henry norton

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1381504803' post='2240034'] I did notice when we had the hot summer that the tone in my workhorse Stentor ll became quite nasal and I adjusted the bridge position and cured it - only by maybe 5 - 10mm but definitely an entirely different bass when the temperature soars ( to regain the tone , the bridge is now back to where it was before ). [/quote] You moved the bridge position - don't you mean you moved the sound post???

[color=#333333]Had a spare hour this morning (literally waiting for paint - well, varnish - to dry) so fitted the inlays to the board. Bits and pieces starting to take shape now.[/color] I was doing some solid body work earlier in the week so routed and shaped my mahogany substitute body at the same time. Very pleased with the overall look and it weighs next to nothing.

[quote name='benbastin' timestamp='1381397140' post='2238382'] Wood takes a long time to dry. This is standard for all wood for building purposes. It seems too much, but if it is not dried slowly and naturally it will twist, warp and split. You might get away with 10 years with smaller wood, but the size of wood for double bass makes it even more important. Some people dry wood in kilns for furniture making, this is rarely done for instruments as its less desirable and not as easy to control. Kiln drying can be done relatively quickly. Also spruce is felled according to phases of the moon, some info here [url="http://www.tonewood.ch/moonwood.html"]http://www.tonewood.ch/moonwood.html[/url] if you look at this, [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/60334748@N02/9486863237/"]http://www.flickr.co...N02/9486863237/[/url] this is the spruce for the bass im building and you can see the moon phase stamped on. [/quote] 20+ years is generally felt to be ideal for master grade instruments, but I expect the majority of double basses people on this forum play won't have had the benefit of wood seasoned for so long. As for kiln drying, anyone who's played a Fender will have played kiln dried wood. I use both, most makers/repairers I know do too. By the way, what does 'YOlo' mean????

[color=#333333] I now have something resembling a neck blank. The headstock has been machined slightly thinner (11mm) as both the face and back will be veneered to cover up the old tuner holes and laminates - no laminates on a Fender neck after all....[/color][color=#333333] I'm working on the board now - pictures soon.[/color][color=#333333] [/color]

[quote name='benbastin' timestamp='1381312270' post='2237254'] Wood for instrument making is dried for a long time before use, typically at least 30 years. [/quote] 30 years???!!!! Maybe if your paying 20 grand for a bespoke DB!! Given the choice I'd go for 3 year old wood and 27 years of being played rather than a brand new DB made of 30 year old wood.

Well, when a DB is new or if it's had some major work carried out (like a new bass bar or braces), it can sound tight, quiet and compressed to begin with. It usually feels like you have to play very hard and fight to get the sound to come on out. As time goes on and it's played more (bowing is particularly good for this), the bass 'loosens up', the sound gets more dynamic and richer and it feels less of a struggle to play. The same thing happens if the bass hasn't been played for a long while. I don't know of any books describing this phenomena - maybe it's because the DB is one of the most dynamic and most physical instruments out there, there's allot of interaction between the instrument and the player which is why one player just can't get on with a particular instrument that another finds perfect. A player also needs to learn how to get the best out of a particular instrument - where to bow, how it balances, soundpost position etc. It's worth noting this only really happens with solid wood DB's - laminates (plywood DB's) tend to stay sounding the same throughout their life. Hope this helps.

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1381252858' post='2236530'] Be a shame to make a relic of any of it (imo) [/quote] Thanks. Yeah I wasn't thinking of one of those ridiculous disc sanded impossibilities you see sometimes - more of a nice, mellowed, played in look. That said, I'm having second thoughts about any kind of ageing work full stop. I always used to think reliced instruments were a bit like fake Rolexes, a bit too much like pretending Anyway, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it...

[quote name='kevin_lindsay' timestamp='1381168796' post='2235349'] Ooh! The pickup looks great! [/quote] Thanks! The thing about Bi Sonic type pickups is they sound pretty good, but I think allot of people go for them because they look so good. I'm using ceramic magnets on these ones - the coils a bit hotter due to the extra length so ceramics will keep them bright and clean sounding - very excited

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1381132546' post='2234597'] Recycling at it's best. [/quote] As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've decided not to go for J pickups as, well. eh, hmm - I don't really know why actually other than the fact that there are about a billion Jazz basses out there meaning there are probably about two billion J pickups... Anyway, I've finally got around to finishing my NuSonic 5's (Bi Sonic type pickups) so this J5 could be the perfect instrument to fit them up with and get some sound samples out there - it also means I don't have to [i]buy[/i] pickups so that's a few quid more to spend on gin and cigarettes, or maybe I'll just squander it. I topped the bobbins with the same tortoiseshell I'll be making the scratchplate from as I had a bit left over. The only problem now is I'm not sure I like the idea of relicing a brand new pair of pickups, in which case they'll look odd on a reliced bass, so maybe I shouldn't relic it, which was kind of the point of building it in the first place...

I've fitted 3 double basses in my Renault Grand Scenic with some jiggery pokery and still had enough room for a passenger.

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1381079125' post='2234110'] That neck looks familiar [/quote]Ha! Yeah that was the original neck for your fretless J - the epoxy coating ended up a bit too yellow for my liking so it was shelved. I knew I'd find a use for it at some point or other, but there was no way that yellowed epoxy coating would see the light of day...

[quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1381075469' post='2234049'] the only Englehart Ive played had a totally different feel to my Kay , really strange considering its all the same jigs/ tools used to make both. [/quote] Well the neck's the main point of contact - I suppose it'll have a greater influence on the general feel than anything else...

[quote name='ubassman' timestamp='1381034771' post='2233559'] There are some beautifully crafted Duke basses in the gallery [url="http://www.duke-bass.de/pics"]http://www.duke-bass.de/pics[/url] [/quote] Yeah the 2 tone honey/white and the fade on the 'peacemaker' - some really nice looking stuff. Again a world away from 'any colour so long as it's reddish brown cheapo's. [quote name='Rabbie' timestamp='1380989008' post='2233169'] They are the modern version of the old Kays. In fact they are the direct descendant although not nearly as sough after because not vintage. Good basses too, lots of great people play one and make a great sound on them. [/quote] Yeah I heard they use some of the original Kay tooling for the laminated parts but the necks are a bit different.

Thanks for the replies. I totally get why players will pay big money for old Kay and Epiphone (my personal favourites) uprights and their contemporaries - they have a historical value, the kudos and are a world away quality-wise from the low end laminates. So what you all mean is these new high-end laminates are for players who don't want to risk an old laminate on the stage or possibly a player who wants the sound but with custom paint, fittings etc? How about Engelhardt - are these up there with the Blast Cults?

Thanks for your answers Rabbie - can I ask why you went for the Duke?

Some of these look really nice... [url="http://www.blastcult.com/upright-bass.html"]http://www.blastcult.com/upright-bass.html[/url] [url="http://knightstring.com/"]http://knightstring.com/[/url] [url="http://www.duke-bass.de/duke-two-tone"]http://www.duke-bass.de/duke-two-tone[/url] ...but they're coming in at £1.5-2.5k!!!! You can tell they're a world away from a £400 Fleabay Chinese bulk buy, but for that money you could buy a pretty good European hybrid or even a useable fully carved. Obviously these are made in the US (or Germany in the case of the Duke) by enthusiasts who know and understand laminate basses, but are there people out there actually buying these???? If so, let me know

Been busy this week so haven't done much but me being an insufferable tight-arse I decided to make a wide 5 string board out of a couple of nice bits of ebony I had lying around the workshop rather than spending my hard earned on a new blank. Another shockingly bad picture from my otherwise quite useful new smart phone - beats carrying an SLR around I suppose. Anyway, it looks very nice in the real world and I'm looking forward to putting in the inlays and binding it. I've also decided to forget the J pickups and enlarged ashtrays I love the look of them but don't actually like having to play with them. More news on that front next week....

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1380704194' post='2229082'] If money's no object: [url="http://www.detempleguitars.com/temp/CATALOG_ITEMS/DeTemple_P55_over.php"]http://www.detempleg...le_P55_over.php[/url] Nice video of Lee Sklar playing one on DeTemple's youtube channel. Sounds awesome! [/quote] HaHa! well that just goes to show there aren't that many original ideas any more - especially in the world of bass guitars. Looks good, although the treble pickup should be a bit closer to the bridge and it should really be slab bodied for proper vintage effect. Otherwise, I'd go for one, even if it didn't sound so good - it's all about the pose

I get a fair bit of wood from David Dyke's too. Price-wise I've always found him fairly reasonable and you can't put a value on being able to go and rifle through a whole pile of necks/sides/backs to find the perfect set. You can't do that when you're ordering from Swizerland I've subscribed - very interested to see how it progresses

It's been a few years since I started this thread but I've just discovered this... [url="http://www.fender.com/en-GB/custom-shop/basses/precision-bass/2013-closet-classic-precision-bass-pro-maple-fingerboard-black/"]http://www.fender.com/en-GB/custom-shop/basses/precision-bass/2013-closet-classic-precision-bass-pro-maple-fingerboard-black/[/url] ...so thought I'd update it. It's a bit galling having an idea only to see someone else carry it out but that said, if I built every one of my 'ideas' I wouldn't be able to get into my house, let alone my bank account

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1380489063' post='2226168'] I will have a spare pair of 5 string J pickups when the dust has settled on my build [/quote] Hmmm.... Presumably not the ones I've got. Slightly suspect phone camera shot of the neck - split and with the epoxy machined off, (which was quite a job) and the fillet sat in the middle. Now I need to plane the edges and glue it all up.

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1380301724' post='2223580'] Are you going to paint the headstock or leave it with the strip through it? [/quote] Ah yeah I'll paint the headstock red too. I'll probably have to build it up a bit along the top edge and fill in a couple of the tuner holes so I might end up putting a thin veneer over it to give me a reasonably smooth surface - otherwise it'll end up looking like a tube map. More thrilling instalments from the cliff edge of modern electric bass next week. Don't forget to tune in....

Well, due to the huge amount of interest and massive number of questions surrounding this build I've caved in and have taken a couple of pictures to post up. This'll keep you all off my back for a while... Here's the super light mahogany(ish) body... ...and here's the neck and fillet awaiting the surgeon's router. More neck pics when I get around to doing something with it - Firstly I need to get the truss rod out, then cut it square in 2, insert the 3/4 inch maple fillet whilst keeping the 2 sides parallel and finally machining off the cast on epoxy fretless board. After that I can start routing the new truss rod channel and reshaping the back. Why am I doing this to myself?????

I've been hankering after having a really 'Old School' Jazz in reliced Fiesta Red with a tort scratchplate and a blocked, bound board. But I also want it to be 35" scale 5 string - presumably a mix you can only get from the Fender Custom Shop so I'm going to build one out of leftover wood and bits in my spare time. I've got some mahogany substitute in the workshop I bought to experiment with necks but never used, so that'll be glued up to make the body. The neck is a bit more complicated as I have a rejected neck from a commission last year which is long enough to acommodate the 35" scale (due to an extended heel), but is a Jazz width 4 string so I'm going to have to get the truss rod out, saw it down the middle, add a 3/4 inch fillet and glue it all back together again. It's more work than making one from scratch but it's using something that'll otherwise end up as firewood. I have some ebony blanks I'll try to glue up so's I'll have enough width to cover the wider neck and some poncey looking Gibson Custom style block inlays I've had for years and never used - may as well go narrow as the neck's going to be wider than normal anyway, it's real mother of pearl too I'm pondering over the pickup situation atm. I might try winding some Jazz single coils, possibly with some widened ashtrays, or maybe something a bit more out there... Anyway, pictures to follow

Well if you like it and it works for you then I wouldn't worry. I use a half size sometimes and don't have any problems. Some people might tell you you really need to learn on an 'appropriately sized' instrument but even standard sized (3/4) db's vary quite a fair bit in scale length, rib depth, upper bout width, slope of shoulders, stand off height blah blah...... so if you're comfortable then stick with it. A 3/4 will likely be a bit louder and possibly sound a bit more complex but if you do decide to trade up to one from your 1/2 size you won't be at much of a disadvantage.