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Time to complete some old projects
- Thread starter Slidlow
- Start date
I'm thinking if you whip up a 5-string, 5-fret with 5 pups, 5 volume knobs, 5 tone knobs and 5 coil-split switches on a 5-lam neck with a 5-lam body and do a 5-color transparent burst finish, then put a 5-headed cat logo on the 5th fret you should be a shoe-in! 
Hmmm... then I would consider an Ipe neck through, Rengas body wings with sandwiched layer of Ebony and a bookmatched Curly Thai Crepe Myrtle top. Topped off with a full length Black Palm fingerboard. Chrome hardware with a piezo bridge and a Dimarzio Alchemy pickup. Five string of course. Probably fretted as I already have a five fretless. That gives me five woods that I think will work good together on a five string.5!
5th build off
The Wooden Anniversary
Gotta have 5s...
Here are some more pictures of the completed Teak five string.
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That's clean. I like how the headstock cutaway mirrors the curve of the upper and lower horns.
One last thing on the teak 5er before I move on. I forgot to mention in the original design the body was shaped with a convex top and concave back. Also the body is 1 5/8" thickness. I had it in the classified section but have since sold it. "Vintage Custom Built Five String Fretless"
Now I am seriously eyeing the lefty.
Now I am seriously eyeing the lefty.
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So I am looking at the lefty. The neck is maple (salvaged from an old bowling alley) and nogal which is set into the body to just under the bridge. The body is ash and roasted maple with curly claro walnut top on the wings. One thing I noticed, which is why it got put aside, is I cut the neck very thin up to the heel. Looks like it will be 1" thick there with fretboard so will be very thin indeed. I may have to mitigate this by adding something to strengthen that transition. I have to pick through my parts to see what will go on it and I thnk all chrome is the way to go. I've done too much black hardware lately.
Curious why you are worried about it being "too thin" there since there's many neck-thru's that keep the thin profile well into the body. I even carved mine out -
EDIT: I could be wrong and maybe mine will not be strong enough. but I think it'll be okay?
EDIT: I could be wrong and maybe mine will not be strong enough. but I think it'll be okay?
That does look thin. You could heavily reinforce it with CF, or steel stiffeners.
I suppose you could cut it off entirely, route in a pocket, and make it a bolt-on (though that seems a touch extreme).
Maybe another option would be to add a layer befor adding the fretboard? I'm more concerned with the transition point to the body. I am expecting to get a little bending there. I'll give it some more thought. I do have another matching neck blank so I could route out this neck and reinstall a new one. Hmmmm?
I do have another neck blank. I am leaning heavily to this solution as the cut off neck could be repurposed for guitar or a short scale bass neck. Just thinking I am lucky I made two.
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By the way, whilst cleaning up I gathered together a number of bass parts I will not be using and put them in the classifieds "Luthier lot Bass Parts Bridges Tuners Pickup" as a package for sale if anyone is interested.
I know everyone loves walnut and this was cut from a piece of curly claro I picked up several years ago. Thought I would slap on a little finish to see the color. Aside from some glue stains (not sanded off yet) and roughness I think it will look good.
You should appreciate the Nogal in the neck. Otherwise known as Peruvian Walnut.Yup, this proves I still love walnut
If i replace the whole center in this lefty then I am thinking of this nice piece of quartered sycamore with the new neck blank set to the bridge as before. Also have the option to go to 5 (even 6 or 7) string if I want. Decisions decisions
? Hmmmmm
.
Another option is with this thick ebony board which would put some thickness back into the neck.
? Hmmmmm.
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