Andyjr1515

OK - confession time. When @PaulThePlug asked if I could convert a Squier guitar neck to a micro-tonal my answer was, of course, 'Yes!' Followed very quickly by the question, 'Er...and just what is a microtonal neck??' And there began a journey into a world previously unknown to me. Bands like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and their album Microtonal Flying Banana, Turkish traditional string instruments, etc, etc. Fascinating. The practicality...adding a half pitch between each semitone. I used the excellent on-line github FretFind2D program to work out the fret positions: Being non-standard (from a Western point of view) arrangement, it was going to need to be hand marked and slotted. We discussed whether it was easier to just ad a fret bang in the middle of each fret pair but, even though the human ear probably isn't capable of hearing the difference, nevertheless - as all measurements need to be done from the nut in anycase - it was just as easy to measure the correct scale positions. The hand marking was done with an accurate steel rule and a very sharp point! Next job would be cutting the frets!

There's nothing cheating about that!

Older (especially non LED) domestic dimmer switches and the old-fashioned fluorescent lights are notorious for buzzing, however well an instrument is shielded and grounded. There used to be a venue that our band had to turn down gigs from because everything buzzed (yes - even humbucker-fitted guitars!). When they had a refurb and replaced all of the overhead lighting all was good.

Many thanks to @JPJ @Happy Jack and @Matt P for your endorsements Count me as truly flattered However, with both bass/guitar and general life commitments, I'm not able to take on any new 'larger' projects at the moment. I've pm'd @d_g to that effect and given him a couple of names (including the one he mentions in his first post) who I regard as "true builders' builders" to try. I will follow the thread - sounds an exciting project

What a clever way of getting that angle accurate! Consider the idea stolen

Excellent. Sounds like a top guy to me...

Absolutely beautiful...

Ooooo....I like them all, but I particularly like the first one!

Yes - great stuff!

No - you are right. If there is a gap, then it is probably OK and the buzz is from something else.

If you fret the A in between the 2nd and 3rd fret, is there a tangible gap underneath the 1st fret?

Looking good Ref neck dive - on the strap at least, once you have a strap button at the end of the upper horn it is very unlikely that it will dive. The button will be well in the 'goldilocks' zone, at pretty much 12th fret and as such, the weight distribution would have to be massively out for it not to balance If it is imbalanced over the knee, and that's how you prefer playing, there are a few decent options: - As @BassApprentice says, you could fit some Utralights - the 'Licensed by' Hipshots are great quality and good value - you could take a bit of timber off the headstock, ie keep the shape but make it a bit slimmer/shorter/thinner. The leverage effect enhances the effect of relatively small changes - widen the bottom waist carve forward so the bass sits on your knee further forward of the centre of gravity. Again, a centimeter or so can make a big difference

Top drawer

Everything has had time to settle and so now is the time to level the frets, re-crown and polish. With the trussrod adusted to give me a straight neck, out comes my sanding beam to take off the high spots and/or high frets: The filings coming off the high frets are a guide - you know you are there when there are just the beginning of an even scrape across the tops of the lowest frets For recrowning, I use a diamond crowning file, first by itself, and then using the file as the former for progressive grades of emery and micro-mesh, all the way from 500 to 12000 grit. And, other than a few final bits of tidying up, it's pretty much there

This makes it look like it's closer to finish than it is (I still have to level, recrown and polish the frets), but: - the side dots are in - the edges are feathered in - the fretboard has had an initial dose of Tru-oil - THE TRUSS ROD WORKS!! A couple of pics to be going on with:

Looking OK Decent join, lined up OK left/right & backwards/forwards... phew! So tomorrow, when the glue is fully cured, I'll try the trussrod and, assuming all is good: add the side dots; lightly sand the edges; add a whisper of finish at the edges to blend in the present finish with the sanded edges

Lot of photos here. But in terms of what I do and why (and always the disclaimer to not assume this is necessarily the best/only way): - First, I have to get all traces off of the old glue. I generally use a single edged razor blade used as a mini cabinet scraper: - As part of the process, I give the fretboard a healthy water spray for two reasons. Firstly, it reveals remaining glue. Secondly, it's wood - it moves by itself and in different conditions. When the fretboard was first fitted it will have been damp from the water-based wood glue. That moisture gradually reduces (it's one of the reasons that fret ends can feel sharp on a new bass after a year or so - the timber shrinks, exposing the sharp edges of the frets previously filed flush) and certainly does when a domestic iron has been used to remove it! Water spraying it damp right through gives it at least half a chance of returning to the shape and length when first fitted. - I then sand both surfaces. This is a cheap sandpaper holder I found in, I think, Homebase. It's great - and especially for my increasingly arthritic hands! : - Next. I use two-sided sticky tape to stick a protective clamping cawl, using some old mahogany offcut, to protect the back of the neck when clamping: - Positioning the forward/backward placing using the side-dot holes as the guide (see previous post), I use a bobbin clamp to position the fretboard side-to-side and then drill two positioning 1.5mm holes through the saddle base to the neck for a couple of panel pins to be used as locators: - and yes - as I said above, wood moves. And the whole fretboard has a bend in it. With the above panel pins in place, and a second bobbin clamp holding the fretboard in position at the 5th fret, look how much the natural bend in the board is out of line with the heel end! : - To correct this bend (it pushes back straight and flush fairly easily) I could just use bobbin clamps at the heel end too, but, for the sake of a teeny hole in the fretboard, I think a better solution is another panel pin locator: - I will be clamping using radius blocks so that I can clamp in the middle, using that protective strip of mahogany at the back, and still have the clamping forces being applied fully either side of the fretboard. So ready for masking off the trussrod slot and the sides of the neck, Titebond is applied to both surfaces: - and, finally, panel pins are pushed into place, the radius blocks positioned and the clamps fully tightened down. Once it is fully clamped, and the squeeze-out has been cleaned up a best as can be done, the three positioning panel pins can now be removed so they don't get glued in! : Later this afternoon, I will be able to take the clamps off and see if we have a satisfactory re-fitting

It looks great ☺️

Excellent! ☺️

Excellent Next?

It will be fine

Fettling done and a trial fit of the trussrod also done. Less fettling than I expected so a lucky guess with which trussrod supplier to use: And the all important bit that was missing on the old one there and accessible (the adjuster nut!) Note, by the way, that the G&L necks clearly have a couple of carbon rods fitted...

Trussrod is here and side dot material is in transit. This afternoon, I'll fettle the slot to get the new rod to fit snugly. All being well, the fretboard will be refitted before the end of the week.

It's a thought. Trouble is, that's a lot of bits floating around. But I was thinking that maybe two or three spread over the length of the fretboard...

Yes - I'll be doing that as well, I will pop a couple of panel pin holes in the nut slot. I'll take a photo when I get to that bit.