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Completed: a body for a fretless Status neck


HazBeen
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24 minutes ago, owen said:

I have often fancied a thinner bass body. Are Ken Smiths thin or is that just an optical illusion?

I am not sure, never had a Smith. But there certainly are many basses that are slimmer than the 4.4cm (1.75”) Leo came up with, so would not be surprised at all. The main thing is to ensure you have enough meat for the neck to bolt on to (or set in). Which to me suggests 3.75cm is close to the slimmest you can go.

Although an actually skilled builder like @Andyjr1515 of @Jabba_the_gut would know better. I am just pretending :)

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40 minutes ago, HazBeen said:

I am not sure, never had a Smith. But there certainly are many basses that are slimmer than the 4.4cm (1.75”) Leo came up with, so would not be surprised at all. The main thing is to ensure you have enough meat for the neck to bolt on to (or set in). Which to me suggests 3.75cm is close to the slimmest you can go.

Just for reference, the basses I've built so far have been between about 37 and 42mm. As you say, main reason is to ensure there is enough to bolt the neck on. I am building something at the moment that is 45mm thick but that is the thickest body I have ever done - generally 40mm is my aim as it seems to suit my builds. It's also worth considering the thickness from a playing and aesthetic point of view depending how thick the neck is or how high you want the fretboard over the body. Weight of a bass hasn't really bothered me but I don't gig two hour sets!!

I seem to remember @Andyjr1515 making one bass that was really thin bodied - around 25mm if I remember right!!

The body you are making is looking really nice - I'm looking forward to seeing this one completed. That is lovely grain on that timber you have chosen for this and I think it will look superb when finished.

What's your plan - to make it thinner then check the weight and if it is still above your target then to do the chambering or will you chamber it anyway?

Cheers

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41 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

What's your plan - to make it thinner then check the weight and if it is still above your target then to do the chambering or will you chamber it anyway?

Not fully decided, but I am leaning towards chambering and making it thinner. Lighter is better for me. And I happen to have 6.5mm thick book-matched Zebrano in bass dimensions I was intending to use on the next build.... ash and zebrano always looks good together.

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Still not entirely sure what I will be doing, but I have decided I will be keeping the zebrano for another project.
 

This body needs to stay “light”, because the Status neck is black and I like the contrast.

Still toying with just thinning or might put on a maple cap, or even just an ash or poplar cap. 

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Looking good! :)

My ultra slim builds were all neck-thru but yes, 25mm (in fact, Tom's African bass was sub 25mm).

But with a bolt on, it starts getting challenging at much below 35mm.  40mm certainly should be fine, though.

  On a more general note, the thinner you go, the more you need to double check the hardware, pots &switches you are intending to fit - push-pull pots and some toggle and lever switches can be very deep!

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2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Just checked Rog's Status body ref the ongoing veneer thread - it's solid walnut and the total body thickness is 35mm.  There's 13mm of wood under the neck pocket if that info helps :)

I plane routed the body today. Such a versatile machine a router.
First took 5mm off, which took it to just under 2100 grams (with a few 100 grams still coming off). I then just went “full on” now having 32mm left, and I will stick a 7mm topwood on so will end up at 39mm.

Expect to end up at around 1700 grams without hardware. 

Perfection :)

Will post pics at some point.

 

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I’m so utterly sick of all this competency crap... where are the mess-ups and the “so wish I hadn’t Started this” rants. Can’t you people do something really stupid or badly once in a while ?  🙄

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22 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

I’m so utterly sick of all this competency crap... where are the mess-ups and the “so wish I hadn’t Started this” rants. Can’t you people do something really stupid or badly once in a while ?  🙄

I may still cater to you ...... I have built 5 or 6 basses over the years and trust me, I have had more than a few FUs, resulting in having to redo bodies, necks etc. etc. So, until all is said and done I expect anything.

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44 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

I’m so utterly sick of all this competency crap... where are the mess-ups and the “so wish I hadn’t Started this” rants. Can’t you people do something really stupid or badly once in a while ?  🙄

Have you read my bench diary, warts and all? It's more wart than anything else.

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On 31/05/2020 at 19:49, HazBeen said:

I plane routed the body today. Such a versatile machine a router.
First took 5mm off, which took it to just under 2100 grams (with a few 100 grams still coming off). I then just went “full on” now having 32mm left, and I will stick a 7mm topwood on so will end up at 39mm.

Expect to end up at around 1700 grams without hardware. 

Perfection :)

Will post pics at some point.

 

A Joiner I know has a 13" planer/thicknesser, I keep hinting at him to leave me it in his will, although he does lend me it when required

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So, spent a few hours in my new “workshop”..... 

Body trimmed and rounded, and mocked up the cavity/neck/pickup etc. I am quite pleased with the result so far. If I am super-critical I wish the join between top and body was a bit more consistent, but I am really nitpicking.

All the really scary stuff done, so neck pocket, pickup cavity,  control cavity, arm and belly contour next.....

 

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