scojack

Dont envy you working with that Wenge !!
Looking fantastic though .....

Hers the photo this time ......!!
(Im getting old !!)

Lovely wee basses these...heres me with my Merlin in 1986?!? I think.
This one is a grey stained curly sycamore job. Lovely Macassar Ebony board (fretless).
Takes me back !!!

IanM

Finished bar the strings n setup. Doubt i'll get back to it for a while as the big move is this weekend. Overall i'm pretty pleased with the result, few things i'd change but fairly minor stuff. Roll on next year !

Ohhh this takes me back !
It is Nick (DrBass) that likes 'em.
He bought my Warlord Custom (Tiger Maple) from me a few years back.
Was my gigging bass, man and boy, i miss it so much and regret the day i even thought about flogging it !!
This looks slightly later than mine, i never liked that headstock much ....preferred the Alembic Style of the Customs.
Nice bass though and bit of a rarity these days.

Thanks for your comments adledman much appreciated.
Its now fully lacquered, hoping to assemble next week.
IanM

Oooohhh thats a bit special

Keep us posted Owen, would love to try Honeys on my 38" EUB myself.
IanM

thanks Gareth,
Was really looking forward to a summer in 't' shed making sawdust, instead ive been up to my elbows in plaster and cement.
Ah well ...... theres always next year in a bigger shed to look forward to
IanM

Beautiful build .......especially for a first scratch build, you definately have a talent ! Whats next?

[quote name='ROConnell' post='1328585' date='Aug 5 2011, 12:25 PM']Gorgeous wood and Bass! This is truly masterclass. [/quote]

Thanks m8

My tuppence worth ...if i understand this correctly(its not clear from the photo) and i know nowt about Bassix....

A coil under a piece of metal sounds more like an attempt at an Ampeg Baby Bass type of setup which has a lot of sound limitations. The metalic noise could be due to the way the coil is set up compared with the metal plate (too close). A single coil would sound a bit thin especially as its only the vibration of the metal plate which creates the signal in the coil.
Its a lovely looking bass though so dont give up, i would suggest buying a piezo based pup and a pre-amp to emulate the acoustic sound which you are happy with.

If ive read this incorrectly and its just a single coil picking up string vibrations, i still think a good piezo would improve it greatly.
If its a setup like Beer's where there is a piezo in the body plus a coil, you would require a buffer circuit to match the impedance of both, it prob wont sound nice at all without it.

Either way a good piezo solution would solve it.

hope this is not wildly innacurate and is some help !

Ian

And i am 'umbled by your praises.
ps .. cheque is in the post :-)

IanM

Little progress on this, got some lacquer on the body, the figure in the elm is popping nicely.
Its like pouring cream into a cup of strong tea!









Ian

Looks fantastic, excellent job

In that case .... i like option2 best

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1242793' date='May 24 2011, 12:02 PM']Do you ever play with a pick? Or are you a strictly finger-style player?

If you are likely to play this bass with a pick then IMO layout 2 is right out since it leaves the controls open to being hit and moved accidently. Personally I wouldn't be very happy with layout one either, but it's not as open to accidental changes as layout 2.[/quote]

Personal taste but i think it would look cool with a plain front and maybe different knobs on.
good luck with it ;-)

ps...im just up the road (grangemouth) ......

IanM

Yes.. the pickup screws will hold the cases and pickups together in place.
You could stick a little silicone in to hold both together but i dont think theres any need.

I'll do a pic of them to let you see the back.
IanM

Thanks Giblett your comments are very much appreciated :-)
This one has a customer, i have only just taken this lutherie malarky up again after a long long gap, anyhoo... i was intending to build one or two for sale this year and maybe another EUB but unfortunately events have overtaken me and i am now having to rennovate then move to a new house, so time has become well limited. When i'm settled into the new (bigger) shed we'll see how it goes ......

Apa - what you see here are hollow wooden shells which are made from walnut with the burr elm veneer (still to be thinned down a bit btw ) on top.
The pickups themselves will be housed inside.

IanM

Thanks ahpook !

Now nutted and fretted, just waiting on neck ferrules and a bridge to arrive this week and
the final push is on.




Hope the images are showing ok.

IanM

Remember seeing one of these in a shop in Soho sq in the 80's.
It had a spalted top and looked like marble, never seen anything like it and was completely blown away with it.
I had just bought my beloved Pangborn so couldnt afford it ....or it would have come straight home with me.
Lovely lovely basses !!

Very nice, love the wood choice .....that top's a killer

Hello and welcome Rob, im just up the road from you myself .

I keep finding such good uses for it (Goncalo Alves) !!
A much under-rated hardwood imho.

there was a ton of the stuff on ebay a while back. is that where you had it from? it got snapped up pretty quick. i got one board, it was so hard on the bandsaw, and sooo heavy! fingerboards look cool.

Probably was.... i got a good price for buying a few boards .
Its pretty versatile though, fingerboards, necks, neck splices etc so not a bad buy at all.