Our Souls inc. Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 I scored some cheap spalted elm on the bay, ended up with four tops for 42 bucks delivered. So two of my 10 dollar tops are going to be twins - these two: Here are the specs : Bass - 5 string, 34 inch scale ,24 jumbo frets , Guitar - 7 string, 26.5" scale , 24 jumbo frets . Bodies are both Sapele back with the Elm tops. Bass neck is Padouk with an Elm headstock and cocobolo board. Guitar neck is Bloodwood with an Elm headstock and cocobolo board . So far I have the sapele glued up and the bass body topped and shaped. Both necks are scarfed and square, awaiting truss rods and fret boards,shaping, etc. I will take some better pics tomorrow and get it started properly. On a side note, my brothers bass is drying { teak oil } and my big-horned bass is up to 400 grit. Slow winter so far, but I might just get 5 done this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricky Anderson Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 that big horn bass looks like elephant eh, is that gonna be like hunter's guitar? fanned frets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 O.K... Edited the first post to reflect the fret~board change. I have put bookmatched cocobolo fretboards on them both, which is keeping with the 'twins' theme and are all from the same board. It was BM'd once, then again, one for each neck. So, bodies are cut out and shaped- unrouted, necks are still in need of inlay,radiusing, frets, etc but they are coming along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted March 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 that big horn bass looks like elephant eh, is that gonna be like hunter's guitar? fanned frets It is a hunters guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted October 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2011 Oh my creaking bones ! After a long, long spring, summer and fall, I am ready for some time off ! Time to build again, but I can't start anything new until I finish off the projects I have going already, so... we are here again. The Twins. I got the bodies all glued up, shaped n such and carved the neck pockets. That was the end of the project for the most part. I made a mistake on the neck pocket of the guitar. The bass is still looking good, but the guitar may be in un-recoverable territory. The heel of the guitar was NOT checked for proper size prior to laying out the neck pocket on the body. After initial routing, it fits great, but when I went to shape the neck, I realized that the heel was too wide and that when getting the taper, the pocket would now be too wide.... so - what to do? This is where I begin this season. Figuring out whether to ditch this build and move forward, fix it and continue or what.. I have a few other builds / projects in mid stream as well, so I won't be doing a lot of new builds as much as finishing these up. Pics laters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 So here's the bass so far : The fretboard: and a closer shot of the body. The board is only done up to 80 grit right now. Body is wearing a coat of CA, but needs sanding/ finish. No real issues on this one so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 I guess your elm has been getting some more seasoning. Man, that is one nice fretboard. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 ...and here's the guitar. and . So - here's the issues I have to deal with in order to continue the twins thru........ The neck heel is too wide and the neck will look funny. If I remove the heel to follow the neck taper, there will be a gap in the pocket. If I dont, the neck will bulge out too far on the bass side near the pocket..... (see pic above ) Also - the FB has to be reclaimed since I laid it out for a 25.5" scale and actually started CUTTING it into the board. Got to about the 12th fret before I snapped out of whatever planet I was on and realized my boo-boo. I had a thick FB to begin with so I am taking this one down past the slots and trying again. Its going to make a flatter radius than planned, along with a thinner FB now. The guits are for me, so I can live with a boo-boo, and I would love to get these finished. For now, I'm forging ahead. Too much more and this'll be fire-wood though..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 I guess your elm has been getting some more seasoning. Man, that is one nice fretboard. SR Thanks Scott. I will work it up to 600 grit or so. I like it a lot - the guitar has potential too, thats why I'm trying to salvage it despite my errors in the build....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted November 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2011 I can officially be added to the list of people who dislike the SM hotrod and the depth of the rod rout they cause. - along with the need for a certain router bit.... I blew through the back of the guitar neck while shaping it. - I guess I can be added to that list too, This , of course was after re-planing the FB, etc. and thinking I was still in 'usable' territory. I has possessed cocobolo's???? its a beautiful looking waste of wood, I know that much. ( goes back to the drawing board.... ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewey Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Well that does suck mate. I don't use the SM truss rods any longer either since there are much better alternatives out there. So what's the plan with the neck now? Can you salvage the fret board at least? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted December 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 I've been working on a save in my head, and I think I may have it.... it makes me wonder though... how many times do I 'save' a neck gone bad ?!? Its a nice neck- bloodwood, elm and cocobolo, but man ! Its really testing me. I think I have it tho... I'm doing up a back strap of maple to cover the burnthru , then I'll reshape the neck. if it fails, I'll make a fire and post the vid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted December 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 and just to complete the "updates" from above.... here's the 8 string Octobass and here's the final version of the bass I built for my brother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mors Phagist Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 8 String Octobass? I only see 6 strings... :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 There are two more on the back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted December 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 There are two more on the back The high B and E strings have octave strings along with them . Its tuned like a Fender 6, one octave below a guitar. Having the two ringy strings has some neat sounds. Its really easy to play the intro to 'wherever I may roam' by Metallica, for example. 8 strings, lots of octave stuff going on. Octobass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demonx Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 I can officially be added to the list of people who dislike the SM hotrod and the depth of the rod rout they cause. - along with the need for a certain router bit.... I blew through the back of the guitar neck while shaping it. - I guess I can be added to that list too, The SM hotrods are monstors of things - completely massive. I tried a rival brand that I thought was going to be great, I finished a build and went to setup the guitar and the hex key rounded off first turn. Cheap chinese crap. Had to remove the fretboard and reroute for a real truss rod on a fresh build - then repaint. You can imagine I wasnt happy. So what did I learn from all this? Pay extra and buy http://www.alliedlutherie.com/ These are the bestrods are I've ever used. I've installed several of these now and they've been perfect every time. Thin. Strong. High quality and they even come with their own hex key. I can carve a super thin profile and not get through. Worth the extra dollars. P.S. - I'm not affiliated! I just want them to keep making them so I can keep buying them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireFly Posted December 4, 2011 Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 I can carve a super thin profile and not get through. Sounds like an impressive little device if it negates the mistakes of the craftsman! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted December 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 Thanks for that link.... I know of Allied but have never ordered from them. All my necks have been built with a SM hotrod- I still have one or two left too. I've never gone through to the truss rod rout before, but I also *usually* make pencil marks to follow when shaping - this time I skipped that part. Won't be doing that again. On a side note : the "save" was glued up last night... we'll see how it works out today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Our Souls inc. Posted December 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2011 ........ I finished a build and went to setup the guitar and the hex key rounded off first turn. Cheap chinese crap. .......So what did I learn from all this? Here's what I've learned about TR's so far... no matter who makes them - I always test them before installing them. Lock em down and torque in both directions. Once they prove to me they work, then I install em. Now- to just never shape one so thin again ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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