WBO 2025 - Travel Broadens the Mind

[smart51]

It's almost done. I put the neck screws in a Special Place a few weeks ago, which I now can't find. Mr Amazon will bring some more tomorrow.

I considered making a new pickup plate but for now just made the old one work. Sanding the front down so the gap goes all round at least makes it look even. Lacquering the inside of the recess makes the gap look the same as the body. The pickup holes had shrunk too. A Dremel with a sanding drum opened them up. I had to use the Dremel with a 1/8" end mill to move the screw head holes out a bit too.

The electronics all work, so all that is left are neck screws, strings and setting up.

 

[Gervais Cote]

It's almost done. I put the neck screws in a Special Place a few weeks ago, which I now can't find. Mr Amazon will bring some more tomorrow.

I considered making a new pickup plate but for now just made the old one work. Sanding the front down so the gap goes all round at least makes it look even. Lacquering the inside of the recess makes the gap look the same as the body. The pickup holes had shrunk too. A Dremel with a sanding drum opened them up. I had to use the Dremel with a 1/8" end mill to move the screw head holes out a bit too.

The electronics all work, so all that is left are neck screws, strings and setting up.

View attachment 7119421

Going to be a unique masterpiece…………….

 

[smart51]

We have a bass. I need to shim the neck a bit to reduce the action and there's a loud earth hum to investigate, but it's almost there. The neck is so stiff, it is dead flat with the strings under tension and the truss rod slack. I've had to use the truss rod to dial in a bit of relief.

 

[Gervais Cote]

We have a bass. I need to shim the neck a bit to reduce the action and there's a loud earth hum to investigate, but it's almost there. The neck is so stiff, it it dead flat with the strings under tension and the truss rod slack. I've had to use the truss rod to dial in a bit of relief.

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View attachment 7120295

View attachment 7120299

Wow ! A one of a kind compact bass. Congrats.

 

[smart51]

The hum is sorted. The cavity wasn't quite deep enough and the tip of the jack was touching the conductive paint. The conductive paint wasn't grounded because the pots aren't touching it - they're connected to a removable top cover. So the shielding paint was connected to the tip of the jack and feeding all the hum into it.

I love these pickups. They're narrow rail humbucker guitar pickups. The bridge pickup has all the brightness of a Jazz bridge but without the thinness. The neck pickup has all the warmth but without losing brightness. The only down side is they're not quite wide enough for standard Jazz string spacing. I'd aimed for 18mm instead of the usual 19mm. With the purpleheart shrinkage, it has come out at 17mm, but that's the same as my 5 strings so is all familiar.

 

[Why Nautilus‽]

Looks great! Can’t wait to hear it!

 

[smart51]

That's it, I'm calling it done. It has new strings, it sound good, it plays well.

 

[Why Nautilus‽]

Looks great! How comfortable is it to play?

 

[smart51]

Looks great! How comfortable is it to play?

I don't notice it when I'm playing, which means that it's good. My only complaint is that the edge of the pickup is a bit sharp on my thumb.

The bass it replaces was too narrow and would twist upwards a bit when playing fast. This one doesn't do that.

 

[Why Nautilus‽]

Maybe something like this can help!

Thumb Fin Bass Thumb Rest : Ergonomic. Adjustable. Universal.

Experience Playing Like Never Before With The Thumb Fin bass thumb rest Ergonomic. Adjustable. Universal. Leaves instrument undamaged with strong suction cup attached bass thumb rest.

thumbfin.com

 

[joeLowB]

Dude, that's an awesome bass! Congratulations on finishing the build...now, enjoy the play!

 

[smart51]

"Travel Broadens The Mind" is my entry to the scratch build category of Winter Build Off 2025

30" scale 4 string
twin passive narrow humbucker rail pickups
7 piece ash and purpleheart bolt on neck
1 piece ash body
custom headless hardware
2265g (4.97 lbs)
46mm nut
18mm string spacing

The tone is brighter and and clearer than ordinary humbuckers but without the bite of Jazz pickups. The body doesn't move around despite being small, and there's no neck dive despite the lack of upper horn. The purpleheart laminates make the neck very stiff. It's a genuine take anywhere instrument that doesn't feel like you're having to make do with a cut down frame.

 

[2groggy]

I woulda, coulda, shoulda asked this in January, but... what thread spec are you using on the tuners and how do they feel when tuning up? I've tried something similar before and had difficulties getting enough leverage.

Edit, The tuners look like there are three washers. Is the middle one some form of thrust bearing?

 

[smart51]

I woulda, coulda, shoulda asked this in January, but... what thread spec are you using on the tuners and how do they feel when tuning up? I've tried something similar before and had difficulties getting enough leverage.

Edit, The tuners look like there are three washers. Is the middle one some form of thrust bearing?

They're made from an M4 brass screw and brass blocks tapped to M4. The 3 washers are a thrust bearing. The middle is a disc with ball bearings and the two outers have grooves machined into them for the bearings. I've made several and they work really well. The knobs have to be turned or ridged to get enough grip, and they have to be at least 10mm long to spread the load. I have some with 5mm thick metal thumb screws and they're a bit uncomfortable. A bar over the blocks works best, like this: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/recovering-from-a-mistake.1527315/page-2#post-25731211