Winter Build Off 2022: Coronado Re-imagined

[ctmullins]

Okay, I’ve been waffling long enough. I have had a bunch of half-baked “rebirth” ideas bouncing around in my head for the last few months, but I just need to commit to see one of them through, and it’s going to be this one.

A few years back I picked up a Fender Coronado body from the Stratosphere, and stashed it away, intending to one day do something interesting with it. This is the recent reissue, with the center block running down the middle, so I won’t be guilty of hacking up an actual vintage instrument, if that matters to any of you (it doesn’t to me…). I’m going to build my own modernized instrument around it. I’m really really not a fan of the short-scale thumpy hollowbody with flats scene anyway. I will be transforming - “rebirthing”, even - the Coronado into something worthy of 21st century music.

The plan:

• A homemade three-piece maple headless neck
• A 33” scale ovangkol pre-slotted fretboard from LMII
• A NS Design tuner unit
• A normal tune-o-matic bridge
• Guyker Ric Hi-Gain style pickups
• Either a DarkGlass Tone Capsule or an ACG EQ-01 filter preamp
• A hydro-dipped finish

Should be fun!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I’m really curious to see how headless tuners get incorporated into that body! This is gonna be good….,,,

 

[Max Bogosity]

Looking forward to this one. It looks like the tuning knobs on the NS Design tailpiece stick up rather than backwards like most headless bridges, so there's no need to mount it right at the edge or introduce a cutout or relief like a lot of headless designs.

A headless hollow body seems to make lots of ergonomic sense. I have an Epiphone Jack Casady which sounds and looks great, but it's a neck-diving disaster. The balance point is actually right at the front strap button. Cutting the head off would go a long way toward fixing it. Hmm...

 

[2groggy]

Now I am usually all over the wacky out of the ordinary stuff, so please don't take this as negative. But can you really hydro dip a hollow body without the universe collapsing into chaos?

Edit s/b SEMI-hollow body, causing SEMI-chaos

 

[Beej]

How did, where did you...why can't I find an NS fiver tuning block?

 

[ctmullins]

Now I am usually all over the wacky out of the ordinary stuff, so please don't take this as negative. But can you really hydro dip a hollow body without the universe collapsing into chaos?

Edit s/b SEMI-hollow body, causing SEMI-chaos

Exactly! We’re gonna find out. I can’t think that it would hurt anything, as long as I give it enough drying time afterwards. But this is definitely uncharted territory for me!

How did, where did you...why can't I find an NS fiver tuning block?

Trolling the TB Classifieds on a regular basis yields a gem now and again. Kinda like beachcombing. But way more expensive….

 

[RichterScale]

This is why I want to start hitting up garage/yard/barn sales. You just never know what you'll find.
It's all about the hunt.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I once wandered into a yard sale where the volcanically pissed off soon to be ex-wife was "putting all his sh#t out on the curb!" (as she loudly announced to everyone present). Turns out he was a bass player, I missed a 70's P bass and one of those sparkly blue vinyl Custom amp and speaker cab sets when another guy with more cash in his wallet outbid me. I think he got the lot for something like $300. Most yard sales I hit have all the same crap Im trying to get rid of, but you never know....

Do the Coronados have a center block, or are you going to have to maneuver one in there somehow?

 

[Flamingo21]

I missed a 70's P bass and one of those sparkly blue vinyl Custom amp and speaker cab sets when another guy with more cash in his wallet outbid me. I think he got the lot for something like $300.

Jeebuz.

 

[ctmullins]

Do the Coronados have a center block, or are you going to have to maneuver one in there somehow?

Yep, this is a Reissue body from last decade, so it has a nice sturdy center block already.

The one design decision that is still outstanding is the “headstock”. For those of you who may not know, the NS tuner unit is designed to take single-ball strings, with the ball-end at the head. This means that I am not constrained by any string-length limitations (within reason), and I therefore can exercise some aesthetic liberty at the end of the neck.

The last time I did this was for a test mule Epi EB0 body, so I whipped up a rudimentary neck with a blunted head and four string ferrules. It worked fine, but I’m thinking of doing something with a bit more style this time around.

Fender gave the Coronado a very Fenderish four-on-a-side headstock. Yuck. Not doing that. But I could do a take on a 2 x 2 shape, with the ball-ends anchored in the normal spots, just no machine heads. This would have the added benefit of allowing me to use my normal wall hangers too. And it wouldn’t need any tilt-back, so would be straightforward to build.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

yep. abbreviated "headstock", it either needs to be minimalist or with a little style, the in-between ones always look like somebody just sawed the headstock off... which is probably what they did.

 

[RichterScale]

It would be cool to shape up a block of aluminum or hardwood kinda sorta like this, maybe

 

[Tali33]

I would use a Coronado Style tailpiece on the Headstock. use a break angle and let the shape of the wood follow the shape of the tailpiece. Though I'm not sure if it would work string tension wise

This one could work it has only 45mm sting spread

 

[ctmullins]

It would be cool to shape up a block of aluminum or hardwood kinda sorta like this, maybe

I really like that idea!

I would use a Coronado Style tailpiece on the Headstock. use a break angle and let the shape of the wood follow the shape of the tailpiece. Though I'm not sure if it would work string tension wise

This one could work it has only 45mm sting spread

I really like that idea too!! You guys are coming up with some cool stuff!

 

[RichterScale]

I was looking at a ritter bass a while back that has the strings through the headstock like that and I was day dreaming about a way to have the strings retain a break angle, but gently round over through the hole, rather than a hard bend or rubbing on a wooden corner.
Yeah, I came up blank. Then I saw your headstock pic and that popped in my head instantly.

 

[ctmullins]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

I haven't gotten much done on this in the last month. Between a family vacation, other life stuff, other work stuff, and an inconvenient back injury, I don't have much to show.

But I can share that I got the neck blank tapered, and the truss rod route done. That's pretty routine stuff, so no pics.

I've also decided to do a traditionally-shaped headstock, open, with string ferrules embedded in the sides where tuners would normally go. That meant gluing on headstock ears and cutting out the headstock, and the center section; it also meant planning for the truss rod access to be hidden away inside the cutout. Kinda fiddly stuff.

Truss rod installed.

Ready to taper and glue on the fretboard, but first I want to do some more sanding on the headstock, without the fretboard in the way.

 

[Flamingo21]

I like your headstock idea. It addresses the one problem I have with headless: when I play a headless bass I lose my orientation because my fingers want to find the first fret about a foot away from where my eyes see the end of the bass.

So if I ever build a headless I will steal your Headless Headstock idea.

 

[StereoPlayer]

I like your headstock idea. It addresses the one problem I have with headless: when I play a headless bass I lose my orientation because my fingers want to find the first fret about a foot away from where my eyes see the end of the bass.

So if I ever build a headless I will steal your Headless Headstock idea.

I had the very same problem.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I've seen some nice solutions with headless tuners at the bridge, and a purely decorative "headstock" acting as a string retainer, I'd like to try that myself eventually. I haven't had any strong urge to build a headless, as I own a Steinberger that's pretty hard to improve on.

 

[ctmullins]

I've seen some nice solutions with headless tuners at the bridge, and a purely decorative "headstock" acting as a string retainer, I'd like to try that myself eventually. I haven't had any strong urge to build a headless, as I own a Steinberger that's pretty hard to improve on.

Well yeah, a bespoke mahogany bodied Steinberger, number 1 of 1, completely unique and gorgeous!

Go ahead, post that photo here. I want that photo in my build thread. Pretty please!