Jabba_the_gut

Ah, not that close to me. Drop me a message if there is anything I can help with. if you get a chance, pop along to the Midlands Bass Bash. All the best Jez

Hope you enjoy the process! Whereabouts are you located?

Think of it as losing 8 litres of water....

Completely agree Andy - sycamore is lovely wood. It works and finishes beautifully. I've used it a couple of time before - I have one bass that I started a long time ago and still haven't got round to completing - that has two different shades of sycamore in the body. The two slabs of sycamore I started this thread about, were bought as a bit of a punt as they were cheap (I think about £20 each). They need drying and processing as they are around 3 1/2" thick and 18" wide so to big for any tools I have. I expect getting them processed will cost several times what the wood cost!! As with any rough sawn wood, it is a bit of a lucky dip as to what the finished wood may look like - I'm just pleasantly surprised by the rippling I have found on the one piece so far. I'll have to source some more...….!!! Edit: You can tell it was late when I posted this as I wrote ‘maple’ not ‘sycamore’ - doh!! Updated it now

Not sure yet! Each of the 2 slabs I bought should be big enough to make 2 bodies from. I will probably make a solid body bass the same shape as the semi hollow one I did recently, and I'm also thinking about a making a shorty from it as the ripple would look lovely. But nothing definite yet. What are you thinking by 'different'? Cheers

Unfortunately this one is too far for me but I would highly recommend going to anyone of any ability with any type of kit to go as these are really enjoyable social events. Always nice to meet fellow bass players and try out lots of different kit. Have a good day!

I bought a couple of slabs of sycamore from a local place in 2016. It was relatively fresh cut hence why I have been storing it to let it air dry. I weighed both pieces when I bought them so I decided to weigh them again today to see how much moisture has been lost. This one slab started at 24kg and now weighs 16.8kg. I've scraped the surface of it to get through the saw marks and there is a really nice tight ripple. You have no idea what the wood will be like until this point. Now I just want to turn it into something!! The other slab is still very nice but no signs of rippling - will still make something nice though. Just got to figure out how to get this wood processed....

Originally, I was toying with the idea of fitting two passive jazz bass pickups on the buckeye topped one but ended up just fitting a single active jazz purely for aesthetic reason as it seemed to follow the wood grain. I think I'll try the two pickup design on the next one. I've also got another EMG BTC preamp that I could drop in to see how that changes things. As you say, I'm not sure if it is the pickup or strings so I'll have a bit of a play to see what happens. Cheers for the feedback regarding the lower horn - I've drawn out a slightly modified design and will see how that goes.

I will build another couple of these that will have a slight tweak to the lower horn, based on feedback from the last bash. I've also started looking at making a new neck to try on one of these to give a scale of around 27" rather than 23" just to see how that feels and balances - details will be posted on here as usual to how that goes! I'll be taking these two mini basses to the Midlands Bass Bash next month for anyone that wants to give then a go. Cheers Jez

It was great to see the looks on peoples face when they tried these little basses - it was probably similar to when I tried Ped's Wingbass 18 months ago. You think they shouldn't sound like proper basses but they do! This is the rough spec of the two basses: The Buckeye topped one has a single active EMG jazz bass pickup with volume and tone controls. The strings on it are old roundwounds .105 to .045 and tuned to standard EADG tuning. The Maple topped one had an ENG 35DC fitted with an EMG BTC preamp with volume and stacked treble/bass controls. The strings on it are roundwounds .130 to .065 (roughly) also tuned to standard EADG So, same scale length, same tuning but completely different gauges!! And they both feel fine to play to me!! Not to floppy and not too tight.

Cheers chaps. I think you have pretty accurately summed me up!! I'm certainly no salesman, and I'm not the most confident person in my own ability - if I were ever on 'The Apprentice' I would lose!! For those that don't know me, my day job is in quality assurance and involves reviewing paperwork and writing reports. I started doing some woodwork a few years back as an outlet to make something other than a bigger pile of paperwork, and to physically see something constructive that I'd made. I really enjoy the design, build and learning that I get from making a bass and the recent feedback I've got is genuinely much appreciated. I'm not a particularly good bassist (even though |'ve played for long enough!!) so I really enjoy the bass bashes to hear what my basses sound like in other hands and for the constructive feedback I get. Building basses is something I do as a hobby that fits around my family life which is probably why I struggle when anyone asks me how much I would sell something for!! That isn't the reason I build basses and I don't count the hours it takes to make (I've been asked a few time and I haven't a clue!!). I've got a couple of builds in the pipeline that I'm going to do for a couple of people so we'll see how that goes!! Cheers again for all the positive and constructive comments!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I ate them all......

I believe the clear coat is put on to seal the body then the stain applied so it sits in the sunken parts of the grain but does not penetrate the raised parts of the wood (if that makes sense). You then rub the finish back to remove any stain that doesn’t sit in the grain and you’re left with that lovely contrast. Please correct me if I’m wrong!!

That's rather nice....

Scrumpy Mike's lovely headless bass: Charlie and a shortie bass The quiet moment when everyone was eating!!

Very flattered!

Back home and unpacked from the SW Bass Bash. I have to say a big thank you to @scrumpymike and everyone who helped organise this event and all the lovely food - I'm leaving the first couple of weekends in April free in anticipation for next years bash! I've been looking forward to this event since it was announced last year and it was so nice to catch up with everyone I have met there previously and meet some new faces. You really couldn't ask for a more enjoyable day with a nicer bunch of people. Thanks again - it really is very much appreciated. I end up chatting to everyone for so long I actually forget to do things I planned to do - I didn't try half the amount of gear I wanted to and I missed getting a photo of @wrinkleygit's fretless bass alongside the fretted version I just finished building! Cheers again to @Rich for the couple of pieces of wood that will get recycled into bass necks sometime in the near-ish future. I also have to say thanks for all the positive comments I got on my basses and the surprised looks on folks faces when the tried the shortie basses!! Cheers and see you all soon! Jez

I keep saying that too!!

Egg, chips, beans and a finished shortie. Who says the dining table can't be used for both? Had a few issues getting this done - just went through the finish slightly in one place so will redo that after the bash. Apart from that it works, needs a little more setting up but I'll do that at the bash tomorrow. See you t there!

Today's job is to turn these parts into a working bass. Got to cut and polish the finish first without going through it!! Quite a bit to do but should get it done in time for the bash tomorrow. Apparently, when this is done I need to return the dining room table back to it's proper use (whatever that is), tidy up then 'put all my sh*t in the garage where it belongs'...…….Mrs_the_gut is very tolerant of my hobby so don't want to push it too far. Don't think too many others would put up with this in the corner of the dining room for the past 6 months.....!!

Interesting build diary ending up with a rather nice looking bass. And nice to be able to build a custom bass when the option you are looking for isn’t available. £900 for the week and materials seems like good value to me. Enjoy the bass!

Cheers Frank! I'm wanting to get that shortie finished, which will be done tomorrow, then I can concentrate on the walnut, short scale semi hollow bass ready for the Midlands bash!!

Liking this!

And done. One down and ready for Sunday...... Not the best picture - I'll get some better ones done tomorrow. On with the shortie bass now!!

Neck taped ready to level and polish the frets. Once that is done, just need to fix the neck to the body and fit the strings. Set-up will be minimal on this as I have fitted strings before and it didn't look like must adjustment will be required. And when this one is done, I'll be finishing off the other shortie bass.