Stangray (Mustang/Stingray) build

[sprag]

I shaped the body for this in late 2019 but have started back up on it now.

I walked into my local music shop about 15 years ago and picked up a CIJ fender mustang that had the pickup removed. A bart MM pickup in the MM position.
A badass II bridge, probably to fit the pickup.

My main player at the time was a musicman stingray and I'd never played a shortscale before.
it sounded killer, my right had was used to having my thumb anchored over that shaped pickup, and I my left hand was all over the shortscale neck like a rash.

So of course I didn't buy it on the spot- I had a big European holiday starting the next week. By the time I came back it was sold.

So here i am trying to recreate the magic.

Specs:
Alder Mustang body
30 inch scale bolt on neck
19 fret Rosewood fret board
Bartolini stingray pickup in MM location.
Badass II bridge and Hipshot tuners

The fourth body is the mustang from 2019ish

Just started the neck last weekend

yesterday got a little of the headstock shape - oversized stingray shape
Also routed a slot for the truss rod

 

[rudy4444]

Looks good so far. Hopefully it won't be another 6 years before more progress is made!

I love and play single pickup short scales with LaBella Black tapes, so I'm totally into this.

The combo Fender style naming convention I appreciate, too. The electric guitars that I've been playing I refer to as "Jagsquires".

 

[Sharko]

But what color will it be????

 

[Number179]

Great back story haha. Nice shop setup...nice ash bodies...nice appointment and component and design concepts. Pretty dang impressive all around!

It will be interesting to see the mustang body shape against the MM headstock shape - and assumingly 3+1 config.

Get her across the finish line!!

 

[Low Main]

Big up vote for the generous height of resaw cut on the bandsaw.

 

[Rumblefisher]

I shaped the body for this in late 2019 but have started back up on it now.

I walked into my local music shop about 15 years ago and picked up a CIJ fender mustang that had the pickup removed. A bart MM pickup in the MM position.
A badass II bridge, probably to fit the pickup.

My main player at the time was a musicman stingray and I'd never played a shortscale before.
it sounded killer, my right had was used to having my thumb anchored over that shaped pickup, and I my left hand was all over the shortscale neck like a rash.

So of course I didn't buy it on the spot- I had a big European holiday starting the next week. By the time I came back it was sold.

So here i am trying to recreate the magic.

Specs:
Alder Mustang body
30 inch scale bolt on neck
19 fret Rosewood fret board
Bartolini stingray pickup in MM location.
Badass II bridge and Hipshot tuners

The fourth body is the mustang from 2019ish
View attachment 7295001

Just started the neck last weekend
View attachment 7295002

yesterday got a little of the headstock shape - oversized stingray shape
Also routed a slot for the truss rod
View attachment 7295003


View attachment 7295004

View attachment 7295005

View attachment 7295006

Stangrang

 

[berticus]

Stingstang???

 

[sprag]

Looks good so far. Hopefully it won't be another 6 years before more progress is made!

I love and play single pickup short scales with LaBella Black tapes, so I'm totally into this.

The combo Fender style naming convention I appreciate, too. The electric guitars that I've been playing I refer to as "Jagsquires".

Definitely not another 6 years. It will be a while however, I have another 3 on the go (the 2 jazz bodies from pic 1 and a pointy beast)

My second build was a short scale with flats. 2 pickups though - Lollar single coil P bass

But what color will it be????

Originally wanted whit with matching headstock and light blue tort guard.
I reserve the right to change my mind till the day of painting.

Great back story haha. Nice shop setup...nice ash bodies...nice appointment and component and design concepts. Pretty dang impressive all around!

It will be interesting to see the mustang body shape against the MM headstock shape - and assumingly 3+1 config.

Get her across the finish line!!

Thanks.
Tragically not my workshop. But nice that I get to use it
One of the Ash bodies is completed. The second is at the painting stage. I restarted this one while waiting for coats of paint to dry.
I don't have the bridge yet so if it isn't a badass it will be something similar
It will be a 3+1
will definitelyget it finished

Big up vote for the generous height of resaw cut on the bandsaw.

Could get 2 necks out of the plank but definitely not 3

 

[sprag]

Stangrang

Stingstang???

 

[sprag]

Here's pictures from a couple of different days.

1. Shaping the neck to fit the neck pocket
Gluing a strip over the truss rod with a little concave peice over the round end of the rod

2. After drying for a few days (or weeks in this case), planing and sanding the strip down until flush with the rest of the neck.

 

[sprag]

Rosewood fretboard

Radiused. Dam this stuff smells great when the router goes over it

Sanded all the tool marks out.

Cutting fret slots will be the next task.

 

[sprag]

Got the fret board secured onto the fret template

Into the jig

And cut the frets

All done

Fretboard glued to the neck

 

[ravelax]

Cool idea!

View attachment 7295737

You could also call it a "Murray".

 

[sprag]

Back at the workshop yesterday

filed the fretboard flush with the neck and a quick sand

Measured up the dot locations

Drilled some holes... a couple too deep, so I stuffed a little sawdust in them

Superglue

Hammer where required

After the glue dried, sanded them back and scrapped the sawdust out of the fret slots ready for frets. That's a job for next week.

 

[sprag]

I made it into the workshop yesterday (Saturday in Oz) after an overtime job had to be rescheduled last minute.

Onto the fretting.
Scooped any sawdust and whatever else was trapped in the fret slots, and used the corner of the tiny square file to open up just the very top of the slots

So, I start with a straight piece of fret wire. The first process is to make it nice and round

Cut a length so a bees dick (actual metric measurement for those in the U.S.) hangs over each side of the fretboard

Use this tool to cut off the tang at either end

A little tap each end to get the frets started in place

Then it goes in this handy little machine, where I try to make the fret wire straight again. 9.25 Radius but it looks a lot straighter after being curled up to almost a circle

Using this thing, I feel like I can't trust my eyes. It seems to me like there's no moment between perfectly lined up and completely off

Lastly, clipped the overhang off, then filed the frets with the angled file till there was a hint of sawdust in with the filings

 

[sprag]

I've asked this over in the mustang club as well,
If someone has a mustang bass (CIJ if there are pickuard differences), can you please take a measurement and post the distance from the nut or 12th fret to the back of the pickuard.

The instrument this build is inspired by had the pickup pretty hard up against the pickguard.

 

[sprag]

Thanks to the good folk over in the mustang forum, I got my measurement for the back of the pickguard.

with that, I've marked where the front of the pickup will sit.

While the glue was drying on another build, I got into shaping the neck

The straight pencil line is my safety margin. That file with the red handle can do some major damage, and my mind tends to wander off when I'm repetatively filing, sanding, whatevering for more that a couple of minutes straight

When happy with the bulk of the neck, I started getting into the nut/headstock area. I'm okay with the same file, as I need to reposition frequently enough that my mind stays on task. Then, switch to the less aggressive files as required.

Same thing down this end. Seems easier, till I realise I'm trying to make it look symmetrical.

Not sure if it's cos this is a short scale or that I'd just done one, but shaping this neck went a lot quicker than the 5 string I'm also building.

 

[sprag]

I'm building this bass in conjunction with a 5 string fretless (seperate build thread).
Right now there neck and neck.

The neck wasn't level all the way to the first fret so I had to correct that

I got a little help resolving the headstock neck transition so I can't take credit for how good I think this turned out

That pointy SOB in the background is another project waiting for me to get back to it.

Side dots

Shaping the end of the fretboard.

So I should have got the protractor and the calculator out before I sized/shaped the headstock

Had to do a bit of geometrical gymnastics to make these fit.
the D string is reversed here because it won't fit like that in the G position (it will be getting switched back).
So I'm going to have 3+1 tuners with none reversed. I hope the G string is stable and doesn't require tuning very often.

Holes cut and done for the day

 

[NKBassman]

did you use a torch to burn those holes through the headstock? lol

 

[sprag]

did you use a torch to burn those holes through the headstock? lol

Lol, no.
It was a bit smokey as I went though.

The guy who runs the workshop gave me the bit to use.
I'm guessing its not fit for purpose or the drill press is too fast.