Gilmourisgod Posted May 19, 2014 Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 My first full body construction/assembly from scratch. The neck, bridge, and electronics borrowed from my old Steinberger XP2. The body is a solid slab of mahogany finished in watco Danish Oil, neck is graphite composite. Sounds and feels great, hope you like it. Constructive criticism welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted May 19, 2014 Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 Looks great, clean work!... congrats! Maybe in the next build you feel comfortable to make the neck too, I think you're missing the most exciting part... XD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilmourisgod Posted May 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2014 Thanks psikoT In for the full treatment next time, a neck -through bass from scratch, so I'll go through the wringer. I feel like I learned a lot, tons of mistakes, carefully concealed for the most part. The neck part scares me, particularly the carving part, little to no experience with hand-carving beyond what i did for this body. Does gingerly nibbling away the belly relief with a disc sander count as "carving"? if so, that's about the sum total of my experience. Anyway, it was fun to build, and feels more alive in my hands than the minimalist original Steinberger body, sounds warmer acoustically too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 The neck part scares me, particularly the carving part, little to no experience with hand-carving beyond what i did for this body. Necks look a bit more difficult, but as soon as you make one, you'll feel like god. The only problem is that you'll need more tools. Home made instruments are like food, always taste better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Looks good. It passes the "I would play that one" test with flying colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilmourisgod Posted May 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Thanks Workingman I've had a hard time putting it down since i finished it, I guess that's as good a test as any. I think a lot of woodworkers are turned off by the graphite neck (for obvious woodworker reasons), but it's impervious to temperature or humidity changes day to day, and the Steinberger tuners are a vastly superior system IMHO. The string is pulled in a straight line tension like a bow string, no twist, so it NEVER goes out of tune (well almost never). The criticism of Steinbergers back in the day was that they sounded too "sterile", which was probably accurate. I haven't noticed a big change in sound while plugged in, that's probably because of the EMG pickups. They tend towards the bright side without a real fat bottom or thick mid. Any suggestions out here for soap bar humbuckers that might sound better out there? They'd have to be the same size as these ones, I am NOT re-routing the pickup holes, enough pain invested there already. One problem: The 23rd fret (and only the 23rd) on the G string buzzes, not sure if that means the 24th is high, or the 23rd is low. I can't see any evidence that the either fret has lifted, no dents or dings in the frets. It did not do this on the old body. I tried re-tightening neck bolts in case it went in a bit cockeyed, no soap. Any suggestions to diagnose this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 One problem: The 23rd fret (and only the 23rd) on the G string buzzes, not sure if that means the 24th is high, or the 23rd is low. I can't see any evidence that the either fret has lifted, no dents or dings in the frets. It did not do this on the old body. I tried re-tightening neck bolts in case it went in a bit cockeyed, no soap. Any suggestions to diagnose this? You can check the levelling in some ways... use a metal ruler, put the edge over the frets and check it with a leaf of paper. Alternatively, you can use a credit card and check the frets by 3 at a time... sorry, my english is crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 THe shape isnt my favorite, but most bass shapes arnt. Are those guitar EMGs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilmourisgod Posted May 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Sorry you didnt like the shape, to each his own, I suppose. Any suggestions on how it could have been improved? The pickups are EMG HZB , apparently not made any more. They were original bass pickups for Steinberger basses, wired old school, before they switched over to snap connectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 It looks very well made and very clean. I am just really picky about shapes of guitars and basses. It is the most important thing to me in a guitar/bass. No need to improve if that is what you were going for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilmourisgod Posted May 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Kill I checked out your work, amazing guitars, functional sculptures all. The multiple laminate necks and bodies are gorgeous. Wish I could afford to have you make me a bass! In the meantime, I'll hack along with my hobby guitars. I could get addicted to this easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Thank you sir. Your work looks just as high of quality. The more i look at it from the back, the more i like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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