Sorry, I don't buy it. I want to see your pointy, sorcerer's hat.
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Actually, when you think about it, the answer to his skills is obvious...
100k log for bass, 1M rev log or lin for treble. There's a tutorial about making a custom one on TB. Just need to find and order the right pots.
Sanded the whole bass to 360 with water and the first coat of pore filling epoxy is wiped on. I don't have epoxy gel coat as first layer of laminate (can't get clear epoxy gel coat in reasonable quantities), that's why there's pores to fill. I think I'm going with black tinted clearcoat "carbonburst" finish where sides will be almost opaque.
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Second pore fill coat on. It was wiped on when the first coat was still a bit tacky so no need to sand between. I'll let the coats cure couple of days and wetsand the bass again.
While wetsanding the bass before first coat I knocked the bass to the table and it was there! The clear, high pitch tap sound of cf instrument. Melikeitalot!
While wetsanding the bass before first coat I knocked the bass to the table and it was there! The clear, high pitch tap sound of cf instrument. Melikeitalot!
I love that "snakeskin" pattern of the CF cloth, more interesting than the satin black of a Steinberger. What brand tuners are you using? For a long time it was overpriced Steinberger licensed or nothing, more options now.
I'm using Hohner Steinberger licenced DB tuner that has lever for drop D. Cheaper than ABM, ETS or Hipshot.
Subscribed. Having built composite speaker cabs in the past, I've often wondered if the skills I picked up were transferable to building a composite bass. Turns out they are. I'm actually understanding most of the steps.
Great build MPU! You've already answered lots of the questions I had floating around in my head. I may even try this myself one day
Great build MPU! You've already answered lots of the questions I had floating around in my head. I may even try this myself one day
Petebass: I remember seeing your composite cab thread. Please ask if you like to know more about something in this thread, I'll do my best to answer.
Seems almost impossible to get a Rocklite fretboard. Next option is Richlite which is phenolic too. I think I'm tired of waiting for replies from Rocklite suppliers or maker.
Sanded the bass and one more filler coat on. After sanding the last coat it's time for pot and jack holes, battery box cavity, threaded inserts for bridge and one new thing for me; CNC-machining the string clamp. I have a small tabletop CNC router at work. I have CAD-drawing done, it's machining paths and G-code to do and I'm ready to go.
Sanded the bass and one more filler coat on. After sanding the last coat it's time for pot and jack holes, battery box cavity, threaded inserts for bridge and one new thing for me; CNC-machining the string clamp. I have a small tabletop CNC router at work. I have CAD-drawing done, it's machining paths and G-code to do and I'm ready to go.
Just out of curiosity, since you are so brilliantly "hands-on" with so many aspects of your builds and you have so much experience with composite materials, have you ever experimented with creating your own formulas for phenolic, fiber-reinforced, or impregnated wood fingerboards? Seems to be the only thing that you rely on outsourcing (other than specific hardware choices.)
I made a fiberglas guitar once. Didn't have any knowledge about how it "should" be done, so I had to figure it all out, which was part of the fun. The most interesting process I came up with was making the cavities for pickups, controls, and wiring out of cardboard. I then made the guitar around those, and after it had cured, threw the whole thing into the bathtub (full of water) to soften up the cardboard so I could remove it - using a bicycle spoke to go in and grab the cardboard for the wiring channel (a cardboard coathanger bottom tube) and haul it back out. Worked really well. The guitar was small, but heavy as hell. I also made a coupld fiberglas necks for a couple other instruments - much simpler things to make.
So, I have some appreciation for what's involved, but this...this guy's on a whole other level. Yousah!
So, I have some appreciation for what's involved, but this...this guy's on a whole other level. Yousah!
Making a phenolic or impregnated fretboard takes a lot of pressure usually combined with heat. Something that cannot be done safely at home. Vacuum is fine as if the vacuum leaks, the pressure inside the bag will equal to atmospheric pressure. If high pressure chamber leaks it can be a bomb.
In one world no, I haven't thought about making phenolic fretboards.
In one world no, I haven't thought about making phenolic fretboards.
It would work just fine as long as the cf board is not made too thick. Thick fingerboard would make the neck stiffer and harder to adjust with truss rod.
Thanks for documenting this! I've learned a lot. So did you use three layers of CF fabric and two layers of glass? I was looking at the early posts and I'm not sure if I understand what you were doing there.
What you said about resins is important, the fumes from polyester and vinyl-ester are really noxious, so if you want to try this at home definitely spend a little extra and get epoxy.
What you said about resins is important, the fumes from polyester and vinyl-ester are really noxious, so if you want to try this at home definitely spend a little extra and get epoxy.
Neck beam is cf only, 6 layers of biaxial 400g and one 250g twill as visual layer. Body has two additional 400g glass layers.
