Rexel Matador

Thanks! Crimson Guitars Finishing Oil

We now have a neck and functioning electronics. All it needs now is a fret job and a nut and it's good to go.

I've been thinking about this lately too. I'm on build number three now and, while I'm gradually improving and they play pretty well, they're probably not of a standard to actually be sold - I am wondering what to do with them as the collection grows - I can't keep them all.

It's actually all oiled and finished but the camera on my phone is a bit rubbish (or I haven't figured it out yet) and has washed it out somewhat. I'll endeavour to take better pics in due course

The body is pretty much done. I may add a second pickup but I think I'll see how it sounds first. There's only one pot in there because my little push/pull pot adventure was not successful. I have a habit of trying to run before I can walk - so, just a straight volume control this time around. I've also done a bit more carving on the headstock. It's a shame because I don't think it looks quite as good like this but hey, the thing needs strings, so needs must.

"Didn't we deserve a look at you the way you really are?" by Shellac. It doesn't get any more simple and repetitive. 12 minutes, two notes. "Runnin' with the Devil" by Van Halen - doesn't exactly fit the bill as the single note you play for the verse is not the same single note you play for the chorus, but again, it really doesn't get much simpler!

I now see that SD has a wiring diagram for two Jazz stacks, which pretty much fits the bill 👍

Thanks, as long as it's not technically necessary, it's all good - that's what I needed to know. I'll have a look for a Thunderbird diagram, thanks - I hadn't thought of that!

Hi, I'm thinking about wiring a bass with two humbuckers, with a volume for each and a master tone. So pretty much like a standard Jazz, except with humbuckers. Every wiring diagram I see for two humbuckers, though, seems to include a pickup selector even if they have independent volume controls. I was just wondering if I'm missing something and not having a selector will cause some kind of issue that I haven't thought of.

I have no idea why I routed the pickup cavity so close to the bridge. i think I just got mixed up with all the various pencil lines I'd drawn on it for various things! I'm thinking I'll maybe need to add another one closer to the neck, but I'm not sure I want to risk cutting into an already finished body. I guess I'll just see how it sounds first - it might be ok.

Just spent about an hour with youtube and a multimeter trying to figure out the colour code of the wires in a Wilkinson humbucker. Finally got it figured out, went to fit it and there was a little slip of paper in the bag with the screws with the colour code already on it 😂 Two positives though: 1) it's cool that they do that now because judging by what people have written in various places online, they haven't always, and 2) I got it right, which means I'm gradually getting the hang of this arcane world of wiring 😀

With the body drying, and me not really feeling up to a full-on neck carving session, I've done a little work on the headstock. I had the image in my head but I just couldn't get the angles to work on paper. It took me way too long to realise 3+1 was the obvious solution. An what's more, the person I bought the tuners from on ebay sent me the extra bass side one for free! I can't tell you how many times I checked and double checked that, due to the orientation, I actually needed a treble side one for the bass side. I almost got caught out with my reverse headstock build, realising about a second before hitting "pay now" that I would need left handed tuners! Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with it. It's starting to make sense visually with the tuners in place. I still need to carve a ramp of sorts into the top to accommodate the strings running down to the tuners.

The body is pretty much done. Actually it still needs a hole for the jack, but that can wait.

I'm currently staining a maple top with Crimson Guitars water based cherry red stain. I have two options for the finish - Crimson guitars finishing oil or pure tung oil. I'm tending towards tung oil because it worked quite well on my last build and I would like this very bright stain to be slightly tamed by the tint of the tung oil. Anyway, the tung oil will need to be thinned and I assume the Crimson Guitars penetrating oil has some kind of solvent in it too. The thing is, I have a sharp edge faux binding type effect on the edge of the top and was just wondering if the oil/solvent is likely to drag the stain onto the bit of the wood I want to keep natural. Or will that not be an issue as long as the stain is good and dry? I'll try a test run on some scrap but it's always good to pick the collective brain for advice/experience. Thanks!

And it's not as if they're not capable of thinking outside the box: https://www.andertons.co.uk/acoustic-dept/acoustic-guitar-effects-pedals-di-boxes/fender-smolder-acoustic-overdrive 🤣

@honza992 Thanks! That's all really helpful. That said, I've gone for a round over type thing this time around, but my next build is already forming in my mind and it will definitely have binding, so I'll be returning to this advice

Made a fair bit of progress this weekend. The line on the fretboard is from where I realised I'd made a slot in slightly the wrong place. I filled it with a piece of veneer and recut it. The fret itself will cover the off-colour veneer so it should look fine. Though as I write this I'm realising it will be visible from the side 🤣 You'd have to really be looking for it to notice though.

First ever attempt at an inlay seems to be going ok And the headstock cap is under the clamps. This headstock is a bit if an experiment. We'll see what happens...

Fair enough - it's frustrating when you can't easily find out such a fundamental piece of information about a product. You'd think they'd put the fact that it's 32" front and centre though, as it's not that common.

As I understand it, 32" would be medium scale. I think 32" scale Squiers are quite rare. I'd be really surprised if was actually 32". But I'm prepared to be surprised if anyone knows for sure!

It looks like it might be a mistake to me. There's no other mention of it being short scale in the description and a few websites have that identical bass listed as 34". I would just drop them an email or call them to ask. I'm sure they'll clear it up. It looks long scale to me. There's a Vintage Modified short scale one but it has a squatter body shape (top picture):

I'm toying with the idea of binding. I assume a single plastic strip, Les Paul style would be the easiest option for a first timer. Any thoughts?

Here's the body all glued up. I'm pretty happy with it so far. The glue joint between the top and sides: it turned out ok. It's not perfect, but I'm confident it'll stay together just fine. This is my third build and each is a little more ambitious than the last. I have to keep reminding myself of that!

Thanks for the advice and encouragement everyone, it's much appreciated! Tonight I cut out the top and glued it on, but I forgot to take pictures and now it just looks like a big clamp family reunion. I'll take a picture tomorrow though, unless of course the dreaded glue joint wasn't up to scratch in which case I'll just hide away in shame 😂

Amen - routers are the ultimate necessary evil. They can do amazing things but they're utterly terrifying.