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The SCP - Single Cut P-Bass
- Thread starter Videojunkie
- Start date
Art Resin
Resin Art | Epoxy Resin Art | ArtResin
I dredged through Amazon looking for something, and this was available at my local craft store and in small quantities.
This morning I took a few minutes to pull off the tape before the epoxy cures too hard. A few issues that will just have to be resolved once the epoxy fully cures, but overall I am pretty happy so far. For some reason in the camera the opalescent inlay material looks blue. In person it's white with some pearlescent reflections.
If it's any use to you, nut to centre of EA poles on my Mexican P is 713mm or 28 inch plus one of whatever those little divisions are (1/16…?)
Patience was never really my strong suit, and I really wanted to get all of the tape out of the epoxy, so a few minutes with a sharp chisel and I think this just might work. (Also it's close to 100° F today...)
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Finally able to sand the epoxy down and get a good look at it.
Overall I am pretty happy with the results.
Compared to the real thing and the binding material. I don't think it looks too bad. Surely it doesn't compare to hand cut shell inlay, but for this application, I think it looks really good.
Overall I am pretty happy with the results.
Compared to the real thing and the binding material. I don't think it looks too bad. Surely it doesn't compare to hand cut shell inlay, but for this application, I think it looks really good.
Fill #2 I added a very small amount of very fine glitter to the fill this time to hopefully add some missing luster to the inlay.
Building the dam.
Prepping the fill materials, I used a small mortar to grind the flakes and glitter together for a better mix.
Added the epoxy and mixed well with the fill materials I think it's going to look great! Unfortunately I won't really know until Monday...
Building the dam.
Prepping the fill materials, I used a small mortar to grind the flakes and glitter together for a better mix.
Added the epoxy and mixed well with the fill materials I think it's going to look great! Unfortunately I won't really know until Monday...
Made a small jig for my precision router base. I plan to use it on the raised bead around the edges of the bass body.
With the slots I should be able to set a precise distance between the bit and the point. The handle gives me a secure place to grab and press against the body and keep it level, while the other hand controls the dremel. The open end faces the user so I can see what I am doing.
With the slots I should be able to set a precise distance between the bit and the point. The handle gives me a secure place to grab and press against the body and keep it level, while the other hand controls the dremel. The open end faces the user so I can see what I am doing.
As before, I removed the tape dams before the epoxy had fully cured. It won't be able to be sanded flush until Monday, but I think I am going to be pleased with the results. The little sparkle added with the glitter adds to the refraction of the shell pieces.
Next up, making a template for the pickups.
I marked out the string paths, and laid out the pickups to match. A few holes with the drill press and some hand work with a keyhole saw and a rasp, and I have a decent template.
I marked out the string paths, and laid out the pickups to match. A few holes with the drill press and some hand work with a keyhole saw and a rasp, and I have a decent template.
I'm a bit worried about how much towards the end of the magnet structure the B string will be, but I suspect that its mass will more than compensate for it. It will also wind up with a slight tilt towards that side...
The D and G strings should be perfect.
The D and G strings should be perfect.
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Photography doesn't really do this justice there is a depth here something like a cloudy quartz crystal has. I am really happy with how this turned out. The epoxy is hard enough to polish, and has very few defects (mostly some pin holes from very small trapped bubbles that wouldn't rise).
Wetted and sanded...
Wetted and sanded...
You can fill the tiny holes with some thin CA glue. I like Starbond, mostly because I can find discount codes for it on just about every woodturner's YouTube channel. 
The nice thing with the inlay material I am using is that it will fill the little holes, add a drop of CA and you'll never find it again.You can fill the tiny holes with some thin CA glue. I like Starbond, mostly because I can find discount codes for it on just about every woodturner's YouTube channel.
Starbond is my now go-to for CA glue. I'm never buying it from a hardware store again.
Could you not just adjust the positioning of the BEA coil to split the difference between the three strings a little more evenly? i.e. center that half of the pickup under the E string and take whatever offset of you get on the B and A. What's holding you to putting it exactly where you've got it?
I play the E and A strings a lot more than the B, so I wanted to bias it so those were as close to centered as I could. They have to balance the DA part...
I may try to slide it that way a bit, as I widen the slot to allow for the PU to tilt.
Right. That makes sense. Nordstrand's claim with the Powerblade pickups is that they are universal for any string spacing, so conceivably as long as you're within the blade area the response should be more or less equal for all strings. You also should be able to balance it somewhat by adjusting the relative distance from the strings for each half of the pickup.
I have power blades in my jazz bass and they are wonderfully even from string-to-string. Yes, different beast from a 5-string P arrangement, but they're the most balanced pickups I've found to date for the tight fingerboard radius on my Geddy.
Nice to get the vote of confidence on the power blades.
I cleaned up the template, and now there's a little bit of a gap completely around the pickup covers. So I have enough wiggle room to tilt the pickups. It also allows me to slide the BEA coil about a half mm towards the B end.
I don't think you need to worry too much about centering. Those blades have a big magnetic aperture and will pick up the string anywhere over the blade, and probably beyond the end of the blade too. Make it look good visually and it will sound good.
A few minutes with the router and I have a nice opening for the pickups.
Now I can start finishing the work on the top...
Now I can start finishing the work on the top...
