Andyjr1515

OK - my take. 1. As folks have said, where the silks end up is entirely up to where the string maker wound them to and how far the peg is away from the stop tail or stop tail part of the bridge. They will always end up the same distance from the peg once wound up to tune 2. The big no-no is not to have winds on the tuner riding up on each other...even a bit. If they do, it allows the possibility of the winds shifting in relation to each other and that could lead to tuning instability 3. The ideal is to end up - with all coils butted up to each other - having the exit of the last coil as near to the bottom of the peg as you can get (but without risking 2 above). This way, you maximise the break angle over the nut and - in the case of string trees - it applies less tension and friction onto the string tree 4. The actual distance to allow depends on how thick the string is and how thick/long the thin string leader is 5. In terms of the distance I cut to, I personally have a rule of thumb of a fingers-closed hand width past the far side of the post (which for me is 10cm/4"), but with the bottom E usually shorter in order to avoid 2 above. 6. If I am going to err on a 'safe side', I err towards longer and not shorter. If I've overcooked it, I have no problem loosening it, snipping a cm or so off the end and then rewinding it

Oh yes - definitely this...

Yes - I'm definitely phoenixed out nowadays for doing this sort of stuff (spirit willing, hands not) but the fantastic and innovative ideas folks come up with with modding still fascinates me. And I know how I would tackle the back wing if I was doing it. I would probably need to draw a sketch, but basically I would recreate the general shape and visual effect of the two beauties that @RonC pasted above by: - routing the top rear bout from the back of the body, halving the thickness. - shaping the existing edge to the shape of the transition I wanted. - cutting a piece of contrasting wood and route a mirror step so that it would slot in at back that I'd removed and shape that to the 'correct' shape of the rear bout - I would add a sliver of contrasting light maple for the witness line - Glue it in - Carve the bout to the correct profile No idea at the moment what I would do to correct the 'SG' spikes of the front cutaways...

Yes - it came out well...and sounded great! It was your 5er Sterling with the Aguilar P added. Very enjoyable project and satisfying result : If you are tempted, @fretmeister, I would say 'Go For It!'

It sounds to me like insufficient neck relief. Have you checked that you have tangible relief on those strings? Hold down the string on the 1st fret and the 15th and then tap the string at the 6th fret. There should be a small but perceptible gap. If the string’s hard down on the fret, then there is insufficient relief. With a Rick, there are particular techniques to adjusting them so, if the above is the case and if you aren’t familiar with them, best to report back here before doing anything yourself 🙂

There's a bit of a challenge involved, @Jimothey Generally (although @RonC 's intriguing Safran breaks the rule ), the pickups are in the body area and the fretboard...and the strings...sit higher. As such, the distance from the strings to the coils (which is where most of the ooomph of a pickup happens - the poles themselves have a fairly modest impact) can be excessive and affect significantly the strength of the signal. On @TheGreek 's Psilos Bass that @SpondonBassed refers to, I also was able to break that general rule by making the top of the bass part the fretboard...

I’m afraid I’m all phoenixed out 😀

...and yet the very lightest of my 'why do electric guitars and basses have to be soooo heavy' series of builds, a 6 string double humbucker 25" scale electric coming in a 5.25lbs...has an oak back 👍 Watching with interest, @Dom in Dorset

Yes - good, thanks. Hope all good with you and yours too And yes - looks that way!

I use this double-sided tape from Axminster Tools. They sell it as what to use to hold wood being hand routed onto the work bench - it's very thin and very strong... https://www.axminstertools.com/ujk-technology-double-sided-tape-102795?queryID=e4b200edde4afd5cf964884eacec8f0a

Only just caught up with the thread. Yes - the final sealer coat can be a real b****r. Best way of checking if you are down to clean wood is to wipe it with a damp cloth - the clean wood darkens with the moisture and anything with sealer residue in the grain shows up as light patches...and that will show pretty much whatever finish you choose.

Interesting - to my surprise, I think you are right. Can't find any. There are 3-hole solid black, there are 1-hole B/W/B three-ply...but even those mostly look a little short at c.4.5mm...but no solid black 1-holes as far as I can see.

Lovely job, lovely bass!

Yes - I use a similar method. I actually solder the wire to the copper tape, then cut an 'arrow head' in the copper to allow me to pull the earth wire and solder joint back into the hole so the bridge only has the copper tape between it and the bass/guitar body.

Nice work and lovely result I notice that you had filled the bridge earth hole in one of the shots. Is the bridge earthed?

Splendid, @Dom in Dorset Looks super good!

For my personal guitars and basses, there aren't many that I haven't done this to, @Owen. And where practicable, I have always favoured doing it for custom builds too. It usually isn't the actual depth that is the issue to the player (and there be dragons in the spine zone), but instead it is the 'haunches' either side of the neck spine that generally makes the biggest difference. That can make a MASSIVE difference to the feel of the bass or guitar. I have been able to show more than one player that the 'slimmest of the necks that they have ever played' is actually deeper than the rest of their collection. So when I have ever built a bass or guitar for myself, I carve the neck close to what 'feels right' but then, when it is fully finished, strung up and in tune, I play it, then twist it round like a back to front cello and shave material off the haunches from the heel to the nut, either side of the central spine. Then I play it, then turn it round and shave some more off until it 'feels right'. Finally I re-do the slurry and buff and by the next day of it hardening off, I have a fully playable bass or guitar. It's clearly a little more involved if it's a varnished neck, but you can do the same with those. Tone-wise, I've never been aware of any major difference unless the spine itself is reduced - and never do that unless you know exactly how deep the trussrod slot is...

Flattery will, of course, generally get you everywhere with @Andyjr1515 , @AndyTravis Many thanks for the endorsement Sadly, @Beedster, I will have to side-step this one. The old hand-arthritis (the hands are old as well as the arthritis ) is causing issues at the moment and I've had to drop fret and neck work, which tends to need all the bits that hurt the most. It's worth looking through the 'Basschatters willing/able to help other basschatters' list on the forum - there are some super-talented folksaround here who might be able to help and some might be in your area.

Here are a few shots of @SpondonBassed's Squier Jag soon after it was finished. Whoever thought that natural, unstained wood could be so stunning! : This is a thread that covers the basic method I use, whereas - while the above is natural veneer just with clear varnish - this one below features a stained finish to the veneer. Applying the veneer is identical, though:

I didn't do a thread of actually doing the Squier Jag and actually didn't take progress photos (as I confessed, apparently, in a post in 2011. 2011!!!! That's a mid-teenager's life span ago!!) but I think I can find a thread of the method used if the photo links are still sound. I'll have a look.

Hmmm...not sure. I think so. I'll have a look in the morning.

I'm so out of touch, @Dom in Dorset, I'd missed the progress on your thread. I just LOVE that denim finish - everything splendid, the instrument itself, the finish. Oh and that travel guitar from a post ages back...absolutely stunning!

Great bridge - used it a number of times in the past. Just double check (I think Gotoh have proper dimensioned drawings on their website) that the hole positions match...not to cast doubt on Gotoh as much as my belief that 'there's nothing standard about Fender standard sizes' 😀

...and a very well deserved winner of No Treble's Bass of the Week! Beautiful bass, splendid build

With black stain it should be OK, but always useful to have a backup plan 🙂