So let’s build another bass.

[thisSNsucks]

Ok so mini update tonight.

My router left a beautiful finish but I always smooth down the sides of the body before doing my round overs. Any little inconsistencies on the sides will show up in the round over so it’s best to make sure you’re perfect before.

Sanded with 120 grit.

I bought a set of durablock sanding blocks a while back. Body shops use them, and they’re good for guitar sanding too.

That ash blank it’s sitting on will maybe be a future build thread...

Off to the router table.

I go for a pretty tight radius on my P bass builds. Marked some cautionary areas lol.

Looks good but I want this to be a little more flowy looking if that’s a word.

Go big or go home.

You can see the difference here.

Honestly it’s best to start with a smaller radius bit first anyway. It removes a bit of wood so when you go with your final radius, less opportunity for tear out or burns since you already removed a bit of material.

The more you know!

That’s more like it!

Now to clean this up.

Sharp chisel.

And a little sanding.

And we’re in business!

That is not the neck for this build, just one I have laying around the shop. Still fits pretty good and the pocket is tight!

Everyone loves a mock up right?

I’ll hopefully sort out the control cavity on the back tomorrow and then if all goes well I’ll have the contours carved by the end of the weekend.

Stay tuned, same time, same place!

 

[83_Silberpfeil]

Great job! Looking really good. I see you have 4 control knobs --- 3 larger; 1 smaller. What is your control scheme here? Volume, Tone, Neck/Bridge bias, active/passive?

 

[thisSNsucks]

Great job! Looking really good. I see you have 4 control knobs --- 3 larger; 1 smaller. What is your control scheme here? Volume, Tone, Neck/Bridge bias, active/passive?

Thanks!

The knobs and control layout aren’t finalized yet.

I’ll either just go passive, so the layout will be V/V/T with the output jack taking over the 4th spot.

Or I have an Aguilar and a Nordstrand preamp laying around. Both are 3 band, Volume/Blend/Tone/Stacked Bass/Treble.

The plan is that even if I decide on passive, it should be an easy retrofit if I change my mind and add a preamp later. Essentially I’d just have to add a side jack.

 

[83_Silberpfeil]

Good stuff -- thinking/planning ahead and keeping it flexible.

 

[rashrader]

This is looking real nice.

 

[thisSNsucks]

Ok so I didn’t get as much done this weekend but some good progress was made.

I’ll be honest, I went a little overboard with figuring out my rear cavity but here it goes.

First since the round overs are done, I measured out how far into the body they go as not to clash with my cavity or cover.

I made a duplicate of my top routing template too to make sure there was no interference and you’ll see why that was good in a moment.

Use my compass to set the amount in from the body edge I want to be at.

And marked on the template.

One of my pickguard screws needs to be avoided otherwise when I route the cavity, it might come through the top. You’d only see it in the cavity but we’re going for a quality product here lol.

Anyway I still out the control layout with a 1” bit too to see how the pots will sit.

It’s good clearance of the cavity walls.

Now I’ll cut that area out to make the cover template.

Cool.

More templates to make templates...

You thought I was kidding when I said overboard.

Template gets marked again with needed reference points.

And sketched out.

“No” hole avoided.

That’s a cavity. Now I need a recess cavity for the cover.

I basically duplicated the cavity template above. Didn’t get a picture of it.

Then I put 2 layers of binding tape around my cavity cover template.

Position the cover template on the 2nd template I made with the cavity cut out. And slap some scrap mdf on the flat sides.

Trace the curved sides, then off to the router table to take care of the straight edges.

Then sand the rest right to the line on the ROSS.

The tape gives the cover a little play to account for paint build up later.

I may still have to sand the cover later but check out that nice consistent gap around the perimeter.

 

[thisSNsucks]

And then I make a copy of the cavity cover just because! Lol

Actually I made it out of 3/4” mdf since it’s such a small piece to route. I figured the extra thickness would keep my fingers further from the bit later on.

Happy finding though. The holes I drilled out to locate the pots were a nice feature to help hold the template while routing so I included 2 of them on the new template. I’ll still use a block too though.

Drilled the mounting holes too. Used the compass to draw a consistent line around the edge and marked my holes evenly.


Sealed with superglue.

That will work.

Marked the body. Enough room for passive electronics that’s for sure!

 

[thisSNsucks]

I’m usually in bed by now, but I’m a man on a mission tonight.

Destruction.

Routed!

Recessed. I used a piece of the back cover material and then added the thickness of a razor blade to give a little extra depth.

Cover. I couldn’t take a phot while doing it but using a push block in one hand and holding the template by the furthest hole works great.

Fit

Just below the wood surface. Still have to countersink the cover holes.

Boom!

Contours tomorrow.

 

[I-Am-The-Slime]

You, sir, are a template guru!

 

[thisSNsucks]

You, sir, are a template guru!

Thanks! I try to have certain parts of my builds very consistent with templates.

Other parts I pretty much eyeball for the most part. Like contours:


Draw some lines on the body till they look right to me.

Hack away at it with some rasps and files.

Only got the forearm contour done. I’ll work on the belly and heel cuts tonight.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

You, Sir, are the King if Templates. Makes my ratty little MDF shapes look like wood bin castoffs. Very clean, precise, and above all, well thought out work.

 

[NKBassman]

Very clean work. Love the body shape. Subbed.

 

[thisSNsucks]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Yeah I spend a good bit of time on the templates up front but it pays off in the long run.

Anyway, back contours are done with the exception of some final sanding and scraping.

I just used a rasp and files. I really dig these dragon files from stewmac. The curved side fits perfectly for my heel contour. I also got some of their small razor files which work great in this area too.

That looks comfy.

Belly cut handled the same way. I usually use a Shinto for that which is better, but it was in the garage so I went with the course dragon rasp for the rough work.

We’re hitting the home stretch on this body.

Gotta drill for the bridge and wiring channels. Plug my template holes and do all the final sanding.

My question is: What color should this thing be?

I’m thinking Olympic white would be cool as it’s based on my Oly white Jazz.

Then again I have a hankering for something metallic. Ice blue metallic maybe?

Oh and we have to start the neck soon!

 

[NKBassman]

View attachment 3276521

My mild OCD really likes that the wood grain pattern is perfectly centered in the belly cut.

 

[thisSNsucks]

My mild OCD really likes that the wood grain pattern is perfectly centered in the belly cut.

Ha! I didn’t even notice that, pretty cool.

We’ll say I planned that.

Now this isn’t a particularly stunning piece of alder but it is nice. Maybe Natural/tort could be the way to go?

 

[NKBassman]

Ha! I didn’t even notice that, pretty cool.

We’ll say I planned that.

Now this isn’t a particularly stunning piece of alder but it is nice. Maybe Natural/tort could be the way to go?

I'm always partial to a nice three-tone burst, myself.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Dang! Looks like it was cut with a CNC! Some serious carving skills on display here.

 

[thisSNsucks]

Just drilled some holes. Plugged some others, and sanded it to 220.

Wire channels done with some long bits and brass hobby tubing.

The angle for the neck pickup was a little steep so I just taped a metal ruler down to protect the wood.

A little high in the cavity but it’ll work.

Cool.

Pickups. Here’s a silly tip. Post it notes are great for remembering things and great to use for little shims here and there.

A few around the edges of the pickup in the cavity so it’s snug and drill away.

I have some stacks of post it notes at specific thicknesses. My 1/8” stack is great when setting up a trem to float.

Sanded from 120-220 grit. I raised the grain in between.

Smooth...

This one will just be passive.

 

[Reedt2000]

Just drilled some holes. Plugged some others, and sanded it to 220.

Wire channels done with some long bits and brass hobby tubing.

View attachment 3280391

View attachment 3280383

The angle for the neck pickup was a little steep so I just taped a metal ruler down to protect the wood.

View attachment 3280386

View attachment 3280396

A little high in the cavity but it’ll work.

View attachment 3280399

View attachment 3280401

Cool.

Pickups. Here’s a silly tip. Post it notes are great for remembering things and great to use for little shims here and there.

View attachment 3280392

A few around the edges of the pickup in the cavity so it’s snug and drill away.

I have some stacks of post it notes at specific thicknesses. My 1/8” stack is great when setting up a trem to float.

Sanded from 120-220 grit. I raised the grain in between.

View attachment 3280393

Smooth...

View attachment 3280394

View attachment 3280395

This one will just be passive.

Really enjoying this build, very cool design choices and building techniques

Why not drill from the neck pocket between the pickups to route the neck pickup wire? You could plug the hole after if it bugs you cosmetically.

 

[chinjazz]

Nice and Smooth as you said! Cool tips too!