Double Bass PLEK for bass?

[AntonLargiader]

Sure. What you're talking about is a 3 axis CNC router set up to mill a bass FB after it's been installed on the bass.

I think the PLEK system goes a bit beyond that. To me, the precision comes from knowing the FB profile with AND without string tension, and basing the adjustments on that and the desired string height (which isn't the same for everyone). So it's more about measuring than it is about machining.

Whether or not hand-tool-wielding luthiers can (and do) make adjustments that are as good is a different issue. Some can, and I bet some can't.

The thing about robotics and automation is that the programming can (and does) develop to incorporate the all of the wisdom you want to throw at it. Look at the chess playing megacomputers: only a few people in the whole world can beat them, sometimes. Automotive self-diagnostics have come a long way, too. Any logical process that a person performs can be programmed, and I can't see why luthiery would be exempt. I suppose you can get entangled in the art vs. science thing, but if there is a correct FB profile for me and my bass, it is determined via a logical process that can be repeated. To me, that's science.

 

[greenbass5]

I dress upright bass finger boards using a series of 3" x .75" x 44" Baltic birch blanks that have been milled on a computerized router to very specific bows that run the entire length. This allows me to chalk the board and get a very accurate dip over the entire finger board's length with no divots or gullies. The result is a player can achieve very low action without any buzzing. It really makes the basses very easy to play. I have different dips for different styles and player preferences.

That's very interesting. I guess by "series" you mean they progress incermently in the amount of wood they remove? (sorry, best way that I can come up with of saying it).

 

[360guy]

That's very interesting. I guess by "series" you mean they progress incermently in the amount of wood they remove? (sorry, best way that I can come up with of saying it).

I have 4 different boards that have been CNC routed to different bows. They range from .093" to .125" over a 44" length. My mentor, Ray Doerr, fashioned one for himself many years ago by clamping a piece of spring steel on a large board and then centering a spacer at the center with the ends clamped. He marked it, and cut it.

In use, I simply chalk the dip board and rub it across the fb. It takes awhile but when it gets to the point of total chalk you can be sure the job is good. I receive high praise for my fb dressings. I have a nice Czeck Flatback that has the E set at 5.5mm and there is no buzzing!

I can try to post some pics if you'd like.

 

[greenbass5]

I have 4 different boards that have been CNC routed to different bows. They range from .093" to .125" over a 44" length. My mentor, Ray Doerr, fashioned one for himself many years ago by clamping a piece of spring steel on a large board and then centering a spacer at the center with the ends clamped. He marked it, and cut it.

In use, I simply chalk the dip board and rub it across the fb. It takes awhile but when it gets to the point of total chalk you can be sure the job is good. I receive high praise for my fb dressings. I have a nice Czeck Flatback that has the E set at 5.5mm and there is no buzzing!

I can try to post some pics if you'd like.

please do! Thanks.

 

[360guy]

Here you can see the beginning stages of the chalking. Where there is chalk I scrap, since the areas without chalk are already lower than ideal. By the time I'm done the entire fb will be covered equally with chalk. At this point the dip is uniform over the entire fb.

 

[JoeyNaeger]

That is an interesting way to do it. Are your curves perfect radiuses or some other curve?

 

[360guy]

I had a local shop make the boards on a CNC machine with a perfect radius. It could be refined even more but this seems to work sufficiently well. I had 4 slightly different radii milled and doubles of each size. One is for shop use the second is a master blank should I want to make more. It would be a simple procedure on the router table w a pattern bit.