Prosebass Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Whoops too late..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 [quote name='Prosebass' post='404933' date='Feb 9 2009, 11:49 PM']Thats a nice piece of ash I hope you are not going to spoil it with a maple top...?[/quote] Don't be cheeky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Okay, I bring you another alluring picture of loads of clamps and bits of wood! This is the maple top, black veneer and ash being glued together: It's nice to know they're pleasuring themselves with an aural dollop of propulsive, bass rhythms and Cage-like preparations as they work (my 1998 [i]Spoombung[/i] album). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 Some more pics from Mike. Here's the body woods all glued together: You can now get vague impression of the swirly patterns. I must say, speaking as a punter, I'm amazed how crude the first stages of the process are; getting big slabs of wood, planing them down, wacking glue on them and clamping them together. Hard to believe they turn into these shining, polished instruments in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 I had a long discussion with Mike this week about the best way to construct the neck. At first we were going to go for a single piece of maple - mainly because I'm not keen on the stripey look of purpleheart veneers - but after a lot of reflection, I've decided the neck [i]does[/i] need to be laminated afterall, especially given it's narrow width at the nut (34mm). So we're going for a 3 -piece maple laminate with black veneers separating the woods. He's going to use an old technique (a boat builders technique, I believe) were the wood grains run in opposite directions minimizing any chance of warp over the years. Here it is in bits. You'll notice, in the background, that Mike and Steve just can't stop listening to my stuff; they've moved over to '[i]Whispering Foils[/i]' now. This will be the angled headstock: Funny business, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pobolycwm Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 nah mate they picked the records up for 5 p in oxfam to turn into plantpots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 [quote name='pobolycwm' post='407958' date='Feb 12 2009, 07:49 PM']nah mate they picked the records up for 5 p in oxfam to turn into plantpots[/quote] I'm sure plants are rarer than women in that windowless workshop of theirs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pobolycwm Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 it does look nice tho, nursing wood over the thought of getting a custom lefty in a year or so once i get better at playing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 I have some new pics of the progress over at Zoot HQ. The neck being glued together: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 Clamp city: I'm assuming this is the fingerboard being glued on: And this must be the headstock plate being glued: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 And this is Steve starting to shape the neck: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lee4 Posted February 26, 2009 Share Posted February 26, 2009 Very nice,very different.By the way,having browsed your website,how much [i][/i]were the chips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 (edited) I went up to Witham today to check on the progress. The body is still a big slab of wood but here are some pictures of how Steve left the neck; roughly contoured but bulky enough to make adjustments. It feels solid and Mike describes the maple as "particularly fine". It was a funny day. We discussed [i]Golden Sections [/i]quite a bit. Unfortunately, the limits of Mike's classical knowledge on the subject stretched inexorably towards Naomi Campbell and her perfect proportions rather than anything practicable to do with my bass. Anyway, after the usual (and hugely enjoyable) barrage of anecdotes we moved on to the neck profiling... Edited March 5, 2009 by Spoombung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 (edited) I've asked Mike for a flattened 'D' profile neck. He says in 18 years of building basses he has rarely had this request - perhaps 3 or 4 times only. I've always liked necks that are flat at the back - Status basses, etc. His chosen method is to carve the neck dead flat between the two veneer lines then proceed to softening the profile on the outer parts of the neck later. His weapon of choice is a roughed-up old file - which looked like a a piece of shrapnel to me -rather than the spokeshave Steve prefers. Edited March 5, 2009 by Spoombung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 Next we move to an old luthiers trick. Lots of pencil scribble on the neck, then a big flat sanding block. The idea is the dips will show as untouched until the whole thing is level. Let the sanding begin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 (edited) Okay then, lets have a look at the results: Well, if I'm honest, I'm left with the strange impression that the neck still seems quite chunky to me, maybe because it hasn't been radiused yet and the large volute is quite prominent (which I like). Mike tells me the neck has been shaved down as far as possible - he didn't recommend any more. The other thing that adds to this sensation is the fairly thick fingerboard. This is how Mike likes to make his basses but it tends to create an optical illusion of chunkiness especially with the veneer underneath. Out of curiosity we measured the thickness of the neck compared to another neck that I liked in the workshop - and even though mine looked chunky and the other looked slender (it did not feature the same woods or a thick fingerboard) they were the same width. So it's not actually chunky even though it might look that way. I kind of think it's impossible to judge the final 'effect' of the instrument at this stage - there's still too many unfinished factors - the final neck shaping, (there's more finishing to be done) the fingerboard radius and slope to the headstock, the frets etc, etc. I'm pleased with the progress so far and I'm glad I could specify my preferences but obviously have no feeling of a complete instrument as yet. Edited March 6, 2009 by Spoombung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 Of course, I now include my customary photo, from behind the wheel, of the diabolical queue for the Blackwall Tunnel on the way back from Essex. Feck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh3184 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 good progress this, I really like the black pinstripes on the back of the neck, yum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 [quote name='josh3184' post='427285' date='Mar 6 2009, 04:03 PM']I really like the black pinstripes on the back of the neck, yum![/quote] ... the gentleman's bass guitar. I just need a suit to go with it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreeneKing Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Yo Kev I bet there were no queques going into Essex Looking good. Peter (Essex boy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 [quote name='GreeneKing' post='427348' date='Mar 6 2009, 04:50 PM']I bet there were no queues going into Essex [/quote] I couldn't possibly comment, Peter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey R Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 We like stripes! [quote name='GreeneKing' post='427348' date='Mar 6 2009, 04:50 PM']Yo Kev ... Peter (Essex boy)[/quote] Mikey (Fellow Essex boy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreeneKing Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hiya Mikey how's life with you? Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 Well, things have been really quite slow at Zoot HQ lately due to a number of calamitous setbacks (it's probably wise not go into details) so we had a situation where the body wasn't even cut from the block yet. Anyway, on this visit it was Mike's solemn intention to actually create the body and liberate a shape from the block so we could both feel the build was moving on a bit. So here we are with the machine moving into action first routing the pickup holes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoombung Posted March 19, 2009 Author Share Posted March 19, 2009 (edited) So that looked all right. What could possibly go wrong? The machine moves into action - tracing the lines of the body at last and leaving a tantalizing, mouth-watering impression of something resembling a bass guitar..... ...then the drill bit snaps! Feck. Abandon mission. We drive off to Braintree to get some new drill bits, return to the workshop but the computer needs major adjustments and I'm running out of time and I have to leave without seeing the body. So close and yet so far. Nothing else remains but the misery of fighting my way back through the traffic down the A12 to the 20 mile queue for the Blackwell Tunnel. And no, I have not included another photograph of that horror. Edited March 19, 2009 by Spoombung Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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