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I have to admit I had to look that up.If you really want to confuse them, go for the UT Clef
I snuck some time in when on calls and got the fretless neck roughed in. Yowza it looks great. I have to get the inserts done so I can mount it and finish the transition. I will do that part with a sanding cylinder in the dremel, as previously stated I have hard time imagining it without it actually being there. I wanted to make sure I could get the fretless neck to the right thickness so string height adjustments are not necessary before I did the inserts, it appears I'm there.
The neck has a fairly round profile to it, I thought leaving it a bit on the bigger side would be good so there will be less futzing around with the truss rod. If I'm going to leave a neck unattached and not under tension for extended periods, it will be better to have the wood handle that stress rather than the truss rod.
As of right now I can't see using that cover I made, it's way too clunky for how smooth thing thing looks without it. I'm back on the "I can do this" bandwagon, feeling pretty good about things right now.
The neck has a fairly round profile to it, I thought leaving it a bit on the bigger side would be good so there will be less futzing around with the truss rod. If I'm going to leave a neck unattached and not under tension for extended periods, it will be better to have the wood handle that stress rather than the truss rod.
Hmmm.....I'll have to think os something to bring you down again then.....
Ah!.....I have it....How's that bent bridge looking then?.....
.....
Sorry....I'm evil.....
Ah!.....I have it....How's that bent bridge looking then?.....
.....Sorry....I'm evil.....
the bridge isn't bent, it's built off center to accommodate the gears, but nice try
I know bent when I see it.....the bridge isn't bent, it's built off center to accommodate the gears, but nice try
yeah, I already re-routed to fix the bridge problem. I just placed it in the hole for that pic, I didn't line it up. The front edge of that bridge is not symmetrical, the middle is offset because of the gears inside the bridge. I'll get it mounted where it needs to be then figure out what to do about it. The cover is not the solution though.
I got the headpiece mounted and strung it up to find the intonation points so I can drill through the base plate underneath the string saddles. I just used a standalone string saddle (not a piezo), found the intonation point and marked it. Unfortunately this meant I only had one string playable at a time. I'm dying to play it! The neck looks good, but I didn't check flatness yet, I didn't sand it for string paths yet, so I wouldn't expect it to be perfect right now anyway.
I have a couple of different round wound sets here, apparently D'addario strings have too wide a diameter by the fixed end to fit through the headpiece slots. I had another set here that work, but I might have to either design a different head piece or drill these out a bit, it's really close to working, I'd prefer to be able to use D'addario, they are my go to string. These strings have a similar gauge, but the wrap on the end is tighter.
Before someone points it out, the strings are not sitting in string saddles in the lower picture so they are not sitting in the middle of the channel, hence they look off on the edges. Don't worry, the string saddles will hold them in the middle once installed.
I have a couple of different round wound sets here, apparently D'addario strings have too wide a diameter by the fixed end to fit through the headpiece slots. I had another set here that work, but I might have to either design a different head piece or drill these out a bit, it's really close to working, I'd prefer to be able to use D'addario, they are my go to string. These strings have a similar gauge, but the wrap on the end is tighter.
Before someone points it out, the strings are not sitting in string saddles in the lower picture so they are not sitting in the middle of the channel, hence they look off on the edges. Don't worry, the string saddles will hold them in the middle once installed.
I forgot: a full front body shot and I also put the inserts and screws in, all lined up well:
I had to add a couple of extra channels for the A and E string piezo wires, good to go now. I need to indent the bottom of the body a bit to allow better access to the knobs for tuning, I think I'll take it out of the body as is rather than shortening the body. I just need a little bit more access. You can see where the side of my pickup cover cavity hit the control cavity, I'm going to try and use that access to the back side of the cover to secure it in place. It's pretty tight, so I don't think it will take much to hold it in place. Once I have everything set I'll have to take the bridge apart and clean it all up, it's done a good job of holding onto sawdust.
It might be just a pic angle but the G strings looks veeeeeeery close to the fretboard edge to my taist.
Of course you might be much more talented in keepin’ your fingers where they’re supposed to be and so much cleaner and precise than my angry caveman approach technique
Of course you might be much more talented in keepin’ your fingers where they’re supposed to be and so much cleaner and precise than my angry caveman approach technique
In that picture there are no string saddles in the bridge, so all the strings are shifted to the treble side. When there are string saddles holding the strings in place they will be in the correct position.
I spent the morning fine tuning things, most of which won't show up in pictures.
I played my Kiesel Icon at practice last night and marveled at how thin the neck is (front to back), so I took 1/8" or so off the back of the fretless neck with the shinto, then contoured the flat spot into the rest of the neck. I refined the transition on the neck a bit, I thought I was done, but after doing everything and putting it back together I can see I still have work to do there. The top edge where the head piece goes was a bit rough, so I sanded that in. I had a small chipout underneath the headpiece, I glued in a small piece of wood to fill the gap. I smoothed out the body heel transition a bit so it's not as clunky, it's still asymmetric, but I think it looks ok now. Finally I sanded out a bunch of dings, tools marks and ugly transitions.
I'm far from done on the sanding front, but everything I did today needs to be done eventually. The rest of the frets will get here on Monday, I'm leaving for a business trip tomorrow and really won't be back until next Friday, so this will be it for a week or so. I will wait to do the CA until after I get the frets done, just in case I need to fine tune the fingerboard to match the frets.
I played my Kiesel Icon at practice last night and marveled at how thin the neck is (front to back), so I took 1/8" or so off the back of the fretless neck with the shinto, then contoured the flat spot into the rest of the neck. I refined the transition on the neck a bit, I thought I was done, but after doing everything and putting it back together I can see I still have work to do there. The top edge where the head piece goes was a bit rough, so I sanded that in. I had a small chipout underneath the headpiece, I glued in a small piece of wood to fill the gap. I smoothed out the body heel transition a bit so it's not as clunky, it's still asymmetric, but I think it looks ok now. Finally I sanded out a bunch of dings, tools marks and ugly transitions.
I'm far from done on the sanding front, but everything I did today needs to be done eventually. The rest of the frets will get here on Monday, I'm leaving for a business trip tomorrow and really won't be back until next Friday, so this will be it for a week or so. I will wait to do the CA until after I get the frets done, just in case I need to fine tune the fingerboard to match the frets.
I got out of work early so I got a few minutes in the shop. I made it easier to access the tuning knobs. My design consultant suggested that I should put some maple in the empty spaces on each side of the bridge, but it will be just shy of the front, that sounds like a good idea, I'll work on that when I get back.
A canceled flight tomorrow gave me a few minutes tonight (and probably a few hours tomorrow) to work on things. This is only the second time I've fretted a neck, I figured some stuff out as I went, it probably would be better if I did this more than once every two years. I've got a bit more to do, but it seems like it's coming along. At least in my case here, lots of small fidgety work.
I did more tuning on the frets, including leveling and crowning. I forgot that I bought crowning files, ha, so glad I found them before I got into trying to do that manually. I'll do the final tune and polish after I'm done with other things.
I then carved the neck, I ran out of time before really getting any "tuning" done, mostly it's roughed in. I might get a little more time before I jump on the next flight.
I then carved the neck, I ran out of time before really getting any "tuning" done, mostly it's roughed in. I might get a little more time before I jump on the next flight.
I got the fretted neck smoothed out, I'll need one more go at it to make it perfect, but it feels great. I laid the two necks next to each other and, as far as I could measure, the top of the frets is pretty dang close to the top of the fretless board, so I think I'm good there. I'll still wait to do the CA on the fretless until I do a test run with strings.
Satisfied that I was close I installed the inserts into the fretted neck. Vitally important that the neck is in the right position, as I can't shim or anything as then the other neck won't fit. I used three clamps and a careful hand with the drill to mark the position of the inserts:
It worked perfectly. I always install the inserts, tighten down the screws, then take the neck off and soak the surrounding wood with CA glue, I figure tightening the screws down will ensure they are lined up properly.
I didn't take pictures, but I also widened the bridge slot slightly so there is exactly the same amount of room on both sides of the bridge. I'll cut some strips of maple to install next to it. I might get to that this afternoon, depending on the weather and my flight.
Satisfied that I was close I installed the inserts into the fretted neck. Vitally important that the neck is in the right position, as I can't shim or anything as then the other neck won't fit. I used three clamps and a careful hand with the drill to mark the position of the inserts:
It worked perfectly. I always install the inserts, tighten down the screws, then take the neck off and soak the surrounding wood with CA glue, I figure tightening the screws down will ensure they are lined up properly.
I didn't take pictures, but I also widened the bridge slot slightly so there is exactly the same amount of room on both sides of the bridge. I'll cut some strips of maple to install next to it. I might get to that this afternoon, depending on the weather and my flight.
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,004
- 1
- 31,697
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
After consulting with my design engineer, we agreed that the spaces next to the bridge should be filled in with maple. It kind of ties in the front with the back. I probably have a bit more forming to do, but it's close. This bridge not being symmetric makes everything more of "that looks good" than a "measure it carefully" thing. The carve away for the knobs is a good example of where I just had to make it look good, I couldn't make both the E and G tuners the same. I am completely satisfied, I think it looks really good.
That knob isn't touching the body, though it sure looks like it is in this picture
And I cut off the bottom of the fingerboard. I was trying to figure out something clever on the end, we decided that a straight cut with rounded over edges would be the best considering the rest of the body shape. I may end up cutting a bit more of this off. The fretless one looks good, but the fretted neck (in clamps right now) seems to have too much room after the 24th fret (you can see the 24th fret pencil line). I suppose I could install a couple more frets. I'll think about it.
Next I suppose I should string it up and check everything out before starting the finishing process. Lots of sanding in my future as well.
That knob isn't touching the body, though it sure looks like it is in this picture
And I cut off the bottom of the fingerboard. I was trying to figure out something clever on the end, we decided that a straight cut with rounded over edges would be the best considering the rest of the body shape. I may end up cutting a bit more of this off. The fretless one looks good, but the fretted neck (in clamps right now) seems to have too much room after the 24th fret (you can see the 24th fret pencil line). I suppose I could install a couple more frets. I'll think about it.
Next I suppose I should string it up and check everything out before starting the finishing process. Lots of sanding in my future as well.
That beautiful bass and that bent bridge are gonna haunt me......
.....
Perleeeease buy it it a bridge de non wonky......
.....Perleeeease buy it it a bridge de non wonky......
