sofison Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Hello guys this s my first post in this section and I am proudly present my first bass project. This one is for a friend of mine that asked me to built a 5 string bass guitar based on Warwick's Vampyre shape. So the specs are: Neck: Neck through wenge / figured maple laminates Body: Swamp ash wings Ebony fretboard 34" inch scale Seymour Duncan pickups Dimarzio X2N on the neck position Schaller and Warwick black hardware So... First comes some CAD plans I draw. Making Templates Cutting the pre-slotted fretboard Unfortunately I don't have any photos while gluing the neck So next.... cutting the neck angle The truss rod channel is ready.. ...and the channel for the carbon fiber rods also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Gluing the wings Rough cut Shaping Headstock shape Shaping the heel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Very nice. Are you doing a "faithful" carve, ie. the raised edges around the waist? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Routing the neck pickup By the way the neck pickup it will be a Dimarzio pickup designed for an electric guitar (not for bass) Gluing the carbon fiber rods with epoxy. This stage was a mess cause I forgot to mask the neck and epoxy spread all around. Fixing some mistakes on the rods channel Test fit of the bridge pickup Installing the truss rod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 This is generally looking very good. It is possible to minimize the visual impact of that Truss rod mishap (right now it sticks out like a sore thumb): Rig up some hardwood straight strips aligned with the flame maple laminate in the "between pickups" area. Carefully rout out, with a template following bit, the maple completely, but only to a shallow depth, say 1/8" or 3mm. Repeat with the other laminate. Glue in strips of maple that covers you repair. That way the fix will be almost completely invisible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Very nice. Are you doing a "faithful" carve, ie. the raised edges around the waist? Thanks a lot it means a lot for me. I prefer doing a carve like this... however the guy that asked me to build this didn't like it at all This is generally looking very good. It is possible to minimize the visual impact of that Truss rod mishap (right not is sticks out like a sore thumb): Rig up some hardwood straight strips aligned with the flame maple laminate in the "between pickups" area. Carefully rout out, with a template following bit, the maple completely, but only to a shallow depth, say 1/8" or 3mm. Repeat with the other laminate. Glue in strips of maple that covers you repair. That way the fix will be almost completely invisible. This is a very good idea. I might have some spare straight pieces of maple. Maybe I should try it. On the other hand I am thinking that the whole bass it's gonna be dyed black and the imperfection will covered. Thanks a lot by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 It might be worthwhile considering the full repair anyway on the basis that dye will not "take" to the patched area as it would plain wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 It might be worthwhile considering the full repair anyway on the basis that dye will not "take" to the patched area as it would plain wood. I decide to give it a try soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Rear cavity routing Rounding the corners Gluing the fretboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Shaping the neck was interesting cause I asked for an asymmetric back shape So first I carve a volute but in the end I decide to remove it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Peghead shape Hopefully everything seems better with the new patches Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Oh, yeah, thats much neater. Good save. BTW, an awful lot of pickups in that instrument. OK, not much more than in a strat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 You could get a piezo in yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygtr Posted July 19, 2013 Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 Way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Workingman Posted July 19, 2013 Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 HSH with the proper switching can be very versitile. Looking good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YetzerHarah Posted July 19, 2013 Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 That's a very clean fix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 Oh, yeah, thats much neater. Good save. BTW, an awful lot of pickups in that instrument. OK, not much more than in a strat... Yeah there is going to be a mess trying to solder all together You could get a piezo in yet. I hope not Way to go. HSH with the proper switching can be very versitile. Looking good. That's a very clean fix Thanks a lot guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 19, 2013 Report Share Posted July 19, 2013 Indeed. Definite applause for the fix. That's what it's all about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Indeed. Definite applause for the fix. That's what it's all about! Thanks I own this to you guys for convince me to give it a try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 So before I move on I would like a little help with the finishing schedule. The bass it's going to be dyed black. So I am thinking something like this Does anybody has a schedule to suggest? I am thinking: -Water based black dye all over -Sanding and dye again -Few coats of Teak oil or Tung oil -Leveling -Rub on poly -Waxing with warwick beeswax (By the way I've never tried an oil finishing before just some guitar necks with tru oil) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MzI Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Generally dyed/stain wood and oil finishes don't work too well in my experience. Teak/Tung Oil penetrate into the wood as do stain/dye and it tends to displace the color. Do some testing before hand. My last guitar I used gel stain on the mahogany but let the guitar sit over 6 months before I applied teak oil. I did get a small amount of color displacement as seen on a rag when first applying the oil but overall wasn't too bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazygtr Posted July 20, 2013 Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 You won't get that black finish with oils, they have an amber tint to them that will give you a brownish color. Your best bet for the finish you posted is to go with satin lacquer or poly over a black dye as you suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted July 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2013 Generally dyed/stain wood and oil finishes don't work too well in my experience. Teak/Tung Oil penetrate into the wood as do stain/dye and it tends to displace the color. Do some testing before hand. My last guitar I used gel stain on the mahogany but let the guitar sit over 6 months before I applied teak oil. I did get a small amount of color displacement as seen on a rag when first applying the oil but overall wasn't too bad. I was afraid of this reaction. I'll do some tests first and see. You won't get that black finish with oils, they have an amber tint to them that will give you a brownish color. Your best bet for the finish you posted is to go with satin lacquer or poly over a black dye as you suggested. I read somewhere in Warwick's site that they achieve this kind of finishes just with their beeswax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 21, 2013 Report Share Posted July 21, 2013 +1 about the oil Beeswax can be used as a finish however it provides little to no protection against well, anything really. Add to that the potential issue for it messing with any stains, etc. You can of course test on scrap, which is highly recommended. Beeswax is used more as a conditioner and a polish on top of oil finishes or on oily woods. It can also be used as a polish on cured oils (such as Tru-oil) or even rubbed on poly. Warwick may use wax straight onto say, Bubinga bodies or other woods that don't require finishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sofison Posted September 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2013 Hi guys it's been a while. Ok some progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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