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Finished! A Bridge Too Far?


Andyjr1515
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i thought that my Letts singlecut had a groove on the bass side but I just had a look and it's flat at neck depth all the way to 24th fret low B then curves out to full body depth, it's not bothered me as it's got a really flat squarish profile (that I love)

i'm really loving this build, not really to my taste but the little design touches and the engineering that is going into it are exceptional.

Matt

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[quote name='Matt P' timestamp='1496050585' post='3308333']
i thought that my Letts singlecut had a groove on the bass side but I just had a look and it's flat at neck depth all the way to 24th fret low B then curves out to full body depth, it's not bothered me as it's got a really flat squarish profile (that I love)


Matt
[/quote]

Yes, Matt - it's this that I'm talking about.

It isn't a big issue - and for a good player it is probably irrelevant.

Just like a properly trained classical guitarist, a good player's thumb will NEVER stray either side of the centre of the neck. So the fact that the neck is flat the other side of the centre line really isn't a problem.

Trouble is I, for one, am a sloppy player :rolleyes: ...and often my thumb is half wrapped round straying towards the bass side. Normally that isn't a problem because by the time your thumb hits the body, you are already at the 21st fret or higher.

However, because on a long-top-horned single-cut your thumb gets to the body as early as the 13th or 14th fret, then - if you are a sloppy player like me - you have to twist your hand slightly in the middle of your riff each time you are on notes above, say, the 15th. With my approach of carrying on the neck profile beyond the centre line over the length from 14th fret onwards, it shouldn't feel any different to a double cut bass.

I've just tried it...and it doesn't :lol:


It is subtle though. There is more shaping to do, particularly at the body / neck join, but this already has 75% of that feature carved into it - and you would be hard-pressed to see it:


For completeness, although to most it will look pretty much the same as it did before (just some of the edges rounder and smoother), here it is at present from the front:



...and the neck profile coming up nicely. This is the neck matched against the template of Mick's favourite player:


All basses have their own 'feel', but hopefully this will have a pleasing familiarity for Mick when he finally gets to play it :D

Thanks for the input and ongoing encouragement, folks :)

Edited by Andyjr1515
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A lot of the design elements have come as an evolution - verified and developed further with each build - from Tom's (wwcringe) African Build.

What I like about the 'scoop from the back' and the 'as long as the neck is straight and strong, you can do pretty much whatever with the body' approach is two things:

1. The neck transition to the body can be so much slimmer than for a standard body:




And
2. The Weight. This approach is MUCH more effective at taking weight out than chambering. The complete body and trussrod is now 5lb 12oz. I think we are in the territory of the finished large-bodied single cut bass being 7lbs ...

Edited by Andyjr1515
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[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1496076318' post='3308586']

Confirmation that Andy is either a genius or working to his own exacting standards.
[/quote]


i'd go a little further than that, Andy is a genius with very exacting standards.

Andy, feel free not to say but what is/was your profession? your working methods hint at something technical with complex methodologies.

Matt

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[quote name='Matt P' timestamp='1496086044' post='3308693']



i'd go a little further than that, Andy is a genius with very exacting standards.

Andy, feel free not to say but what is/was your profession? your working methods hint at something technical with complex methodologies.

Matt
[/quote]
Flattery will, of course, get you anywhere you like, Matt :)

Ref career (now gratefully retired) nothing so exciting. It was logistics and manufacturing management in various forms and various places. Now admittedly I did qualify as a Mechanical Engineer...but I was RUBBISH! Never, never, never walk over a bridge that I have designed.... ;)

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[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1492167792' post='3278406']
And out comes the hacksaw again :D :



And we have two strings strung up! I would have been 4 but my pretend fretboard was too narrow :rolleyes:

Here's the tuner block:


...and here's the double clamp at the pseudo headstock:



...and here's the whole thing:


...
[/quote]

I've only recently found this thread, so apologies for revisiting an earlier part of the design.

I'm using the same bridge and nut arrangement on a headless bass kit, and I have a problem with it - where the string is bent at 90 degrees to be clamped, you need to ensure that there is no outer winding on the E string, otherwise it breaks when you bend it. On the headless bass kit, the strings just happen to be have the correct length of overwinding, but when I tried to upgrade, I ended up unwinding overwindings to get the string to fit - flatwould strings are not an option.

Inevitably, manufacturers do not specify ball-end to end-of-overwinding lengths, so you may find that your design limits the choice of string you can use. A string clamp that will cope with the full string diameter would be more versatile.

David

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[quote name='Mottlefeeder' timestamp='1496139267' post='3308998']


I've only recently found this thread, so apologies for revisiting an earlier part of the design.

I'm using the same bridge and nut arrangement on a headless bass kit, and I have a problem with it - where the string is bent at 90 degrees to be clamped, you need to ensure that there is no outer winding on the E string, otherwise it breaks when you bend it. On the headless bass kit, the strings just happen to be have the correct length of overwinding, but when I tried to upgrade, I ended up unwinding overwindings to get the string to fit - flatwould strings are not an option.

Inevitably, manufacturers do not specify ball-end to end-of-overwinding lengths, so you may find that your design limits the choice of string you can use. A string clamp that will cope with the full string diameter would be more versatile.

David
[/quote]
Hi David
Yes - it's far from a perfect design. Then again, the full set is probably no more than the cost of a Steinberger spare knob! I have the advantage of using it at 90 degrees to the norm so it goes into the holes first and then the clamps second. As such the angle of bend doesn't need to be quite as acute. If I was using it conventionally, I would be tempted to use a double ball head end.

Edited by Andyjr1515
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[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1496261123' post='3310076']
Over 24 hours and no new post from Andy....abducted by Aliens?? Secret Agent for the FBI??

All I know is his services are much in demand ;) ;)
[/quote]

I'm actually experiencing cold Turkey.

This is the first thread I go to when I log on to basschat.

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[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1496261123' post='3310076']
Over 24 hours and no new post from Andy....abducted by Aliens?? Secret Agent for the FBI??

All I know is his services are much in demand ;) ;)
[/quote]
Abducted by Mrs Andyjr1515 for a few household tasks, actually ;)

But I have done a bit more this evening :)

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Love the bass. What an awesome design and build. Great thread!
I do find those controls a bit awkward looking from the back and they look maybe hard to adjust on the fly. Not a problem as such.
A recess somewhere on the bottom and those, Errm can't remember the name, but these kinda things. Fitted might of looked a bit more elegant and easier to use.
[URL=http://s330.photobucket.com/user/Twincam2008/media/Mobile%20Uploads/S_50K_zpsbnugtr1w.jpg.html][IMG]http://i330.photobucket.com/albums/l415/Twincam2008/Mobile%20Uploads/S_50K_zpsbnugtr1w.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Or normal pots (sort shaft) turned around facing the player, direct opposite of how pots normally are fitted. With thin wooden discs fitted. Obviously in a recess too.

Or even slide pots mounted in a recess.

Just a thought I'm in no way trying to be being cheeky btw.

I'm loving the pickups! I also think the way the pole pieces are staggered is logically and should give a more balanced tone in theory.

Be interested to see how the bridge works out once finished.

Edit are those pots called roller pots?

Edited by Twincam
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Hi, Twincam

Thanks for the kind words :)

I did look at the roller pots and sliders, but they both have as many disadvantages as advantages. The roller pots especially....

Time will tell, but I think it's going to be pretty easy to adjust, even on the fly (although do we bass players tend to adjust on the fly much?). When you sit the bass in the playing position, you are presented with two knobs that are actually orientated like roller knobs. The main thing will be to make sure that the jack socket is at the very bottom of the chamber to give a decent gap from the two knobs.

The bigger challenge is going to get the cover sorted...but that would be the case whatever ;)

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[quote name='deksawyer' timestamp='1496318085' post='3310437']
On the subject of the neck carve on a single cut, my old ACG had this. Not sure if yours is similar.

The build is looking impressive though.


[/quote]

Nice bass :)

The debate is whether the part of the neck from the centre line to the upper horn body join (to the left in this photo) is flat or profiled downwards slightly...it's crazy but it's almost impossible to see in most photos ;) This is a great photo though - it looks flat to me based on the carve you see just forward of the top horn...

Edited by Andyjr1515
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[quote name='deksawyer' timestamp='1496318085' post='3310437']
On the subject of the neck carve on a single cut, my old ACG had this. Not sure if yours is similar.

The build is looking impressive though.


[/quote]

I always thought that bass was particularly delicious even though it was the wrong way round ;)

Eude

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I'm going to be off air for just over a week from the end of tomorrow so this may have to keep everyone who's following the thread going for a bit. But the good news is that things are usually getting a bit closer once I start cutting swifts...



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...OK. Definitely the last shots for a short while.

The headstock will be radiused to match the fretboard and body and will be rounded along the edges, but this is the basic outline shape of the headstock we have firmed up on:


The shape reflects the main shape of the body (you weren't so far off the mark, Simon! ;) ) and is made from the same sycamore but has a symmetrical inset of maple to reflect the fretboard. This itself reflects the shape of the truss rod cover that has been cut out of the plate and will be fixed with a magnet:


Once it has been radiused and edges curved over, it should compliment the body nicely....at least that's the hope :)

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