Not sure. The sides of the pocket will be glued on and while many say that is a strong bond, I was concerned the floor could flex with string tension.
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Portable Sub-Short scale; take 2
- Thread starter MovinTarget
- Start date
My guess (and it is just that) is you'll be ok. The strings are pulling the neck into to the body more than anything, it's the reason the cleat will work. So I don't think it will get much stress in the direction which would bend the neck pocket.
You're this far along, might as well try it, see what happens
You're this far along, might as well try it, see what happens
After my moment of doubt over the thickness I proceeded as planned.... I set it up to use the flush trim bits on the vacuum board again:
The backstop was a little weak but I'm not too concerned about the lack of smooth edge on that side:
I did whip out the chisel to even it out a bit more as you'll see here:
I was conservative on the depth so the Z clip comes up just a hair higher than the channel sides:
This does mean that there is a little lever action so I might go deeper, I was just worried about going *TOO* deep and be unable to get the clips to marry up.
The positions are *perfect* at least. There is just a smidge of space between the neck heel and the backstop. They don't touch, but there isn't a huge gape either. To further the argument that it's not deep enough, the neck looks like it sits a little high...
So, I wanted to give this a try, but I also have the 1/4" maple arriving soon... I might just flatten/lower the pocket completely and cut and glue in a channel using that, if it the perfect height....
...A coat of paint, hides a multitude of (wood) sins...
The backstop was a little weak but I'm not too concerned about the lack of smooth edge on that side:
I did whip out the chisel to even it out a bit more as you'll see here:
I was conservative on the depth so the Z clip comes up just a hair higher than the channel sides:
This does mean that there is a little lever action so I might go deeper, I was just worried about going *TOO* deep and be unable to get the clips to marry up.
The positions are *perfect* at least. There is just a smidge of space between the neck heel and the backstop. They don't touch, but there isn't a huge gape either. To further the argument that it's not deep enough, the neck looks like it sits a little high...
So, I wanted to give this a try, but I also have the 1/4" maple arriving soon... I might just flatten/lower the pocket completely and cut and glue in a channel using that, if it the perfect height....
...A coat of paint, hides a multitude of (wood) sins...
Okay I'm back and got things done. I had mentioned that I'd grabbed some 1/4" maple sheets as they happen to be roughly the same thickness as the cleats when connected, so I went a different direction!
I planed away the channel on the pocket floor so it was smooth and then I started making a frame I could glue on and the cleat would sit low in it... These kept breaking so I cut them in half... Literally! I attached one behind each cleat so there is no obstruction when join/separating and it works!
It is quite snug!
I also started contouring the part your hand comes in contact with b/c I HATE the flat block you get on conventional bolt-on neck pockets!
So the two pieces will have consistent contact all around the cleat joint to minimize/eliminate rocking. As of right now they join very tightly and it takes a lil effort separate/connect.
I planed away the channel on the pocket floor so it was smooth and then I started making a frame I could glue on and the cleat would sit low in it... These kept breaking so I cut them in half... Literally! I attached one behind each cleat so there is no obstruction when join/separating and it works!
It is quite snug!
I also started contouring the part your hand comes in contact with b/c I HATE the flat block you get on conventional bolt-on neck pockets!
So the two pieces will have consistent contact all around the cleat joint to minimize/eliminate rocking. As of right now they join very tightly and it takes a lil effort separate/connect.
Forgot to order the nut material and individual headless stringlocks so those will be coming later this week...
I've been eyeing EMG components for this build, as something different... curious about going with 45twx with the BQC pre... that would give me a couple of voicings plus a 3+ band preamp in 3 knobs:
Push/pull volume to control voicings
Hi/Lo
Mid/mid freq...
Not sure if I want to drive all that with 1 or 2 9 volts...
On the other hand, I have some Ibanez ATK pickups and I could run one as serial/parallel/SC with a switch and still get a pre...
Anyone have thoughts about a comparable to the BQC I should consider?
I've been eyeing EMG components for this build, as something different... curious about going with 45twx with the BQC pre... that would give me a couple of voicings plus a 3+ band preamp in 3 knobs:
Push/pull volume to control voicings
Hi/Lo
Mid/mid freq...
Not sure if I want to drive all that with 1 or 2 9 volts...
On the other hand, I have some Ibanez ATK pickups and I could run one as serial/parallel/SC with a switch and still get a pre...
Anyone have thoughts about a comparable to the BQC I should consider?
Last edited:
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
- 1
- 31,705
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
I think I'm going to go with the BQC + the ATK pickup with a 3-way throw for some different voicings... I can literally rip the pickup and switch out of my dual ATK full scale 5er that I never use...
If possible, I'll splice the solderless cables to get a volume pot connected. Not sure I want to solder onto those little circuit boards!
If possible, I'll splice the solderless cables to get a volume pot connected. Not sure I want to solder onto those little circuit boards!
Measured out my 27" lenght and cut core slightly longer than needed for bridge (b/c I'm paranoid LOL):
that's 3" off the tail!
Now I can start getting things oriented... You can see how little "real estate" you get with a 27" scale bass w/ 24 frets!
I grabbed my V1 body for reference. I feel the sub shorts benefit from the pickup(sp) being a little further back so that they pick up less of the strings' "big wobbles"... That's the highly scientific term for it! LOL
So yeah, I'm thinking about here for a bit of an MM sound, which makes sense for the ATK pickup. It will be interesting with the tri-blade format as the front and back rails are going to be picking up very different string sections:
The back rail is about the same as the Zen Blade rail on V1 for clarity where the front rail is close to the middle of the playing area, will probably be much meatier... I'll think about this some more, I might move it further back, but not too much...
that's 3" off the tail!
Now I can start getting things oriented... You can see how little "real estate" you get with a 27" scale bass w/ 24 frets!
I grabbed my V1 body for reference. I feel the sub shorts benefit from the pickup(sp) being a little further back so that they pick up less of the strings' "big wobbles"... That's the highly scientific term for it! LOL
So yeah, I'm thinking about here for a bit of an MM sound, which makes sense for the ATK pickup. It will be interesting with the tri-blade format as the front and back rails are going to be picking up very different string sections:
The back rail is about the same as the Zen Blade rail on V1 for clarity where the front rail is close to the middle of the playing area, will probably be much meatier... I'll think about this some more, I might move it further back, but not too much...
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Starting to spec out the body...
I have the pocket sides extending pretty far on both sides until I get a feel for how secure the neck is in the pocket.
If you look closely you can see the trace line for V1 that I used as a starting point. I needed the body to be just a bit larger... without going full sized...
I have the pocket sides extending pretty far on both sides until I get a feel for how secure the neck is in the pocket.
If you look closely you can see the trace line for V1 that I used as a starting point. I needed the body to be just a bit larger... without going full sized...
In rapid succession, several items arrived towards the end of this and I'm to busy to do anything!
BQC preamp, won't need the balance circuit
Its hard to find a Tusq wide enough, but I did:
Battery box for quick changes. The preamp directions says if you play hard and/or use the knobs to boost a lot that the battery drains faster... dunno if thats true or just "mildly true" and didn't feel inclined to go 18v with a passive pup...
And finally, several pairs of these quad-wire couplers or whatever you call 'em so I don't have to rewire/solder some of my non-EMG components. Primarily to reconnect the pickup to the 3 way switch, but may find uses elsewhere!
BQC preamp, won't need the balance circuit
Its hard to find a Tusq wide enough, but I did:
Battery box for quick changes. The preamp directions says if you play hard and/or use the knobs to boost a lot that the battery drains faster... dunno if thats true or just "mildly true" and didn't feel inclined to go 18v with a passive pup...
And finally, several pairs of these quad-wire couplers or whatever you call 'em so I don't have to rewire/solder some of my non-EMG components. Primarily to reconnect the pickup to the 3 way switch, but may find uses elsewhere!
I haven't quit! Just really busy recently!
Finally getting back to mocking things up.
Question: would it be lazy/bad form if I were to mount the battery box in the upper half and run the wires through the pickup route as opposed to drilling a reeeeeeaaallly long channel just for the wires to be separated???
Finally getting back to mocking things up.
Question: would it be lazy/bad form if I were to mount the battery box in the upper half and run the wires through the pickup route as opposed to drilling a reeeeeeaaallly long channel just for the wires to be separated???
It's a battery. So the wires are carrying DC from the battery to the electronics. So they shouldn't do anything bad to the AC signal wires, but you could use a shielded cable if feeling paranoid. Or if you have two Noids (...thus a pair of...) and are old enough you can get a couple of those Domino's pizza tripods you've been saving for 40 years to fend off the noids.
One of the advantages of laminating the body is I can do cross section cuts before gluing them together... its a small thing but I find it easier than routing out if I don't have templates...
I can always route away more later if I need bigger (like for this *HUGE* preamp from EMG):
I still need to cut away a little more for the sides of the pickup
The battery and control cavities started:
I can always route away more later if I need bigger (like for this *HUGE* preamp from EMG):
I still need to cut away a little more for the sides of the pickup
The battery and control cavities started:
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
- 1
- 31,705
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Hey @MovinTarget - this was just mentioned/linked in the "Weird Basses" thread - a very similar approach, although he is using some sort of a tapered cleat and not a Z-Clip.
starmanbass.ch
«The Travelist» ⋆ Starmanbass
starmanbass.ch
Nice design! My first thought was pondering the implications of having such an extreme pocket taper. I guess if you can get the pieces formed/molded at high precision, the whole process would be a lot faster...Hey @MovinTarget - this was just mentioned/linked in the "Weird Basses" thread - a very similar approach, although he is using some sort of a tapered cleat and not a Z-Clip.
«The Travelist» ⋆ Starmanbass
