Rexel Matador

Playing devil's advocate for a second (though to be clear I agree with everything you said), when they do try something new nobody wants it. Remember the dimension bass?

No, I'm still not getting it, surely then once you're at the point of radiusing a glued up fretboard the truss rod will already be in there, so you would have had to cut the area for the spoke wheel before that? I feel like I'm getting my wires crossed somewhere an hijacking your thread unnecessarily though! Back on topic - I did once do a heel end trussrod adjustment on a neck through IIRC. It wasn't a spoke wheel though. Perfectly doable in any case, I think.

I didn't even know there were different models coming out of Japan until now and now I am desperately coveting a California Blue Aerodyne Special Jazz Bass. Isn't the point of a custom shop that you get something made to your spec and pay accordingly? How is a master-screwer-together-of-parts selecting a body and neck from a pile of bodies and necks 10 grand's worth of different to what happens in the Mexico factory?

I don't understand why you'd have to do it after the fretboard glue up. I'm sure it's obvious but I'm not getting it 😄 Edit: ok should have given this some more thought before posting - would it be because of glue squeeze out? Could carefully placed masking tape mitigate that?

Looks to me like a fret job and/or trussrod tweak would probably sort it - hard to tell without getting one's hands on it, but I very much doubt it needs binning. The neck relief is visible in one of the pics so it might be a bit too much - if that's the case, tightening the truss rod might be all that's required. That said, I think I can see a bit of fretwear too, so if the trussrod adjustment isn't enough, a level crown and polish might be in order.

https://www.solar-guitars.com/product/ab2-4c-baritone-carbon-black-matte/

If you're looking for it online, they call it a baritone, confusingly, though it's definitely a bass, In the corresponding range to a baritone guitar, I suppose.

In my experience it definitely helps. I was playing in drop A# on a 34" scale bass with a .140 low string, then I built myself a multiscale 35.5" to 33.5" (my thinking being that in that tuning, the other 3 strings are actually a semitone higher than standard, so why not go slightly shorter on the treble side) and the slight increase in tension really did help. Also, Solar make a 35" scale 4 string bass that is 100% built for this exact purpose and costs about £700, I think. Edit: you said 5 string didn't you - sorry, ignore the last part!

Two tied together was plenty

Indeed, plus I may end up building a bass for someone else one day, so should probably learn to do things other people like! I've still never made one with more than four strings for example.

Not sure why I went so all-in on the high fret access. It's not as if I use them.

A bit of progress. Frets are in, some finer body outline shaping, pickups and control cavities, tuner holes. I'm never hammering frets in again. Definitely time to invest in a press/caul of some kind. I wanted to route a roundover in the body but I need to wait for the imperial bolts required to attached the router to the table to arrive, so I'll have to wait. Next up, carving the neck, heel, volute, body contour.

I've always resisted Stewmac, because they're pricey and ship from the US, but these little treats are going to make my life so much easier this weekend and arrived much faster than I expected. In other news, I made the most idiotic mistake with the fretboard radius. My jig has a perfect 14" radius for the router to run over, but of course the bit hangs down below that, so it's ended up being more like 12, despite me going at it with a 14" inch sanding block. I'm just going to go with it, it seems consistent and level anyway. I tried to take a pic of the reflection on the sanded surface but it didn't really work... As you can see, the 21st fret slot is very close to the end of the board. Another rookie mistake, but I'm learning as I go! Hopefully it will hold when the fret goes in! I've come too far to do anything about it now!

Given that the Rolling Stones continued to tour after Charlie passed away, I find myself wondering if they'll gradually all be replaced when the time comes and keep going forever.

No mention of Sugababes either.

I'm not planning on doing something exactly the same, but personally I like it as a solution to staining a neck thru bass without having to do the whole neck (also an option). The technique could have other applications too, like doing some kind of burst on a body.

Hi all, this isn't a build diary, but I think this is the place to ask in any case, hope that's ok! How would I go about doing something like this, ie fading out the stain on the neck? Could you do it by applying stain and sanding it out, or could that kind of effect only really be achieved by spraying? Any thoughts welcome!

I can't unsee the mismatched horns. One round and one pointy.

I've roughly shaped the body. It's very light, which I was hoping for with this project. Obviously the hardware will add some weight but there's also still a fair bit of wood to be removed - roundover, control cavity, neck and heel carving, etc. I'm away for two weeks so this will be the last update for a while.

Wings!

I swapped the necks of a Mexican Fender P and a Matt Freeman sig Squier once. I forget why. But anyway, they fitted each other. And I think fitting a J neck to a P has been a common mod since the jazz bass was invented. Fitting a different scale length neck would leave the bridge in the wrong place.

Body wing templates

If you PM me in a bit more detail what you want doing, I'll have a look and tell you honestly whether I'd be able to pull it off.

Bought a brass rod from B&Q on my way home from work. Only sanded to 80 grit so far but I think we're onto a winner.