Jabba_the_gut

I'm getting close to installing frets in a bass I'm building and would like to know if I should glue the frets in. I found mixed opinions from the web and I'm guessing this topic has been discussed on here at some point (though I couldn;t find a thread) I've got two necks I'm going to do, one has a wenge board the other is maple if that makes any difference. These are also new fretboards that have not had frets installed before. There seemed to be a fait bit of stuff on the web from using Titbond, superglue, epoxy resin or not using anything at all. I'd be grateful for anyones opinion on this.... Cheers Jez

Still plodding along with this!! I installed blue LEDs on the fretboard - no other reason than to see if I could. Seems to have worked out ok. I've used threaded inserts in the neck the allow it to be attached by bolts rather than screws. The inserts can be a pain in the backside to fit as they are made from a relatively soft alloy; the allen key can round off the socket before it is completely seated so you can't get it all the way in and struggle to get it out again. I've cut the template for cutting the neck pocket, just need to get on and do it now. I've also cut the control cavity out and made a cover out of spalted beech from a leftover. I think it looks quite nice.

I've now shaped the outline of the neck and headstock. I've also drilled the holes for the tuners. Just need to shape the heel the I'll look at cutting the neck pocket on the body. I'm going to try to fit blue LEDs to the fretboard - not sure how that will turn out, we'll see!!!

As I know folk on here like a bit more details, here we go. The truss rod and swamp ash came from Tonetech supplies, the wenge veneer from Nantwich veneers (comes in very long sheets), the maple neck, blank wenge fingerboard and spalted beech came from eBay. It's been stuck together using Cascamite wood glue. I'm still undecided about fitting LED edge markers on the neck - might be too much faff with more to go wrong but still tempeted to try it!! I've now fitted the truss rod and veneered the headstock to match the body. Anyway, here's a few more photos of progress.

That neck looks wonderful. Out of interest, what are the two bars running parallel to the truss rod?

Can you useTraffolyte for scratchplates? Seems to be the right thickness and comes in sheets up to 4' x 2' [url="http://www.ukengravingservices.co.uk/latest-news/test-post-11"]http://www.ukengravingservices.co.uk/latest-news/test-post-11[/url] WDMusic and CH Guitars do sheets of material but I guess they are the retail and ebay ones yo have looked at.

Quite tempted by these myself but I know they'll just end up in the parts bin!! Bridge looks like a Schaller roller bridge to me (correct me if I'm wrong) and there's some other stuff as well. Postage seems a bit on the steep side at but the parts might be good. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-Guitar-Dimarzio-pickup-Machine-heads-and-Bridge-6-string-bits-/180952946176?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2a21a2d600"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-Guitar-Dimarzio-pickup-Machine-heads-and-Bridge-6-string-bits-/180952946176?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2a21a2d600[/url]

That looks cracking! How are you going to finish it? Just trying to get some ideas of how to get a decent finish on spalted beech. Cheers J.

Starting to make a bit of progress with this build but it's been slow going so far. Pickup routing complete and bridge holes drilled. Next task is to get the neck pocket sorted.

Thought I'd post a picture of my SUB basses.... Must get some better photos as this doesn't really do them justice.

That wood is gorgeous. Will have to pay Tyler's a visit soon.....

Is that a Kahler bass trem fitted to that first bass?

Well I've finally started this! Not done too much but decided to change the head shape a bit. Made a rough template from plywood to see how everything lines up. I've made a couple of templates for the body but these aren't quite finished yet. Also thinking about fingerboard radius. This will be a 5 string bass with 19mm string spacing at the bridge so I'm considering a flat fretboard - though I've never tried one!! Anyone had a flat fretboard with a symmetrical neck or have any guidance on this?

[quote name='loki' timestamp='1339573180' post='1690596'] Hi Jez, I run all of my LED's (wired in parallel) from a single 9v battery with a single resistor. It means you have a lot of wires running down the neck but I use tiny thin wire so it's OK.I get very good battery life using this method. Putting LED's in a bass you are making yourself is very easy compared to retro-fitting as you can pre-rout all your channels and as you are only doing the side markers, even easier. You are bang-on with the fibre idea, although you could do yourself a massive favour buy buying some brass tubing from a model shop and making your actual dots from that. The fibre will fit right inside and can be held in place with epoxy or superglue. Cut the brass tubing to approx 4-5mm lengths and this will give you a nice tidy job, plus the brass adds a touch of class When it comes to the fibre itself, bond it in place before you trim it back. Cut it with a scalpel and then polish it with 1200 grade wet or dry. The better finish you get on the end of the fibre, the brighter your LED will be. Alternatively, as you are fitting the LED's before installing the fretboard, you could use a length of 2mm round acrylic (perspex). Bond this directly to the LED. You will get really good light transfer with this material and it's easier to work with than fibre. You still need to polish the ends though. I'm guessing you are using 3mm LED's. These are fine for side-only dots but I would recommend using Surface Mount LED's for front markers it you ever wanted to install them. Before surface mount technology I had to modify each LED to make it fit and it was a major pain in the @$$. Status now use surface mount LED's in their basses, although they have a lot of problems with static when polishing. Let me know if you need any more help Scott. [/quote] Hi Scott, Cheers for the details, particularly like the bit about the brass tubing. I've actually used surface mount LEDs mounted onto a strip of wood veneer for the side markers to make a tidy strip that should be easy to install I'll see how it goes!! Cheers again Jez

[quote name='loki' timestamp='1339524652' post='1689947'] Guys, I've done countless LED installs on guitars and basses, front and side. It's not as hard as everyone makes out. Yes it is a lot of work and a very high-risk job as you stand to completely ruin the guitar/bass if it goes wrong but it's definitely do-able with a half decent shed and some simple tools. Companies such as SIMS are very good but they charge far too much IMHO - and the price goes up for each LED you add. I don't do that. LED's are just pennies each and it's just as easy to fit 12 as it is 10. I'm not knocking SIMS though as they do excellent work and have an excellent reputation. Scott. [/quote] Hi Scott, I'd be really interested if you've got any further details you could post on here would be appreciated. I'm building a bass from scratch so don't have too much risk of disaster and have more freedon in how I install LEDs. My approach has been to make a strip of LEDs that can be installed into a small routed channel in the fretboard. I'll then use some pieces of 1mm diameter fibre optic cable for the markers about 5mm long to reach the LEDs from the side of the fretboard. The LEDs have a forward voltage of about 3v so they are wired 4 groups of 3 in order to run them from a single 9v battery. I'm not sure how others have approached this and haven't managed to find much on the web. Cheers Jez

LED markers really do seem to divide opinion!! I don't want something that looks like a Christmas tree, and I'm not fussed about fretmarkers on the front of the fretboard. I'm only interested in markers on the side of the neck for my benefit when it's a bit dark. I have managed to make a strip approx 2mm x 3mm x 550mm out of two strips of veneer and some self adhesive copper tape onto which I have soldered some surface mount LEDs (lousy picture attached). They're not the easiest thing to solder by hand, the first ones I tried were 0.8mm x 1.6mm so were quite fiddley!! I made another set with some 2mm x 1.6 mm and they were much easier, though still very small. The LEDs have a forward voltage of about 3v so they are wired 4 groups of 3 in order to run them from a single 9v battery. Now all I need to do is route a channel 3mm wide and 2mm deep in the fretboard of the bass I'm making to install this. The side markers will be made from 1mm fibre optic cable to meet up with each LED. I'm considering this circuit in order to provide brightness control: [url="http://torrentula.to.funpic.de/2011/08/07/555-timer-led-dimmer/"]http://torrentula.to...mer-led-dimmer/[/url]