Daniel Sorbera Posted June 25, 2006 Report Share Posted June 25, 2006 (edited) Gotta love that wenge I love the grain pattern on it. Looks really cool. Edited June 25, 2006 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted June 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 Now that the neck is finally done being glued together, I got a little more progress done. 9 laminates looks pretty sweet! Side view Of course the rosewood veneer wont be showing much because it's right next to the purpleheart. But it matches the body laminates exactly and looks great! Got about 90% of the neck angle done, trying to figure out how to get the last pass flawless. Once I get the angle done, I'll angle the head piece (solid Wenge) and get that glued together. Also, I figured I would use Birdseye maple as the fingerboard. Just need to hunt down a high quality piece. While the neck was gluing up, I put time into making another body for my Spector 5-string neck. I call it the "Scrap Bass" since all of the pieces I'm using are from the other 4 basses I have done. It's nearly complete, just need to order one last thing for it. The weight of the body is down to 3 lbs. total, the wings are about half a pound each. I'll be using Mahogany as the top wood. I'll make a thread for it once it's complete, should take 1 more day of work whenever I get the last secret ingredient. Link to the "Scrap Bass" album here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campylobacter Posted June 29, 2006 Report Share Posted June 29, 2006 They look great. I think the birdseye maple is a perfect choice for the fretboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted June 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 Got the angle cut on the neck and head piece. Gluing that up as we speak. Then tomorrow I should be getting lots of progress done on the neck. Above shot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted June 30, 2006 Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 This has got to be one of my fave builds going on right now. The lines are clean, the wood is nice, and it's always good to hear that someone else is having the same problems as me, and isn't just cranking out flawless guitars like everyone else on this site seems to be. Keep up the good work! PS We need a picture of the dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted June 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 This has got to be one of my fave builds going on right now. The lines are clean, the wood is nice, and it's always good to hear that someone else is having the same problems as me, and isn't just cranking out flawless guitars like everyone else on this site seems to be. Keep up the good work! PS We need a picture of the dog. Thanks! I have gone thru several methods of gluing, I feel I have come very close to mastering glue joints for neck and body laminates. My main challenge right now is scarf joints and the center joint between single cut tops. I actually have a great deal more problems than I'm posting, I just post the ones I don't have productive means of fixing. And while my guitars may not be flawless in the works, they will certainly be when finished. I've gone thru 2 bodies and 3 necks on this one. I'll get a picture of the dog sometime this afternoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted June 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2006 (edited) I think she's afraid of the flash, but here's a half decent picture of her. My dog Some shots of this mornings progress. Tapering it soon. Side shot Edited July 1, 2006 by Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted September 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2006 Got the full scale drawing mostly done. Just need to finalize the nut to finish the string spacing, then finish the headstock design. Once I get a drum sander, I'll continue progress on this and my shop / ebay store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Trepagny Posted September 27, 2006 Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Got the full scale drawing mostly done. Just need to finalize the nut to finish the string spacing, then finish the headstock design. Once I get a drum sander, I'll continue progress on this and my shop / ebay store. Have you ever played on a 8 strings? I'm doing a fret job on my friend's 7strings and this thing is pretty hard to play! But the F# is addictive! Nice singlecut shape Jon! Philippe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted September 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2006 Have you ever played on a 8 strings? I'm doing a fret job on my friend's 7strings and this thing is pretty hard to play! But the F# is addictive! Nice singlecut shape Jon! Philippe Just 6's. I wont have a hard time fitting my hands around an 8-string bass. The width is only 3" for the nut. It's not like it's physically impossible. I'll be excited to get my drum sander, as I have $1000+ in wood to sand and list on Ebay as well as lots of projects to finish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted September 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2006 So the last problem with the neck, was that the maple laminates didn't glue right. So I cut them off and glued new ones. This involved removing the head. So now I've got the new maple glued on, planed flat and smooth, and ready to have a more precise method of tapering the neck. I plan on doing this with a table saw this time, should turn out nicely. I still need to cut off the end maple laminates, they stick out a little bit, then sand the top of the neck to remove the table saw burn. So here's what the bass currently looks like. I've mentioned fixing the center gap, but haven't discussed how. So my plan is to clamp a piece of wood / metal on to the body as a fence for a router, and widen the entire center down to the body. Once I get the drum sander, I'll sand down 3 very small pieces of wood and glue them together to fit into this gap. I'm thinking Maple or Ash for the left and right woods, and wenge for the center wood. The gap will be about 1/2" or less. This will add an interesting contrast, I'm hoping it will turn out nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 I have been working on perfecting my scarf joint jig, I'd say it's close to perfect. Still hunting for that nice piece of birdseye maple for the fingerboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 Dam thats a huge neck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord-of-the-strings Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Clleeeannn bass, guy! Can't wait to see this one finished And I don't know if it's just me... but when you're looking at the picture of the bass on the linolium floor... go up and down with the mouse wheel and look at the floor, it almost looks like it's zooming in and out. But that could just be me being tired... trippyyy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primal Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 And I don't know if it's just me... but when you're looking at the picture of the bass on the linolium floor... go up and down with the mouse wheel and look at the floor, it almost looks like it's zooming in and out. But that could just be me being tired... trippyyy Yea, man! The angle is just right! Trippy, indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Clleeeannn bass, guy! Can't wait to see this one finished And I don't know if it's just me... but when you're looking at the picture of the bass on the linolium floor... go up and down with the mouse wheel and look at the floor, it almost looks like it's zooming in and out. But that could just be me being tired... trippyyy I apologize! When it's late at night, I can't see anything thru the digital camera to take a picture, so it's either on the concrete or in the kitchen. Both take crappy pictures. The picture wasn't intetionally done that way, pretty trippy! I was planning on gluing 2 scarf joints tonight. But after playing around with one, I found a very precise method of accomplishing a nice tight scarf joint. This is not my bass - this is a 7-string guitar I am making for a friend. The blue / yellow clamps are great for clamping a general area. The bar / C clamps are great for clamping a specific area tightly. I first put on the blue clamps to try and equal out the joint, I then corrected all the gaps with the correct amount of pressure with the bar / C clamps. I will do this same method tomorrow for my 8-string neck. If you're interested in any of the other projects that are going on, check them out here. Timothy McCoy's 7-string Ritz copy - I am copying Michael Angelo's "rocket" guitar. You know, the one from Speed Kills. The current body is a prototype, the next one will be made out of Mahogany and will be painted a metallic silver. Reid Rogers 5-string Fender P-bass - I am copying my 4-string fretless rebuild and making him one sweet copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 The scarf joint turned out beautifully. Dead flat on the top and a nice tight glue joint. Excuse the rough cuts and unsanded areas, I was just trying to get a picture of the joint. Here are a few other shots of the progress on his guitar, if anyone is interested. I'll be attempting the scarf joint on the 8-string bass tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Superior scarf joint #2! I need to work on calculating the taper. Once I get this done, the body will be routed to fit the neck and the side area (to the left of the treble horn, right of the neck) will be shaped to look much more appealing. I know that area looks very bland, but that will change in due time. I finally found the perfect piece of Birdseye Maple for the fingerboard, it will be shipped here sometime this week. I will be testing several materials for the nut on this bass to get a good idea of what each will offer tonally and also figure out the ease of use for each. I plan on using Ebony, Purpleheart, and bone as of now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 (Taken from my post on the ERB forums) I now have the nut string spacing and tuner spacing figured out. I was originally going to go for a Listerud-esque headstock design. But after I drew two lines, it just turned into a YC custom Noguera style headstock. Also, the tuning peg holes are not this size, the circles are the washer that goes beneath the tuning peg. Thoughts? The headstock measures to around 10 1/2" - 11" now. So there is about 3 1/2" extra, so I have plenty of extra room. About the piezo system. Will a bridge with each seperate saddle set up with a piezo system sound the same as a piezo system with a "clip on" (think piezo clip on a cello) have the same effect and tonal qualities? I'm thinking if I make my own bridge, say out of Ebony, and go this route, it may be my best and most affordable option. Any thoughts or insight on any of this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted October 20, 2006 Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 I think that you should mock up in a cardboard to make sure that the top 2 holes will clear the back of the tuners. They look tooooo close even for guitar tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 Also, the tuning peg holes are not this size, the circles are the washer that goes beneath the tuning peg. http://www.onlybass.com/images/basse/noguerayc/big/03.jpg Plenty of space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 Headstock shaped, Birdseye Maple came in today as well. It's all coming along nicely. I'll drill the holes soon, maybe today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted October 20, 2006 Report Share Posted October 20, 2006 Looking awsome man! Love the choice of wood and grain of the wenge looks like my fretboard =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted October 21, 2006 Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 http://www.onlybass.com/images/basse/noguerayc/big/03.jpg Plenty of space. Holy !&@&%* People USE such beasts? How can their backs sustain it? That's tuned F# - E, right? I mean, I'm not bassist, but if I were to build an 8, I might just go all the way and build a Stick. But in other news, your massive a** bass is coming along quite nicely! Very clean, and I love the look of those woods together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted October 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2006 (edited) Their necks sustain very easily. Carbon fiber rods provide a great deal of strength, not to mention multi-lam necks are also very strong. They're more common than you think, just not so common in the "pop" genre of today. Check out the ERB gallery. http://www.extendedrangebassist.com/Photos.htm Tuning should be F#, B, E, A, D, G, C, F. Tuning is on the first post. Standard 8-string bass tuning, perfect fourths. Basically a 4-string bass with 2 lower (F#, and 2 higher strings (C, F). I mean, I'm not bassist, but if I were to build an 8, I might just go all the way and build a Stick. Meh, I disagree. The scale can be completely different on a stick. The string spacing is much different, the action is different, the tuning is different, tuning pegs, type of wood (considering it's made by Chapman), possibility of technique due to close string spacing (finger, slap, and pick are not possible). A stick is a completely different instrument. I'm not knocking it in any shape or form, we're just comparing apples to oranges, though. I'm building an 8-string bass for range with extra low end and a way to stick with all the bass techniques I already know. Edited October 21, 2006 by Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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