Chopthebass

Well the symbol idea didn’t work! Whilst the routing was perfect, when I put black resin in them it bled. I must have sanded 1mm off and it’s still there! Oh well, I’ll flip it over and use on another bass. 

I did think about a bass clef, but I just wanted them to all be the same. Maybe next bass could have all clefs! 

I wanted to try the Shaper for some fingerboard symbols. I decided to try an infinity. Tricky to draw in CAD as they get longer and narrow as you go up the neck. 
 The plan is black resin

Looks great with the black pickguard. It would look even better if you can get a black headstock truss cover with white logo! 
I tried one of these when they first came out and whilst it sounded great, the neck dive and overall weight was too much. 

2 hours ago, owen said:

This has been worrying me quite a bit but I have realised that you cut the control cavity cover BEFORE gluing the back on!

Ha ha , yes it’s the only way! 

As promised I started building the second single cut 5. You may have seen the red fretless single cut that is awaiting lacquer. 

This is walnut front and back, with alder and veneers. Fingerboard will be Birdseye and I’m going to try using the Shaper to do custom symbols and blind frets. 
Two Delano SBC 6’s with 4 band eq. 

Waiting on the satin lacquer ! 
In the meantime I started on a fretted version. This will be walnut/ash/walnut with Birdseye fingerboard. Keep on the lookout for a new thread. 

1 hour ago, SpondonBassed said:

Those shut lines are perfect!  Socket screws as well?  Splendid.

Thanks! Yes I think the screws are M2.5 with brass inserts. 

Threaded inserts for control cover and truss rod cover done. Really pleased with the look. Waiting on my satin lacquer delivery, then I can finish this off. 

ABM stuff is very nice. You should check out ETS stuff on the next build. That are super customizable 

Ooooh Birdseye! 👍

A bit of stain and ready for lacquer

7.8 pounds in weight. I have the pickup and batteries to add so I reckon 8 pounds. Pretty light.

42 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

That looks great!  Had a weird thought; what about a light laminate/detail line going across the fret board following the shape of the back of the bass (upper to lower horn contour)?  Obvs not for this one as it’s almost done!

Cool! I did think about having the end of the fingerboard made from the body top wood, and follow the rear shape where it meets the ebony. 

I string it up to see how it looked and felt. I’m glad I extended the fingerboard as I think it looks great! I need to lower the nut slots, and level a few ‘frets’ as there is a bit too much mwah in one place. But other than that it really sings acoustically. One you was right in saying it looks like an acoustic! 

That top will look great!

I would make the neck pocket go all the way to the pickup. Keep fingerboard ending where you show it, and have some matching spalted wood on the exposed neck between pickup and fingerboard. And if you cut that piece from the top before gluing the two haves together (and before glueing to body) you can match the grain and have a nice tight gap. 
 

On 19/02/2021 at 05:09, bigjimmyc said:

Let me first say that I had too much gear already. However, just look at this rig!

I had an SVT years ago and we didn’t get on. But my valve thing wasn’t quite done, so when this came up locally I couldn’t ignore it. Top bloke did me a great deal. 

Honestly I’ve hardly tried it out yet but the tone is unreal. Gonna have to re-evaluate the other stuff now. 

Those YBA heads are great value. Cheap as chips here in Canada! 

Neck inserts done. I can’t get these screws in black, so it’ll have to be chrome. Neck volute carved, and I slightly chamfered the headstock edges to reveal the black veneer, same as the body. 

19 minutes ago, owen said:

Extra long fingerboards are where it is at. 

Think I made the right decision! 👍

Test fitting the hardware. All good. 
found some nice aluminum knobs that aren’t too big. I do have some Sadowsky knobs but they looked ridiculous because I have so many controls. I have a mini 3-way toggle to add for single coil/parallel/series switching .

36 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

Very nice indeed. The fret board up to the pickup looks like the right choice to me.

I bought a pair of the Delano Xtender pickups a while back that I haven’t used yet. There’s something about them being a different shape that gives a build like this a completely different look. And they’re supposed to sound pretty decent too! Looking forward to seeing this build complete. Will you post some sound files when done?

Cheers
 

Thanks! I can try doing some sound uploads. Need to figure out the best way to record it!

The majority of you preferred the fingerboard extending to the pickup. So that’s what I did! 
Also did the fret positions markers

A third option is to match the body wood. In hindsight I could have planned it do the grain matched, like the rear cover. But here is a cap using an offcut. I kept the white stripe theme running though.

2 minutes ago, Si600 said:

Go all the way under the bridge to the end? Might need a smidge of a recess for the bridge to sit in.

Like a Marleaux Diva. I thought about that, but I’d need a stonking piece of ebony to do that! I have the bridge and anchors all figured out. Thinking I’ll stick with original plan and take it to the pickup.