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Winter 2019 Build Off - The Carl Factor

#164
Jisch said:
I was just thinking, if the voting were to be held TODAY, I'd win! :roflmao:
Click to expand...

With work like that, you might win anyway!

I really like the looks of that Nova headless system; I just wish it came in narrower string spacings. Are you happy with the quality of the fit and the machining?
 
#165
ctmullins said:
With work like that, you might win anyway!

I really like the looks of that Nova headless system; I just wish it came in narrower string spacings. Are you happy with the quality of the fit and the machining?
Click to expand...
Ha! we'll see, the quality of all these builds this year are incredible, definitely increasing every year!

You can get 16 or 18mm spacing on this bridge, I got 18 as I like wide spacing. You could also take the tubes off the metal plate and make your own plate to mount them to, but I'm not sure how narrow you could make them before they would hit each other.

The finish is REALLY good on the headpiece and the bridge. I sanded a bit of the finish off the bottom of the bridge plate for grounding and it was a lot harder than when I have had to do that with other bridges - solid machining and finishing process. The brass inserts that hold the string ball ends and the brass pieces that are the string saddles seem crudely machined. You don't see the inserts so no big deal there, but I probably should remove the saddles and sand them smooth. That said you'd have to get really close to see the roughness.

The tuning knobs are connected to a very fine screw (what you would expect), they have a washer in between the screw head and the body of the tuner and they move very freely, no concerns there.

The Mera system I used on the last five has less fine threads (I think) and the knobs are harder to turn than the ones on this system. As noted above I like anchoring the strings at the head as well, I've broke 3 or 4 strings in the Mera system trying to find that magic spot between tight enough and too tight, and with the Mera system you get one shot at it, once a string has been squashed in the tube it will break if you try to move it out. Basically you have to cut the string to the right length within probably a 1/8" to get it to the right tension. It's ok, but the Nova system is more forgiving.
 
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#166
Thanks, glad to hear those comments.

If I could get it in 16mm I'd jump right on it. But their eBay listings only have 18mm or 19mm as options.... ???
 
#169
Slidlow said:
Send them a note to ask about 16mm. They may list if they can supply.
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I did, a couple of months ago. They said no. :(

Their modular design - tuner/bridge unit separate from baseplate - should, in theory, make it easy for them to offer lots of different spacing options, even baseplates designed for multi scale. Maybe in future?
 
#172
On the other hand, the apparently cylindrical design of the tuner/bridge unit means that I, with a little accuracy, might be able to make my own base plate with a block of ebony and a drill press...
 
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#173
ctmullins said:
On the other hand, the apparently cylindrical design of the tuner/bridge unit means that I, with a little accuracy, might be able to make my own base plate with a block of ebony and a drill press...
Click to expand...
How about a threaded insert (brass) embedded in the body (from the side if a neck through) with ebony pillow blocks for each saddle? Then any configuration could be done and each saddle would sit independent on the surface and allow the top wood to be seen.
 
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#174
Slidlow said:
How about a threaded insert (brass) embedded in the body (from the side if a neck through) with ebony pillow blocks for each saddle? Then any configuration could be done and each saddle would sit independent on the surface and allow the top wood to be seen.
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That's how the Mera system works. On the one hand it's great for flexibility, on the other getting five blocks perfectly straight proved to be challenging, not impossible, but challenging. I ended up cutting spacer shims and mounting against those, then removing them after the individual blocks were in place. Screws going into wood is never an exact science though.
 
#175
Jisch said:
That's how the Mera system works. On the one hand it's great for flexibility, on the other getting five blocks perfectly straight proved to be challenging, not impossible, but challenging. I ended up cutting spacer shims and mounting against those, then removing them after the individual blocks were in place. Screws going into wood is never an exact science though.
Click to expand...
I kind of meant having a slab of brass inserted through the side (epoxied in place) under the surface before the wings were glued on. then from above locate, drill and tap the holes for the attaching screws. The ebony pillows would only be to support the cylindrical elements and could be differing heights to follow the fingerboard curve.
 
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#176
I should have built slower! Why didn't you guys tell me to slow down?

Now I have the emotional let down of not having a build going. I gotta dig up something to do. I was considering a Mark Sandman two stringer, but I have enough basses I don't play sitting around, I'm quite certain that would be another one. I think I'm going to do a budget build, see how cheaply I can make a bass to sell.

Back to this bass: I used a long reach output jack that I had in my toolbox, it had solder on it, so I must have attempted to use it before, it's bad, which is probably why it had solder on it and was in my box. Why I didn't throw it away is beyond me. It has an intermittent connection on the ring so the preamp cuts out if I don't hold the cord just right. I've got a new one on the way. I didn't really notice it sitting down and playing yesterday, but I put the embedded straplocks on, and it's very evident when playing standing up. I ended up putting the one on the scroll on the top, there's just not enough thickness to put it on the back. It hangs really nicely on a strap. I love the way a headless bass balances and how there is no weight on the neck at all.

I picked it up this morning and only the B string was a little flat, all other strings were close to perfectly in tune, and the neck bow seems about where I set it yesterday, so I think things have settled already.

We're playing at an open mic on Monday, that will be the first time playing with the band with it, which is a terrible place to test it as the bar has a crappy bass amp, but it's always a good time.

The bridge pickup has a ton of bass and the single coil in the neck has a lot of treble. I doubt I'd ever solo the neck pickup, but mixing a little of that in with the bridge sounds awesome.

I took some pics for the eventual Build-off submission post, one teaser pic (and the strings are not actually touching the pickup covers, despite how the picture looks). I'll have to wait for that new jack before I try recording a song:
20190126_091322.jpg
 
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