Jabba_the_gut

Yay! I'm off to slowly build myself a trophy...

Some important little pieces arrived today so I can get on with a bit more this weekend. These are the LEDs for the fretboard that are stopping me rounding the edges of the body. I need the LEDs, soldered and installed before I can fit the fretboard to the neck which I can then trim to fit in the neck pocket so I can then take the thickness off the back of the neck (by using the body as a template) so I can then round the body edges..... If I round the body edges now, I can't use it as a template! I'm not sure how these LEDs will look. I've gone for orange LEDs for a padauk fretboard - not sure how that will look so will try it first but I am thinking of making two necks at the same time in case I don't like one of them!! If they both go well then I'll have a spare neck for another build. Not the biggest things these LEDs 1.25 x 2.00mm....

I'm afraid not. I started this build in 2013 and still haven't finished it. The title is mine!! Scratch Built Bass #4 - now with LED markers..... - Build Diaries - Basschat

Blimey, that's really nice and will look superb next to the satin black body. Have you decided on a pickup yet? I've only ever built one P bass and that had an active Schaller pickup in (which is lovely). I bought a Delano P bass pickup off here for use on a passive bass at some point as I've used a couple of other Delano pickups before and really liked them. I also used a passive Bartolini soapbar for the first time recently and that was superb too!! So many good pickups out there........almost too many choices!!!

That satin black is really classy. Really like that.

Not everything goes smoothly..... I hadn't drilled the hole for the battery to control deep enough to fully reach the cavity but I was lucky in that it was only 3mm short which I could drill from the cavity end!! Anything more than that and I would have been drilling more holes to route the battery wires through the pickup cavity. It also makes life easier having a bolt on neck as that allows for some adjustment if needed but if it went completely pear shaped, you can just build a new neck. I'm trying a set neck on the 4 string I'm building at the moment as that wouldn't be too big a loss if it all went wrong.

Watching this with interest. I like the body shape - always nice to see something that looks a bit different. I've built a couple at this scale and I find them really comfortable to play - will be really interested to see what you think. Cheers

Made the cut outs in the template for the two batteries, removed the bulk with a forstner but then tided up with a router. There's two templates for the battery box; one for the main body and one for the rounded top (as I'm recessing this as I think it looks much better that way). Same process is used for the control cavity. I find it useful to have a selection of template cutter bits of differing diameters and lengths for routing these cavities. You can get away with one template cutter and a chisel if needed as the cutters can get pricey (£25+ each). I kept an offcut of the ash from the body and cut a slice off to use for the cavity cover. I've tried to match the grain as much as possible. Next task will be to cut the cover to shape.

This bass is going to have an EMG 40TWX pickup fitted. I used an EMG MMTW on one of the 4 string version of this bass and I quite like it as it can be used as a single coil or humbucker so provides a few more options for a single pickup. I already had made the template for the body with neck and bridge cut outs so i added another for the pickup and then I would route all of them in one go. I used my usual method of making the template - I use some straight pieces of wood to make the outline of the pickup, cut the centre out then tidy up the edges with a template cutter in the router. I clamped the template securely to the body and made sure everything lines up (measure twice, cut once - definitely!). I remove most of the wood using a drill and a forstner bit before changing to template cutters in the router. I use a few different diameters of cutters to suit each radius of the pickup corners, bridge corners and neck. Before I join the two body halves together I drill holes to allow for the wring later. Just seems easier for things like the battery box and pickup cables. The holes are set at depths that should be correct when the pockets for the control cavity, pickup etc. are routed out. The hole for the pickup has ended up perfectly in the corner of the pickup pocket - quite pleased with myself!! Next job will be to cut the pockets for the control cavity and battery boxes. I think I'll put two batteries in this - one for the pickup and one for the neck LEDs.

And the holes drilled for the tuners. I'm using a set of Schaller tuners I was given on this build - (sorry, can't remember who it was on here but thanks again!). The holes are in a slightly different position to the Gotoh ones I've generally used with this shape of headstock as the string posts are different diameters.

I've had a look at the side dots for this and I want to keep the colour simple. White obviously doesn't go on maple, black dots just don't look right and I don't think alabone would look right either. I decided to make some dowels from an offcut of the neck wood. I used a piece of metal sheet with a 2.5mm hole drilled in it then cut some wooden rods to roughly the right size. The wooden sticks are then hammered through the hole in the metal sheet to make them round. These are then fitted into the holes drilled in the neck and sanded flush.

The only shame with this is that the main body wood was from a pew and has some holes in it that were dowelled. One of the dowels can still be seen on the back of the body. Not a real issue and just part of the story of the wood used. The neck is made from two pieces of wood cut from a piece that @Rich gave me a while back. I glued it so the grain runs mirror image on the two halves of the neck - I quite like how it has turned out so far. I'm also quite please with the contrast of the woods used, especially as this bass is a bit of a wood recycling job. And a rough try out of where the controls will be - just a volume and tone on this one.

Decided to go for an EMG MM pickup so next job was to route the pocket for that as usual starting off by removing the bulk with a Forstner bit (there is a plastic film on this to save the veneer on the from from getting scratched which can be seen in the picture): Once the bulk is removed then the router can be used to tidy everything up using a template to get some nice sharp edges to the pocket. After that I started rounding the edges which clearly shows the maple veneer layer producing a light coloured line around the shape if the bass. More rounding: I've decided I'm not going to have a forearm carve on this as it will take away from the veneer line I think but it will have a tummy carve. Out with the Shinto and other rasps to remove the bulk and to shape - something really satisfying about this.

Hi Eude, Ive used these gauges on the 4 string versions and like how they feel tension wise. Anything in particular you’d like to know? (I’ll explain if I can!). I have also got another set going down to .125 for a low B but not properly explored that yet. Cheers

I've done a little more on the 5 string and am hoping to really progress with it over Christmas. The postie has just delivered the 5 string set I ordered from Newtone Strings - delivered for Christmas just as Neil said. Superb strings and great service. As you can see from the pack, the plan is to string this E to C. I'll post the updates a little later.

So after quite a while, back to the body and neck I first starting building 18 months ago!! They've been sat in a box doing nothing other that getting looked at occasionally and put away again. There are a couple of holes in the original wood that I filled with dowels but I wasn't happy that one was on the front of the bass which is probably why I lost a bit of interest as I do like things to be perfect. I was going through the veneers I have and found a couple of pieces of cherry that would be big enough to cover the body. I glued these together to make one sheet (only 0.6mm thick but you can still join it and it's quite strong) and, once dry, glued this and a contrasting maple veneer to the front of the body. I used another piece of veneer for the face of the headstock too. I've got a big block of sycamore in the garage that I cut a slice off and thicknessed to be used for the fretboard. I originally though of fitting a peizo but in the end I've opted for an EMG MM and chrome hardware as I've got those going spare. I'm also thinking of making this bass with a set neck rather than bolt on for no other reason than I haven't tried that before. Might still change my mind but we'll see how it goes! Slotted the fretboard using the Stewmac jig I bought off here a while ago (and one of the best things I have ever bought). Lined everything up with the neck ready for gluing Neck glued and put next to the body to get some idea what this will look like I've used the same template as for the other mini basses so cut neck and bridge pockets. I've also used the neck template and trimmed that to size. The neck fits nice and snugly in the pocket and the strings align nicely with the bridge. Next task will be routing the pickup pocket then shaping and sanding (lots of...). Cheers.

I know that feeling. Been persisting it down here for ages and the water is rising. Went to check on my elderly neighbour, Noah, but he's left a note on the door saying he's gone to the marina with his wife, 2 cats, 2 dogs.....

I like it with the scratch plate though I would change it for pearlescent one to match the blocks. Looks nice!

I've also use an acrylic lacquer by Chestnut once before which has the benefit of being water based, can be applied with a brush or sponge and is non-smelly. Also, if you are joining two parts of a body yourself it can be worth putting masking tape along the joint length to stop excess glue going on the surface you plan on staining. I seem to remember some glues being better than others in terms of showing up under stains (I stay clear of Resin W - much prefer Cascamite or Titebond - just my preference).

Possibly even try a cabinet scraper

Just reminded me that I've got an ACG EQ02 I really must fit to something!!

EMG do one: EMG Pickups / ABC / Electric Guitar Pickups, Bass Guitar Pickups, Acoustic Guitar Pickups

Yep, I bought one of these (and earlier 5 string version prior to the ball races being fitted). Nicely made and finished and not ridiculously expensive. I actually sold mine without using it as I found myself with too many things going on at the time and a 5 string headless ended up on the back burner. I sold it on here and believe it was used to convert an Ibanez Mikro to headless (can't remember where the thread was). I also bought a couple of 4 string headpieces from Andre as they are much better than the ones you find on eBay but without being too expensive. I've got one on the short scale neck I'm tinkering with at present. I do have plans for a 5 string headless and have another headless system for that, but that'll be a project for next year once I finish my current project and then have a clear out as there are too many basses at home now!! Look forward to seeing your build progress - presumably you'll be taking this to the SW bash next year?....

I've made four basses that fit roughly into this category with scale lengths of 27" and of 23". All are four string - the 23" basses are headless and the 27" are headed. I'm currently tinkering with the 23" basses and trying out a 27" headless neck which is looking promising. All details are in the build diaries section if anyone is interested in seeing what they all look like. I'm really please with the last 27" bass I made. Passive with a single Bartolini pickup (that can be switch between single coil and humbucker) and white LED side markers. It is really comfortable to play and sounds great - I really need to get some sound clips sorted and posted on here! Here's a few piccies. There is something about basses of around this scale and I can only suggest people trying them. I'll be taking all these short things to bass bashes, hopefully in the first half of next year. With a bit of luck I'll have finished the five string version I'm currently building.