Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Project "No Longer a Frog" 5 string Single Cut Bolt On


spacecowboy

Recommended Posts

  • 1 month later...

So a decent amount of time has passed since my last update, let's blame, work, life and Covid!

So while I kinda liked the build up to a point I didn't like it enough to not just ditch it and start again... I know, It's just me, it's how I am, If I'm not happy I start again.

 01.thumb.jpg.a637191e8215cff2a031d213c807881e.jpg

So I had this timber, luckily quite a bit of it was off cuts or pieces I had around so it wasn't an expensive restart.

03.thumb.jpg.65f70535f86a78605c4692f6b4d0556e.jpg

I absolutely love the figuring on this Wenge block I had, but I want this bass to be more understated than that, so I used the more straight grain. 

04.thumb.jpg.a454620d2a4727d10d7cc8f14d734b86.jpg

A lot simpler in it's appearance. 

05.thumb.jpg.f55242706bd5782d8d7c13b9f65568d1.jpg

I got the wood for the neck planed up and checked the fit, it's my fave looking lamination of Wenge and Ovangkol. 

06.thumb.jpg.5c5494a578cd7321b980a54beabf2ce7.jpg

Originally in this photo I have used Ovangkol as the sandwich between the two wenge wings, this was then removed and I replaced it with Swamp Ash. 

07.thumb.jpg.68ae95f6350ec600a9634640d5cb8c86.jpg

This piece of Purpleheart I machined for the pickup cover was absolutely lovely, but again far too flashy for this build so it was benched for another build at a later time. 

08.thumb.jpg.34d6a4ccb4f4b5b24791a272372c5630.jpg

I placed these inlays to indicate the centre of the pickups underneath, i'll do this on the final pickup cover I make too. 

09.thumb.jpg.b62d99b50c6eeeba26124b4ccfc38d8a.jpg

So this is the bass with the swamp ash sandwich, and you can see on this picture the pickup cover is WAY OTT! This is also the hardware I have pulled together for the build, I got some lovely old brass Schaller tuners and I managed to get a period matching Schaller bridge and Schaller strap locks! I have gold knobs that'll sit on an old very cool EMG BTC circuit with EMG J5 pickups. I will be using brass fret wire and using brass for the fret markers. I will also be using string trees due to no angle on the headstock. 

10.thumb.jpg.2ff5b2ee8413eaf2aef7140eec586324.jpg

Just don't look at the floor :(

11.thumb.jpg.a03ac7023e09b1fe943f0daccad14b64.jpg

Testing the hardware on the body, really love the look of the gold / brass hardware. 

12.thumb.jpg.28682c3b73d346a69e29c11e57dc91a1.jpg

Brass frets and inlays installed on the fingerboard, might not do top dots... might do them too...

13.thumb.jpg.a1d59c12c7b44aa3f9805a5fd75a1c71.jpg

I know I should get a brass nut however the Warwick one (which is pretty much the only nut I really like) is too much money right now so this black one will do, I'm planning two string trees, think the B string is going to rip the top string tree out though... might need to test that. 

14.thumb.jpg.e0c8f601efb62d7488e71f118e52c743.jpg

I'm taking some inspiration from Ritter on the placement of the jack on this bass and it will be mounted to the back of the control plate. Spot the 10 bolt holes too! Got some lovely brass inserts for the brass screws that'll hold the neck in place. 

15.thumb.jpg.0de8421974aa835411138cfed91361fb.jpg

It's almost done from a building point of view, just the new pickup cover to machine and then final sanding and finishing, will be using Tung Oil and Wax again as the wenge loves that! 

16.thumb.jpg.b58536a732d71649202a3608c46f24a1.jpg

This is the block I'm using for the pickup cover, I had two pieces of Wenge i profiled down and glued them up, will just route the insides out of this and then it'll need profiling and then sanding! 

Cheers everyone.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh I also got a new router... turns out my little palm router I was using was absolute JUNK, even with it's larger plunge base attachment. 

I bought a Bosch router during an amazon sale and it is a million times better, so all the routing on the body has gone without a single problem! Maybe I don't hate routers after all! 

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, spacecowboy said:

Yeah I used magnets in my last build and they work brilliantly, I just really fancied using some brass screws on this one :) I'm rarely ever back in to the cavity to fiddle so the time it takes to unscrew the 3 screws isn't so bad 

It's looking great :)

You are quite correct to use screws. Magnets will hold a wood cover, but not the weight and pull of a jack as well  :)

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
1 hour ago, eude said:

Any updates on this?...

Hey! No not on this bass... I am however working on a new bass design and new build, it has no diary just yet, but I will post something at some point, I just didn't want to put energy in a diary that ended up like this one :) i'm very bad for changing my mind all the time, this one might be finished at a later date, but the new build is going very nicely so far! fingers crossed!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, spacecowboy said:

Hey! No not on this bass... I am however working on a new bass design and new build, it has no diary just yet, but I will post something at some point, I just didn't want to put energy in a diary that ended up like this one :) i'm very bad for changing my mind all the time, this one might be finished at a later date, but the new build is going very nicely so far! fingers crossed!

That's a shame, I was REALLY digging this one, the shape and ramp in particular (not so much the gold hardware though ;) )
Either way, excited to see what you've come up with next!

Eude

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, eude said:

That's a shame, I was REALLY digging this one, the shape and ramp in particular (not so much the gold hardware though ;) )
Either way, excited to see what you've come up with next!

Eude

Thank you mate. 

The new build is coming along really nicely, don't want to jinx it just yet, but the body is almost all done and I'll be looking to cut and shape the neck this week, so depending on how well that comes out I'll get something posted up :)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 27/01/2021 at 13:12, spacecowboy said:

Thank you mate. 

The new build is coming along really nicely, don't want to jinx it just yet, but the body is almost all done and I'll be looking to cut and shape the neck this week, so depending on how well that comes out I'll get something posted up :)

SO what's become of this bass?

image.png.ec711a1b69446667c13155e560edc4cc.png

I genuinely love that shape and the ramp idea too.
Just don't turn it into firewood please!?

Eude

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, spacecowboy said:

This seems to be where I left it, so almost done, but I'm all about my new build currently, hopefully can share soon! Got the fingerboard gluing to the neck now! 

I like most of it.

What stops me in my tracks is the brass wood screws.  I understand that using ten fasteners means you don't need the same tightening torque as you would with fewer of them.  Nevertheless, brass screws with plain slot heads are a bit arty-farty, if you will forgive me for saying.  Even if they're goldie looking mild steel, they're a poor choice just to keep everything to a colour scheme.

You can buy internal wrenching coloured stainless steel screws here for example.

image.png.c966ef2567b9eda9b7252bb30e3d2019.png

Edited by SpondonBassed
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...