durhamboy

I have a couple of slabs of very heavy Aussie eucalypt which I keep as the top boards for wood stacks. Everything gets stacked with slats between layers and then the last layer if the heavy eucalypt slabs. That keeps everything nice and flat while things acclimatize for a few months. (or longer) Wide, flat cut boards, are always a bit touch and go, their natural inclination is to cup as they dry. No system is foolproof, some wood will do it's own thing once released from the stack, but at least careful stacking and drying reduces the chances.

I would think you'd be fine after a couple of years drying as you describe and sorry if I got a bit of topic and muddied the waters, by throwing in the bit about resins catalyzing in certain conifers.

All advice on the subject that I've read says the same ,approximately a year of drying for each inch of thickness. That will give a moisture content of 12-20% depending on local climate. Bringing air dried wood inside will reduce it even further. I know with some woods which have higher resin content, (many conifers) the conversion of resin to a hard crystalline form can take 25 years or more, which might explain "drying" times for "tone woods" such as types of Spruce, taking decades. I have some reclaimed Douglas Fir that is over 40 years old, it came from exposed beams in a ceiling, splinters of that are like shards of glass and it's tap tone is like a bell, where as recently cut and kiln dried Douglas Fir still hasn't seen the resins catalyze and sounds quite dull by comparrison. Fortunately non resinous woods are much quicker to dry and don't need years for resins to catalyze. I've used Mahogany, Walnut, Tasmanian Blackwood, Maple and many other woods a few years after being cut, but generaly keep and rack wood for much longer. (I doubt Fender, Gibson and the like dry and rack thousands of cubic feet of wood for decades....)

Just heard this today. They're back and still on point.

Smart idea, I'll have to remember that one.

Yes, good fun isn't it? I always use sailmakers twine. (just because we've had a great big roll of it sitting around the place) 2 piece bodies joined in the center make life easier, that removes one variable. When I only used to make laminated through necks, it was easier still!😉 Find the center of the middle strip in the neck and double check with the thread and you're home, bar setting the scale length. Good job by the way, looking nice. Hope we get to hear it soon.

Happy to send you some smaller bits and bobs, pots, some hardware etc. Sorry no bodies, being in Australia the postage would be prohibitive. Anyway, message me with where to send stuff.

Very well done. Yes, sure you'll have a few mistakes and cover ups, those things happen even to the best of builders sometimes. It can be especially testing when it's a first build, or a new design and you're working out things as you go. Looking forward to seeing the next build you attempt. (You'd be a rare person if having built your own, you can stop at one....😉)

Are you going to add a p pickup along with the Music Man?

I find that most times even a light colour stain mutes, or hides some of the colours. Stain sort of works to accentuated flame and quilt type grain patterns, but I prefer the more random and complex tops, like your spalted top. Still, that's just my opinion, I've always been a fan of woods in their natural colours.

And vert tasty it is too. Looking very strong and defined.

Mistakes are a part of life. I used to say that the only people who don't make mistakes are those who never do anything, but never doing anything is a mistake in itself isn't it? Sorry for getting all philosophical there for a minute.

OK, all ready. Erinmore flake used to be my choice back in the day.

I think there's not a lot that can be squeezed into a box the size of the Gnome, Bam 200, or the TE Elf, an input, volume, bas- mid- treble and a headphone jack is about it and still being able to turn the knobs! Once a form factor like this takes off, then everyone who wants to be in the mini head game has to match, size, output, features and price pretty closely, with just enough individuality to create a point of difference. There was a thread about the similarity between these small heads on Talkbass a while ago, with photos of all 3 opened up to show the circuits and layout. While the tiny size limits just how parts can be placed, all were different enough to show they aren't just the same amp in a different coloured case.

I do it the same as Andy described, but use a set of end cutters that I ground the face down on for pulling frets, they give me a close cut that doesn't need much filing.

Manou Gallo

Sad to hear about Ali, I remember seeing him around my area as a kid in the 60's and seeing The Birds on TV was great, seeing a band from our boring to us, outer London towns on TV was something special.

I really don't care what others do, other than anyone selling a faked Fender, that's really a Squier or some such, for genuine Fender prices. For myself, I have a couple of parts built Fender shaped instruments, but without Fender decals, just because I'd feel really naff doing it, but to each their own. These days there are so many quality bass and guitar options across a huge range of prices, that wanting to look like you have a "real" Fender, or Gibson, shouldn't be an issue. Back in the day (and I'm bloody old) aspiring to own a genuine Fender, or Gibson, maybe made some of us feel more like "proper" musicians and yes, Squier's and Asian copies of famous models, were probably looked down on more than now, but now as then, how you play, not what you play it on, is what counts.

Great looking build, I've just caught up with it from first post to now in one reading. Really like the way you took the time to develop the design, it's looking really good. As mentioned earlier, every shape owes something to another previous instrument, sometimes we have taken a bit here and a bit there from quite a few. There's only so much that can be done within the perimeters of ballance, comfort, fret access, etcetera. Looking forward to your project developing.

Lovely work and one hell of a concept you've developed and brought to fruition, (well, almost) I hope it delivers everything you were aiming for once you've had the chance to put it through it's paces.

I've used a couple of the varitone's from Bloodstone in the UK, , 6 position and nicely put together. Not expensive either, even when shipping to Australia. I've wired them after the existing tone pot, as opposed to instead of. The lengthy instructions from the maker explains the variations in effect for those options. Given position one on the varitone is strait through, no load, the controls can operate as normal when required.

Pains taking doesn't do the level of time and hand work you're putting in justice. Looking forward to seeing the the next update.

I'm late to this build and having just followed it from start to where things are now, well, it's almost total overload! I'm sure I'll have to read it all again... Hat's off for this, so much going on and obviously so much planning must have gone into the concept. Keen to see it all work out for you.

Great job, love the attention to detail and the extra effort and inventiveness that goes into your builds.

Possibly the best version of Why live.