Desopolis Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 So I just got into Austin not that long ago, and left all of my tools in Indiana in a set of 40 gallon containers... so I got alittle antzy after a while and met a guy with a full shop willing to let me use his stuff for a while.. I'll be re-buying some hand tools for a while, untill I get my stuff from indy back.. Also Im building my actual shop in my new house.. woot! anyway, a guy at work said he'd pay for the wood and whatnot, and I told him Im a newb but this is what we've come up with. Shapes based on a rickenbacker 4005Cii with a 6L headstock(not my choice) Slightly concerned with balance as the body is alittle small for standards, and the neck is freaking huge... Body: Solid African Quartersawn Mahogany (block was 15" wide ) Neck: Lamination of Quartersawn Mahogany, maple Veneers, and Quartersawn Paduak. will have a hot rod and carbon reenforcement. Fretboard: Ebony stew-mac 34" scale. (I dont have my slotting jig in tx ) deep set neck with fading heel Double black plastic binding(NOT MY CALL) No carve Finish will be a poly black gloss on the front, and a darker natural tru-oil on the sides/back/neck Im planning on using a hipshot A style 5 string bridge and hopefully not the standard butterfly style tuners.. He wants Gold hardware(against my better judgment) heres some pics for the time being: Rickenbacker for comparison Body blank Cad Templates Neck clamped Now, I normaly use Titebond I but he only had II in his shop and im alittle worried.. I've used TitebondIII before and it worked out well, but I slightly remembering that it wont settle or something... the neck will sit for about a week to stabilize before I work it again... Neck lam, planed to .850 looks pretty similar to my other neck lams: Texan neck Both old necks and finally, a slightly artsy pic of the tools I used to design this: my trusty sketchbook, some cad, and some SUPER pretty Mahogany.. the paduak in the background helps.. but those are both for something different Im not ready to post.. I did the pic a few ways in PS, and all are pretty in other ways, but I love showing the color of the paduak and the mahogany naturally, and the BW takes that away.. I have the templates done in MDF and we didnt think the blank would fit through the planer but it did late in the day after some sizing! its cool to work with a regular carpenter, because hes so into trying something new.. like the neck pocket, hes crazy gung ho right now.. hopefully next week I'll have more pics.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted April 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 ok.. it seams the headstock is getting a bit of flack.. I know it looks goofy, but he said he wanted 6L tuner setup... in the cad you can see the tuner body but obviously would just be the center shaft.. should I just make it a 3x2 or do you think I can save the 6L design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthus Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 It looks to me like the weight of the tuners and the amount of wood on the headstock would send the bass for a nosedive. I think the headstock shape looks fine, but maybe the body should be a little larger? I dunno, something looks out of proportion. Here is a Fender 5-stringer, complete with those enormous tuners and therefore a lot of headstock mass. Might it be worth it to track down a CAD of a "traditional" 5-in-line bass for comparison? I think the thing that is throwing the pic off is the size of the body. I personally love the shape of the MM basses, 3x2 headstock, teardrop body, everything. I might try to convince him that it might not be the best move, to go with a 5-in-line headstock, especially if the body's that small. But then again, making the body bigger might solve the problem too, I dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted April 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 well I used a fender Jazz bass to compare size wise.. its the same TOTAL length and width as a Jazz bass body.. but with the extra curves its slimmer.. I think I'll make a sketch 3x2 so he can see what it would look like, and so I can get some mass out of the neck... The brass bridge and active electronics will help a bit im sure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
low end fuzz Posted April 7, 2007 Report Share Posted April 7, 2007 the horns and headstock look porportioned, but the bottom end makes it look like a fat chick with no a$$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desopolis Posted April 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2007 (edited) so.. a little work done.. I got the neck laminated up, and the body routed out.. still needs to be edge sanded, but the basic shape is there.. heres some pics: I bolted the template to the blank in the neck pocket and in the bridge pickup position, I figure I'll route that area out eventually anyway.. neck lam and body heres a pic of me and the body to show sizing, I dont think it will be that big of an issue.. I messed with alot of WEIRD basses at guitar center, and decided it would be ok.. if I need to convert to links I will, figured they wernt to big.. Edited April 26, 2007 by Desopolis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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