fookgub Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 This is basically a test to answer a few questions I have about 30" scale basses. Namely: - Do I like the feel of the shorter scale? - What strings are best? Is it possible to get a balanced feel and a solid E? What about dropped D? - What pickup types and placements do I prefer? The neck is a SX I picked up for cheap over at TalkBass. It's not fancy, but it will do the job. The fretwork actually seems pretty good. The body is 2-piece mahogany. I bought this as a S2E1 board from Clark's hardwood more because it would fit in my car than because I needed them to do the jointing and planing. I had to run it through the jointing setup on my router table anyway, though I did get out of surfacing the blank with my router planing jig. After sanding out the blank a bit, I marked the shape with a sharpie and cut along the outside edge of the line with my bandsaw. Cutting this close takes a bit more time, but it makes routing much easier later. This template is one I had lying around (it's from my Variax project). All I did was make the neck pocket a little wider. Next, I routed it to shape and did the roundovers. This is a 3-flute pattern bit with a 2" cutting length from MLCS. It made routing the shape a breeze. more more more more The pictures don't show the whole process, but I placed the bridge first then placed the neck with strings attached. This helps make sure that everything is lined up correctly. more more more more more more The test fit provides a good opportuinty make sure everything fits and is aligned right. I also checked the balance and marked the forearm and belly contours. more Carving the contours. I used the bandsaw to rough everything out. I've never done that before, but it worked quite well. A few minutes with my microplane rasps and some sanding with a block was all I needed to finish the contours off. more more Also pressing the tuner bushings in -- one of the few uses I've found for my arbor press aside from pressing frets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chops1983 Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Looks like a great build Fookgub! I have the exact same router bit from MLCS and had a tearout on some endgrain the other day All fixed now but is there any special method you use to rout when routing full depth? Chad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 Very nice build going here, Fookgub...even if it's already been said once. Be sure to give us your conclusions to your original questions. Thanks for posting that link to Clarks Hardwood Lumber. I had no idea that was here in town. I forsee a trip there in my not too distant future. For some reason, I had it in my head you were in Austin...*scratches head*. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted March 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Thanks for the kind words you two. Chad - For one, my bit is brand new, so it's still very sharp. Also, I take shallow passes and I work as slowly as possible without causing burning. Cutting very close to the line with the bandsaw helps, as does having a router that won't slow down when you put some load on it. Most importantly I've started to develop a feel for what the wood is telling me, and I'll work extra carefully if I feel like it wants to kick in a certain spot. Sometimes you just have to avoid certain things on the router completely, and the OSS really comes in handy there. Scott - Definitely check out Clark's. I like it better than any of the lumber yards I went to in Austin, and it gets bonus points for being just a couple minutes away from my house. Nice memory, by the way... I moved to Houston in June, and getting resettled is one of the things that has kept me from working on guitars for a while. I certainly will be posting my thoughts as I go along. I've always been curious about short scales, but I'm not interested in vintage styles, kids instruments, or high-end customs, which leaves me pretty much out in the cold for non-DIY instruments. My hope is to sort out most of the variables on this build and use that knowledge to build a solid bass later on. Anyway, hope you guys still like the build when you see what's coming next... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 Interesting project. I think high tension strings work best on a short scale bass. Bass is my main instrument. Flat wound strings are good as are heavy gauge ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Well, flatwounds aren't really my thing, but I do agree that higher tension would help. I'm going to try out the DR DDTs. I've also got a pair of Hi-Beams. I recall liking those on prior basses, although I've only had one bass for the past few years and I've only used Dingwall strings on it. I also ordered a balanced set from Circle K, but they haven't arrived yet. I'm not 100% sure they will fit through the slots in the tuner posts, but I can always use them on something else. Anyway, here are a couple more progress pictures. I'm going to sand it out next so I can spray a few coats of varnish... nothing fancy, just something to keep it from getting all grungy while being handled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 looking very nice. I am with you on flatwounds but they do help keep you from having that floppy feel on a short scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted March 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Ok, first coat of finish is on. That mahogany really popped. Good thing I have enough left over for 1.5 bodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted March 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Test fit Drilling holes for various pickup types/locations I'm calling this one slant/MM Currently strung up with DR DDT's (45-105). It sounds pretty good. A lot like a Musicman, actually. Strings have a piano-like ring. I find the G a little thin (common complaint with MM basses, so may be partly attributable to the pickups, though I think moving down to a .040" G-string would help). The E is lacking definition compared to the other strings, but I've heard worse on 34" scale basses. It's most noticeable playing fingerstyle closer to the neck. The difference is greatly reduced playing with a pick, which I do more than 50% of the time. Dropped-D is a no-go at this point, though I'm particularly picky -- I think it would work for a lot of people. I do like the DDT's -- nice sound. I'm not completely sold on the feel, but we'll see if I get used to them. They remind me of Lo-Riders but without the stiffness. I'd like to move the E up to a .110" or .115", but I'm not sure it would fit through the tuner post. I'll have to look around to see if I can find anything made for short scale basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Cool. Thanks for the update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted March 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 I tried a few more pickup combinations. These MM-style jazz pickups sound better than I expected. I'm recording each combination as I go along so I have something to refer back to. Results are encouraging so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fookgub Posted March 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 Couple more combinations done. I think I'm finished with Jazz-style pickups for now. I've got some P-bass pickups to try next. I'm also thinking about getting a couple Musicman-style humbuckers for comparison to the MM-style Jazz pickups I have. I originally thought MM-style humbuckers would be unsuitable because I thought the pickups would need to be slanted to help with the string-to-string tonal balance. But my thinking on that may be changing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 28, 2011 Report Share Posted March 28, 2011 Are you ultimately going to decide on a set of pups and mount to a pick guard or is this always going to be a test bed? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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