Winter Build Off 2018- The sketchy nebulous bass.

[Jisch]

I have wet sanded with TruOil to fill grain, it worked great.

 

[postalflunkie]

That is lovely!

 

[Five String]

Just so you don’t think I’m slacking between Tru Oil coats, I’m making a cool burl top guitar with a two point trem and Brin May signature pickups.

View attachment 2881724 View attachment 2881725

Um, like, dude, we DON'T think you're slacking off.

 

[Englishman]

Um, like, dude, we DON'T think you're slacking off.

That's cool then I had to go back and correct the typo when I saw your post..."Brian"

 

[Englishman]

Gotta love Tru Oil on Burl.

Last OT post

 

[Englishman]

Ok then. 15 coats of Tru Oil on.

Now, the waiting begins.

 

[Englishman]

Leveled crowned and polished the frets.

There’s always one fret that’s six inches lower than the rest.

 

[Jisch]

Leveled crowned and polished the frets.

So practice spot, workshop and weight room combo?

Looking good!

 

[Englishman]

So practice spot, workshop and weight room combo?

Looking good!

Otherwise known as the basement!

Thanks!

 

[Englishman]

Some progress today. Got the wiring together and the bridge on. Couldn’t resist stringing it up. Don’t have a 9v battery so I couldn’t see if it worked.

 

[ctmullins]

Nice! Always fun to string it up for the first time. How does it sound unamplified? I’m a firm believer that a good amplified tone starts with a good unamplified tone.

 

[Englishman]

Nice! Always fun to string it up for the first time. How does it sound unamplified? I’m a firm believer that a good amplified tone starts with a good unamplified tone.

Well, surprisingly loud. I’ll let the neck settle overnight and then do a set up. Nut is pretty high right now.

 

[Five String]

The pickup wires look like they are tipped with some kind of push on connector. Is that what they are and if so, how do you like them and where do you get them? Gorgeous work, by the way.

 

[Englishman]

The pickup wires look like they are tipped with some kind of push on connector. Is that what they are and if so, how do you like them and where do you get them? Gorgeous work, by the way.

The wiring is all solderless and from GFS.
It was easy to wire up ( once i figured out what I was looking at). Hopefully get to hear it soon.

 

[Englishman]

So close... yet.....

Missed it by THAT much. Bridge is about 3mm too tall. I lowered the grooves in the saddles as much as I could. Still need just a little.

There’s enough meat on the bottom of the saddle pieces to safely take some off so that will be next. Actually plays pretty decent as it is now.

35” is a long way lol. Bit of a stretch on the lower frets. Balances nice on a strap though. Need to go buy a battery to see what it sounds like.

 

[ctmullins]

SOMEBODY GET THIS MAN A BATTERY!!!


haha

What kind of bridge is it? One of those ABM knockoffs from eBay? That's not a slight; I have one, and it's nice if you are careful not to strip the saddle-lock threads by torquing down on them.

Most neck-throughs are made with zero neck angle, which obviously means you need a low-profile bridge. The one neck-through that I've completed has a 1-degree neck angle, because it's based on a Gibson design. That one needed a shim under the bridge. My current build is Ric-based, so it has a 1/8" step where the fingerboard meets the body. We'll see which of my bridges work best with that geometry!

 

[Englishman]

SOMEBODY GET THIS MAN A BATTERY!!!


haha

What kind of bridge is it? One of those ABM knockoffs from eBay? That's not a slight; I have one, and it's nice if you are careful not to strip the saddle-lock threads by torquing down on them.

Most neck-throughs are made with zero neck angle, which obviously means you need a low-profile bridge. The one neck-through that I've completed has a 1-degree neck angle, because it's based on a Gibson design. That one needed a shim under the bridge. My current build is Ric-based, so it has a 1/8" step where the fingerboard meets the body. We'll see which of my bridges work best with that geometry!

I got it from Guitar Fetish when I ordered the pickups and stuff. Pretty decent piece, my downfall here was not thicknessing the ebony board down to 1/4" before radius and gluing.

Gotta pick my daughter up from work in a couple of minute, I'll grab a battery then.... at least the smoke detector will be safe then!

 

[Englishman]

Picked up a battery and plugged it in for a while. Sounds really good, wide range of tones available... and so quiet compared to the 4003.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Picked up a battery and plugged it in for a while. Sounds really good, wide range of tones available... and so quiet compared to the 4003.

Hey English, have you tried shielding your 4003? I did a full copper foil shield on my Hossenfeffer, and it's a LOT quieter than a stock unshielded bass. I can sit right next to an LCD computer screen and other gadgetry with only minimal single coil hum. It's ridiculous they don't factory shield Rics.

 

[Englishman]

Hey English, have you tried shielding your 4003? I did a full copper foil shield on my Hossenfeffer, and it's a LOT quieter than a stock unshielded bass. I can sit right next to an LCD computer screen and other gadgetry with only minimal single coil hum. It's ridiculous they don't factory shield Rics.

I haven’t tried it yet, but it’s easily the noisiest instrument I own. I went out and bought a tuner pedal to use as a mute between songs. I was kind of holding off until I decided to put a hop shot bridge on.