Scarab Deluxe Bass

[JIO]

You could always make two surrounds out of 1/16" aluminum if you like. Something like what I did here:
View attachment 3535130
I'd be happy to make those for you if you like.

Thanks for the generous offer John! I'll let you know as things develop. So.., always being one up for a challenge, I moved a step closer to using the Burns hs plate and going for a scarab motif. In ancient Egypt the scarab bug symbolized the restoration of life and was/is a popular design in jewelry for good luck. Sounds good to me!

So here's an actual scarab - this one green. For the life of me I've never owned a green anything, but as a further challenge, I will entertain the idea.

Then I found this on line and bought it. It's a vintage sterling silver scarab pendant thingy. I love it! Very Egyptian and the perfect size for...

A scarab bass headstock badge! (with the top donut cut off) It is a bit smaller than I've drawn it - but perfect scale to adorn the hs. This bulbous design (below) works for now - will fine tune once I get the plate and the medallion. Very decidedly non-metal.

 

[JIO]

As I've been listening to a lot of Dusty recently - it seems a fittingly "retro" hs design motif ...

 

[Reedt2000]

Here's your 12th fret inlay

 

[JIO]

Here's your 12th fret inlay

View attachment 3535187

SCARABIRD! (you'd have to be a frequent T-bird threader to fully get this reference...)

 

[Jon Clegg]

SCARABIRD! (you'd have to be a frequent T-bird threader to fully get this reference...)

Why do you want to scare a bird? Oh yeah... seagulls...

 

[JIO]

I had some back-n-forth with Pat Wilkins - he can do these flip-flop finishes... but, a gallon is $4k !!! He doesn't need to buy a gallon, but 2 oz is $90 and he needs 2 Oz to do a paint job. So needless to say, this would be a pricy paint-job. He can do many different combinations of whatever combo I would choose. Here's a link to a paint manufacturer he uses to see what they offer - [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and he has a source that has many more colors than this. Unfortunately he doesn't have his colors online. Will consider more cost effective alternatives for now.

 

[Reedt2000]

Maybe you could do the glitter blast top-coat technique? If the body was black you could go green with the glitter, for the insect-y vibe.

That green, metallic, and ghosted on to a gloss black base coat (or bass coat ) could be cool

 

[Novarocker]

Love how this is developing. Very unique! The inlay idea is so cool!

 

[Jon Clegg]

I've been using Createx airbrush paints mixed with Varathane Ultimate lately. I was thinking you could do a green burst using Pearl Green with Pearl Black on the edges to get a beetle like effect.

 

[eddododo]

You could always make two surrounds out of 1/16" aluminum if you like. Something like what I did here:
View attachment 3535130
I'd be happy to make those for you if you like.

Holy moly

 

[JIO]

Maybe you could do the glitter blast top-coat technique? If the body was black you could go green with the glitter, for the insect-y vibe.
View attachment 3535947
That green, metallic, and ghosted on to a gloss black base coat (or bass coat ) could be cool

I've been using Createx airbrush paints mixed with Varathane Ultimate lately. I was thinking you could do a green burst using Pearl Green with Pearl Black on the edges to get a beetle like effect.

Something like that... a Kermit the frog green dusted with green Glitter Blast and a black halo could happen. Black & green is also very Burns which works in this Dano/Coral/Burns mash-up. Doing it like I've done my Teiscobirds (low-tech) would maintain the Dano-vibe. Never attempted a halo though -

Got the scarab pendent - it's a very nice piece.

 

[Jon Clegg]

Something like that... a Kermit the frog green dusted with green Glitter Blast and a black halo could happen. Black & green is also very Burns which works in this Dano/Coral/Burns mash-up. Doing it like I've done my Teiscobirds (low-tech) would maintain the Dano-vibe. Never attempted a halo though -

The halo isn't hard to do even with a rattle-can. I've done a few: spray the light color first, green in this case, then clear coat (I always forget this step!), then make a mask that's 3/4" - 1" smaller than the body outline, support it about 1" above the body, then spray the outline from about a 45 deg angle. adjust as needed. then clear coat. The intermediate clear coat seals the light color in case you need to make corrections to the halo.

 

[JIO]

The halo isn't hard to do even with a rattle-can. I've done a few: spray the light color first, green in this case, then clear coat (I always forget this step!), then make a mask that's 3/4" - 1" smaller than the body outline, support it about 1" above the body, then spray the outline from about a 45 deg angle. adjust as needed. then clear coat. The intermediate clear coat seals the light color in case you need to make corrections to the halo.

I imagined a template/guide of some sort. I found this vid that shows what you are describing -



I also watched a few vids showing staining a burst - but that's over natural wood so I'll have to see what the body/mahogany looks like at the final sanding stage to see if it's a consideration.

 

[Jon Clegg]

I imagined a template/guide of some sort. I found this vid that shows what you are describing -



I also watched a few vids showing staining a burst - but that's over natural wood so I'll have to see what the body/mahogany looks like at the final sanding stage to see if it's a consideration.

I think that's the video I watched before I did my first. I've also seen it done with an airbrush/ spray gun with flow control without using the mask.

 

[JIO]

Being more of a hands-on kinda guy I would prefer staining it by hand over spraying - we'll see. I used to do photo-realist oil painting on canvas that looked like they were done with an airbrush so I'm good with controlled blending.

 

[JIO]

I'm starting to get good feelings about this build - up to now I have a track record of creating unique looking basses that play and sound great. I'm not bragging - as my own harshest critic - it's a cold fact. Or as Jaco, borrowed from Muhammad Ali used to say; "it ain't bragging if you can back it up". If you are going to build instruments - that should always be the bottom line. That is, it has to perform great over it looking great.* So it's artistically liberating being able to create really cool looking basses that I know will sound/play great. No Fender clones here, I dare say we have more than enough of them out there. Every time I scan NAMM shows here on tb (from tb members who attend) I'm continually seeing P clones or J clones over and over and over again from China, from Indonesia, and now from India? Hello bass-players... is something for nothing always the bottom line?

* The world of custom guitars today is huge. A mecca of boutique makers/luthiers. Some really incredible woodworkers out there. For those who can afford such fineries - more power to them and kudos for that luthier. Let's just say, a person of reasonable means who happens to be a musician, a bass-player in fact, has the opportunity to own a unique, labor-of-love instrument...and they will bypass that to own 5 or 6 SX basses? (all for under the price of said unique great playing/sounding bass?) Really? In that respect a bass, an instrument - is solely a commodity. For the record (as if you already didn't know this about me) - I have a high respect for instruments as a means/vehicle to create, to be the beautiful tool to express ones-self artistically. That is a heavy responsibility bringing a new bass into the world. This is where I'm coming from, and maybe someday it will be realized. Sorry for the rant - the race-to-the-bottom on the backs of slave labor just gets to me sometimes.

 

[Jon Clegg]

Being more of a hands-on kinda guy I would prefer staining it by hand over spraying - we'll see. I used to do photo-realist oil painting on canvas that looked like they were done with an airbrush so I'm good with controlled blending.

Yeah, I've seen my son do some amazing wet-blending on plastic models that looked like airbrush work.

 

[JIO]

I'm starting to get good feelings about this build - up to now I have a track record of creating unique looking basses that play and sound great. I'm not bragging - as my own harshest critic - it's a cold fact. Or as Jaco, borrowed from Muhammad Ali used to say; "it ain't bragging if you can back it up". If you are going to build instruments - that should always be the bottom line. That is, it has to perform great over it looking great.* So it's artistically liberating being able to create really cool looking basses that I know will sound/play great. No Fender clones here, I dare say we have more than enough of them out there. Every time I scan NAMM shows here on tb (from tb members who attend) I'm continually seeing P clones or J clones over and over and over again from China, from Indonesia, and now from India? Hello bass-players... is something for nothing always the bottom line?

* The world of custom guitars today is huge. A mecca of boutique makers/luthiers. Some really incredible woodworkers out there. For those who can afford such fineries - more power to them and kudos for that luthier. Let's just say, a person of reasonable means who happens to be a musician, a bass-player in fact, has the opportunity to own a unique, labor-of-love instrument...and they will bypass that to own 5 or 6 SX basses? (all for under the price of said unique great playing/sounding bass?) Really? In that respect a bass, an instrument - is solely a commodity. For the record (as if you already didn't know this about me) - I have a high respect for instruments as a means/vehicle to create, to be the beautiful tool to express ones-self artistically. That is a heavy responsibility bringing a new bass into the world. This is where I'm coming from, and maybe someday it will be realized. Sorry for the rant - the race-to-the-bottom on the backs of slave labor just gets to me sometimes.

Addition: Regarding my efforts being realized - it's not like they haven't completely been realized, as a small number of my work is out there and hopefully being played/enjoyed by their owners. My frustration lies with those who do not understand what goes into a one-off instrument compared to a mass produced MIC bass being sold for dirt cheap. When everything is cheap (and crap) the general viewpoint becomes that paying a reasonable price for a hand-made instrument is over priced.

As translated by my favorite "get off my lawn" artist!

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Yes. Having built a few things besides just basses and guitars, I get the work and fiddling that goes into something custom. One of the guys I watch on YouTube, Rosa String Works, builds custom mandolins based off of a Loar F5 he took apart years ago. He was getting $6000 for one which just went up to $7000. In a recent video he said someone commented that they were going to quit watching his videos because he charges too much for his custom mandos. I mean, he shows on video how much work goes into bending sides and carving the top and back and people still don’t get it. Especially when factory made “Custom Shop” instruments go for more.

Sorry, rant over. Looking forward to how this turns out.

 

[JIO]

"Seen one - seen 'um all" - sorta, but not really. The pu's arrived today. They are distinctive because they are "Dano-type" lipsticks. (longer) A lot out there are drop-in's for Strats, Tele's etc. (same as a Fender single-shorter) Also different is the stats - these are a bit hotter than the usual lipsticks. Who doesn't like a hot output? Exactly... so coupled with "Dano-style" stacked pots (not sure if they are 250 or 500) - it should sound like a Dano. (like my Coral)

Now, as I can essentially do whatever I want - what is the "general opinion" of angled pu's? I only did it on one bass so far but frankly cannot say with conviction that it really made a difference. I know it is done - I would be interested to hear if anyone actually thought it made a sonic difference. I'm totally not against it, as it adds a bit of "jazzy' flair to the visuals.., but ...