WBO 2022: Löwenbäss

[Slidlow]

Lose the volute. With the headstock angle you have it really isn't necessary. Here are two I did in 1985 and 1986 that are quite stable and have moved around the country. The four is maple and the five is teak.

And then there is this one in ebony

 

[T_Bone_TL]

:Joking: Bondo and seafoam green paint :Joking:

 

[RichterScale]

I don't generally like stripey basses but I'm really digging that.

Thanks. I actually hate it . The outer maple stripes at least.
I needed to widen the neck and it seemed the only option. I'm trying not to whine about it and just keep moving.

Lose the volute

It's not really the volute that's bugging me, though it does need a little more trimming and there were miscalculations with the wings. But I decided to live with it.
It's where the side of the wenge headstock wings curve into the maple on the sides, near the nut, that's really bugging me. There's no way to sand that to a clean line. There's a few options. I just have to figure out the risk/reward/time consumption balance.

:Joking: Bondo and seafoam green paint :Joking:

I've done worse to nicer things.

 

[RichterScale]

Design idea:
Don't fill the step between the headstock wing and the volute, but make the step more pronounced with two opposite curves.

View attachment 4596585

I like that one. Throwing it in the hat.

 

[Lonnybass]

This build is awesome!!!

 

[Max Bogosity]

I might be weird, but I kind of like the inside corners between the volute and the wings.

 

[Beej]

I can't tell if this would work from the pics, but I might try two things. First is to recut the radius from the headstock side tip back to where it meets the lams. This will effectively bring the join a bit more into the headstock. This could really impact the overall look so it may not work.

The second is to bring the headstock-side volute radius back into the volute further, such that the volute now starts curving towards it's point at a line closer to the headstock side. This would likely require a lowering of the height of the volute point relative to the back of the neck, but it looks to be a huge volute anyway. Like you were overcompensating for something maybe?

 

[Max Bogosity]

Building on Beej's first suggestion above, you could adjust the wing edge only on the back surface, leaving the shape of the headstock unchanged from the front. The side face would just not be square to the front and back anymore, but that's ok.

 

[RichterScale]

All good suggestions. I have a teeny tiny bit of room to reshape the wing curves, but not much because it would shift the tuners forward, which would cause issues with other stuff, because I'm out of runway at the end of the headstock. The volute was left huge on purpose, so plenty of wiggle room there.
The side lams and tapering fiasco threw the entire build out of whack. I had the whole bass built in my head, down to the smallest detail and now this.
The suggestions help.
It takes a village.

 

[TerribleTim68]

I prefer @TFM94's suggestion.

 

[Beej]

Side note, you and @TerribleTim68 are seriously testing my ability to avoid wenge. I was hefting a board in hand on Saturday and almost laid down 300 simoleons for it.

 

[TerribleTim68]

Side note, you and @TerribleTim68 are seriously testing my ability to avoid wenge. I was hefting a board in hand on Saturday and almost laid down 300 simoleons for it.

Concrete and hatred, don't forget. also, it's heavy.

 

[RichterScale]

So, this much I think is a given.
Now, I have 3 options.
-leave it as is, with the contrast of the wenge wings attached to the maple side lams.
-do a maple veneer or cut out 1/8" outline of the headstock in maple (either way, the side of the headstock is maple) and blend that into the side of the neck, with wenge veneer on the front and back.
-or, a different way to achieve the same look is to,..... Cut the wenge headstock wings off, glue on maple wings and then wenge veneer the front and back.
I feel like either way, it's about the same amount of work and time.

 

[TerribleTim68]

I would not be cutting the wings off, no matter ho9w much I joked about it. But that's just me, it's your build.
I would find a way to work with what you have. I think both options given are strong, but you'll need to decide if moving the volute is comfortable to you. I personally don't like the volute being too far "in front of" the nut. But that's me, this is your bass. But I'd be looking for an option that doesn't involve cutting anything off.

 

[RichterScale]

I just feel like I really ruined the whole look and feel I was going for. I want to regain some of the fluidity. The extra stripes aren't horrible, but once you get up to the headstock, it looks like it was built by the second shift guys that come to work high.
I'm going to cope out a border from maple and rough fit it to see how it looks before I amputate anything.

 

[Gary_M]

It's not really the volute that's bugging me, though it does need a little more trimming and there were miscalculations with the wings. But I decided to live with it.
It's where the side of the wenge headstock wings curve into the maple on the sides, near the nut, that's really bugging me. There's no way to sand that to a clean line. There's a few options. I just have to figure out the risk/reward/time consumption balance.

Are you positive that you can't sand, file, or blend that wing transition any further? I know I had similar concerns on my first 5 string build and I was kicking myself for using maple headstock wings up against wenge neck laminates.

In the end, I just kept pecking at it. First with sandpaper around a PVC pipe, then round files, then scrapers... until I got a nicely defined line that blended in very well. I will tell you this, I had to remove a lot more wing material than I thought I would to get a good clean transition.

Here's mine, which is the reverse of your scenario. The line isn't straight, or vertical, but I think it flows well enough. I'll have to do this again on my WBO bass as it uses the same neck beam.

 

[RichterScale]

That's exactly what I'm thinking of doing as a fix. Maple sides and webge veneer on top and back. Just picture where the side of your neck is wenge, mine is now maple. So, your headstock would look perfect on my neck. The maple would flow down the side of the neck and into the sides of the headstock.
The problem with blending it the way it is now is, the grain orientation in the wenge. It will just keep sanding back to a jagged edge.

 

[Gary_M]

That's exactly what I'm thinking of doing as a fix. Maple sides and webge veneer on top and back. Just picture where the side of your neck is wenge, mine is now maple. So, your headstock would look perfect on my neck. The maple would flow down the side of the neck and into the sides of the headstock.
The problem with blending it the way it is now is, the grain orientation in the wenge. It will just keep sanding back to a jagged edge.

Try scraping it downhill, toward the neck only. Don't go the other direction. See if it feathers out.

 

[RichterScale]

All part of the learning process.
Some day, I won't make these mistakes and I will be a great bass builder and I will build a GOAT bass. Then Tim and Beej will be sorry they picked on me so much.
My therapist says it could take up to a year to get a handle on the bed wetting and stuttering caused by the verbal abuse and internet bullying I've suffered.

 

[TerribleTim68]

...
Some day, I won't make these mistakes and I will be a great bass builder and I will build a GOAT bass. ...

Seems weird, but you do you man.