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SuperB - 5'r / Super SLX fretless… etc

JIO

JIO

Scott Lives
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Commercial User
Jun 30, 2010
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musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
#1
With the Supernova still warm out of the oven (ummm, the smell of fresh baked bass) I'm ready to start planning the next in line - the "Super B" 5'r. It's design will be influenced by a few things. The body outline will bridge off the Supernova with references from my Parker Hornet. (get it, B, Hornet?) :rolleyes: …actually that was a coincidence. It'll use the stand-up body design w/inset buttons like the Supernova, with a slightly different rear entry jack design.

Anyway, the Parkers neck is the between width; 1 3/4" - 2 3/4", not the narrowest and not the widest. I don't play a lot of 5-string and it takes a few to get adjusted to the narrower spacing, but I enjoy playing it. It's early in the game, so maybe I'll just say for now that's the plan. I think I'll go to a guitar store to play some 5 string basses and take a measuring tape along. Adding one more string adds a lot of complications so more R&D time will be needed before creating any sawdust.

I also want it to be a neck-thru and do some ergonomic sculpting on the body. Maple neck/body center and maybe alder wings. Ebony fb for sure. For now I'm thinking a single oval (white!) Delano quad in the MM position. Will need to research a suitable pre. The bridge, like the Parker and my Supersonic, will be individual string-thru units.

One of the hardest parts is coming up with a fresh hs design. Nothing yet but sketchbook pages full of possibilities. I dig the Parkers 5 in line, but not against 3/2 or 4/1.

And finally, this one will get a Gildaxe finish. I like the way Chris Kuffners custom Gary Fried bass came out using 18k Lemon Gold leaf so I may go that route. Would look very classy w/a white oval pu.

Here's Chris playing that bass on last nights Jimmy Kimmel Live




IMG_7061_zpsf4da7992.jpg


IMG_7035_zpsffec23e7.jpg


IMG_7062_zps5e3e12cd.jpg
 
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#10
JIO said:
something like this -

IMG_7064_zps7a34b486.jpg


IMG_7065_zps608d2f7d.jpg
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Fitting. The angles of the headstock work well with the body. I like the vintage font selection there, too. I can't put my finger on that but the "uper" part of Super looks like an existing art deco font — or some close derivative thereof. It definitely has that old-school superhero look to it. I like the curvature of the baseline as well.

I'm picking up a little Music Man control plate vibe.
 
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#12
pedrodelawasp said:
I love how your designs look like something an illustrator from the 50s might have drawn as their prediction of the future!
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I like that! thank you - that's really nice of you to say Pedro! I've loved sketching/designing guitars ever since I was in grade school. (early-mid 60's) Designs like the VOX Teardrop & Phantom were among my favorites along with Flying V's, T-birds and the many wild/odd-ball designs of Eko and the (cheap) Silvertones, Teisco etc the Japanese were creating/producing. Back then the non-traditional guitar shapes always struck me as so modern and as you said, futuristic! I wasn't aware of them then, but the funky Russian designs would have also appealed to me. As an adult, I've broadened that love to good design in all modes from more traditional to unusual and am constantly trying to invent/refine hybrids of the two. There's a point where a line/design feels right and gives you a hint of what comes next - then it's making sure that form follows function. It's why the Fender P's & J's are so iconic/classic.
 
#15
bass_case said:
The lines make me think of the boomerang formica seen on vintage tabletops. I remember that stuff from when I was a kid, and always loved it.
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It's funny because it's the MM control plate out of its edge-hugging element (as when installed on a MM Stingray bass) which instigates that. It shows how such a small tweaking of a recognizable design/shape can take on a whole new identity. Instead of following the body contour, it 'floats' a bit and in doing so draws attention to its symmetric boomerang/banana shape. Combined w/the asymmetric dented oval/egg shaped pg, oval pu, and within the streamlined body contour, there starts to be an interesting dialogue of forms/shapes. Think of it as the visual soundtrack of a hip cocktail party… or something like that.
 

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