black_labb Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 havent been around project guitar much recently. found that i got into a habit of spending too much time reading things and not enough doing things (i would check way too frequently really). i'll see if i can come back and check things more moderately this time. here is the bass that i've just finished (actually i need to put a finish on the truss rod cover, but otherwise its all ready) have been using the bass for band without a finish and a single bridge pup. had a couple weeks off band as the drummer had more work duties temporarily, so i finished it (its my only bass, so i wasnt able to use another while finishing it). i made the pups and truss rods myself. was originally going to have a simple preamp, but changed my mind and went with passive electronics, and rewound the pups to suit. some details 33" scale, 22 frets neck is a 1pc, but 5 piece laminate (new guinea rosewood, wenge, zebrano, wenge, ng rosewood). fillet strip is american walnut body wings are also ng rosewood. jumbo frets danish oiled (aside from the pup covers, which are laquered) instrument is wired like a jazz bass (vol neck, vol bridge tone) but with a series/paralell and a phase switch. used 500k vol pots, and a 1M tone pot with a 47pf cap. i use 1M tone pots almost exclusively, as they are more versatile than lower values (they act a variable resistors, so they can be turned down a bit to get the equivalent effect of a 500 or 250k pot on full. the instrument sounds great. the bridge gives a great middy sound, the neck gives a nice clean and warm sound and blending them can get quite a few great tones. the series position gives a very fat, full and somewhat loose sound (like a p bass, but maybe fuller). the use of the bridge pup makes it not muddy, but still sounds very fat with lots of low mids. used that all of band practice, and everyone loved the sound(use a pick for band, as we are a trio where the guitar uses a slide almost exclusively, and the bass fills out more of the mids that a guitar usually would). im sure i'll use the other settings more when i am playing fingerstyle. i thought i really liked the sound before i rewound the pups and wired up the bass, but now i am absolutely stunned with how well it sounds. after shielding it it is silent, with a tiny bit of hum when on a single pup (they are set up to cancel hum when they are equal, like a humbucker) the instrument plays very well. it has a small headstock and long upper horn, making the balance perfect. makes my friends squier p feel like a neck diver. the neck is thick and round. has the same width as a p neck, but is rounder. i prefer a rounder neck, and after playing this it makes my friends squier p feel too thin and uncomfortable due to the thinness. i love a fat neck. action is fairly high. just the way i like it (i know im somewhat of a rare breed with my like for really thick necks and high action, but this one is for me). some pics http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/bla...basstopside.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/bla...sbottomside.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/bla...ssneckfront.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/bla...sbackofneck.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/bla...bb/basspups.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 oooo me likey! are those pickup covers paduak or bloodwood? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 (edited) thanks they're zebrano tops, ng rosewood bases, but stained red like the fret markers. the zebrano figure didnt come through as well through the stain as it did on the fretboard, so it just looks red really. Edited September 16, 2008 by black_labb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I'm Not Rex Brown Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 looks like great job, only in my opinnion body shouldn't be so wide... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Very nice edge radiusing - reminds me a fair amount of the Ibanez Radius/JS. Neck laminations look really nice also. Great work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 looks like great job, only in my opinnion body shouldn't be so wide... i was looking at that after posting the pics up, thought maybe i had made a mistake resizing it in paint before i realised. the body isnt that wide, its just the angle i took the photos from. i'll take some more photos to get a better perspective Very nice edge radiusing - reminds me a fair amount of the Ibanez Radius/JS. Neck laminations look really nice also. Great work. thanks. wasnt really the plan to go so far, but i got going with the spokeshave and scraper until it seemed perfect. i'm really happy with the look and feel of the carve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadovfor Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Very nice work black_labb Did you get the timber anywhere around here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Very nice work black_labb Did you get the timber anywhere around here? sure did, every bit came from anagote timbers in marrickville. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 took some straight on photos. flash made some things look a bit wierd (reflections in pup covers, really dull looking fingerboard) but it shows the shape better, without it looking so wide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan316 Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Looks like it'll be a big fat sustaining tone monster! That sucker has a lot of good wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalhead28 Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 I thought it looked a bit oversized too, but those new pics change my mind. Great looking bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I'm Not Rex Brown Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 jup that was angle great job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Kudos for building your pickups! It's surprising to me that more people don't do that. If you can build a guitar, you can build pickups... and it can be cheaper... and more fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 Kudos for building your pickups! It's surprising to me that more people don't do that. If you can build a guitar, you can build pickups... and it can be cheaper... and more fun. i agree, pickups arent hard to make. its not hard to get them to sound good either. nailing specific tones can be an issue sometimes, but thats where things get interesting and challenging. another thing i don't think there is enough of is simple switches to get different sounds. strats and tele's could really benefit from series/paralell switches. they can really add a lot to the sound, getting them similar to a humbucker. all it takes is a simple dpdt switch (or a push pull pot) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadovfor Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 sure did, every bit came from anagote timbers in marrickville. I sorta figured (and hoped) you might say that. I've really gotta check them out. Again ... very nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 yes you do. good place for alot of things timber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 i agree, pickups arent hard to make. its not hard to get them to sound good either. nailing specific tones can be an issue sometimes, but thats where things get interesting and challenging. That's the dirty secret that a lot of pickup manufacturers would like to keep a secret. The only big difference between you and Seymour Duncan is that Duncan has more experience on the "nailing specific tones" side of things. Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_labb Posted September 18, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2008 thanks erik. homemade pups are quick to make and alot cheaper than reasonable bought ones. they're also quite easy to get set up for making. turn a small drill press on its side, or a hand drill. it isnt completely necessary to even count the turns if you just fill up the bobbin and check the resistance. humbuckers dont need to be perfect (often people purposely have coils mismatched a bit). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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