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Scratch built bass #2


Jabba_the_gut
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I enjoyed building scratch bass #1 ([url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/151462-first-of-many-i-hope/"]http://basschat.co.u...of-many-i-hope/[/url]) and learnt a few valuable lessons from it and now I'm finally getting round to having a bash at building a second bass from scratch. Been accumulating parts for a little while and now have finally started.

This time round it is going to be a 34" scale 5 string fretted bass. I've got hold of the following odds and sods for it over the past 12 months (all hardware either little used, or bought new by folk for projects and not used so cost me a bit less than new) :[list]
[*]Badass bridge
[*]Hipshot Ultralites tuners
[*]Nordstrand DC5 pickups
[*]Audere Z mode pre-amp
[*]Swamp ash body
[*]Spalted beech top
[*]Wenge fingerboard
[/list]
I've no idea what it will sound like, I'll just have to wait and see!! I made some roughish drawings for the body and have made a start on on the body by sandwiching some wenge veneer between the ash and beech. I'm not completely convinced with the headstick shape at the moment and I'm toying with the idea of LED markers on the edge of the fretboard, though I've no idea how to do this!!! Any suggestions on LED markers would be appreciated.

Photos below show roughly what I'm thinking. I also got a piece of elm off here recently and an considering making a second bass with the same body shape at the same time, though that might be biting off a bit more than I can chew!!

Edited by Jabba_the_gut
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nice! Just wondering where did you get your ultralites and Badass Bridge? I'm building a bass from parts and scored a nice Tokai Jazz Sound neck from the 80's, which needs tuners - and I want a D-Tuner so my only real option is Hipshot.

I think buying them online from america will be cheaper even after postage and VAT!

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[quote name='SquarePlayer' timestamp='1337092655' post='1655280']
nice! Just wondering where did you get your ultralites and Badass Bridge? I'm building a bass from parts and scored a nice Tokai Jazz Sound neck from the 80's, which needs tuners - and I want a D-Tuner so my only real option is Hipshot.

I think buying them online from america will be cheaper even after postage and VAT!
[/quote]

Bought the Ultralites off here from someone that bought them for a project but didn't use them. The Badass was bought off eBay brand new - think it was £60 which I thought was a pretty good price. Sorry that's not too much help to you.

Cheers

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  • 2 months later...

Well I've finally started this! Not done too much but decided to change the head shape a bit. Made a rough template from plywood to see how everything lines up. I've made a couple of templates for the body but these aren't quite finished yet.

Also thinking about fingerboard radius. This will be a 5 string bass with 19mm string spacing at the bridge so I'm considering a flat fretboard - though I've never tried one!! Anyone had a flat fretboard with a symmetrical neck or have any guidance on this?

Edited by Jabba_the_gut
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[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1344115250' post='1760123']
A couple of our contributing luthiers do flat boards.

Lettsbass discussed it in one of the basschat exclusive deal threads.
[/quote]
They do? I had only heard of them on spanish guitars. Thank you for broadening my horizons dear sir.

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  • 2 weeks later...

As I know folk on here like a bit more details, here we go.

The truss rod and swamp ash came from Tonetech supplies, the wenge veneer from Nantwich veneers (comes in very long sheets), the maple neck, blank wenge fingerboard and spalted beech came from eBay. It's been stuck together using Cascamite wood glue.

I'm still undecided about fitting LED edge markers on the neck - might be too much faff with more to go wrong but still tempeted to try it!!

I've now fitted the truss rod and veneered the headstock to match the body.

Anyway, here's a few more photos of progress.

Edited by Jabba_the_gut
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Still plodding along with this!!

I installed blue LEDs on the fretboard - no other reason than to see if I could. Seems to have worked out ok. I've used threaded inserts in the neck the allow it to be attached by bolts rather than screws. The inserts can be a pain in the backside to fit as they are made from a relatively soft alloy; the allen key can round off the socket before it is completely seated so you can't get it all the way in and struggle to get it out again.

I've cut the template for cutting the neck pocket, just need to get on and do it now. I've also cut the control cavity out and made a cover out of spalted beech from a leftover. I think it looks quite nice.

Edited by Jabba_the_gut
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[quote name='Jabba_the_gut' timestamp='1348068385' post='1808829']
Finally cut the neck pocket - turned out quite well.

Time for the fun bit shaping it now!
[/quote]

That looks absolutely fantastic. Seriously impressed!

Even more worrying, I'm starting to get a bit of a hankering for clearing the shed out and having a go myself. As well as the build diaries on here, I've been looking at loads of build vids on YouTube.

I've built a bitsa but obviously starting from the ground up is a total different story.

From your own experience, what's the minimum kit you need (ie hand router, drill, jigsaw etc).

T

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[quote name='tonyf' timestamp='1348069060' post='1808838']
That looks absolutely fantastic. Seriously impressed!

Even more worrying, I'm starting to get a bit of a hankering for clearing the shed out and having a go myself. As well as the build diaries on here, I've been looking at loads of build vids on YouTube.

I've built a bitsa but obviously starting from the ground up is a total different story.

From your own experience, what's the minimum kit you need (ie hand router, drill, jigsaw etc).

T
[/quote]

There's definitely something satisfying about building your own bass from the ground up - I think there's a few folk on here who have that bug!!

From my own experience in terms of kit I don't have masses of kit but will buy odd and sods as I go along. I have a Black and Decker router (nothing flash), a cordless drill and an electric drill. I got a drill stand and a woodwork vice off Freecycle both of which are very useful (there was a bandsaw on there once but I missed out on that one). For the router I have a few straight bits of varying sizes for cutting truss rod channels, but one of the most useful bits if a template cutter (this has a bearing on it that you guide round a template so you can get accurate cuts). I also have about a dozen g-clamps and a couple of sash cramps for joining two halves of bodies.

If I buy some wood that needs thicknessing or when I want the rough outline of a body cutting, I go to one of the local handyman centres or joiners. For those tasks I think you do need specialist kit like a bandsaw or a thicknesser, the local guys are great and only cost me a couple of quid.

This bass is only my second ground up build so I'm very much still learning - I'm sure any of folk in this forum would quite happily give you any advice if you are thinking of having a go. I did buy a couple of books, that were quite handy, as well as looking at stuff on the web.

I bought 'Electric Guitar Construction' by Tom Hirst which I found quite useful and 'Electric Guitar & Bass Design' by Leonardo Lospennato' which I thought was really interesting.

Hope this helps!

Cheers

Jez

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Cheers Jez, that's a great summary of the basics of "required" kit. Just what I needed.

[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]If I buy some wood that needs thicknessing or when I want the rough outline of a body cutting, I go to one of the local handyman centres or joiners. For those tasks I think you do need specialist kit like a bandsaw or a thicknesser, the local guys are great and only cost me a couple of quid.[/font][/color][/quote]

That's a great idea. TBH, it's the whole part of the job that i'd worry about, the expense of buying and actually using those big powerful potentially dangerous power tools. if you can use a local joiner to do the bigger work "properly" for a few quid, it's a no brainer.

in terms of routing, guess i'd be a little nervous about making mistakes as i've not used one before but i guess that's where a few hours of practice routing pickup cavities and neck sockets in scrap wood comes in handy.

in terms of the bitsa i built, i had loads of fun and it gave me a massive sense of achievement. with a scratch build, i guess if i'm prepared to have a go and accept i'll probably make mistakes but soon learn from them, there's ultimately nothing stopping me.

T

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[quote name='tonyf' timestamp='1348084156' post='1809147']
in terms of routing, guess i'd be a little nervous about making mistakes as i've not used one before but i guess that's where a few hours of practice routing pickup cavities and neck sockets in scrap wood comes in handy.

[/quote]

That's where these template cutter bits come in. Make a template out of ply about 6mm+ thickness then try routing it on a scrap of wood. You can then try fitting a pickup or whatever into the cutout to see if you have it right. It's a bit of trial and error and needs some patience to get a decent result. I often use bits of wood veneer stuck to the edges of my template to correct where I've got it a little wrong!!

The thing with routing is not to try to cut too much in one go - if you do the router might snatch at the wood and chip a chunk out (found that out being impatient once...).

The other good thing about using a local joiner is that if you are making a body out of 2 pieces of wood, the joiners will have the machine tools to get a nice, square edge on each piece to join together. They guys I've used round here have been really friendly and helpful - there is also a cabinet maker I have spoken to about different woods and finishes, who gave me some good advice; I hadn't heard of a cabinet scraper until then and that has also been a useful tool.

Cheers

Jez

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