Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 A while ago I finished the build a a rather challenging bass build. The Brooks QB. This 34" scale twelve-string bass is a tribute to the Quad Bass that Jol Dantzig from Hamer built for Tom Petersson in 1978. Except I didn't put a mixer in the built-in panel, but two effects! A big thank you to Bas Becu from BQ Music for building the SansAmp type overdrive and the Aguilar TLC Compressor. - Mahogany body. Les Paul Junior Double Cut shape - Flamed Maple top. Sun burst high gloss - Body back, sides and neck: Mahogany gloss - Pearloid Binding - Glued neck, mahogany/maple five piece laminate. - Two spoke wheel type double action truss rods. - One carbon stiffening rod. - Ebony Fretboard. White side dot inlays - Sintoms Jumbo frets. Nickel-silver - 34” Scale - Buffalo horn nut/ string guide - Custom made 12 string bridge and tailpiece. Black - 4 x Gotoh GB 350 bass tuners. Lightweight. Black - 8 x Gotoh ST-31 Octave string tuners. Lightweight. Black - D’Addario EXL 170-12 strings - Gotoh large black strapnuts - Pickup 1: Lace Alumitone. Black - Pickup 2: 2x Nordstrand NM4 - 2 x Switchcraft output. - 2 x Volume. On/off switch with led light for each effect - Weight: 4,5 kg I'm pretty sure the new owner is Gonna Raise Hell on this monster! I'll post pics of the entire build process in separate posts below... 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 Each build start with selecting the right wood. My supplier made this body blank out of two pieces of Khaya Mahogany And from the same batch of (lightweight) Khaya I selected a piece for the neck blank. It was sawed in three pieces and laminated with pieces of Maple in between. Already pretty sturdy and stiff. Ideal for a bass neck that has to withstand a lot of tension From master carpenter Frank Hoffmeyer (Holz Faszination) I scored a beautiful set of flamed maple and a very nice piece of ebony for the fretboard. A while ago I bought a few bridge sets from a German company that makes hardware for Ritter and Marleaux. This is the last one I had. Im not sure if I'll ever buy from them again. But that has nothing to do with the quality. Which is outstanding... The neck features two spokewheel truss rods and one carbon stiffening rod To make sure this bass does not suffer neck dive I used lightweight tuners by Gotoh. Res-o-lite for the bas strings. And Stealth for the octave strings After the design was ready I made templates for the routing. I laser cut these at a FabLab which is in-house at my employer. Making these templates always requires some good thinking ahead. But it all worked out according to plan 😉 Same goes for the QuadBucker. It consists of two Nordstrand NM4 pickups that are meant to be mounted on a Mustang bass. I used them parallel to the strings instead of perpendicular to the strings. Because of the staggered pole pieces they can pick up the amplitude of the three strings per triplet better than the original pickups that Hamer used (three in a row, under the middle of each triplet). I designed base plates and a frame for the QuadBucker. And also a matching frame for the Lace Alumitone. And I laser cut them too. Initially I tried to use the NM4 with the casings over the pickups. But eventually I chose not to use the casings, because I think this looks better without. 😉 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 With all that sorted, I started working on the neck. Routing for the stiffening rod first. And then the two slots for the truss rods. The controls panel in the bookmatched set was laser cut. This way the grain would continue perfectly with the rest of the top It took me a while to find the right knobs for this panel. Especially the size was rather difficult. Most knobs are too big. And they would be too close to each other as a result Up next was the fretboard. This one did not get inlays on top. I cut out the truss rod access slot at the end of the fretboard And make a cover for it from the same piece of ebony In the meanwhile I had roughly shaped the neck. So that I could glue the fretboard on. I always use strips of inner bicycle tubes as a clamp for very ven pressure all around. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 Then back to the body Routing the channels for the wiring first And glued in a piece of mahogany because that is where the channel later meets the effects cavity Then routed the controls cavity Roughly cut out the outline for the flamed maple top. And glued it onto the body. And then routed along the template Up next was routing the pickup cavities And squaring the corners with a chisel Routed the effects panel cavity Test fitted the panel itself. Of course it fits. It was laser cut. But I just had to do it 😉 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 Back to the neck. The fretboard was glued on and I left it alone for while. Now I could start shaping the neck And when the neck profile was almost ready I did the side dots Routed the profile for the binding around the top of the body Glued the pearloid binding in. I use acetone because the bass will be stained. And stained does not work on spots where glue was spilled. Acetone leaves no residue. Attention shifted to the back side of the body: Routing the profile for the controls cover. And the wider cavity for the effects So far so good 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 Then made the mounting plate for the effects panel. I chose a thin plate of steel. To save weight and to make sure it would take up too much height in the effects panel (as it would get pretty crowded in there later on) Made the holes for all the pots The glued on the laser cut flamed maple panel. It had sanded it much thinner, in order to get the right height for the knobs. I didn't want them to protrude above the top of the body. The drilled the holes for the potentiometers. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 When the neck profile was done I drilled the holes for the tuners And did the final shaping of the headstock Routed the neck pocket Shaped the heel to make it a perfect fit Used a an aluminum profile as a straight egde to check the angle of the neck Starting to look like a bass... (Neck not glued in yet) Drilled the output holes And some more holes 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 I made some cover for the effects panel and control panel of left over pieces of Khaya. But also made them out of plastic. Because I wasn't 100% sure about the wooden ones... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 First applied the yellow all over. The did the red on the outlines while the yellow was still wet. And feathered them to the inside with a dry brush. After the first few layers of lear it already looked gorgeous and a few layers later... The effects panel go the same treatment. And when it had enough layers of lear to be perfectly flat, I applied the lettering for the effects with decals When the lacquer process was done, and after the polishing I could start mounting the pickups. Then put the tuners and bridge on. And strung her up for the first time. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 Enter Bas Becu of BQ Music I had asked him to build a SansAmp type over drive for this bass. Almost ready except for the led lights 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 Amazingly amazing and even more amazing work! Lovely looking and excellent sounding unique bass! 😍😍😍😍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted August 27, 2023 Share Posted August 27, 2023 That is quite astonishing. How long did the build take you, including the thinking and planning which must have been considerable? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basvarken Posted August 27, 2023 Author Share Posted August 27, 2023 (edited) 18 hours ago, Richard R said: That is quite astonishing. How long did the build take you, including the thinking and planning which must have been considerable? From the initial idea and sketches to the completed build, I'd say about a year. The actual build took about four months (in my spare time) Then I had to wait about two months till the built in effects were ready. Edited August 28, 2023 by Basvarken 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDean Posted August 28, 2023 Share Posted August 28, 2023 Yeah, that's amazing! Thanks for sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwillett Posted August 28, 2023 Share Posted August 28, 2023 Wow. What a wonderful guitar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted August 28, 2023 Share Posted August 28, 2023 Love the dc shape! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted August 29, 2023 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Incredible work. Fantastic! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 29, 2023 Share Posted August 29, 2023 Stunning and awe-inspiring in equal measure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted August 29, 2023 Share Posted August 29, 2023 It sounds HUGE! Impressive build skills there, Sir. 👏👏👏 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyaber Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Incredible skills, stunning bass, thanks for sharing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted August 31, 2023 Share Posted August 31, 2023 Dear Lord, Rob, that is exquisite. What a labour of love. 10/10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted September 1, 2023 Share Posted September 1, 2023 That is a stunning piece of craftsmanship. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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