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New Build - VR-1 Ranger Bass

psychotiger

psychotiger

Feb 24, 2008
422
3
Austin, Texas
Disclosures
Builder: Moore Custom Guitars
#1
My twin boys are seniors this year, both very involved in music. I wish I had a tenth of their talent but I guess somebody has to build these things. Neither of them play bass but both are in the jazz ensemble. The ensemble has a killer bass player who owns his own bass but the school doesn't own one. He is a junior and when he goes, so does the bass. So I thought it would be a good thing to make them one, something to remember us by when we've moved on to the college thing.

This will be a passive 4-banger but I haven't decided on all the details:

Body: Ribbon-striped mahagony wings, rosewood and curly maple center
Neck: Bolt-on Hard Maple
Fingerboard: Suggestions? Bird's Eye? Cocobolo?
Hardware: Hipshot bridge and tuners (if I have the bucks). Leaning toward black but may use chrome.
Pups: Hand wound dual coil jazz pups by TB's own John Worrell! He is donating one of them! Awesome.
Finish: Clear water-based lacquer


Any suggestions certainly welcome!

Clif
 
#2
The Body Wood, edge planed and ready for glue up:

BassBodyWoods9407.jpg


And after the glue up today, planed, template at the ready...

BassBodyGlueUp9410.jpg


Peace

Clif
 
#5
Got some work done on the body. Had some minor tear out common to mahagony but nothing that won't sand out easily or disappear when the body is contoured. That dark line running down the center of the maple is just a pencil mark on the centerline. I decided to incorporate the knot into the design for character. I'll "fix" it in place so it doesn't cause trouble ( I hope ).

The neck pocket is done and the neck template fits nicely. I'll start on the neck this weekend.

The Body:
CloseBody9412.jpg


Checking the neck pocket:
Bodynnecktemplate9419.jpg


My router wanted in the picture:
Body9412.jpg


More soon,

Clif
 
#7
I feel like I didn't get a weekend's worth of work done but I did accomplish some goals.
1. I finally got that knot solidly fixed with about 10 applications of CA glue. That thing was a heavy drinker.
2. Made templates for the pups, control cavity and cover
3. Edge sanding
4. Rounded over edges with the router
5. More edge sanding.
6. Hollowed out the control cavity on the drill press
7. Resawed some hard maple then jointered and planed the neck blank.

I had planned to focus on the neck this weekend. FedEx delivered the truss rod Friday evening so I thought it was a go. Then I tested the truss rod and it failed. Maybe next weekend.

The infamous knot:
Knot9423.jpg


Full Frontal with neck blank in the background:
BodyFront9431.jpg


And the rear with cavity drilled out:
BodyBack9421.jpg


Thanks for looking. Of course, any comments/advice appreciated.

Clif
 
#9
funk generator said:
looks beautiful man :) how do you fix knots? Im starting my first build soon, picking up some nice ideas from that beauty your making :)
Click to expand...

Thanks bro. The word "fix" is kind of confusing in this sense. I don't mean "fix" as in "repair" but rather to fix in its position. There is a crack running through the knot with 3 small fissures. I filled the opening with CA glue and sanded it flat. Now it shouldn't move or fall out. It took many applications to fill the void so it held me up a bit. Now, when I get to the finishing stage it will be as flat as the rest of the wood but will hopefully add some character. Thanks for looking and good luck on your build.

Clif
 
#11
Ordered black hardware last night: Brass Hipshot A bridge, "Y"-shaped Hipshot Ultralite tuners. Also ordered push/pull pots, 3-way switch, etc...

Today ordered Ziricote fretboard. I've never worked with Ziricote before. Any advice as to how I should treat it? Lemon oil?

Thanks

Clif
 
#12
Wow. The tuners, bridge, and Ziricote all showed up today. That's 2-day shipping that I didn't pay for, sweet! The ziricote fingerboard from Hibdon Hardwood is gorgeous. I was a first-time buyer and they treated me like an old customer. Highly recommend them and will be calling them again.

Clif
 
#17
Lemon oil is not citric acid. Lemon juice contains citric acid. Lemon oil is oil, unless it is the commonly found "lemon oil" which is a petroleum product.

And you are not necessarily trying to protect from acid that your fingers mysteriously give off. People are not monsters from sci-fi or video games. (And before the argument comes, let me say: unprotected metal does not rust where it is fingerprinted due to acid. It does so because the finger oils and dirt cause a localized reduced exposure to oxygen, which causes effective anodic and cathodic zones in the metal, across which there is a galvanic potential, spurring the corrosion.)
 
#18
pilotjones said:
Lemon oil is not citric acid. Lemon juice contains citric acid. Lemon oil is oil, unless it is the commonly found "lemon oil" which is a petroleum product.

And you are not necessarily trying to protect from acid that your fingers mysteriously give off. People are not monsters from sci-fi or video games. (And before the argument comes, let me say: unprotected metal does not rust where it is fingerprinted due to acid. It does so because the finger oils and dirt cause a localized reduced exposure to oxygen, which causes effective anodic and cathodic zones in the metal, across which there is a galvanic potential, spurring the corrosion.)
Click to expand...


[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#20
Rickett Customs said:
IIRC, you worked with Chip Todd on your first one right?
Did you learn anything good ;)
Click to expand...

LoL. Yeah, I learned a thing or two or three or.... One of the most valuable things I learned had to do with the process of creating guitars as opposed to all the content of how to build them that I got from him. He taught me that I can think about how to do something until it paralyzes me. Sometimes the best way to learn is to just go for it and if you mess up, it's not the end of the world - start over... or fix it. He also pointed out that I am more of a perfectionist than an engineer which is a double-edge sword but if controlled can be surgically effective. Pretty Zen, huh? Yes, Chip was a great teacher and still is. Even though he recently moved to a different city, I still talk to him often by email or phone, usually when I have yet another question. He has become a good friend.

Clif
 

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