The Mediocre Builders Club

[Luftkopf]

My father was the managing director of a pastry factory. He got an allergy from the flour dust. Seen him sneeze continuously for more then 45 minutes, and not just some light sneeze, nope sounded more like thunder.... No fun I tell you.
He had to be treated with calcium injections in Switzerland to lower the sensitivity. Glad today we know more about prevention.

Absolutely. Watching Dad suffer from something a lot like emphysema from wood dust, despite him always wearing (flimsy 1970s paper) masks is why I always argue back against people complaining about being coddled and whinging about 'the department of cotton wool.' They're the people who most need it. They'll be the ones out there in factories and on building sites without adequate PPE because they're tough manly men who don't need wussy, pansy equipment to protect themselves. Right up until they get sick or injured from their own stupidity.

Sorry for the rant.

 

[MirandM]

Absolutely. Watching Dad suffer from something a lot like emphysema from wood dust, despite him always wearing (flimsy 1970s paper) masks is why I always argue back against people complaining about being coddled and whinging about 'the department of cotton wool.' They're the people who most need it. They'll be the ones out there in factories and on building sites without adequate PPE because they're tough manly men who don't need wussy, pansy equipment to protect themselves. Right up until they get sick or injured from their own stupidity.

Sorry for the rant.

No rant there, just true.

 

[MirandM]

As of a few days ago I'm without any bass. All of my instruments and equipment are at my new home, still packaged though. So I'm stuck with my pc here and no way to play.
On the positive side I will have a dedicated studio room there and since this is standalone house with very few neighbors I'll likely be able to finally play with my live gear, not just headphones.

 

[markwrob]

As of a few days ago I'm without any bass. All of my instruments and equipment are at my new home, still packaged though. So I'm stuck with my pc here and no way to play.
On the positive side I will have a dedicated studio room there and since this is standalone house with very few neighbors I'll likely be able to finally play with my live gear, not just headphones.

That...does not sound like you, to not have thought this through!

Maybe it's the Thing That's Going Round, muddied your thinking or something? Have you tested?

Just kidding. Hope your un-bassed condition passes quickly!

 

[MirandM]

That...does not sound like you, to not have thought this through!

Maybe it's the Thing That's Going Round, muddied your thinking or something? Have you tested?

Just kidding. Hope your un-bassed condition passes quickly!

Obviously they should have vaccinated me 41 times to see if my BHPD dissappears (likely not ).
I'm taking probass medication though

 

[RodRy]

As of a few days ago I'm without any bass. All of my instruments and equipment are at my new home, still packaged though. So I'm stuck with my pc here and no way to play.
On the positive side I will have a dedicated studio room there and since this is standalone house with very few neighbors I'll likely be able to finally play with my live gear, not just headphones.

Congratulations! How long before you get moved into the new home?

 

[MirandM]

Congratulations! How long before you get moved into the new home?

Well the new home is actually not that new, it's like 100+ years old and needs a LOT of work. Like 6 windows that need to be replaced, construct a new bathroom with new plumbing, make the kitchen more functional with a new sink, hot water and an extractor hood. So I have my work cut out. In fact yesterday I made new hall entrance and was so tired that I didn't stay up for the newyear I fell asleep at 22.30 which is ok as today I'll be going back to do more work. Still need to make space to move my living room. But I recon by February I might move in there. It also depends on the weather, like two weeks ago we had a few days of snow fall and I couldn't do anything. I'm pushing hard but can't do much more than what my body can endure as I am alone in this.

 

[OldCoupeTom]

The question is whether to finish with the oil or go with a polyurethane finish.
What do you think?

The oiled area looks to have taken on a beautiful darker color which brings up the appearance of the grain and allows for color differentiation from adjoining areas of the grain. I think it looks nice. Too bad not to further the test by using the "poly" on an adjoining part of the test piece for comparison. I don't think you'd be disappointed with the oil however from the picture. Wow!

 

[OldCoupeTom]

On the positive side I will have a dedicated studio room there and since this is standalone house with very few neighbors I'll likely be able to finally play with my live gear, not just headphones.

As a resident of such a locality myself, I can comment that in such regard, there is a lot to be said for the "boondocks"!

 

[SherpaKahn]

Warmoth. Alder. Dark garnet shellac + T&T oil varnish.

...Sand-through, pinholing, whatever. First application stripped and re-done. The do-over will have to suffice...

 

[A9X]

This is my alternate version of the The Mediocre Bassist Club.

I'll be joining, though with a guitar rather than a bass as my first attempt as I already have too many basses. Snaffled a neck of ebay from a seller I know and have a ton of easily obtained Aussie hardwoods available cheaply for the body, plus a bridge and some PUs on hand already.

Unsure whether to make a laminate body like the Claypool rainbow bass or use the Jarrah I have as a centre block and add some Tasmanian Blackwood wings. I can ponder for a while as I'm packing to move back from the city to my old country town.

On the positive side I will have a dedicated studio room there and since this is standalone house with very few neighbors I'll likely be able to finally play with my live gear, not just headphones.

Very nice. I won't have that freedom but much more than I do in the current apartment.
Best wishes for your new place.

 

[MirandM]

I'll be joining, though with a guitar rather than a bass as my first attempt as I already have too many basses. Snaffled a neck of ebay from a seller I know and have a ton of easily obtained Aussie hardwoods available cheaply for the body, plus a bridge and some PUs on hand already.

Unsure whether to make a laminate body like the Claypool rainbow bass or use the Jarrah I have as a centre block and add some Tasmanian Blackwood wings. I can ponder for a while as I'm packing to move back from the city to my old country town.

Very nice. I won't have that freedom but much more than I do in the current apartment.
Best wishes for your new place.

Welcome, you are, like all of us, #1110.

doesn't matter if you're building a guitar or a skyscraper in Fender form, it's all permitted

 

[A9X]

Welcome, you are, like all of us, #1110.

View attachment 4527329

doesn't matter if you're building a guitar or a skyscraper in Fender form, it's all permitted

LOL, thank you.

 

[bass theory]

Welcome!
2 of my 3 first builds were regular solid body guitars. Now I'll try anything. I went from making really bad crap instruments that would probably fail a high school shop class to making sellable hand crafted instruments in about a year. Seriously, ask MirandM. She can vouch for my first project i posted on TB literally being referred to by another member as a failed shop class project.

Most of that is the result of exchanging ideas and getting tips from others on this and a couple other threads here at TB So welcome to the club. I often post pictures of things i am thinking of trying and ask for opinions from the group here. And their advice is how i came up with the floating top bass that is now my trademark design. i literally would not have learned to build instruments like I now do without the help of my friends here. And I am so very thankful to count them as friends.

In the process i changed everything about how i build. In fact i used to buy 1/4" thick hardwood for the tops and 1/8" thick hardwoods for the pickguards. Now i just buy 6/4 quarter-sawed lumber by the board foot and shave off 1/4" and 1/8" strips to make the thin parts as needed. and in fact i rarely use the lumber at the 1-1/2" thickness that 6/4 wood comes as. In order to make lighter more comfortable instruments, I usually cut 1" or 1-1/4" pieces off the edge and expose the edge grain. with the woods i prefer to work with (oak, Cherry, Hard Maple, and sapele) the edge grain cut like this is every bit as nice as the surface grain from the sawmill. And in buying finished 2 sides wood, cutting it like this gives true enough edges that when glued it is hard to find the seams. it is a better fit than butcher block woods. the depth does have a very slight difference on the tone in my floating top design, but only a pro with a great ear would notice it. Still, I leave thickness up to the customer, on special orders. So now that i taught you all of the tricks I know.... you should feel comfortable sharing any insights as you discover them. The point of everything here is that no project is too poor or too good to share and learn from the process.

I value this group so much that even if i eventually become a full time pro luthier, I will always be a mediocre builder. and I wouldn't want it any other way.

edits:
By the way.... I went with the oil finish on the Sapele and Oak body. OMG is it beautiful. As soon as i finish the top and pickguard, I'll post some pics. i have been working with wood a little here and there my whole life and never seem a wood with as much natural beauty as the Sapele. And it is far softer and easier to work that expected.
also.... yes i am very careful with the dust hazards. But i like working with this wood so much I might make it as much a staple for the bodies as hard Maple is for the neck wood.
And yes I now make my own necks, including inlays. But they are more tedious work that isn't as showy as the bodies so i rarely comment on them. But eventually I'll photo document building 1 from scratch and post it here.

 

[MirandM]

Welcome!
2 of my 3 first builds were regular solid body guitars. Now I'll try anything. I went from making really bad crap instruments that would probably fail a high school shop class to making sellable hand crafted instruments in about a year. Seriously, ask MirandM. She can vouch for my first project i posted on TB literally being referred to by another member as a failed shop class project.
...

Sure do, and I can vouch for all other comments you made here as true and I'm glad you're here as others are.
It only shows I was right from the start of the club, when most of us started modifying basses we became interested in knowing how things are done and so the exchange we do here is vital for our members to become what they are. Which proves this club has it's value, thanks to you all.

 

[GTHintz]

Sure do, and I can vouch for all other comments you made here as true and I'm glad you're here as others are.
It only shows I was right from the start of the club, when most of us started modifying basses we became interested in knowing how things are done and so the exchange we do here is vital for our members to become what they are. Which proves this club has it's value, thanks to you all.

Anyone who wants to know about how basses work or wants to have ideas at how to make their instrument better will get some great information here.

 

[bass theory]

Warmoth. Alder. Dark garnet shellac + T&T oil varnish.

...Sand-through, pinholing, whatever. First application stripped and re-done. The do-over will have to suffice...

View attachment 4527054

View attachment 4527055
View attachment 4527053

I find the PU placement on the bass interesting. I have never tried mounting them like that. How does that work out, I mean what advantages and disadvantages do you get from placing both PU so close to the bridge?

 

[SherpaKahn]

I find the PU placement on the bass interesting. I have never tried mounting them like that. How does that work out, I mean what advantages and disadvantages do you get from placing both PU so close to the bridge?

My specs for the Warmoth bass routing was "standard P-J, 60's spacing [bridge]"...With all the effort to spray/sand/assemble this [/these?] guitar, I can honestly say I didn't really give the pickup spacing any thought beyond "yep there be holes".

The bridge pickup didn't even go in until I finally found a Big Split bridge pup on the classifieds here. For the 6 months it was just a P-bass, it appeared to have normal pickup positioning. In any case, that bridge pickup certainly isn't "70's spacing" [I just measured 2" from bridge plate edge to pickup centerline]. I suppose a neck soapbar would make the pickup array seem less densely-packed.

I suspect the pickups seem "closer" to the bridge/each other owing to the larger plastic pickup casings for the P and Nordy vs. two skinny Jazz pickups: soapbar J-basses seem visually "crowded" to me too, but my eyeballs should mind their own business and let the ears have their fun...

 

[MirandM]

I find the PU placement on the bass interesting. I have never tried mounting them like that. How does that work out, I mean what advantages and disadvantages do you get from placing both PU so close to the bridge?

You should read up on what Rickenbacker published about PU placement, it's a whole study about harmonics etc, but it will give you a good insight into some important points.
And if you want to experiment to get the feel of what a particular placement would produce, buy a Westone Rail Bass, I have one but not for sale

 

[bass theory]

You should read up on what Rickenbacker published about PU placement, it's a whole study about harmonics etc, but it will give you a good insight into some important points.
And if you want to experiment to get the feel of what a particular placement would produce, buy a Westone Rail Bass, I have one but not for sale

Thanks, I'll look into that.
I had become so focused on trying different materials near the neck and bridge to learn what tones i got from the various materials at the different positions, that i mostly ignored the centrally located PU per P-Bass combined with a bridge PU.
I guess that I just assumed i would learn the most by using the extreme locations. And, I didn't want to copy a P-bass because they are just so plentiful that i had virtually no chance of finding anything new.

As usual, just as I start to think that I understand something, someone here posts something that changes my whole theory. And i end up thinking that i should have known that already. That is why This thread is so valuable. If i was to ask a question like that in the Luthiers Corner, instead of giving me good solid information, i would more likely get written off as a hack and ignored. So, thank you.