waldemar Posted November 16, 2011 Share Posted November 16, 2011 Hi all. Thought I'd start my short-scale bitsa project today. I've had a 'Chase' brand butterscotch Telecaster lying around for a while now - I bought it for around £80 specifically for this purpose, but for one reason or another haven't managed to get around to doing anything about it. [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93284] The other day I spotted a Bronco Bass being sold here (by Gilby) and snapped it up for its maple neck. I did consider using an aftermarket Tele neck, filling the machine holes with dowel and re-drilling it, but after some thought decided a ready made donor would be a better bet. I also considered a 51-style P neck for its Tele shape, but that's probably heading towards the wrong side of expensive and takes the build away from being a short-scale, which after all was the whole point. [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93277] The Bronco arrived this morning (super fast, no fuss transaction with Gilby - top bloke) and off I went to Screwfix to buy a set of chisels to cut out the bit of wood between the neck p-up cavity and the pocket - I've seen this done elsewhere - if the heel of the neck sits in the original pocket the bridge locates way too close to centre of the body... Dreading making a hash of this, it turned out that the wood was really good to work with - after getting rid of most of if from the middle I simply held the chisel flat against the side walls of the pocket and tapped it towards the centre of the body and the job was done. Clean as! [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93286] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93283] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93287] In addition to cutting out the excess wood, the pocket needed to be made wider by just over a millimetre on either side - this bit was the bit I was least looking forward to, as there was the taper to consider - again, working patiently with nothing more than a bit of sandpaper and frequently offering up the neck to measure progress I managed to get it done with no issues - okay, it's not machine cut straight, but not a bad effort for a first attempt..! [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93282] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93281] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93280] Eventually the neck slotted home and after clamping it in place with the heel as far up against the back wall of the neck pup cavity as it would go, and checking that it was straight (original bridge holes were very conveniently located!) I drilled the new pilot holes for the screws that hold the neck in place. Yes, they're very close to the original holes - closer than I'm comfortable with, but the screws hold as tight as they need to - still, as a precaution I'm filling the original holes with some bamboo/2 part epoxy which should minimise anything untoward happening... [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93285] Hardware wise, I'm trying to find a used Schaller 3D bridge - although I think one of these may be a bit too long for the job and could come close to hanging off the back of the bass. If it does fit, though, there's enough adjustment available with one of these to accommodate the narrower string positions/spacing - and they're great bridges! My Bare Knuckle p-up should arrive soon: [url="http://www.bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/pickups.php?cat=bass&sub=vintage&pickup=51_flat_pole&series=p_bass"]http://www.bareknuck...e&series=p_bass[/url] and there's plenty of space in the original p-up cavity to angle it a bit so that the pole-pieces sit directly under the strings - though I doubt the angle will be as extreme as the one in the mock-up below shows. Yeah, it's a bit of an extravagance, but I find that electrics make a big difference. I quite fancy baby clover style tuners, but dunno whether I'd be able to live with the holes left by the original screws... I'm still deciding whether to get a blank Tele control plate and drill it myself (otherwise I'd be stuck with the switch slot), or, as in the mock-up, to use a disc which holds a stacked volume/tone knob - I'm leaning towards the latter. Then there's the scratch-plate. Once the bass is put together I'll use a bit of card to get the shape right, then trace it properly as an .eps and either see if my mate can get one machine cut from a blank, or get one cut by these guys: [url="http://www.terrapinisland.com/"]http://www.terrapinisland.com/[/url] The mock-up below should give you an idea of the shape I'm after. I think it looks pretty cool! [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93279] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:93278] Anyway, apologies for going on - maybe a couple of you guys are interested - let me know what you think so far. I'll post another update/sounds once it's finished. Cheers! w./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stroopy121 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I love the mockup! Can't waIt to see the finished product! xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Loving it, especially the little round plate under the volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldemar Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 (edited) Ooo! Nearly finished. The only thing left to do is to get the pick-guard laser cut next weekend - if I can get time on the machine. Fingers crossed. I'd pay for someone to do it (itching to finish this) but it seems there's no one in this country that will, unless you can afford to pay an engineering firm a £100 set-up fee and get 50 of 'em made... Anyone wanna go halves on a CNC milling machine and go into business making pick-guards on the weekend? Couldn't resist recording this short play-along. You'll have to excuse the rough and ready look of the body without the knobs/guard, and (if you pop a pair of headphones on) then it should give you an idea of how it sounds. So far I'm pretty chuffed with it... [media]http://youtu.be/KbWJIHevmVc[/media] I'll post pics when it's finally complete, in the meantime there's a bit more on the build over here: [url="http://www.wrbl.tumblr.com"]www.wrbl.tumblr.com[/url] w./ Edited December 4, 2011 by waldemar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilmour Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 NIce project, and the results look good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allighatt0r Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 That's really nice! Sounds gorgeous. How's your eye doing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldemar Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 Cheers guys. Eye seems better, allighatt0r - thanks for asking man. Still a bit sensitive/sore, but I suppose that's a relatively standard side-effect after having had a needle digging around in there. The nurse was pretty confident that it would make a full recovery, I guess this'll be another keeper now that it has a bodily injury story attached to it..! Hopefully have it finished this time next week when I hope to post some final pics. w./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Looks great! It looks like the sort of thing I would do. In fact I did actually try it, once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldemar Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Wahey! Finished! Managed to get on the laser cutter over at Manchester Fab Lab to cut me a pick-guard - what an amazing facility! I nearly cried with happiness when I saw the laser do its thing and a custom shaped, designed (modified) by me pick-guard magically appear - wonderful! I had space on the blank to cut a smaller version for a bit of fun (actually, it's given me an idea - p/j shaped polished aluminium/tort etc. coasters anyone? Key-fobs?) [sharedmedia=core:attachments:95101] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:95102] Got it home, drilled it, fettled the control plate, and put the project to bed. There's only one thing I'm considering doing and that's to increase the number of pick-guard screws used - at the moment it's 6, I like the minimalist look. If the guard rattles then I may put an extra 3 or so in. We'll see. Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, the Broncaster Shorty: [sharedmedia=core:attachments:95100] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:95099] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrenleepoole Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 That is stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilby Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Top job there. Pleased it all came together nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldemar Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 [quote name='Gilby' timestamp='1323759744' post='1466555'] Top job there. Pleased it all came together nicely. [/quote] Cheers Brett. Thanks again for the Bronco. The body has since moved on to 2x18 for use in a short-scale fretless project. It's good here, innit?! Derren - Had a look at your tumblr - how nice is Marco Purac's work? I need one of his posters, I think... w./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrenleepoole Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 [quote name='waldemar' timestamp='1323786129' post='1466998']Had a look at your tumblr - how nice is Marco Purac's work? I need one of his posters, I think... w./ [/quote] Yep! Rather lovely stuff! If you hadn't guessed, I like my typography Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldemar Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 [quote name='derrenleepoole' timestamp='1323789814' post='1467064'] Yep! Rather lovely stuff! If you hadn't guessed, I like my typography [/quote] Being a graphic designer myself, what's not to like..?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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