To build a Peavenbacker!

[contakt321]

Cool thread - I can't wait to see the finished bass and to hear it!

 

[Jimbow]

Dang... that is sweet looking. Are you inlaying a pickguard?

 

[Wademeister63]

Dang... that is sweet looking. Are you inlaying a pickguard?

I thought the black pickguard set flush would look good next to the black binding. Hopefully this weekend will tell.

 

[Jimbow]

Good call.

 

[Greenman]

I thought the black pickguard set flush would look good next to the black binding. Hopefully this weekend will tell.

How do you "set flush" the pickguard? With a router?

 

[Wademeister63]

How do you "set flush" the pickguard? With a router?

I used a CNC router and recessed the pickguard while I contoured the body, but it could be routed easy enough if the body was flat.

You can see it exactly here

I had set the bridge saddles about where I thought they should be on the day the bridge arrived and tonight I strung the bass to see if everything seemed ok before starting painting. Unbelievable the action and neck relief are close to perfect with no adjustments. It plays great already! Pure luck

It's officially now the T-4003

 

[Greenman]

Wow. I like that. lets see more.

 

[Scott French]

I like it so far! Reminds me of a Burns.

 

[Wademeister63]

Wow. I like that. lets see more.

So I spent some time with a spray gun, sanding block, and a soldering iron this weekend. Now it's complete in Aluminumglo! Still have a few things I want to do to it but it's playable now. I'll peel the plastic film from the pickguard and put up some more pics when everything is just the way I want it.

Stats:
Body Type: Solid
No. Frets: 20 (Stainless Steel)
Scale Length: 84.5 cm (33 1/4'')
Neck Width at Nut: 42.9 mm (1 11/16'')
Neck Width at 12th Fret: 54.0 mm (2 1/8'')
Crown Radius: Conical 7.5"- 10''
Body Wood: Maple
Neck Wood: Maple
Fingerboard Wood: Ebony
Weight: 3.0 kg (6.5 lbs.)*
Overall Length: (About 42'')

Overall Width: 34.3 cm (13 1/2'')
Overall Depth: 31.8 mm (1 1/4'')
Neck Binding: No
Fret Marker Style: Abalone Dot
Bridge: Hipshot A
Neck Type: Through body
No. of Pickups: 2
Type of Pickups: Split Humbucking
Output Type: Mono
Machine Heads: Grover Titan

*6.5 pounds according to the shipping scale at work!! I'm pretty sure that scale is accurate too. Maybe I got carried away cutting away excess wood??

 

[Greenman]

Holy smokes you work fast. Looks great.

 

[tplyons]

That looks awesome! I kinda want one now!

 

[Wademeister63]

Holy smokes you work fast. Looks great.

Well, maybe too fast..notice there are no closeups at the moment.
I have put in some hours though. I did the (inadequate) final sanding, masking, spray silver (too thin in most places) and spray clear (too thin in a few places) from 6-midnight on Saturday. Then this morning from 7-noon finish sand (burn through), wire pickguard and output jack, assemble bridge, tuners and complete pickguard, string and weigh before bringing her home to play and shoot pics.

Next I need to replace the original T-40 pickup selector switch which turned out to be glitchy,reverse polarity of one pickup, shield the body and pickguard, remask and respray now that everything well filled and very smooth and make a nice T-4003 MADE IN USA trussrod cover. THEN I can polish her up nice and present her with pride. Gimme another week or two

 

[Musiclogic]

you go Wade

 

[gkbass13]

i think it should be called a rickenpeeeeav instead. with all the e's and pronounced as such.


cool stuff man.

 

[PilbaraBass]

that's a terrific design...

IMO, you've kept everything about a rick that makes sense, and thrown out everything that doesn't (namely the bridge and the headstock).

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE FINISHED PRODUCT!

 

[ZolkoW]

great design, man!!

 

[Scott in Dallas]

How in the heck did I miss this thread? I'm glad you mentioned it.

The bass looks awesome. I was fortunate to get to watch the CNC shape and route it. It looks fantastic. I still liked the aluminum pickguard.

So two questions: Did you bother to bind the neck with the Ebony fingerboard? And how was working with the SS frets? I know how much you love what it does to your tools.