Andyjr1515

I will post the progress of the design as it progresses. There are and will be lots of messaging between Mick and me in the background as we develop or abandon thoughts and ideas. I will probably have to build a number of prototype rigs too to try things out. So you will see the design and development process, warts and all. Remember two things:[list] [*]The design and solutions will undoubtedly change during the process [*]Like all of my builds, I will simply say what I have done and why. If you are thinking of building stuff yourself, NEVER assume that I know what I am doing - but DO feel free to learn by my mistakes.... [/list] So, where would I usually start? Geometry and physics. A bass guitar is a series of compromises held together by determination and hope. Pretty much everything impacts on everything - usually making what you were trying to do impossible for practical or practicability reasons. For me, I start with the tailstock arrangement and thus the bridge position , because that will determine how far away the nut ends up being away from your grasp. The further forward the bridge, the longer the neck will be. Sounds obvious but you can easily and quickly end up with a bass that is physically unplayable. The other thing that fundamentally affects the apparent neck length is the balance on the strap. This early in the process you [i]have to [/i]have a decent idea how this is going to hang. If it swings to the player's right (assuming a RH bass), then neck will feel shorter. If it swings to the left, it can become unplayable because you simply can't reach the end of the neck. The above is where the challenges of this build start biting. We are going for a headless mechanism, fitted to the back and hidden from the front view. There is going to be some hacksaw work on Mick's donated tuner assembly, but this is where it will go: Note that due to the forward skew of the upper part of the tail, the tuner mechanism is a few cm further forward than it normally would be. Also this is going to be fitted at the back. So to get to the bridge with any decent string angles, there is going to be quite a distance for the angled strings to go to get to the top. This pushes the bridge even further forward, as you can see in the top (full-size) sketch below: I've written '11cm minimum' here but in reality, to hide the tuners, this is going to be at least 13cm from the centre-line which is itself 1.5" further forward than I would normally aim for. All things being equal, that would make this feel like a 35.5" scale bass!! But, then there's the hang. Here's my Bubinga fretless in comparison, with the bridge in the same position: Playing the Bubinga is pretty much me at full stretch so anything forward of this is a concern. And that great lump of material at the back of the design is going to throw it further to the left. But look where the horn meets the neck - a strap button (probably at the back) here would be much further forward than my bubinga. This would swing the bass back to the right. So...might be OK Another consequence of the forward bridge is the hidden magnetic pickup. Remember that the body will be slim and diminishing. The forward bridge position throws the pickup towards the narrowest and thinnest point: At the moment in that proposal, the pickup is deeper than the body... So that's what [i]I've[/i] been doing this Sunday

[quote name='Bastav' timestamp='1490533007' post='3265724'] now [i]that[/i] is quite the spec. lovely flame on that maple aswell, are you going to add some accent veneers or is it gonna be all maple/light woods? [/quote] The neck will be 5 piece rock maple with some thin accent lines either side of the central maple splice - other than that it will be all as white as we can make it, although clearly it will darken a touch when the finishing is on. That body wood is actually sycamore (related to maple), cut down, cut up and seasoned by a local contact and professional instrument maker. I was pleased to get hold of it because the offset with the bookmatch means that the blanks need to be significantly longer than those normally available. There's a dark spot you can just see that is a quirk in the grain - it is impossible to know until it's carved whether that will get bigger, stay the same or disappear. But, well...that's wood for you...

Oh...and here's the body wood for it:

Hi Other titles I considered was -"Mick throws down the gauntlet" or "It's the last straw the breaks the camels back" or "Here's another fine mess you've gotten us into" The most ambitious project so far....and some. It's for our very own Mick (aka TheGreek) This one is still in conceptual stages in many ways and - with so many technical challenges ahead - going to take some time. And - always a possibility - feasibly might not work. The excitement and anticipation of starting this project has been building rapidly like the internal pressure of eating too many baked beans The plan at the moment is:[list] [*]Contact lens cross-sectional profile: [/list] [list] [*]Ultra-modern skewed profile [/list] [list] [*]Full length fretboard (ie nut to tailstock) [*]Headless tuning mechanism (actual head / no head / part head still in design) [*]Hidden magnetic pickup [*]Possibly piezo in addition [*]Hidden controls [*]Natural, white wood throughout [/list] There - that's it. Pressure released. As they say..."better out than in"

Fantastic!

This just gets better and better. I can't believe the colours you've got out of natural wood!

Thanks, folks, for the encouraging feedback - it is always hugely appreciated. Most importantly, Pete is very pleased with it If I ever get time, I am very tempted to build a six string electric version (yes, I know...shocking) to see if that has the same playing 'feel'. I'll keep you all posted

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1490387531' post='3264872'] Sell the children - you know that they're just a drain on your resources... [/quote] Done I assumed it was general advice

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1490387457' post='3264871'] I love it, looks superb and has the sound to match. I really do need to save up some cash and talk to you about one. [/quote] Always willing to talk, T-bay

A few of you have asked where the makeshift spray booth thread went. Simply, I asked the mods to take it down. Those of you who follow my build threads know that I generally simply say what I personally do and how I do it - I pretty much NEVER say 'this is what you should do'. But, of course, when you post regular threads and when - to everyone's amazement - some even work out OK, you find that you are regarded sometimes as 'an authority.' That is a bit of a responsibility that has to be recognised, even if it is never intended or deserved. And that was the problem, I suddenly realised, with taking the same approach with my spraying experiments as I would do with a general build - that is, simply summarising what I was doing and the results. Because taking someone else's ideas and expanding on them or trying something similar is the very essence of why the Build Diaries are so valuable and so much fun - and this process can result in the rapid dissemination of good ideas. But there's the rub...taking the essence of experiments with spraying and doing 'something similar' can - if you are not fully knowledgeable of the risks and preventative measures - be deadly. So apologies for the abrupt cessation of the thread, particularly for those who are fully aware of the hazards and have been trying to solve similar problems, but it would be a bummer to lose [i]anyone[/i] who might think my build threads are cool

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1490387288' post='3264869'] That sounds fantastic, a lovely tone. Was that clean or any effects on it? [/quote] I think he had just a touch of overdrive on it

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1490378567' post='3264788'] Technology causing a problem?? Nooo!! (actually I've been trying to download photos for the last week) [/quote] Yes - quite! Anyway, here it is - when Pete got hold of the piccolo neither of us were quite sure what it would be best used for other than the primary aim of sofa noodling. We still aren't sure but first practice Pete tried a lead break with it and continued using it as a rhythm guitar during the final vocal verse - [url="https://soundcloud.com/andy-rogers-6/time-to-let-go-piccolo-bass-playing-lead"]here are the last few minutes of the tryout[/url]. It's definitely not a bass and it's definitely not an electric 6-string. So mission accomplished, then

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1490376966' post='3264767'] I'm confused 'cos I'm sure I replied to that thread but darned if I can find it now. Have you been moderated for excessive expletives? [/quote] No - I asked the mods to take it off. I realised that, unless you went through all of the 'do's and dont's', then someone who didn't know the safety issues could get in a bit of a pickle. I'll post the reasons separately rather than hijacking Jez's fabulous build thread!

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1490372112' post='3264730'] Pete's slacking...where his review?? [/quote] His review is the big stupid grin he's had on his face since he got it To be honest, it doesn't improve his looks...... Actually - I've got a clip from our practice on Tuesday when he decided he was going to play the piccolo for the lead guitar part of one of our numbers (!). I'll post it when I can get the flaming thing off the iphone!!!!

Jez - that is STUNNING! (and, assuming you've seen my amended thread, do NOT think about spraying it in a tent! )

Very neat

We started with a Yamaha Stagepas and they are very good but we found they struggle a bit with the larger venues we play at (ie, middle size pubs and clubs) and the speakers, though great quality, aren't really man enough for the bass without affecting the sound of the rest of the mix. We then moved to a Behringer powered mixer (2x800w) driving a couple of Behringer 15" speakers. Although very good price, we have found it very reliable and, because it is running well within its output capability at the lower volume levels required for the small to medium venues, the sound quality is excellent, even when Pete our bassist turns up his bass boost to max! The bonus is that we now use the Stagepas as monitors where necessary.

Attendance list: TheGreek Bassface 2k10 Lozz196 Sibob NickD Truckstop Gary mac Andyjr1515 (who seems to have lost the bold typeface...)

Great job. It looks fantastic and I'm sure that it sounds just as good Oh - and I say this simply because I forgot once - did you remember to solder-join and earth the shielding? I love that copper shield material....so, so much better than conductive paint in my personal opinion. Nowadays, I solder all of my earth wires to the shielding itself and let the spring washers do the job for the pots - means none of those horrible blobs of solder and trailing earth wires on the back of the pots

What's on the other side of the board, LowMoFo? It looks to me that the wide track is actually the metal baseplate rather than a specific electrical track, in which case cutting into it would be no big problem...but there might be a copper trace track on the other side. Can you take a photo?

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1489998104' post='3261258'] Oh no. He's not been caught up in real life has he?! [/quote] No - you can't get rid of me that easily.... Bit of real life, but in parallel, gearing up for head and shoulders the most ambitious project yet. Could be one bridge too far, of course Won't be cutting wood for a few weeks and still finalising the design so a bit too early to start the thread...

Also - if you used a standard surface mounted jack/jackplate, this gives you a few more mm: Generally, this gives you 6-7mm proud of the surface of the instrument so the jack will only project 26mm from the surface of the bass - that will fit won't it? As long as you go for a Switchcraft jack, it will last a LOT longer than a barrel jack. Like stated above, the hole will need to be widened for the extra width of the jack itself. I'm assuming you would need a 'stereo' version so that the power to your pre-amp is switched on and off by inserting the jack? [url="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Allparts-EP-0155-000-Switchcraft-Input-Stereo/dp/B000NZVWVI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1489914248&sr=8-2&keywords=switchcraft+stereo+socket"]If so, it's one of these you need[/url]

The piccolo bass I've just finished for our band's bassist: Wood for headplate and trussrod cover taken from offcut of body top wood. 26" - 25" variable scale; tuned one octave higher than standard bass. Mahogany back, black walnut top and head, maple neck with mahogany splice, snakewood fretboard Oh...and do I get a prize for linking the cutout of the headstock to the neck and a matching control chamber plate too?

Sounds like it's all slotting into place, James Andy

Yes - looking very good