.25" extension of the top of the upper horn but to me has made all the difference.
 

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#9
Well I checked out the measurements to do the three pickus and it will not work. At least it will not look good to me having that big of a pickup cover. I think it would be to dominate for the area. So I think I will go back to two pickups and this way if I decide to do a single pickup cover it wil be smaller.
 
#10
thebassbuilder said:
Well I checked out the measurements to do the three pickus and it will not work. At least it will not look good to me having that big of a pickup cover. I think it would be to dominate for the area. So I think I will go back to two pickups and this way if I decide to do a single pickup cover it wil be smaller.
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As with everything your personal preferences and gut feeling should drive your decisions. Personally I love the idea of the large pickup cover.
 
#11
michaelwayneharwood said:
As with everything your personal preferences and gut feeling should drive your decisions. Personally I love the idea of the large pickup cover.
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Thanks. The more I look at it the more I like it as well. As with all things these days when I do something I like to sleep on it and look at it again the next day to see what I think. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
#12
Word. Designing it so that you can vary individual pickup heights might be challenging, but it's doable as long as you have the main body of the cover at the maximum height you would need for any individual pickup. The you can mount the pickups from the rear, or you can include height screws for each pickup exposed on the top face.
 
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#13
First off Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there. For Father's Day my wife gave me a few hours off from being a dad so I could get some work done on this new build. I am really happy with what I got done. I have the neck woods ready to be glued and the top wood book matched and ready to go. Oh and for who ever said the horns looked too thin in the original drawing, it was. The cutout in the photo will not be the final size. I have redid drawing but have not done a cutout of it yet. Hope you like.
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#14
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I was able yo get some work done on this build. I have the neck blank glued and ready for shaping. I also got the body template cut out and ready to be sanded to final shape. I have the neck template laid out and ready to be shaped. Then the
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fun can really start.
 
#15
Well I have got a good bit more work done to this bass and I am getting more and more excited with each step completed. I have the body template sanded to it's final shape. I have the body wings planed and now glued and ready to be cut to final shape. I have the neck scarf cut but need to make the headstock before gluing it on the neck. Went ahead and cut some off the back of the neck so I could make the headstock. Next will be to start working on the neck template. Oh and you will see the pickup layout. This is what I want to go with. Should sound unique!
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#16
I wanted to know if any of you do your neck profile this way and if there are any tips for not messing it up or if I should just stick with what I know.

I normally band-saw a neck profile (Width at nut to bridge end) and then use a template or straight edge to route to proper width. Have any of you bandsawed to shape then use a joiner to final shape the width? Was not sure if this is a safe and accurate way of doing things.

Let me know what you think.
 
#17
thebassbuilder said:
I wanted to know if any of you do your neck profile this way and if there are any tips for not messing it up or if I should just stick with what I know.

I normally band-saw a neck profile (Width at nut to bridge end) and then use a template or straight edge to route to proper width. Have any of you bandsawed to shape then use a joiner to final shape the width? Was not sure if this is a safe and accurate way of doing things.

Let me know what you think.
Click to expand...

I do it the way you do. Works fine. The headstock would get in the way of a jointer, wouldn't it? Or are you doing it before the headstock?

That padauk is awesome!
 
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#18
I also noticed I have made changes to this build from the original list of woods being used.

Now the woods are as followed:

Neck- is really 5 pieces but 2 of them are thin Walnut veneers. So it is Maple/Walnut/Paduak/Walnut/Maple
Body wings- Paduak top and back with Walnut veneers between the flamed maple core

It still kills me, that I capped the top and back of a really nice flame maple board but I know in the end it will look killer have the flame on the outside edges.

I at least still have enough of this flamed maple board to make either another set of wings or another neckthru neck for a future build. Which I am already thinking of now and think it will be this same shaped bass but as a 5 string and maybe do a black stain over it all.

have a good one!
 
#19
If I add the headstock it can just taper down with the rest of the neck because I have to add wings to it regardless. I could leave it off but I always seem to have issues with the headstock not staying straight when gluing it on. It is a scarf joint and I want the wood lines to line up the best I can. This is why I think I would go ahead and glue on the headstock now.
 
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#20
Oh Lisa,

Yes that Padauk is awesome and I still kick my self for being cheap and not just buying the full 8' board when I got this. I was feeling cheap that day and had them cut me off just what I needed. When I went back it was gone and you can see for good reason. Most of this wood you see is very straight grain with know life to it like this one. Not to mention the colors are great and holding. A lot of this stuff will brown out but this is holding good. It gets darker but not brown. I am going to try and use a UV stable finish, so I can try and keep the color to stay that lighter color. Not sure if it will work but worth a try.

So it make made for not getting the full board even that much more. At least I will have a nice bass from it in the end (as long as I do not screw it up).

Thanks and have a good one!
 
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