Andyjr1515

Oooooh....that will be interesting

End grain will always stain darker than straight grain. It will even do that if you are simply clear varnishing plain wood due to the finish soaking in more into the grain pores where they are exposed. It's one of the reasons that the effect of flame maple is enhanced when you add the finish. I think you'll find that the effect looks pretty natural, though. I think I mentioned earlier that there's a stage in finishing where it really doesn't look great - hence the old advice of 'don't panic...it will be fine'

Yup... bin there, done that!

Pete, our bassist (and me when we allow him to do his 1/2 doz numbers on lead guitar), plugs the EB3 Tribute I built him directly into the PA. Having said that, the tribute has a proper induction choke-equipped variomatic with three settings and loads of tone options But having said that having said that... he actually plays on just one setting - the standard neck position.

Looks great - and just like its twin. Great job

Depending on how many lacquer coats you are going for, leave the flattening of the edges until you've put a decent number of coats on - it's very easy to sand down through the lacquer and take the stain off! If you do - don't panic. Remember that if you can see wood colour, then you are actually down to wood and so stain re-applied just in that area will absorb pretty well... It's looking good - and I know what colour that really is!

Anyway, @Geek99 - with other options now looking limited, do you want me to pop down the motorway sometime with my mallet and curved chisel to extend the 4 lug overlap points so it will fit with your Geddy Lee cover? I pass by Coalville regularly ( presume there is only one Coalville - J22?) so it would be no problem. Pm me if you think that might be a solution.

TC polytune for me too...

That is BEAUTIFUL @Jimothey ! That top looks a million dollars and contrasts so well with the back. Excellent result

My first build was also adding a body to a commercially bought neck - it's a great way of starting Welcome to the world of the highly driven but sightly crazy

What's the wood either side of the middle splice, Jez? The whole assembly looks good

Fast work @jebroad ! Looking good. I'm afraid I don't have a fret press...I hammer them in and then clamp a radius block for good measure

Thanks, ped My next build (and maybe next two) will be back to the more conventional (but they will be basses!) but I will come back to these principles. The latest one, on the right in the picture actually, to my eyes, does look like a scaled down bass - which is interesting because it came about from purely practical requirements - so it would be nice to try a lightweight bass in the same style...

Thanks, Stuart Yes - all basically wipe on: The piccolo bass is tru-oil slurry-and-buffed; the middle 6-string is Osmo Polyx wiped on and brushed on - this one is my first try at their 'glossy' version. Not so sure about that particular product (hence trying wipe and brush) although their satins and matts are excellent; the right hand 6-string is Ronseal Hardglazed wiped on .

Thanks, @Jimothey. It's certainly a bit of a shocker when I strap one of my other guitars on...espcially the 10 1/2lb Indie Les Paul!

Excellent

Thanks, Gary

Hi Having borrowed Pete's piccolo bass for the SW Bass Bash and having not yet delivered the 6-string electric I've just finished for my sister-in-law, I had a once-off opportunity to photo the three related lightweight builds together. Here they are: Left to right: The piccolo bass designed and built for our band's bassist Pete. Tuned to guitar pitch but sounds much more like a bass. Multi scale from 25" to 26" Total playing weight 5 1/2lb The 6-string electric built for me. The piccolo was so comfortable to play and sounded so good, I thought I'd try a 6-string version for my own use. 25" scale Total playing weight just under 6lb The 6 string electric just finished for my sister in law. Slightly slimmer (they are all around 1" thick) and designed for full fret access and thumb anchor up to the 24th fret for playing lead. 25" scale Total playing weight 5 1/4lb They are all through neck and feature a convex top and concave back: Those who tried the piccolo at the bash will know that, although it is at guitar pitch, it doesn't sound at all like the bottom 4 strings of a 6-string...it very much has it's very own bassy sound. For the electric 6 strings, I was curious whether 'lightweight and thin' would affect tone at all so I lent the middle one to a number of regular giggers I know. The general consensus is that it cuts through just as well as any of the strats and Les Pauls they would usually be using. Not at all scientific, of course, but there is no apparent loss of clarity or gravitas. The new one on the right hand side of the pic sounds brighter acoustically, but exactly the same through an amp. They are, of course, much lighter on the neck strap than most electrics and when the guinea-pigs later strapped their normal guitars back on, they all reported thinking various combinations of 'WHAT THE ****??' And they were trying out the heavier one of the three It's been a great experiment that may well continue to evolve Andy

Orange sounds great! Missed this in January!!! Yes - it's worth experimenting. On my bubinga bass, I find the stretch uncomfortable. I left the button there for when other players want to borrow it, but from my own use, use the higher black button: It depends on the bass, but on this one, it lifts the neck a touch and swings the whole thing it back a touch, leaving a comfortable reach

It's almost impossible to photograph the true colour for reds. Something to do with the ccd chips in modern cameras I'm told. The photos generally lose the burgundy element and come out looking like a much oranger red than the blood red it actually is in real life. Good guess?

+1 on this

That's looking great - that grain absolutely doesn't need veneering. Beautiful!

Looking good from here. Nice decal too

Sounds good Looking forward to seeing the results (although be aware that with finishing it sometimes looks worse before it looks better...so, actually, post pics when you're happy to )

Top class work