Would love to see the rest of that bass!
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T-bird 5 string build idea.
- Thread starter KB5
- Start date
Fear not. I will not be swayed. I agree that flipping it will look to 7enderish. Looking for a luthier that will help out.
I'm in NY on Long Island. At some point next week I'm getting together with a buddy who is an engineer. He is an whiz on Inventor and should be able to model this in 3d. That would help ton see if the neck blank is going to work as hoped. I just emailed Kiesel to see if they have a model they will share. Crossing my fingers. Because that would make things a little easier. I think the neck heel may be an issue as all of the Kiesel bodies using this neck join at the 24th fret. The upper bout of the bird body joins the neck at about the 16th fret. I may have to find someone that will build a neck blank to my specs. My buddy is convinced he can build me a blank. He has built a few guitar bodies from scratch.
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
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- 31,704
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- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Build thread: ThunderTwins!
It’s a great bass, except it turned out to be 12 lb, which is too heavy to gig with.
Build thread: ThunderTwins!
It’s a great bass, except it turned out to be 12 lb, which is too heavy to gig with.
Nice pair of birds! Love me some flamed maple. Twelve pounds is a back breaker. That would have been a good candidate for a chambered body.
This build will be a little on the traditional side. I'm planning on black laquer on a mahogany wings. The other option would be to a gold top with clear on the back. I really want to do single ply binding on the body. I'm kind of going for T-Bird meets Les Paul Standard vibe hence the pickup selector and poker chip. I would love trapezoid inlays too but I will likely settle for dots. I'm thinking of black dye with an oil finish on the back of the neck. I'm not a fan of glossy painted necks. The head stock will be gloss black on the face to match the body. If this one goes well I will try a dinky body version with a flamed top and vintage cherry burst.
If I order body woods should I hit them with a coat of sealer until I start the build?
- Jun 30, 2010
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- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
I like you knob placement -
Sperzel locking tuners are about the same size, one of the lightest out there, come in a few different finishes and work great.
I wanted to do that on my Carvin blank but, using a magnet, I found that the truss rod goes almost to the end of the fingerboard. I don't know how deep it is so you may be able to take away a few frets worth of fretboard but if you want to go any deeper than that there's a good chance you'll expose the truss rod.
Not to knock Sperzels, as I have considered them before, but as personal preference I do not like the button shape and their black is satin not gloss. If they had a different button shape (but not like other makes) and offered a gloss finish I probably would jump at using them. Having said that if you like by all means use them and I am sure they are quality and maybe lighter, plus I believe they are locking.
If you have a friend to help with the neck blank I can assist with some guidance, just message me directly.
If you have a friend to help with the neck blank I can assist with some guidance, just message me directly.
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I wouldn't coat the wood. Let it sit for as long as you can to insure its dry and to acclimatize. Keep it in a dry area and when you start cutting, cut it down to rough dimensions first to see if there will be any movement due to improper drying procedures and locked in stresses. This will give you a chance to correct for any movement. If you start with finish cuts and it moves you might not be able to correct if it twists or bows a lot.
