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So .... I'm building a bass


Angel
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As mentioned in another thread of mine, I'm attempting to get back into bass after years in the doldrums. Back in the day I rose up from nothing to being the best bass player in my bedroom. Sadly after year of decline I now see myself as the worst bass player in my bedroom. Basically I went from 5 string to 4 string and somewhere down the line I drifted away, basically playing various other instruments but not really bass. I have been galvanised this year by the fact that oldest son and oldest daughter play bass occasionally and I have 'seen the light' a bit again.

So yeah, the plan is to make my own bass for the fun of it, and go back to 5 strings, where I was definitely more comfortable.

Shape. Well I was going to be boring and go for a jazz bass shape as I rather like them, but then I was rather taken by the shape of Hadrien Feraud's signature Mayones bass, so I have based it upon that. Being a graphic designer I tend to draw up my own precise and detailed plans. So here's the bass plan:

CuuMGxH.jpg

 

er .... the precision pickup will be the right way up!  Ebony fretboard, Plastic MoP type block inlays, J-retro 01 (cos I have one spare) and ...... it's gonna have a pretty weird hand painted finish that probably no one will like but me! 

Anyway, it has been underway in serious since the lockdown thing started. Not that I've had any more time as I'm a key worker. I should add that although this is my first attempt at making a bass, I have previously made 5 electric guitars all of which I am very pleased with. I have already discovered that it is quite a bit different making a bass, and certainly more expensive!

That is all for now.

 

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I'm lucky to have access to a big plotter at work - well, I was lucky, the b****y thing has died! Still it was working long enough to print my plans at full size. Needless to say, it is a very accurate plotter. First job was to make body and neck templates out of MDF

DwiKp26.jpg

ZtMfYXI.jpg

I should add at this stage that I am not one of these people with an amazing workspace and fancy tools. These pictures show one of my two work areas, this is a small corner of table in our tiny utility room, and perched on here is where I do most things that aren't messy. I do the messy stuff either in the garage (horrible place with a leaky roof), or out in the back yard if it is dry/light. My only other work bench is a rickety thing with uneven legs. 

 

Edited by Angel
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28 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

But...go back to where the controls follow the body line - it looks odd with them going straight down like a telecaster.

That was just an early days drawing that I used for the outline. The diagonal controls is the correct version.

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So. Lake Placid blue flake, Nordstrand P/j pickups, badass or omega bridge, Hipshot lollipops and a pearl white guard...vvt with a pickup selector.

Alder body, ebony board.

ace - thanks.

Can you deliver too; I’m feeling a bit lazy.

 

edit - 4 strings thanks.

Edited by AndyTravis
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Just now, Simon. said:

If we bulk buy, do we get a discount? I'll have one to the same spec as @AndyTravis, please!

Really nice design - good luck with the build. 👍

Yeah. Just so you know it will be called “Trav’s signature bass” - sorry. Bulk discount applied already. If you try to cancel you’ll have to enter your details again and your discount code will expire.

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Thanks for the confidence people, but I am just a rank amateur, I don't consider my instruments to be sellable things. Someone once said that building guitars is the art of recovering from your mistakes. I can fully get behind that thought.

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23 hours ago, songofthewind said:

Looking good right from the off! Would you be willing to share your body design via pdf or summat? I think that would be my next build (sometime in 2043).

Sure. PM me an email address at some point and I'll bung it over. 

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Incidentally, I'm not working at breakneck speed, I'm just getting up to speed with where I am at. I started designing around Xmas I guess, working out and researching everything, drawing plans etc. When lockdown started I got around to sourcing the various bits and pieces, and it has been ongoing since then. I have been working still the whole time, so just odd evenings etc.

I made an alu template for the tuner holes. This is the only way to go as far as I am concerned. I used to drill without a template and the result is never good enough, then it's a major faff to fix. It's a 5 string but I only need the 4 holes aligning. I just drilled the other hole in the right place without a template.

bvRI0vQ.jpg

Worked fine.

ZqmLXqk.jpg

 

Reducing headstock depth with the router

repkhP2.jpg

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