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Winter Build Off 2018- The sketchy nebulous bass.

Englishman

Englishman

Apr 26, 2017
629
2,029
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Detroit
www.eman-guitars.com
#1
Wood will arrive tomorrow for the 'official' kick off but you know how it is when you get excited for a project...

I totally wish I had the discipline to draw out my plans on a full scale piece of paper and measure everything out so it will work.. but I don't, so this will be a lot like most of my builds; make it up as you go.

Most of my usual angst is already taken care of as I know what woods to use and in what proportion. Walnut, obviously, through neck, couple of maple stringers and a maple top.

I'm going with an ebony board and I'm totally undecided whether to put frets on or not.

I've never done an active bass... never played one either... there may be a good reason for this but what the hell, it's going to be an active P/J setup using quality GFS Chinese parts :rolleyes:

Going with black hardware for no particular reason.

Shape? umm.. yeah, there will be one. I'll let you know when I know.

Sorry about the lack of solid particulars, it's just the way I work :)
 
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#2
I can appreciate your process.
This may be an extreme example, but...
When I was doing a lot of stone carving it was definitely not my style to draw anything.
I had a much harder time trying to carve a specific thing (as from a commission)
I had a rock garden where I would go and sit and spray them down with a hose. As the colors emerged from the water interplaying with the organic shapes I would find Little "Creatures" within the Rock.
Then it was just the process of liberating them from the stone.
I would love to have the freedom to build a bass that way... like a shape dictated by wood grain/figure. Maybe some day I will.
Sorry for the off topic post....
Carry on :)
 
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#3
That's the way I work too, I usually do draw out a full size version of the instrument on cardboard, but I rarely end up with an instrument that looks like the cardboard one. I kind of let the wood grain dictate things. Most of the time that works out great, but there have been a few "I wish I could get another shot at that" instruments.

I have used cheap China stuff for a few commissions where people wanted cheap basses. The bridges and tuners all work decently although the tuners are less smooth than expensive ones. Also swap out the screws that come with the bridge, they are pot metal and break if you breathe on them. The cheap pickups sound amazingly good for the price. The one thing I would stay away from is Guitar Fetish pickups, they are terrible in a big way, I bought three of them and all three had distorted signals, I tried using 18v, still the same. Perhaps there's something I'm not doing correctly (I don't think there is, I've installed many EMG and Seymour Duncan pickups), but I found the cheap China direct pickups off of Amazon to sound better, and they're cheaper. Also from Amazon, the no-name preamp sounded better than the "Tone Cat" one.

You probably know all that, but thought I'd over share :-D
 
#4
To help start in the right neighborhood - if you have a bass (any bass) you can use it as a template to wander from. Lay it out over a length of (butcher paper/shipping paper) and trace it. Draw a center line from top-to-bottom as close a possible through the center of your tracing. (your most important line) From there you can use measurements from your bass to fine-tune your tracing and if you choose adapt the body shape/hs shape to your liking. A pencil, ruler and eraser will let you create whatever you imagine. There are digital versions of this if that is your preference, but drawing it full scale will show you what you are designing most directly/tangibly.
 
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#7
Jisch said:
I would stay away from is Guitar Fetish pickups, they are terrible in a big way,
Click to expand...
Oops, this would have been good to have read a little earlier. I've had really good luck with GFS pickups, no duds so far, maybe these will be the first. On the bright side, the routs are standard P and J type so if I toss 'em it won't be a major rework.
 
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#9
I've had nothing but success with GFS stuff. My biggest complaint is that I'm contributing to the demise of the small business owner. :( I used some jazz pickups they sell, but I found them pretty much the same as any basic passive jazz pickups around - I didn't get the hot distortion experience that @Jisch found. I like several of their guitar pickups - they make some great alternatives to things, and with their sales, you can get things for a song. The shipping is where they make their money though. :D Their parts are good, but black parts and gold parts can be hit/miss for the quality of powdercoating and plating. Chrome has been reliable.

Hey @Englishman super glad you've joined the fray but are you going to let @Scoops know and make an entry in the sticky thread? :D
 
#10
Beej said:
Hey @Englishman super glad you've joined the fray but are you going to let @Scoops know and make an entry in the sticky thread?
Click to expand...
When the wonderful USPS decides to drop off the wood here, I'll get a pic of the pile and do the official hat in the ring thing. Tomorrow will be a week they've had it and it's only a five hour drive from here. Time of the year and all that I guess :rage:
 
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#11
I'm assuming that this picture will not suffice as proof of the wood :spit::rage::banghead:

Screen Shot 2017-12-29 at 6.24.55 AM.png
 
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#15
Englishman said:
I'm assuming that this picture will not suffice as proof of the wood :spit::rage::banghead:

View attachment 2857494
Click to expand...

I don't want to sound like a Debbie Downer, but I got a message like this a couple times. In my cases, it was their way of saying "We lost your package".
In one case it was an order from Amazon, so Amazon replaced it immediately. The original package eventually got to my house, 2 weeks later
In the other case, I had to call a number of times and light a fire under some peoples butts. The package arrived 4 days late.
 

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