I am the opposite of showy. I could probably do a thing like this without people looking at me.Stig Pedersen
Standing on a stage with a bass that has a lightning bolt, is already pretty extreme for me. I doubt I'll ever take it any further.
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Winter Build Off 2022 - Explorer Bass
- Thread starter Flamingo21
- Start date
Standing on a stage with a bass that has a lightning bolt, is already pretty extreme for me. I doubt I'll ever take it any further.
It works! 
After I wrote the previous post I bolted the neck onto the body. I put some strings on, Fender flatwounds, very inappropriate for a Gibson Shaped Object, but it's what I had at hand. I played acoustically for at least ten minutes, it plays easily and sounds really good that way.
This thing is absurdly long, I kept bumping into stuff.
Then came the most dreaded moment: I plugged it in. I had to use a small combo, a Rumble 15, because housemates. I got a good, rounded, balanced sound out of the EMG humbucker. Surprisingly loud too, for an 8" speaker with the volume at 9:00. I'll fire up the big amp later.
Wow! I just completed the first musical instrument I ever built, and it works.
After I wrote the previous post I bolted the neck onto the body. I put some strings on, Fender flatwounds, very inappropriate for a Gibson Shaped Object, but it's what I had at hand. I played acoustically for at least ten minutes, it plays easily and sounds really good that way.
This thing is absurdly long, I kept bumping into stuff.
Then came the most dreaded moment: I plugged it in. I had to use a small combo, a Rumble 15, because housemates. I got a good, rounded, balanced sound out of the EMG humbucker. Surprisingly loud too, for an 8" speaker with the volume at 9:00. I'll fire up the big amp later.
Wow! I just completed the first musical instrument I ever built, and it works.
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Congratulations sir. You are now doomed to a life of wood dust and scrounging money for lumber and hardware… 
Congrats!!!! Such a great feeling after a long journey!!!!!
Great job, man!
The lightning bolt explorer bass with the pointy headstock.... have we finally seen the solution to the age-old question - what is the best bass for metal?
The lightning bolt explorer bass with the pointy headstock.... have we finally seen the solution to the age-old question - what is the best bass for metal?
It works!
Wow! I just completed the first musical instrument I ever built, and it works.
Congrats on finishing your first (of many?) instruments! It's a good feeling when you have worked so long on a project and it actually plays!
Time to start planning for the Summer Build-Off...
Somebody’s going to have to change their name to InstruMETAList.
Well, I'm certainly taking it to the next rehearsal of my Stoner band. Not sure how, as it doesn't fit in any of my bags or boxes. So I'll have to get creative.
Portrait pic:
All my basses have a sticker at the fifth fret. I find this indispensable for quick orientation.
So I put this on the fifth fret of the Explorer:
So I put this on the fifth fret of the Explorer:
You're hooked now! That feeling never goes away, it's just as intense at three dozen instruments as at one.
That can become a problem that solves itself, though you might also lose a tuner or two and thus the associated string.
I believe a gunny sack (burlap bag, as for grain or horse feed, etc.) is the proper carrying method according to a certain Chuck Berry tune.
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Go Johnny go go
Johnny B. Goode
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track
Oh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shade
Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made
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SUMMARY OF THE BUILD
For the body I used a 50 cm x 60 cm (20" x 24") swamp ash blank. In order to get the body shape right, I bought a full size drawing from Keenan Guitars in Ireland. I cut the body with a jig saw.
For the cavities I first used a forstner bit, then a router.
The pickup cavity cover is 1mm (.040") polystyrene sheet stock. After taking this photo I made it black with indelible marker, in accordance with my black hardware theme.
I rounded the body edges using files.
I coated it in Tung oil.
The pickguard is 3mm (1/8") plexiglass, which I cut with a handsaw.
The neck is a ready-made product from Gear4music. It is maple, with a maple fretboard. It had a standard paddle headstock. I found a piece of maple the exact same thickness, which I glued to the treble side so I could reshape the headstock.
I veneered the front and back of the headstock, and blackened the sides with indelible marker.
And finally I put it all together.
For the body I used a 50 cm x 60 cm (20" x 24") swamp ash blank. In order to get the body shape right, I bought a full size drawing from Keenan Guitars in Ireland. I cut the body with a jig saw.
For the cavities I first used a forstner bit, then a router.
The pickup cavity cover is 1mm (.040") polystyrene sheet stock. After taking this photo I made it black with indelible marker, in accordance with my black hardware theme.
I rounded the body edges using files.
I coated it in Tung oil.
The pickguard is 3mm (1/8") plexiglass, which I cut with a handsaw.
The neck is a ready-made product from Gear4music. It is maple, with a maple fretboard. It had a standard paddle headstock. I found a piece of maple the exact same thickness, which I glued to the treble side so I could reshape the headstock.
I veneered the front and back of the headstock, and blackened the sides with indelible marker.
And finally I put it all together.
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Sounds like a custom case build is in your future.
Absolutely. I've already been gathering ideas for it.
