WBO 23 - Creating Surreal Kaos!

[AbnormalForms]

Hmmm, a handle on the top could be rather useful, I'll have to fiddle around with it and see if I can fit it in there without the kaoss pad getting in the way and it not sticking out too far as to be uncomfortable.
Having a cover over it and it "being it's own case" is also a really neat idea, but after a bit of thought, I think I'd have more peace of mind with it in a padded case with how many electronic bits are in it. It would be a cool idea to implement in a future project though, will have to keep it in mind.

 

[Crawforde]

I like to keep my own builds simple, because I’m lazy, but I have no problem suggesting complications for others who may have the energy and creativity to implement them.

 

[Beej]

I like the crazy.

Each of us works with what's most comfortable, so by all means do whatcha gotta do! I like working with garbage, dirt and mushrooms, @Rôckhewer uses sharks with frickin' laser beams and @TerribleTim68 builds with concrete and hatred. Everyone here has signature approaches and yours fits right in.

What we need and love here in the LC is everything everywhere all at once.

 

[J Posega]

What's the quality of that bridge like? I've been tempted to try one out, but haven't found any reviews of them.

This is a very cool project. Definitely following along!

 

[AbnormalForms]

I like the crazy.

Each of us works with what's most comfortable, so by all means do whatcha gotta do! I like working with garbage, dirt and mushrooms, @Rôckhewer uses sharks with frickin' laser beams and @TerribleTim68 builds with concrete and hatred. Everyone here has signature approaches and yours fits right in.

What we need and love here in the LC is everything everywhere all at once.

Indeed! Thanks! The mad sciencing shall continue!

What's the quality of that bridge like? I've been tempted to try one out, but haven't found any reviews of them.

This is a very cool project. Definitely following along!

I've had the thing for like a year now but haven't really had the plans to shove it into anything yet, this'll be the first bass that'll have one of these bridges. Initial thoughts make it seem pretty good. It's got some heft to it, being almost a pound in weight, no sharp edges, and seems very well machined. The KD patent thing on the side makes me wonder if ALP actually buys these from Guyker to use on their instruments or if Guyker just makes a very good imitation. One downside I can see right off the bat is that the knobs are kinda difficult to turn. It does come with a neat little handle tool that you can stick in the center to help spin the knobs and is magnetically hidden in a pocket in the side of the bridge, and it helps a little, but is still pretty resistant. Definitely seems to be made with a "set once and done" mentality, don't see myself detuning this bass that often. But I guess we'll see when it's finished, will definitely have to confirm or deny these suspicions after. I have an empty Dean Metalman Z bass body that I was tempted to put this on along with a headless neck, guess we'll see if it's worth it's weight...

 

[AbnormalForms]

Had a very "huh, well that would've been nice to know earlier" moment while working on the CAD design. Been using Fusion 360 for a few years now and always thought their selection of colors for changing the appearance of the model to be quite a bit lacking. Was trying to get a color onto a stubborn face that refused to change, and lo and behold, double clicking on the color brings up a pallet. Huh. Well you know what this means... Time to try all the colors! Lemme know which one's your favorite:
90's solo cup

Ol' skool circuit board:

Latte:

ERR: Texture not found (reference to a game that would apply a pink and black checkerboard pattern to assets that didn't have loaded textures):

TruENA Tribute:

Plus several more that I will play around with to distract myself eventually...

Anyways, got some more progress done. Changed up the top cut a bit. Still debating if I should keep that bump in the middle, could be uncomfortably pushing into chest when playing, but still want something to hold onto the Kaoss pad just in case. Couldn't fit in the handle, maybe I'll incorporate it into the cover that will go over the Kaoss pad hole. Speaking of which, I started there for mounting electronic stuffs to the bass, since I figured it would be the biggest pain in the as...fault to keep in one place. The back cover of the Kaoss pad is held on with 2 small tabs and a push release tab. The 2 tabs at the top were decently sized to make a sturdy enough print that they wouldn't snap off the instant you sneezed on them, but there was no way I was going to make a stable enough print for that push release tab. After a bit of sitting and thinking (always a dangerous thing to do, would recommend avoiding in the future) I remembered I had some small disk magnets that I used for various other prints. I backed out the screws at the bottom of the KP and put in longer ones, making it so that they would contact the magnets.

I cut out the holder and printed it out to make sure that the KP would actually fit. You only get burned once, but how long you keep your hand on the burner is totally up to you.

Turns out I didn't measure how deep the tabs should be correctly and the KP is bending the holder. Whoops. Oh well, I think I have decided against the tabs anyways, they would've just snapped off eventually anyways. Instead I think I'm going to make a smaller cover that goes over the top of the KP to hold it in place and conceals the inputs. At least the holes for the magnets were lined up correctly:

Besides the KP holder, I also carved out the cavity for the wiring harness, making a small shelf within to hold the circuit board in place. I'm going to have to figure out how to extend the wiring for the input jack to get it to the back of the bass, and that's where that other cavity is going:

Do let me know if the full pictures in posts are a bit cumbersome on the scroll wheel, dunno which's more koshur for build threads...

 

[Flamingo21]

Lemme know which one's your favorite

Latte.

 

[KidAmnesia]

Had a very "huh, well that would've been nice to know earlier" moment while working on the CAD design. Been using Fusion 360 for a few years now and always thought their selection of colors for changing the appearance of the model to be quite a bit lacking. Was trying to get a color onto a stubborn face that refused to change, and lo and behold, double clicking on the color brings up a pallet. Huh. Well you know what this means... Time to try all the colors! Lemme know which one's your favorite:
90's solo cup
View attachment 4949374

Ol' skool circuit board:
View attachment 4949376

Latte:
View attachment 4949375

ERR: Texture not found (reference to a game that would apply a pink and black checkerboard pattern to assets that didn't have loaded textures):
View attachment 4949377

TruENA Tribute:
View attachment 4949378

Plus several more that I will play around with to distract myself eventually...

Anyways, got some more progress done. Changed up the top cut a bit. Still debating if I should keep that bump in the middle, could be uncomfortably pushing into chest when playing, but still want something to hold onto the Kaoss pad just in case. Couldn't fit in the handle, maybe I'll incorporate it into the cover that will go over the Kaoss pad hole. Speaking of which, I started there for mounting electronic stuffs to the bass, since I figured it would be the biggest pain in the as...fault to keep in one place. The back cover of the Kaoss pad is held on with 2 small tabs and a push release tab. The 2 tabs at the top were decently sized to make a sturdy enough print that they wouldn't snap off the instant you sneezed on them, but there was no way I was going to make a stable enough print for that push release tab. After a bit of sitting and thinking (always a dangerous thing to do, would recommend avoiding in the future) I remembered I had some small disk magnets that I used for various other prints. I backed out the screws at the bottom of the KP and put in longer ones, making it so that they would contact the magnets.
View attachment 4949380

I cut out the holder and printed it out to make sure that the KP would actually fit. You only get burned once, but how long you keep your hand on the burner is totally up to you.
View attachment 4949420
Turns out I didn't measure how deep the tabs should be correctly and the KP is bending the holder. Whoops. Oh well, I think I have decided against the tabs anyways, they would've just snapped off eventually anyways. Instead I think I'm going to make a smaller cover that goes over the top of the KP to hold it in place and conceals the inputs. At least the holes for the magnets were lined up correctly:
View attachment 4949419

Besides the KP holder, I also carved out the cavity for the wiring harness, making a small shelf within to hold the circuit board in place. I'm going to have to figure out how to extend the wiring for the input jack to get it to the back of the bass, and that's where that other cavity is going:
View attachment 4949379

Do let me know if the full pictures in posts are a bit cumbersome on the scroll wheel, dunno which's more koshur for build threads...

Purple and bright green and make it a EVA01 bass for the ultimate nerdiness!

Regarding the body shape, I'd suggest thinking about where you would rest your forearm and thumb while playing so the kaos pad and screen don't get in the way.

 

[callofcthulhu]

Posting to remember to watch this

 

[AbnormalForms]

Purple and bright green and make it a EVA01 bass for the ultimate nerdiness!

Regarding the body shape, I'd suggest thinking about where you would rest your forearm and thumb while playing so the kaos pad and screen don't get in the way.

Those are some pretty Radicool colors!
With regards to the arm/thumb rest, I had taken those into account. I specifically designed the spot for the Kaoss pad with it being a thumb rest in mind, as you can control the effect using the touch pad while playing and use the side of the pad when not. I imagine it'll be pretty finiky to control at first, being used to keeping the thumb in one place while playing, but I guess we'll see if it's worth learning or not. As for the screen in the arm rest, I was pretty pressed for space already and I'm aware I'll be covering it with my arm when reaching down to play the keys, which is why I wanted to be able to control it with the rotary encoders that comes with the Zynthian kit, but I am also hard pressed to find a decent spot for those as well where they won't be poking my arm and remain with the removable half. The screen will be recessed into the body to prevent accendentally touching something while playing. Speaking of removable half...

Ah! It's a skeleton!
Oh wait...... I'm partially one of those as well.... at least I think so?
Anyways, got the removable synth part chopped up and cut out. The synth will be mounted into the "skin" that'll cover this back plate. Doesn't look too sturdy you say? Ah, well it doesn't really need to be. All of the stress of the strings is going straight down the middle and all of this is just light-weight add-ons. Although, it does need to be sturdy in one place that I'm kinda scratching my head on how to accomplish.

This is the USB power hub that'll provide power to all of the devices in this monster. If I push it any closer to the bridge, it might bend the USB cables too much.

Here in red is the output jack for the bass itself, the black is a headphone jack that comes with the Ibanez Kaoss pad circuit, and the blue circle is where the USB hub will be plugged in to be powered. Now I'm scratching my head as to where I'm going to put the strap button that isn't digging into the USB hub. I could put it on that 45 degree corner to the right of the output jack, but it might be too close. I could try in between the 2 output jacks, but I have no idea how that would balance...

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Although, it does need to be sturdy in one place that I'm kinda scratching my head on how to accomplish.

I've reinforced PLA prints with carbon fiber and epoxy. Print a channel where you want it, add carbon fiber, add epoxy, cure, enjoy. If that's too exciting you could do the same with fiberglass or even braided fishing line, probably good enough for many purposes. We just like carbon because it's not that hard to get, really, and (a great deal) stronger.

 

[AbnormalForms]

I've reinforced PLA prints with carbon fiber and epoxy. Print a channel where you want it, add carbon fiber, add epoxy, cure, enjoy. If that's too exciting you could do the same with fiberglass or even braided fishing line, probably good enough for many purposes. We just like carbon because it's not that hard to get, really, and (a great deal) stronger.

Adding CF in those channels would be a pretty good idea, but I guess I wasn't too clear as to what I was worried about with it being "sturdy" there. I was worried more about the screw for the strap button not being able to go deep enough into the wall behind the USB hub and strip out. I have no doubt that the PLA will be able to hold up 7~9 pounds of weight, just need to make sure it's secure there.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Adding CF in those channels would be a pretty good idea, but I guess I wasn't too clear as to what I was worried about with it being "sturdy" there. I was worried more about the screw for the strap button not being able to go deep enough into the wall behind the USB hub and strip out. I have no doubt that the PLA will be able to hold up 7~9 pounds of weight, just need to make sure it's secure there.

Is there room to epoxy some metal flat or bar stock there and drill and tap it then use a machine screw for the strap button instead of a wood screw?

 

[T_Bone_TL]

One of the places I have CF reinforcing PLA is around a stainless steel machine nut embedded in CF and epoxy in the PLA. I also have some on bolt heads embedded, with screw threads (of the bolt) sticking out.

 

[Flying B]

When I look at stuff like this I question my own nerdiness.

 

[AbnormalForms]

Ah yes, machine screws will do wonderfully for this application! Silly me for thinking within the confines of the screws that come with the strap buttons, thanks guys.

When I look at stuff like this I question my own nerdiness.

All depends on context. Everyone is nerdy for something, it just depends how far down into that something you decide to delve. For instance, I could probably count on my fingers how many sports teams I can remember the names to, but I'm pretty sure I unintentionally erased some childhood memories to memorize hundreds of Magic the Gathering card names and effects. And if you don't feel you've done the same with something similar, well then I'd suggest not peering too far into the abyss and appreciate that you're not too far gone

 

[AbnormalForms]

So, I've come to an interesting impass on deciding on making the bass a 30" scale, the truss rod. I've searched and read around here for answers on the length of the truss rod for a short scale bass and a common answer seems to be around 20.5 inches (or about 520mm). I've got a leftover 18 inch (460mm) rod from a 2 pack I got for a guitar project for a friend. With this being a bit of a single cut build, could I get away with the 18 inch rod, or should I go for the 20 inch one? How much would it matter in the long run with playability?

 

[Crawforde]

I have no real idea, but I just used one around the same length for a 30” build.
Mine will also be a bit like a single cut and the rod went from the nut to deep inside the body. I would bet that as long as the body end is deep enough into the body to be solid it should be fine. I would be afraid to have it end outside the body though. If that makes any sense.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

So, I've come to an interesting impass on deciding on making the bass a 30" scale, the truss rod. I've searched and read around here for answers on the length of the truss rod for a short scale bass and a common answer seems to be around 20.5 inches (or about 520mm). I've got a leftover 18 inch (460mm) rod from a 2 pack I got for a guitar project for a friend. With this being a bit of a single cut build, could I get away with the 18 inch rod, or should I go for the 20 inch one? How much would it matter in the long run with playability?

Generally, you want the truss rod to be close to the length of the fingerboard. The working length of it should start up near the nut and end down near the heel.

 

[AbnormalForms]

One hot minute later and a few more dollary doos thrown at this crazy project, the longer truss rod (as per the trusted Bruce advice (Brucevice)) and several other parts have arrived, including some CF tow to finally dip into. In the mean time, the model is nearly finished and I've already begun printing out some parts for it.

New test bed for the kaoss pad:

With holder clip cover:

The fretboard, which I am planning on filling both sides with differently colored resin:

Got a bit gnarly down at the bottom there, I believe this was because of some leftover gluestick residue that I didn't clean off of the bed first. Whoops

A little bit of sanding and exacto knife later:

Not toooo bad, but not too great either. At least the bottom part is going to be covered with resin and the top sanded further to add the radius.

At least this bottom part of the "skeleton" came out great:

I had also over the weekend set up a program called Octoprint on a spare Raspberry Pi that acts as a remote server to monitor and control your printer with a webcam. I mainly wanted to use it to record time lapse videos of the bass being printed, but I came back Monday and it wasn't responding. Seems that powering the webcam and, inadvertently, the control board to the printer overloaded and fried the poor thing. It won't even turn on properly now. Looks like I'm gonna haveta look into some more robust options, would really like to get a video of the 3~4 day print of the neck/midsection printing...

Also also, I do fervently apologize for any cringe that may occur when viewing the black speckles littering the carpet, they came from sanding previous 3d prints and there shall be more soon to clean up...