Silky999

Decision made on the ziricote / sapele build. After a lot of back and forth about whether to clear it in nitro, I’m keeping this one natural. It’s currently in the process of being oil sanded through to 3000 grit, and once fully cured it’ll be finished in a satin to mid-gloss wax. The ziricote has so much natural contrast and character that burying it under heavy gloss just didn’t feel right. And the sapele back is starting to show some lovely chatoyance as the oil builds — that subtle shimmer when the light moves across it. The neck will be glossier, so there’ll be a deliberate contrast — tactile body, slick playing surface. Still in progress, but I’m liking where this is heading. MGCS – Made to Play. Built to Last.

Thank you, it does sound good!

Walnut & Elm Jazz – Basically Done (Just One Screw To Go…) Just waiting on the Schaller strap button and then I can officially stop fiddling with it and admit it’s finished. Chrome control plate is now on, which sharpens it up nicely and stops me staring at it thinking “does it need something?”. It doesn’t. It’s done. I’m not touching it again. Probably. This one will be looking for a new home shortly. Specs: • Walnut & elm body • Nitro clearcoat finish • 9.8lbs (solid, but balances well) • Roasted maple neck • Rosewood board • Guyker tuners • Fender Pure Vintage ‘66 pickups • Bloodstone Guitarworks loom • Hipshot bridge • Schaller strap buttons Finished in nitro clearcoat so it’s got that proper thin, resonant feel rather than the dipped-in-plastic vibe. Set up properly. Low action, no nonsense. Tone-wise it’s got the proper Jazz thing — warm and woody on the neck, bridge has bite and a bit of honk when you lean into it. No active wizardry. Just good components doing what they should. Looking at around £750–£800 ballpark when it goes up properly. FS thread to follow once the final strap button goes in and I resist the urge to “just tweak one more thing”. MGCS – Made to play. Built to last.

Richard, I still think yours is an absolutely beast and sounds phenomenal!! If you fancy changing your bridge, the Hipshot has adjustable spacing so you can line up the strings to the poles. Have you used the walnut/graphite in anger yet?

Ziricote & Sapele Stingray – Currently Behaving Itself The ziricote drop top on the sapele Musicman build is now fully routed, drilled and shaped. Yes, I did point a router at expensive, dramatic ziricote. Yes, my blood pressure went up. No, nothing exploded. Pickup cavity, control cavity, neck pocket, ferrules – all in. It behaved far better than I deserved. It’s been hand-sanded and treated to Liberon finishing oil and the grain has absolutely gone full “look at me”. The ziricote is dark and moody, all swirls and drama. The sapele back is sitting there like the sensible mate in the group chat, warm and classy. It’s now hanging up to cure properly before the next stage. Once the oil’s hardened off it’ll get shellac, then gloss nitro. Because if you’re going to do dramatic, you may as well go full theatre lighting. Neck-wise, this one’s getting a gloss yellow maple Jazz neck. Proper vintage tint. Against the dark ziricote it’s going to look like it drinks espresso and judges lesser basses. This one’s shaping up to be classy with just enough menace. No rushing it. Let it cure, build the finish properly, and avoid any “character building” mistakes. More soon once the shellac goes on and I inevitably start overthinking something.

Walnut & Elm – Now Assembled (Nearly There…) The walnut and elm build is finally bolted together and strung up. Body’s come up lovely under the clear – the elm grain on the back is doing that topographical-map thing I can’t stop staring at. Front’s got that warm, deep walnut glow that just screams “play me loudly”. Spec as it stands: Roasted maple neck Rosewood board Fender Pure Vintage 66 pickups Hipshot bridge Bloodstone loom MGCS plate on the back (because branding obviously adds sustain…) Only thing cosmetically left is swapping the brushed control plate for chrome. The brushed one was a “let’s see” moment. Chrome is the right answer. We all know it. Even the bass knows it. Setup-wise… it’s not leaving the workshop yet. Action isn’t where I want it. Saddles are sitting higher than I’m happy with just to keep it buzz-free, even after dropping the neck heel depth slightly. That tells me there’s still something to dial in properly – whether that’s pocket geometry, relief, or a tiny shim rethink. It’ll get sorted. I’m not sending anything out that feels 95% done. Second best isn’t an option. If it leaves here with the MGCS badge on it, it’s right. Back to the bench. 🔧

First coats of clearcoat today which is toning down the red nicely.

This one is going with a mint green pickguard…

Colour going on this one… This is the paulownia build for a BC member and it’s now officially very, very red. Dakota Red in nitro and it’s absolutely popping under the lights. Paulownia is always an interesting one. Lovely and light, but it does like to remind you it’s basically made of compressed air and optimism. This body had the full routine — shellac, primer, grain attention, more primer, careful flattening — the whole “no, you are not sinking back on me again” conversation. Happy to say it’s behaved. Edges are nice and soft, belly carve is flowing well, and the horns have kept their shape without going blobby under colour. Always a relief. Still a few coats and plenty of cure time before flatting and polishing, but it’s at that exciting stage where it actually looks like a bass rather than a woodworking experiment. Going to look great once the hardware’s on and it’s all glassed up in clear. More soon once it’s had time to harden off and I start the levelling dance. Made to play. Built to last. 🔴

More progress on this one… Blank is fully cut and shaped now. Horns are flowing nicely and I’ve softened the edges without turning it into a bar of soap. Always that “measure twice, sand forever” moment, but we’re still in one-piece territory. Belly cut is carved and blended. Went for comfort over bravado – this one will sit properly against a ribcage rather than just looking good in photos. First coat of Liberon is on the ziricote and… wow. The grain has absolutely come alive. The dark lines have gone deep and dramatic and the lighter figuring is glowing. It’s one of those woods that looks fairly reserved dry, then turns full cinematic once oil hits it. Before anyone asks – this isn’t staying oil finished. The oil is just to pop the grain and show me what we’re working with. It’ll be sealed and finished in nitro clear. I want that depth and chatoyance under a proper gloss coat. A few tiny natural pin knots showing through – staying. This is wood, not laminate flooring. Letting it cure now before the next stage. So far… I’m very happy. Made to play. Built to last.

New one on the bench which is a slow time build and this might divide opinion… 😅 This ziricote top has just been glued up and is to be attached to a sapele body, after which it’ll become a MM StingRay-style build. Except… it’s getting a Jazz bass neck. Because why not. I’ve always liked the StingRay pickup position and punch, but I’m also a Jazz neck tragic, so this feels like a perfectly reasonable life choice rather than a cry for help. Before I commit to routing, I’d love some pickup wisdom from the hive mind: • Classic StingRay vibe vs something a bit more modern? • Alnico vs ceramic? • Any particular MM pickups that play especially nicely with warmer woods like sapele/ziricote? Nordstrand, Aguilar, Delano, Seymour Duncan, Wizard, home-wound madness — all suggestions welcome. Bonus points if you’ve tried an MM + Jazz neck combo and lived to tell the tale. Cheers all👍🏼

Spent this morning flattening, cutting back and polishing the walnut and elm body that’s been in nitro for a while now. Always that slightly tense moment when you move from “looks alright” to “don’t mess this up now” 😅 It’s come up really nicely overall. There is a bit of grain sink in places, but nothing dramatic — and honestly on an open-pored wood like this, I think it just adds a bit of character rather than looking like a mistake. It still feels smooth to the touch and the gloss has settled well. This one’s very much in the nitro doing nitro things category: natural, slightly imperfect, and already starting to look like an instrument rather than a project. I’d rather that than bury the wood under half a gallon of plastic. It’ll be paired with a roasted maple neck with a rosewood fretboard, Guyker tuners, Fender Pure Vintage ’66 pickups, and a Hipshot bridge. The neck is already finished and set up, with the tuners installed, so it’s just waiting to be bolted on once the body’s had a bit more time to behave itself. Next job is letting it sit and behave itself before assembly. No rushing, Does this build make you feel “fizzy”?…..it doesn’t have a home yet…… This one is going to be a stunner and if it sounds and plays as well as previous builds, it will be immense. MGCS – made to play, built to last.

A lot of the sellers that I used have disappeared from eBay but they do seem to come and go as I suspect some of them get pulled for copyright infringement etc. .There are plenty of bass necks on AliExpress though. China YueTong Store https://a.aliexpress.com/_EuhSpbm This is one that I haven‘t used before but am looking at to use next on AliExpress but I have a few necks stockpiled already for future builds. As with all things when you buy on online selling sites….do your research!……how long have they been on that platform, What are their reviews and do the reviews look genuine and most importantly, do they appear to specialise in guitar or instrument stock? The one above appears to supply instrument components which are also orchestral string necks so I would hope they would know what they are doing. If you are expecting an out of the box, set up, ready to go neck then you will be disappointed. If you are happy to do some levelling, dressing etc then they are very good for the money compared to a real Fender neck. You would likely have to do the same to one of those anyway. I have a customer MIM neck in the workshop at the moment to pair with one of my bodies. If I put it next to a Chinese one, apart from the headstock logo, there is very little difference in the quality if at all. It is very much a do your due diligence and a bit of fingers crossed when you first order from a company but I’ve never had a bad or unusable neck from China yet nor I have ever had one not arrive or damaged in transit. perhaps I’ve just been lucky.

Quick update on this one Paulownia body is finally flat, sealed and mostly behaving after the usual prime → sand → spot fill → repeat cycle. Shellac down, primer back on, and it’ll get a couple more coats of high-build to properly finish it off. Paired with a MIM neck and then it’s onto Dakota Red nitro, which means it’ll look finished long before it actually is. As ever, slow progress — but very close to colour now. MGCS — Made to play. Built to last.