• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Six string spalted maple, fretless, and first build ... kit

#281
You definitely need to scrape off some of that black (paint or whatever) to get a good connection with the ground wire. You can tell if you have a good connection with an ohm meter, but you could also test it by connecting a wire between one of your strings and the ground on your cable. If the hum goes away with the external wire in place, then you are not getting a good connection there.
 
#282
Ok, so this is weird, and possibly telling:

I haven't removed the bridge yet, but I just tried playing again. I confirmed that the buzz went away when I touched the bridge or the strings. The coil splitter switch also worked as expected.

I then unplugged the cable, reconnected it, and pushed down on her cavity cover, which was bulging a bit from all of the wires beneath it, and the buzzing stopped! Unfortunately, the coil splitter switch also reverted back to its behavior from earlier with regards to the bridge pickup, so I think the switch is shorting out by touching the copper shielding tape.

Before I take it apart again, I made sure to put a drop of nail polish on the side of the switch I know is the non-split, default, configuration. I used blue, of course.

image.jpg

Once that dries, I'll reset the switch and make sure it's not touching the copper foil.
 
#283
There should be a direct connection between the bridge and the ground, not through the copper shielding. The copper shielding should be grounded as well, but that's not where the bridge should be picking it up. If pushing on the control cover grounds the strings, something else is not making a connection.
 
#284
All is well now, I think, for good. The circuitry for the coil splitter switch was touching the copper foil. Once I reseated it (which was a pain, in and of itself) and cleaned up the wires a bit, there was no more buzzing, even when I touched the knobs, and the coil splitter behaved as expected. I did not need to check the bridge ground wire after all, as I believed all along it was touching the bare metal of the bottom of the bridge (my memory of how the bridge looked on the bottom came back to me).

Here's how the switch looked before I reseated it:

Photo Aug 16, 09 38 14.jpg


I tested the bass with both my Carvin amp stack, and my Sonic Port iOS adapter through JamUp on my iPad, and it sounds full and infinitely customizable with the FlexCore pre-amp. Again, no buzzing or unexpected behavior.

Next up is having the nut created with the GraphTech Tusq XL blank I have and final setup. I'm having a local tech handle that for me. I'll also ask him to give a look-over on the electronics, to make sure it's all kosher. I also need to fix the strap lock on the horn, as it seems loose and I don't quite trust it. I might need to re-drill a hole for it, but that can certainly wait.

The end is near...
 
#285
No offense intended, at all, but I think this bass might be well served by a relic finish treatment, if done in a thoughtful and controlled fashion. This is only my opinion.
Apologies if this does offend, but there looks like there's a lot of nice going on here, and the finish appears to be the proverbial weak link.
I could just be barking at shadows, which is my wont.

Please ignore and continue if I am out of line. Just felt that I had to say it. Again, opinion, and as valuable as most.
Thank you.
 
#286
wraub said:
No offense intended, at all, but I think this bass might be well served by a relic finish treatment, if done in a thoughtful and controlled fashion. This is only my opinion.
Apologies if this does offend, but there looks like there's a lot of nice going on here, and the finish appears to be the proverbial weak link.
I could just be barking at shadows, which is my wont.

Please ignore and continue if I am out of line. Just felt that I had to say it. Again, opinion, and as valuable as most.
Thank you.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry, I have to agree with this.

Again, I also don't want to sound offensive, but I would've swapped the hardwares and electronics with your Douglas bass, if I were you.

You certainly have gain an invaluable experiences this far, but the first of everything does not always turn out to be pretty.
 
Last edited:
#287
wraub said:
Apologies if this does offend, but there looks like there's a lot of nice going on here, and the finish appears to be the proverbial weak link.
Click to expand...

Harry Cahyadi said:
I'm sorry, I have to agree with this.

Again, I also don't want to sound offensive, but I would've swapped the hardwares and electronics with your Douglas bass, if I were you.
Click to expand...

Thank you both for your opinions. While I'm not 100% happy with the finishing, it isn't bad enough to abandon it, and I'm proud of what I did. I'm not a fan of artificial relic jobs, and not too fond either of older basses that look old, so doing that isn't an option for me. After having a staining issue (with the glue spot) I think I did a fairly decent job of covering it up and making a blueburst finish. It's not what I had in mind when I started, but it looks fine alongside my other basses, including the ash Douglas and the poplar burled Ibanez.

IMG_1004.JPG


There are a lot of things I'm not happy with this build, but the finish of the body isn't one of them. The headstock doesn't look good to me, so I might refinish that. The fretless conversion turned out great (although the abalone dots aren't perfect), and the happy accident that was the back walnut staining looks great to me. I love the ink staining I did on the sides, and while there are a few imperfections, the transition between the blue front and darker back was done well.

I hate how the ferrules were misaligned, and that the routing for the bridge pickup was screwed up. But none of those are reasons to ruin, or abandon this instrument. I have plans for the Douglas (my next project). I'm going to refinish it and upgrade its electronics, but Zhenya is a usable and not-entirely-awful-looking fretless bass. I will play it with pride.

Harry Cahyadi said:
You certainly have gain an invaluable experiences this far, but the first of everything does not always turn out to be pretty.
Click to expand...
True, I have gained a lot of invaluable experiences (well, they cost over $2000 in parts, plus eight months in time), and while it's not pretty, I don't think it's ugly. It's mine. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Harry Cahyadi and wraub
#290
So, for the headstock refinish, I'm going to use Invalid Link Removed. While it's not an exact blue match to the body, it's reasonably close, and I like how it blends to the greenish tint on the body's side.

That won't be for a while, however. I'm dropping Zhenya off for nut creation and setup tomorrow afternoon, and I won't get her back for at least a week. I also need to convert the guest bathtub into a spray painting booth, as I'm going to start on refinishing the ash Douglas bass with the glitter green paint soon. I'll start a thread for that project soon.

I've been playing Zhenya a lot this week and really like the feel and sound. I suspect I wired the pickups backwards, as I normally prefer the bridge pickup, but on Zhenya I'm favoring the neck. I had marked what I think was the neck pickup when I mounted it, but it might have been the bridge pickup. What's a good check to figure out if I wired them wrong? I tried tapping on the shell, but it wasn't conclusive.

Fortunately, it'll be an easy fix if I need to re-wire it.
 
#292
The bass is still being set up, so I am back to my trusty 2x4 testing. I built a makeshift spray booth in our spare bathroom, and am testing the color shift paint for Zhenya's headstock, as well as the green glitter for my next project.

Well, while the green glitter paint tests were a resounding success, I'm not quite as happy with the color shift. While it's the right shade of blue head on, it's a distinct purple from an angle. It's very cool looking, but isn't right for this bass.

image.jpg
 
#293
I heard from the tech today to say that she's ready for pickup, so I'll go tomorrow or Thursday afternoon for it.

I went to an auto parts store to look at their paint options, and risked $7 on this:

image.jpg


I did a test on two of my test pieces, one with a black primer (the top 2x4), and the other with white:

image.jpg


It looks like a good match. I quite like the tealish tint it has on non-primed wood. I think that's my fix for refinishing the headstock, but I probably won't do so anytime soon.
 
#294
Just a suggestion, when testing out some finishing products on a test piece, do a complete testing to avoid any surprises.

What I mean by complete testing is, use the test piece from the same species of wood, grain fill it if needed, sand it, spray the colour coat, spray the clear coat, wet sand it, buff and polish it to the desired gloss level. Once you get it all perfect on the test piece(s), then do exactly what you did to the test piece(s) to your bass.

All the best.
 
#295
Harry Cahyadi said:
Just a suggestion, when testing out some finishing products on a test piece, do a complete testing to avoid any surprises.
Click to expand...
Yes, good point. I should get another maple sample and test on that. As it'll probably be a few months before I want to refinish the headstock, I'll have time to test it.

Thanks again for your comments and suggestions!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Harry Cahyadi
#297
MrMerrey said:
Wow. You were so much more adventurous than me on my Kit build. Looks great, lots of unique little details.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I definitely bit off more than I could chew with this build, especially since it was my first. But, I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Plus, I like problem solving, and I certainly had enough obstacles to overcome.

I got the bass back this afternoon from the tech. The nut seems perfect, and it plays a lot better with the pro setup. He had to do opposite adjustments on each truss rod -- relief on the bass side, and tension on the treble side. I'm glad I outsourced it, there's no way I could have done that successfully.

However... he forgot my request to run the strings (Ken Smith Compressors) through the body, which I wanted (and went through all that work with fixing my drilling mistake). I'm annoyed about that. I can easily take off the strings, and not-as-easily refeed them through the body (as they've already been wound about the tuning peg).

eightyearsapril said:
As it'll probably be a few months before I want to refinish the headstock, I'll have time to test it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, about that...

If I'm taking the strings off to restring it, I might as well take the tuners off and do that refinishing of the headstock. That sounds like the perfect project for a long holiday weekend when I'm stuck at home because I'm on call.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back