geonjorjany

...i'm going with #3, it flows the best. when it comes to routing the neck pocket, is it best to have the neck finished first, or does it not really matter? it seems like you'd want it finished so everything lines up properly, but maybe it doesn't matter. anyways, i should have the electronics and pickups cavities routed out by the end of this weekend...

...okay, not really an update, but i wanted to get some opinions. which set up do you think i should go with? my initial idea was the first, but once coming up with the others and looking them over i'm not quite sure anymore... #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 ...i don't have a day off for at least the next ten days, but hopefully soon i'll get the neck to a guy my dad knows to take the bow out. he isn't using a jointer, but something else that i don't recall the name of; i think it had the word "straight" and "saw" in it somewhere. my truss rod won't be here for a week or two anyways. i'm going with one for a guitar, 18-1/4". the neck will have two stiffening rods in there too so it should work out well (with my original parts order i wasn't paying attention and accidentally ordered two stiffening rods instead of two truss rods.) until the next time...

...thanks phil mailloux and erikbojerik, that's what i needed to know. awesome...

...and finally, another update. first i'll respond to inquiries: the scale of the strings will be 33". that shortens the neck by two inches from what all my other basses are. i'm not sure how far the neck will actually extend into the body. i don't know how much slack i gave myself when cutting the lengths for the neck. and also, i'm not sure about the wood being spalty or mineral streaky. my dad's had it laying around for a while so i think it was just a little dirty from sitting around for so long. it may be the other stuff though, i don't really know much... ...and to the update; unfortunately only a small one though. i used a router to round all the edges and although i was planning to make them a little rounder, this is the best i could do with the current resources without doing a whole lot of extra work. so here's that outcome... ...the ball on the top horn was much more difficult than i had expected, but i feel it was worth it. this is only after 60 grit sandpaper, i still need to touch up a couple areas around the horns. doesn't look too bad though. and besides a whole lot of sanding here's what else i got done; the neck all glued together... ...the top needs a good amount of sanding to smooth it out, but i wanted to check something out with you folk first. the neck is bowed a little bit right now and i don't know if it's necessary for it to be completely flat/level before continuing with sanding and then gluing the fingerboard and such. i know it can't have bumps or anything like that, but wasn't sure if the bowing is a problem. once i find that out i can start working on it. i also have a couple other newbie questions. when ordering the hardware for this i ordered a mono output jack. it makes sense to me since guitar cables aren't stereo. but the pickup wiring diagram shows a stereo jack. so do i need a stereo one or does it not matter? i don't get that. and my last newbie question for the moment; how far should the truss rod extend down the neck of this thing? the actual fingerboard part will be just around 24" long. i think that's the only piece of hardware i have yet to buy. okay, that's it for now. sorry for the update being so minor, but i'm new so things are going a little slow at the moment. hopefully i'll get the pickup and electronics cavities routed out relatively soon...

...the only power tool i own right now is the band saw i just bought for this. everything else i use is my fathers, so i'm not sure but he may have a router table. he used to build tables and such back in the day. i know he's mentioned a router before. that's a pretty good idea though. if i don't have a jointer by the next project i will have to try that out, if i can... ...i'm not exactly sure what you mean by "carved or contoured", my being new at this and slightly ignorant. but i'm going to make the edges of the body pretty rounded, especially at the horns. i have a les paul style guitar and the edges are all pretty square, don't like the feel too much. the top/middle of the back of the bass shall dip in a little bit for comfort. so yeah, pretty rounded. hopefully that somewhat answered your question... ...as for the length of the horn, yeah, i don't really have any clue. it may and probably will be too body heavy, but if it is i'll learn and hopefully be able to fix the problem next time if i keep a similar design... ...the neck shall have the same wood setup, Maple-PH-M-PH-M. then with a purpleheart veneer on the top of the head. and the electronics cover shall also be purpleheart. oh, and the finish will probably be some clear coat. i might change my mind and do some sort of stain, but probably not; i don't want to hide the stripes and i like the contrast from the light coloured maple and the darker purpleheart...

...okay, i figure i am far enough along to start getting some feedback. this is my first time ever making an instrument, so some constructive criticism would be cool. here's some info on the bass. the body and neck are a maple-purpleheart-maple-purpleheart-maple design. the fingerboard will be padauk. as of now it will be fretless (because i do not own a fretless yet) but i have not played one before, so if i don't like it i'll change it to fretted. all black hardware. seymour duncan active soapbar pickups. one volume, one blend, and two tones. i was going to put in an eq but decided to wait until i get better at the whole thing. i would have more pictures than what i have but i had no batteries for my camera for a while. here's my progress so far... ...all glued up... ...all cut out using band saw... ...i don't have a joiner yet so there are some glue lines and such. i'll have one by my next project. by the way, is there a difference between a joiner and jointer? anyways, there are a few places i need to touch up on the horns, but i think i'm doing relatively decent for my first time. i haven't seen a design like that before, but i'm sure it's been done already. not really sure what else to say about it right now. a whole bunch of sanding and such to do and then i guess i'm onto the neck. if you have any questions or comments i'd love some feedback...

...hey, i was just curious how thick the piece of olive is that you used for the front and back of the body?..

...okay, i checked out some preamps and i guess i'm going with an Aguilar OBP-3. i don't really know what to look for so this is just a shot in the dark. from the desription i think besides that i just need to get a 500k pot for volume and a dual pot for blend; i don't think i need to buy a capacitor for that do i? does that sound right? there were some diagrams located on the site selling the preamp and i think i get what to do from that for the most part. before i was just more so confused as to how the EQ thing goes. i wasn't sure if i could build one from scratch or not. maybe in the future, i guess i will just try and get this one right for now. i think i'm in the right direction now. if not could someone please let me know. thanks for the help...

...i'm new to the electronics experience, and i've been checking out wiring diagrams and i guess most are for guitars, because one of my better basses has 5 pot's: volume, balencer, bass, middle, treble. i can't find any diagrams for something like this. to get this sort of thing on my current project i think i just need to get a 500k pot for volume, and four 250k pots for the other stuff, and four caps for those. is that right? i don't really know crap about these things. i know a 250k pot with a cap effects tone, but i don't know how to specify one as a balencer, one as a bass, one as mid, and one as treble. am i missing something here? any help would be awesome. thanks a lot... ...i accidentally just posted this in the electronics tutorials section, but i'm not sure how to delete that one, sorry...

...i'm new to the electronics experience, and i've been checking out wiring diagrams and i guess most are for guitars, because one of my better basses has 5 pot's: volume, balencer, bass, middle, treble. i can't find any diagrams for something like this. to get this sort of thing on my current project i think i just need to get a 500k pot for volume, and four 250k pots for the other stuff, and four caps for those. is that right? i don't really know crap about these things. i know a 250k pot with a cap effects tone, but i don't know how to specify one as a balencer, one as a bass, one as mid, and one as treble. am i missing something here? any help would be awesome. thanks a lot...

...thanks for the feedback everyone. the idea of ebay hadn't occurred to me and could be good for a start. and that was in interesting article Godin. i'm not really sure what was meant by "come back here and read your first post", but maybe i seem too eager & ignorant being new and all. but good advice from all and i really appreciate it. thanks again, and hopefully i'll be able to post my first finished job in a little bit for more advice and critiquing and such...

...hullo all. i'm a newbie here. i wasn't sure where to post this, but this section seemed to fit. i'm just finishing up my first mod job on a 6-string bass, and i'm getting ready to build my first from scratch. now i really enjoy this sort of thing and i'm hoping i can make some sort of a living doing this, so i was just curious as to how much one can typically get for a self built cutom bass/guitar. i know it must contrast greatly on skill, creativity, and such, but i'm just looking for a rough estimate. thanks a lot...

...remind me of something Entwistle would have played...