Maude

This isn't the only way but what I've always found easiest is to screw a wooden baton into the neck pocket and hold it like a giant lollipop. Screw a hook into the other end of the baton and you've got something to hang it with. It's easier, especially with rattle cans, to turn the bass body to where you need it and keep the can upright, as it'll spray better and not spit or drip so much. Also if runs start to develop, you can turn the bass the opposite way to the run and get it to flow out, likewise holding the bass horizontal while the paint is still wet will help it flow out flatter, flipping periodically from front to back. Like this, I realise this advice is too late but it's good to know for your next build, there will be a next build even if you don't know it yet. 😁

I've just read through the whole thread and really enjoyed it. It's great when someone just grabs the bull by the horns and gets on with it, and it's turned out superb. A nice crisp white really suits that style of bass, especially with the black hardware. Great stuff. 👍

I think I must be misunderstanding it then. Apart from the new nut, isn't it just setting your tuning and intonation slightly differently than standard 'even tempered' tuning, which is a compromise where some notes are bang on and some quite a way off, to a tuning which has a different compromise where everything sounds nearly in tune but with a less drastic swing between notes that are in tune and the ones that aren't. What is it about the bridge that can't be done with standard bridge intonation adjustment? I'm not picking a fight, I'm genuinely intrigued. 🙂

I've just had a little look and it appears to be two things, one is a shelf nut, two is a secret that you have to pay to find out is nothing that special after all, says the cynic in me. The nut overhangs the fretboard slightly, in effect moving it closer to the first fret, simple enough, most folks could fit that themselves. Then you pay to have a compensated bridge fitted and adjusted. Surely the 'compensation' is adjusting the intonation, which a normal bridge is capable of. Or am I missing something? It seems to me that all you need to know is exactly what each string is tuned to and how intonation is set, exactly how far out it is on whichever fret they use to measure. If you had the data then surely anyone could tune this way, as long as you have a very accurate tuner.

I'm sure you must've seen this @Bilbo, and it seems to have become a kind of party piece for Adam Ben Ezra but it still impresses me whenever I see it.

It sounds like you need a quick chat with our own @Andyjr1515. Check out some of his build threads. He's made all styles and shapes so definitely not in the 'my design or nothing' camp.

Hofner Ignition Club, Danelectro Longhorn, Kay KJP-1B and Ibanez Talman TMB30. Yes I know there's no knobs on the Talman or strings on the Longhorn. 🙂

I use the 'holding the bass while weighing yourself' method, but I only hop on the scales once, then deduct what I know I weigh. The only thing is most of my basses are between 35 and 40 kilos somehow.

They're not matching but I realised recently that I seem to have a short scale ice cream parlour thing going on.

This thread has made me realise that apart from acoustics, this is the only natural wood finish I've got.

The scratches are terrible. I gave it a go over with 800 through to 3000 grit and then compounded and polished, and although they've gone it looks horrible now. It's lost it's crisp edges and because I had to go in so deep to remove the scratches it's lost depth and just looks odd. It only ended up costing me about £1.50 and it served its purpose as a guide so it's no big deal. I've got a new one on it's way (from China though) for all of four pound something. I did consider cream pearl but looking at the pictures I think it needs to be black to go with the fretboard and the black shadow in the paint. Yes it's just going to be passive for now. Controls will be volume tone and a rotary switch is on it's way from @KiOgon which will select rear single coil/series/parallel/front single coil so should have a few sounds and it'll look like another standard knob. 🙂

Abso bloody lutely! I actually listened to some of our music yesterday and thought, that's not too bad. I've usually heard enough of it with gigging. Can't wait to get back with a band.

Oh my! Clare Grogan. 🥰

Nice neat work, it looks great.

It should be exactly the same process. Only slight difference would be if it was stripped back to the bare material then it would want the relevant primer rather than the traditional wood sealer coat. Any guitar refinisher should do it.

Ooh I like that. 👍 Is it fully hollow or has it got a centre block? Reminds me of an Aerodyne Precision, but hollow and fretless, and with an f hole......... OK the binding reminds of an Aerodyne P

Thank you Andy, that all makes perfect sense. It's nice to have it explained clearly. 👍

Thanks for explaining that clearly @Andyjr1515. All helpful info when I come to fit my stingray bridge. Just to clarify, if l wind the saddles all the way forwards and then put the peak of the saddle the scale length from the nut, it should be in the correct place? I'll wind the saddle back a couple of turns to allow for mis-measurements.

A set of ferrules is only a fiver and, surprisingly, the cheap ebay bridge has the holes for it so I may as well do it, and I've just ordered some fixings that will look similar but more importantly be a much heftier fixing deep into the body. They were 20p each. Both of these things can only help, especially as it's only going to be passive. Who knows though, if it turns out to be a nice player I could spend some money and put active electrics in there. I've lightened the body so it should be comfy. I've got a set of DR Hi-Beams I've had for a while but never fitted to anything as my go to strings are D'addario half rounds, I may put them on it.

Also the bridge I've got allows for string through body, is it worth drilling the body and getting some ferrules? How much difference does it really make, as strangely I've never had a string through bass? I'm going to source a pair of similar bridge fixings to the big screws on the Stingrays, partially to for looks but hopefully it'll help with sound as well. Every little helps, as they say.

Thanks for the kind comments folks. 🙂 I haven't actually screwed it together yet so it might sound terrible. 😆 I really pondered on the colour but then saw this picture, and thought yes. A long story but I mixed up some paint I had at home and came up with this red, The full story is here if anyone's bored enough to read it. 🙂

I meant Ray style hardware. Nothing is genuine. SX body, Harley Benton neck, Warman pickup, ebay bridge and control plate. The electrics will be passive with a tone, volume and rotary switch to select between bridge single coil/series/parallel/neck single coil. Obviously nothing like an actual Stingray but I used up a load of bits I had kicking about and spent about fifty quid on the bits I don't have. I now have a nice looking, and hopefully nice sounding bass for £50 and used up some bits that were in the way. 🙂

Pub gigs, are they worth the hassle? Hmm, if you enjoy doing them, yes. If not, no.

It's cut, drilled, filled and painted, although the lacquer needs doing again but shhh 😄, so this is just a mock up but a Precison body, lefty Jazz neck and Ray hardware works. I'll lacquer it again tomorrow and then rebuild time. 🙂

He hasn't gone and invented purist green has he? 😆