avdekan Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Hi This is my third "from scratch" project and my first (sort of) commission. I'm building it for a friend. he wanted a simple, chunky, vintage vibe bass, and after several sketches and debates we decided on shape and specs. The body is black limba with imbuya top, neck is bolt on wenge with ziricote fretboard. At the moment I'm applying tru oil coats, and will post the finished pictures and full specs when it is done. In the meantime here are some building process pictures: P.S. I wanted to carve a recess at the heel but the friend to whom I'm building the bass objected, saying it will ruin the vintage vibe, and since he usually doesn't play at the higher register of the neck, high fret access was not an issue for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guernica Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 ...Im afraid to ask what all of those knobs are going to be controlling.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 It looks very nice, but that wenge back cover takes so much from it. If you can make a cover out of wenge, why not go the extra mile and make one with the same wood as the back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalien21 Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 oh, i think the wenge cover looks great. it matches the neck, and sort of ties the look together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdekan Posted May 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 (edited) ...Im afraid to ask what all of those knobs are going to be controlling.... The reason for all these knobs is the need for versatility as it's going to be my friend's only bass and he needs it for studio work. there are two circuits on the bass that you can toggle between: an ACG preamp, and a standard passive circuit (volume/blend/tone). on top of that each pickup has a series/split/parallel switch that comes before the preamp selector switch. the last hole is the output jack. personally, I would have gone with only the ACG preamp and the series/split/parallel switches, but my friend really wanted a passive circuit added - hence all the knobs. Edited May 20, 2009 by avdekan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Fantastic work. The theme is excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guernica Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 ...Im afraid to ask what all of those knobs are going to be controlling.... The reason for all these knobs is the need for versatility as it's going to be my friend's only bass and he needs it for studio work. there are two circuits on the bass that you can toggle between: an ACG preamp, and a standard passive circuit (volume/blend/tone). on top of that each pickup has a series/split/parallel switch that comes before the preamp selector switch. the last hole is the output jack. personally, I would have gone with only the ACG preamp and the series/split/parallel switches, but my friend really wanted a passive circuit added - hence all the knobs. ..sounds like you know what youre doing, ...carry on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdekan Posted May 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 (edited) Now I'm in a dilemma. I'm in the middle of building tru oil coats (7 so far) and I have two options: finish the bass in gloss or semi-gloss. in the semi gloss pictures the lighting makes it a bit blueish, but in reality it looks way better - darker brown with less orange in it than the gloss finish. the gloss pictures are more true to reality. please share your thoughts on both options. gloss: semi: Edited May 21, 2009 by avdekan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 I've always liked oil finishes... and especially those on basses, not to be glossy... it just fits to me. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metalhead28 Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 Great looking bass. And I personally prefer the glossy finish going by the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 I like the Semi-Gloss myself =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anderekel Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 I have to go with gloss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guernica Posted May 21, 2009 Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 another vote for gloss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoNsTaR Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 yea gloss:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAK Guitars Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 +1 for the gloss, looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boundsteelblues Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 +2 gloss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenspoke Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 I've always liked oil finishes... and especially those on basses, not to be glossy... it just fits to me. Chris +1 go satin on a bass , gloss is yesterdays finish, LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormLeader Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 What does the guy want? Personally, I like gloss. -Stormy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdekan Posted May 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 What does the guy want? Personally, I like gloss. -Stormy the guy said "just do what you see fit". to me the gloss finish, although looking very attractive, is a bit too "bling", while the semi-gloss has more "style" to it. If the hardware was going to be golden, I think the gloss finish would be more true to its pimpish nature, but since he chose to go with chrome hardware in order to avoid this particular look, I think that satin finish would be more appropriate, so I'm leaning toward that option right now (although I realize it's the minority's opinion). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmth Builder Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 Not a fan of the body shape, but the woods craftman ship etc looks excellent! Go with gloss please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 Is that bridge route for the Hipshot supertone bridge (or whatever it's called - their replacement for the old gibson bass bridges.) Curious as to your opinion on it, it's piqued my interest since I saw it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 It certainly does look like it, doesn't it JP? The strangest thing is - I actually really really do like the old Gibson three-point bridge. I've always been a big T-bird fan, so it makes sense.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdekan Posted May 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 Is that bridge route for the Hipshot supertone bridge (or whatever it's called - their replacement for the old gibson bass bridges.) Curious as to your opinion on it, it's piqued my interest since I saw it. It is a rout for a supertone bridge, and I haven't seen it in action yet because the bass is not finished, but I can give you my thoughts on it so far: It's a big chunk of metal, bigger that I thought it would be, but surprisingly light for it's size (I think it's aluminum). It's very well made (as are all of Hipshot's products I've seen so far) and the finish is very good. The strings sit very high on this bridge (about 17mm going from memory) - hence the rout. I asked Hipshot for a dxf file of the bridge's outline so I could laser-cut a template and they were kind enough to send me the file right away. great customer service. The underside of the bridge has three recesses (for the three original gibson studs), and it's mounted using only the rear two (I guess it's ok because the front end of the bridge is being pushed down by the strings). Because there is a ~3mm gap between the surface the bridge sits on and the floor of the recesses at the bridge's bottom, when I mounted the bridge onto the bass the screws pulled the bushings (which were sitting tightly in their holes) out. I think the recesses are necessary when you retrofit the bridge on a Gibson,but on a new build there is no point to them. I guess I'll just have to glue the bushings in place because of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avdekan Posted May 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Almost done! In the end I chose to go with a semi-semi-gloss (a bit more glossy than semi-gloss ) And here is the electronics cavity: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Excellent! I love the star grounding on the back of the pot....very impressive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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