Moses O Riley, Irish prophetSo, Moses rocked a Thunderbird bass, eh? Cool! I *KNEW* there was something I liked about that guy!
Thou shalt drink Guinness
Thou shalt commit adultery....
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The FireDragon Triplets
- Thread starter Christine
- Start date
Thou shalt drink Guinness
Thou shalt commit adultery....
Forgive me, Father, for I am about to sin.Moses O Riley, Irish prophet
Thou shalt drink Guinness
Thou shalt commit adultery....
I’m not a T-Bird Guy, but confident that you will convert me. Scarf joint or volute? No busted short grain headstocks allowed! Sub’d, Christine builds are the Bomb. Interested to see how the Ebano goes, I’d like to use it on my next build.
Oh no, it's her again!
Trussrod, probably a double action again but this time with a spoke wheel adjustment at the heel to save weight and strength at the headstock
Hooray! Are you going to fab the trussrod yourself? Love to see that
Looking forward to your newest creations Christine!!!
No, I don't think I have the equipment to make a good job of that, StewMac sell both a nut to fit a traditional rod or a full double action rod, for the cost of them it isn't worth me bothering for just the 3. When I get a new workshop (we're moving house), if it's big enough I might look at getting a small lathe, they are very handy things to haveHooray! Are you going to fab the trussrod yourself? Love to see that
Unless you are building a unique truss rod design like @Bruce Johnson, building your own rods seems like overkill. The LMI and similar DA rods are very well made and relatively cheap. Does anybody still do builds with SA rods? I honestly can’t see the point, thinner neck profile?
Why? They're quite a straight forward build, well until I complicate it. Did you see my last build? The Les Paul Twins
Yeah, hardly anyone (other than Fender and Gibson
) uses single-rod truss rods any more. The reason is simple laziness. Single rod truss rods are more complicated to install. Modern double-rod double acting rods are really simple to install. Why would anyone want to use a single-rod design? It's half the weight and (if you design it correctly) about twice the mechanical power. And a few other tone-related things which we won't talk about.
Builds overall intrigue me. So a triple build... triple-intrigues me !
I will check the other thread!
I will check the other thread!
Tone? If you're doing your best to isolate energy to the string (between anchor points) and limit resonance in surrounding materials, is this not on the down-side of relevant?
(An earnest question, I don't know)
Why would you want to isolate energy to the string and limit resonance in surrounding materials? The result of that would be a cold brick with strings and a pickup. A metallic twang. The whole point of building a wood frame bass is to use the flexing and damping properties of the wood to alter the sound on the steel strings. Add coloration and background harmonics and warmth. Make it sound more like a violin and less like a steel drum.
But which are audible for sure. At least on your truss rod design.
Yeah, you and I and a small group of Luthiers know that, but whenever we mention it, it turns into an argument.
There are different schools of thought and opinion on this subject.
I'll go ahead and assert, however, that nothing is perfect, and these things are variables anyway.
I'm not able to comment on the comparison between the two types, on the twins was the first time I used a double action rod but as yet they haven't been turned in anger so they are a complete unknown to me. I have always had my own truss rods made for me by a friendly engineer, when I started making bases in the mid 80s I had no idea how they worked and there were no books so I thought up the curved rod idea and had them made up out of 1/4" square bar with a bit of a flat bar as an anchor and a threaded bit on the end. It turned out it was remarkable similar to what every other guitar neck used. So all I know it that the single action rod can really pull back on a neck, the only disadvantage is having to use a jig to rout the curved slot for it.
As for tone.. I don't know, what I do know is what ever you make a bass out of has an effect on the tone of that bass and a prerequisite is a good nut that fits properly and a solid bridge with no rattles and preferably a clean break point (but that's just me). Those are the devices that couple the strings to the rest of the instrument and feed vibrations both ways. If they aren't in place then you could make the bass out of concrete and you couldn't tell.
As for tone.. I don't know, what I do know is what ever you make a bass out of has an effect on the tone of that bass and a prerequisite is a good nut that fits properly and a solid bridge with no rattles and preferably a clean break point (but that's just me). Those are the devices that couple the strings to the rest of the instrument and feed vibrations both ways. If they aren't in place then you could make the bass out of concrete and you couldn't tell.
It doesn't need to be an unfriendly argument. And I'm not a luthier, but I'm interested and want to build a bass. And you don't learn, really, by accepting what people say when there's more than one method or sensibility...
Tonewood debates rage on elsewhere, devoid of actual science, they will continue to rage on fruitlessly. You build the best bass you can, if you are diligent and a little bit lucky, it sounds as good as it looks. I’ve had a few personal experiences that left me a Tonewood Undecided, still waiting for that True Blind Test to emerge, but it probably wouldn’t change many minds, humans tend to ignore inconvenient data at will. Maybe when I have 5-10 basses under my belt I can form a coherent opinion based on something beyond internal bias.
