geonjorjany Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 (edited) ...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... Edited May 9, 2005 by geonjorjany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexdave Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 I like the shape, my only comment would be that with the length of the top horn it might be a bit body heavy on a strap, especially with all that maple, but I guess you'll find out when it's done! Are you planning to shape the body in any way? - carved or contoured? I look forward to seeing it finished, I have a feeling my next project will be a fretless bass if my brother has anything to do with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted May 9, 2005 Report Share Posted May 9, 2005 I like the shape.. nice design. I don't have a jointer either (that is the correct spelling) What I did was use a router table with a split fence. Bring the fence flush with the outside of the blade (so if you slid wood across it you would get nothing) then loosen one side and "tap" it back a teensy bit. That will give you a poor man's jointer, assuming you have a router table It's worth the trouble to get a good tight joint though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 What I did was use a router table with a split fence. Bring the fence flush with the outside of the blade (so if you slid wood across it you would get nothing) then loosen one side and "tap" it back a teensy bit. That will give you a poor man's jointer, assuming you have a router table That's a cool idea. It should be noted, though, that once the wood reaches the other half of the fence ( the one that is flush with the bit ) that it should be guided along that fence, regardless of what the other half is doing, just like on a jointer. BTW, the term "joiner" is often (mistakenly) used for "jointer", which is the correct name of the machine. Are you going to use purpleheart stripes in the neck too? That would look really cool, being the same color layout as the body, but on a different scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonjorjany Posted May 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 (edited) ...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... Edited May 10, 2005 by geonjorjany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pibrocher Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Thats looking great. I like that big curivng horn on the top. You may want to consider shortening the length of the neck making the body start around like the 15-16 fret or lower even. What were you thinking would be the starting point of the body? I did this i my most recent project to help strengthen the neck (8-strings) and the balance the body a bit more. The rounding you reffered to would be the carving he was talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 Sorry, that's what i meant with the split fence trick.. You start on the side that exposes the bit, then you put the pressure on the flush side. For small lengths like a guitar body, it really does pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 I'm always glad to see more basses in the works... the world needs more bassists! First off, cool shape! It really works for a custom bass to have a weird but cool shape like that, and the ball on the top horn really adds a lot too. The wood is nice. It looks a little spalty (or maybe mineral streaky?), and that too works with the whole custom bass thing. All in all, I like it a lot so far. Be sure to keep updating! Long live bassists! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespresence Posted May 10, 2005 Report Share Posted May 10, 2005 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What Ski Said!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 My homies & I were all brought up to call it a joiner (because you join two pieces of wood), but joiner & jointer are used interchangeably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diehardcrew Posted May 24, 2005 Report Share Posted May 24, 2005 From my experience "jointer" and "joiner" did not used to be interchangeable, but so many people say "joiner" when they mean "jointer" because they just heard someone else say it and thought they said "joiner". "Joining" is just the action of "joinery" in woodworking meaning to join 2 or more pieces of wood by some means, typically with a joint of some type rather than just screwing two boards together. (examples such as finger joint, dovetail joint, mortise and tenon, lap joints, biscuit joints, dowel joints etc.) Biscuit joinery has become quite popular lately and so have the power tools known as "biscuit joiners" that of course speed the process up a lot. You can also use a slot-cutting bit on a router for the same task. Sometimes these handtools are called "joiners" for short, but that really lacks description, so they should be referred to as "biscuit joiners" to avoid confusion. Jointers of course make the wood flat & square if so desired to the fence. Planers will thickness the wood, but not take out bowing or make the wood square. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonjorjany Posted May 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 (edited) ...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... Edited May 27, 2005 by geonjorjany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted May 27, 2005 Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 (edited) Looking good so far. 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... Since you're using Duncan active pickups you'll need stereo because of the battery. One of the leads is conected to the stereo jacks which means that when the guitar cord is not inserted in the bass the battery won't make a connection to the active circuit and thus won't drain itself. If you had a passive circuit you would only need a mono jack. A normal bass truss rod is normally 24 inches long, since you neck is too small you might be better with an 18" guitar rod. It'll work fine. EDIT: I just reread your post. First calculate exactly how long your fingerboard is. If it's 25" or longer go with the bass rod if not with the guitar one. If you go with the bass rod don't forget to mark where the rod is in the heel of the neck so you don't screw your neck on the body later in the truss rod Edited May 27, 2005 by Phil Mailloux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracked Posted May 27, 2005 Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 Dude! You should also be thinking about cutting your neck pocket before any more rounding of the edges, so you'll have more flat surface for the router. Looking real good though! I usually use that combo of wood for necks, I love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted May 27, 2005 Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 Don't do anything else with that neck blank until you take the bow out. You want the neck to be stress-free before you install the truss rod and glue on the fretboard. Find a jointer and make the fretboard-side flat & square before moving on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonjorjany Posted May 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2005 ...thanks phil mailloux and erikbojerik, that's what i needed to know. awesome... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonjorjany Posted May 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2005 (edited) ...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... Edited May 28, 2005 by geonjorjany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluespresence Posted May 29, 2005 Report Share Posted May 29, 2005 I like #3. It goes with the lines and seems to fit the axe better than the others, at least to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted May 29, 2005 Report Share Posted May 29, 2005 #2 or #3...watch out you don't drill the holes too close to the edge, and not leave enough room for the pots when you rout out the control cavity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twisting Shadow Posted May 29, 2005 Report Share Posted May 29, 2005 I like #1, or #3...probably #3 just a little more... Anyway; this is looking great (I always loved the six stringers...), keep the updates coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonjorjany Posted June 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 ...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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 #3 is the way to go, being careful of the edge as mentioned. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 If it's not too late...consider using STACKED knobs...I think four knobs are too much on this design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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