THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN

[Gilmourisgod]

Inlays look great! I'm a sucker for the alembic style ovals, very nice work per usual. That cocobolo will be sick all oiled or varnished up.

 

[Lloydtownsend]

to anyone considering ordering, Kevin has really bent over backwards on this. Give this man your money, now!
I've never done this custom order thing before but it's fun, stressful, scary and exciting.
In defense of myself I did say, " let me design as much as I can here and I'll send it to you (Kevin)" because I knew thoughts of my murder would arise when someone else digs in my mind. And again, I'm sorry you had to be part of it, but the outcome is amazing!
In my (very particular) vision of this I had always been fond of Jason Newsted's (my influence) Europa's. But I can't just have something that's already been done....that's not art, that's copying, right? So, I had this idea for a long time and met Kevin through a mutual friend.
Basically I want it to look KIND OF like an alembic but again, I'm picky here, I want it to be more BA. And I had seen Kevin's other, more BA than Alembic (imo) work. So one trip to the orient and a few accessory organs on the black market later and we're talking business! So, hopefully this looks reminiscent of an Alembic but with more attitude. 27 frets is just a personal thing for my daughter and I, we were born on the 27th day of the month. The short scale is b/c I have "tyrannosaurs pinkies" and I try to play chords that are impossible.
In theory...this will not only be fast and facilitate chording I can't physically reach now, I know it'll be the coolest looking bass I own.
Kevin, I know I've said it a million times. "thank you. This means more than I can express on the internet." you will always have my personal (and slightly odd) adoration.

Thanks to everyone who has commented on this as well. I'm very excited to riff on this bad mama jama!

 

[Rôckhewer]

So I discovered an absolutely wonderful, and EASY way to install fretboard position lights!
Since fiber-optics are out of the question,....
( Hated that process & the results therefrom)
I needed to come up with a way that would be sturdy & dependable over time.
I don't feel that for me to hand solder each bulb in line would have fit that bill.

Enter- prefab , battery operated LED "fairy lights" !

 

[Rôckhewer]

The wires are very fine and the bulbs are a little bigger than a droplet of water.
I routed a 1/8" slot about 1/4" in from the edge of the board. Then drilled my 1/8" side holes to connect to the slot.
Then I positioned a bulb at each intersection & secured them with a dab of thick CA & a spritz of activator.
The spacing of the bulbs on the wires is about 3"...so I easily tucked the excess in the slot between each bulb.
These are pretty bright little suckers!
I wanted to finish them off with a clean, steathy look... so I then took some acrylic dowel & glued a little peice in each hole & sanded them flush.

Super, super easy....

 

[mapleglo]

The wires are very fine and the bulbs are a little bigger than a droplet of water.
I routed a 1/8" slot about 1/4" in from the edge of the board. Then drilled my 1/8" side holes to connect to the slot.
Then I positioned a bulb at each intersection & secured them with a dab of thick CA & a spritz of activator.
The spacing of the bulbs on the wires is about 3"...so I easily tucked the excess in the slot between each bulb.
These are pretty bright little suckers!
I wanted to finish them off with a clean, steathy look... so I then took some acrylic dowel & glued a little peice in each hole & sanded them flush.

Super, super easy....
View attachment 1031961 View attachment 1031962

Having seen these in person, I can attest to their wonderfulness!

 

[Lloydtownsend]

The wires are very fine and the bulbs are a little bigger than a droplet of water.
I routed a 1/8" slot about 1/4" in from the edge of the board. Then drilled my 1/8" side holes to connect to the slot.
Then I positioned a bulb at each intersection & secured them with a dab of thick CA & a spritz of activator.
The spacing of the bulbs on the wires is about 3"...so I easily tucked the excess in the slot between each bulb.
These are pretty bright little suckers!
I wanted to finish them off with a clean, steathy look... so I then took some acrylic dowel & glued a little peice in each hole & sanded them flush.

Super, super easy....
View attachment 1031961 View attachment 1031962

And, good morning to you too, beautiful.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Since this 5 string needs to have a very thin neck.... I went ahead & installed some aluminum stiffening strips.

Carved the back of the neck yesterday.
Combination of a 120g flapwheel on my angle grinder... belt sander.... & DA sander.

I do not own a "dragon rasp".... & not sure I would use it if I did.
(I like power tools)

It came out pretty sweet!
(If I do say so myself)
Again ( per the owners request)...it's the absolute *thinnest* neck I have done to date.

Aaahbaloneylogo 
...

 

[GKon]

Beautiful work, as always. And those led really did the trick.

 

[Lloydtownsend]

Kevin, you're rocking my socks, man!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

More woody goodness....mmmmmm. The fairy lights look cool. When you say "very thin" on the neck, like how thin? I like my necks really thin, but don't have the experience to know how they will react once built. Curious to see how the rigidity of the aluminum bars works out vs. carbon fiber bars.

 

[Beej]

I've used those fairy lights in the fairy houses I make with my daughter. The bonus is that on a pair of AA's running constantly, they have lasted for over a month at a time before getting too dim to see from her window...

 

[Rôckhewer]

More woody goodness....mmmmmm. The fairy lights look cool. When you say "very thin" on the neck, like how thin? I like my necks really thin, but don't have the experience to know how they will react once built. Curious to see how the rigidity of the aluminum bars works out vs. carbon fiber bars.

Front to back...
.86" @ first fret.
.94" @ around the 19th
Probably not "insanely thin"... but about 1/8" thinner than I have done so far.
See.... I have very large hands. And it just so happens that the commissions I've done so far also wanted fairly thick necks.
Also...it seemed thin to me, because when I do lights in the fb, I like to leave the fb at about 5/16" . So as I was carving the neck...I had to stop there because it was getting uncomfortably close to the truss rod. Now...what is uncomfortable to me, might be SOP to someone else.

The aluminum strips seemed to help a lot.
But they are only 5/16" x 1/16".

 

[Rôckhewer]

I've used those fairy lights in the fairy houses I make with my daughter. The bonus is that on a pair of AA's running constantly, they have lasted for over a month at a time before getting too dim to see from her window...

I didn't use the 4.5V AA battery pack that came with them.
I cut the string into two lengths of 6 lights each and wired them parallel (with proper resistor) to a 9V battery. So they should go even longer before needing battery replacement.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Frets are in & leveled...
Almost done re-crowning.

Then...things will start coming together at a faster pace!!
(Unless I just jinxed myself by saying that)

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Rock
Do you string up your neck beam to create string tension effects, or just use the jig to hold a dead flat neck? Is your nut in place when you do this?

 

[JayGunn]

I'm wondering about aluminum reinforcements versus carbon fiber. I'm sure the CF is a little lighter, so what makes aluminum your choice? Stiffer? Cheaper? Easier to shape/cut/glue? Different dimensions available?

I note that Mapleglow is also using aluminum on a current build...

 

[Rôckhewer]

Rock
Do you string up your neck beam to create string tension effects, or just use the jig to hold a dead flat neck? Is your nut in place when you do this?

No...I don't . & no nut yet.
Yes... just a nice flat support system whilst leveling & dressing frets.
IF...after the bass is all done, It happens to have a fret (buzz) issue? Then I would set it back up on the jig & do the string tension thing that the jig is for.

But I have been successful just doing a dead flat leveling...WITH the addition of a little "anti-ski-jump" fallaway grind at the last 6 or so frets.

 

[Rôckhewer]

I'm wondering about aluminum reinforcements versus carbon fiber. I'm sure the CF is a little lighter, so what makes aluminum your choice? Stiffer? Cheaper? Easier to shape/cut/glue? Different dimensions available?

I note that Mapleglow is also using aluminum on a current build...

Aluminum = FREE
so yeah...way cheaper than carbon fiber.
(Which I have not used so cannot speak to a comparison)

 

[Rôckhewer]

Fretwork DONE....

Now we movin'
CLAMPS AKIMBO!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Any time you get to use "akimbo" in a sentence is a win in my book.