Turned out great, and early too! Time to squeeze in another build before the deadline! 
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Winter Build Off 2023 - Acoustic/Electric Short Scale 5 String
- Thread starter mapleglo
- Start date
She did, then she listened to us, realized we're dumb, and went back to the plan that actually worksWow that's sharp!
Did you have that planned all along, and the black was just to get us all stirred up
No really... that looks amazing!
Very cool and unique piece, nicely done
Yeah, I was kinda wondering why she'd listen to idiots like us in the first place.She did, then she listened to us, realized we're dumb, and went back to the plan that actually works
Very cool and unique piece, nicely done
A few "beauty" shots. I'll work on making an audio demo.
Great stuff, Nexy! I’m still waiting for Hello Kitty peeking out of a soundhole…
Very nice, really! You've boldly gone into territory where most of us don't have the courage to go! You've shown us all that it is indeed possible to build a one-off fiberglass-body acoustic bass. Wow. You've earned praise and respect here in Luthier's Corner.
So....I suggest your next project be a hollow acoustic fiberglass-bodied Devil Bass with a Diva fingerboard. And a hidden kitten somewhere.
So....I suggest your next project be a hollow acoustic fiberglass-bodied Devil Bass with a Diva fingerboard. And a hidden kitten somewhere.
BassHappy
Supporting Member
My god 'glo, it came so alive with the angelic white - simply amazing and so impressive. Fantastic and such an inspiration! Play it with pride!
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Thanks for all the compliments, everyone! I've been playing this bass every day, getting ready to record and post a sound clip, and started noticing a "rattle", especially when I'm playing it acoustically. I think I tracked it down to the nut, rattling in the nut slot, or strings rattling in the nut. I noticed this:
The tip of the fretboard is hitting the string, reducing the downward pressure of the string pressing against the nut. So I figure I have to file that away, and glue the nut into the nut slot. So I got out my homemade cylindrical sander and got to work.
That looked pretty good, so I strung up a string to see if it clears.
Much better. I sanded it a little further, and then put a coat of ProFinisher on it.
I've had this bottle for years now. It's almost gone, but it has served me well, especially when I apply it with a brush.
I'm happy that it lasted this long without going bad. I'll let that dry for a bit, and then re-string it, hoping that solved the problem.
The tip of the fretboard is hitting the string, reducing the downward pressure of the string pressing against the nut. So I figure I have to file that away, and glue the nut into the nut slot. So I got out my homemade cylindrical sander and got to work.
That looked pretty good, so I strung up a string to see if it clears.
Much better. I sanded it a little further, and then put a coat of ProFinisher on it.
I've had this bottle for years now. It's almost gone, but it has served me well, especially when I apply it with a brush.
I'm happy that it lasted this long without going bad. I'll let that dry for a bit, and then re-string it, hoping that solved the problem.
Ha! I still have some ProFinisher as well. I use it for small stuff or things like templates that I want some additional protection for. I can even go one better, I have been pouring any excess VU I have after spraying, particularly if I tinted it, in there and, while it’s old and several different colors it still works!
So this demo took 11 days (or more, if you count the hundreds of listenings) to learn the piano, bass, and vocal parts. The vocal was originally supposed to be a tracking vocal. I had intended to re-record it, but I thought it sounded passable. And I apologize for my piano playing - I'm not really a keyboard player. I just like to noodle. The bass playing is all on me
I have the bass connected directly into my Tascam DP-008EX digital multi-track recorder, no effects, just a patch cable between the bass output and the recorder input. I mixed it a bit high so it could be heard clearly. This is through the on-board pickup, obviously. I still want to do an acoustic demo. Oh, and I originally wanted to fade it out, but couldn't figure out how to do that. As you may have realized by now, I'm an old school recording engineer, totally lost in today's tech. Where's my old Teac 3440?!?!?Please, be kind...
I rather enjoyed listening to all of that. Your drumming is quite tight, just a tad on the monotonous side. Try playing some more fills.
Thanks, except the drumming is direct from my keyboard, and I don't know how to program it. For looser (that's "looser", not "loser", but that may be up for debate - I did this manually along with the tracking drum part) drumming see the next track. Speaking of which, here's a demo of the bass acoustically, mic'ed with a Shure SM-57, directly into the Tascam DP-008EX.
Thanks! This, like the other one, I listened in its entirety. I don't often do that tbh, but I enjoyed these two tracks.
This last one indeed is looser (and not "loser", I know the distinction very well
).
This last one indeed is looser (and not "loser", I know the distinction very well
).
Winter Build Off 2023 - Acoustic/Electric Short Scale 5 String
This is my submission to the Winter Build Off 2022 in the Scratch Build Category.
Specs:
Short scale 30.5"
Fiberglass, Maple construction
Bolt-on neck
5 String, tuned B to G
Weight 8 pounds
Body: Fiberglass bowl, 1/8" Baltic Birch top
Neck: 3 Piece Maple/Walnut ply neck
Nut: Aluminum
Truss Rod: Yes
Stiffeners: No
Frets: 22 stainless steel
Neck/Body Join: 4 bolt
Scale Length: 30.5"
Fingerboard Radius: 10"
Strings: LaBella short scale 045-130 Nickel Round Wound
Pickups: One Lace Ultra Thin Acoustic Bass pickup
Electronics: none, pickup wired direct to output jack
Controls: none
Jack: Switchcraft
Bridge: Maple
Tuners: Hipshot Ultralite
Finish: Krylon Stone Coarse Texture White Onyx over Krylon Colormaxx white primer
Features: Aluminum bridge and nut, 5 string short scale, maple neck and fingerboard, stainless steel frets
Sound Clips:
Electric:
Acoustic:
This is my submission to the Winter Build Off 2022 in the Scratch Build Category.
Specs:
Short scale 30.5"
Fiberglass, Maple construction
Bolt-on neck
5 String, tuned B to G
Weight 8 pounds
Body: Fiberglass bowl, 1/8" Baltic Birch top
Neck: 3 Piece Maple/Walnut ply neck
Nut: Aluminum
Truss Rod: Yes
Stiffeners: No
Frets: 22 stainless steel
Neck/Body Join: 4 bolt
Scale Length: 30.5"
Fingerboard Radius: 10"
Strings: LaBella short scale 045-130 Nickel Round Wound
Pickups: One Lace Ultra Thin Acoustic Bass pickup
Electronics: none, pickup wired direct to output jack
Controls: none
Jack: Switchcraft
Bridge: Maple
Tuners: Hipshot Ultralite
Finish: Krylon Stone Coarse Texture White Onyx over Krylon Colormaxx white primer
Features: Aluminum bridge and nut, 5 string short scale, maple neck and fingerboard, stainless steel frets
Sound Clips:
Electric:
Acoustic:
A great bass and nice playing on the recordings. I especially like your mixes for a bass demo, it has a pronounced bass track, but not so much that it would take over the whole mix. Well done!
So this demo took 11 days (or more, if you count the hundreds of listenings) to learn the piano, bass, and vocal parts. The vocal was originally supposed to be a tracking vocal. I had intended to re-record it, but I thought it sounded passable. And I apologize for my piano playing - I'm not really a keyboard player. I just like to noodle. The bass playing is all on me
Please, be kind...
Very cool, Nexy! My only recommendation is that, in the mix, you should lower the keyboards and bring up the vocal track. The vocal should be the dominant thing in this song. You have a nice voice.
