Jabba_the_gut

Hipshot hardware is very nice, quality stuff. You get what you pay for hence the price. I might have another go at headless version later on but I'm loving this bass so much I've already starting making another. Not sure what the spec will be yet other than I'm planning on it having a birds eye maple neck with a scarf joint (as that is what I've done so far!!).

I’m liking this thread - nice builds! I’ve had similar experiences - had a spare pickup so built a bass around it, can’t have it doing nothing!!

Looks lovely!

Nice use of tin foil to prevent anything sticking to the jig. I’ve always got a reel of cling film in the garage for the same purpose. I presume you cut the scarf joint on a table saw. What kind of depth of cut did you need for that - about 4”?

Ouch. Hope you have a speedy recovery.

Love spalted beech!

For this headed 27" scale bass I have used strings made by Newtone strings who recommended a heavier core (nice strings by the way). The bass is tuned to standard tuning and the tension seems absolutely fine to me. I'm really enjoying playing it, it's a very comfortable size. I'll bring it along to the next bass bash for anyone to try, whenever that is. The two 23" scale basses are also tuned to standard tuning. One has the bottom 4 strings from a 5 string set and the other just normal 4 strings. Again tension seems fine - strange that both sets of strings feel fine to play - I still haven't got my head round this yet!! I'm in the process of making a 27" scale neck to try on one of the headless basses (along with trying a different string clamp) just to see how that feels. Again, I'll take that to the next bash as well. I've also got the other headed neck at 25.5" scale I started making for this project and another set of Newtone strings designed for that scale. I'm also looking at a 27" 5 string as well. oh, And I've got a roughed out headed 34" scale bass with a Moses graphite neck knocking around as well!! Too many projects......

That wood has a lovely grain. Looking forward to seeing this progress. What is you plan for the strings for this? Cheers

And all three together just for the hell of it!!

Just lovely. Proper craftmanship. Thanks for posting this modification as it shows what can be done to get an instrument exactly how you want it. I have an old Overwater Deluxe II (bought for £60 with a damaged headstock over 30 years ago) that would benefit from a refinish. You might just have convinced me to get it done now and make it all sparkly again.

Some slightly better pictures.

There's always someone home at the moment...…..

When I post some proper pictures I'll also make some comments about the MM TW pickup - first impressions are good though!

Yay! Neck done, bolted together and strings fitted. Had a quick noodle and dead chuffed so far. Will give it a little time to settle and make little adjustments where needed. Will post some proper photos later. I'm just considering a truss rod cover but that's about it. Here's one next to a normal sized bass for reference

A really nice looking build - especially that fretboard and binding!

Can't remember off the top of my head - think it would have been Dartfords or Morrells.

All work on the body is complete so time to start the wiring. As the pickup I'm using has an associated pull switch to change from MM to J type I needed to make up a new connector block as the hole for the cable would not allow for the connector. Not a problem, just a bit time consuming. I made a complete new connector cable so I still have the original should I decide to change pickups at any point. The terminals were crimped on and fitted into the housings then connected to the volume control and preamp. I do quite like the EMG connector stuff - it is quick if you don't need to make your own cables!! I fitted the control knobs and did a quick test of the wiring just by connecting to an am and tapping the pickup gently with a washer. Everything seems to work fine so I'm now itching to get the neck completed!!

I've had a good think and at this moment in time I'm going to skip adding a logo to the headstock. I think there is enough going on with the spalted veneer and black line front and back that a logo might be a bit too much. I'll still do a mock up to see but I do like it how is and I need to look at a truss rod cover, which again would make it a little busier.

Next little job was to sort the magnets in the control cover. I'm using some very thin magnets so all that is needed is a shallow recess in the cover for these - a job for the Dremel. I don't like Dremels for many things but this is one job it is very suited for - all it needs is a burr bit to make each recess then the magnets can be epoxied in place. Always a good idea to check which way the poles are on the magnets else they might just be pushing the cover off when they don't pair up with those in the bass body!! Check and check again.....(ever get the idea I might just have done that once before?....) Once the epoxy has set the back of the cover can be sanded ready for copper shielding foil to be added. That's another little job complete. I got the thicker fret wire I wanted for the zero fret so I've fitted that and trimmed a nut to suit. Next job was to tidy up the fret ends. First part of this is to file the ends to an angle. I made an angle block out of a bit of spruce and clamped a file in it - works just fine. Always worth masking the fretboard to prevent crud or scratches. Next up is filling the fret slot ends to match the board. I always keep small pots of the sanding dust from radiusing the fretboard for this job as it will be right colour

Hi, I've used (sharp) flat bits to cut machine head holes and they turned out fine. The only thing you must do in my experience when drilling these holes is to have a pilot hole and clamp the neck to another piece of wood so there is no tear out when the drill passes through the back of the headstock. Takes a little longer to do but results are worth it. As usual, always good to give this a try on a bit of scrap first. I haven't used a forstner bit for this (yet) but I think the Axcaliber ones that Axminster tools do are really good. I've used a few of these for other bass related jobs and have been very pleased with them. I might just buy one for doing machine heads as the cut from these is very clean. Cheers

@Fishman Just for info , there’s a clear one for sale on here. Have a look at Old horse Murphy advert if an MM one is okay for starting a custom layout.

I've just looked back at the mock-up for a five string version - think that would probably be another project in the near future but with a slightly longer scale (27" or 29" I'm thinking as that would look more in proportion to the extra width of the bass). Anyway, that's something that can be drawn on paper s I've got enough other things to finish first!!

Nice heavy piece of fret wire has now arrived to make the zero fret. Will hopefully be able to get on with some more of the neck this weekend (well, it's not like I'm going anywhere....). I also need to go back to the other body and necks that I started earlier on in this build and decide what to do with them!

Next small task was to paint the control cavity with conductive paint. I'll paint the cavity but use foil on the back of the cover as that is nice and flat. I'm using an EMG MMTW pickup for this that has a push pull pot to split the pickup from MM to J. I've not use one of these before but I'm giving it try as it should give a reasonable range of tones. I'm also going to combine this with an EMG BTC preamp for treble and bass control on a stacked pot. This is how the components will fit in the cavity - should be nice and tidy when done. I chose the MMTW after I'd joined the two halves of the body so the holes that were drilled for pickup wires will be too small to get the EMG connectors through. There's plenty of room to run the cables but just not the connector. I'll make up new cables and crimp the connectors once in place.