KnightroExpress Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Hey guys, I'm new to this forum. I'm relatively new to instrument building, but I have a decent foundation of woodworking skills. I'm currently building things in my little apartment in Maryland, but later this year, I will be attending the Guitar Craft program at the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. I'm looking forward to being a member here! Now that the intro is over, here's one of my current projects. I designed this bass as a tribute to Carl Thompson, who first inspired me to get into lutherie. His basses were the first instruments that made me really take notice of the craftsmanship and artistry that is out there. So here we go! -30" scale -Walnut body core -Wenge sides -Ebony fretboard -Kahler bridge -Hipshot Ultralite tuners -Still undecided on the pickup. Some sort of soapbar, probably. Here's a good overall look. I based the design on Les Claypool's "Antimatter". There's the back, gotta show off the wenge! Scarfed with my ryoba and a block plane. I think it came out pretty nice! Centerlines marked and pins put in to keep the headstock aligned while the glue dries. All glued up! We'll see how it looks tomorrow afternoon. I'm not sure about the pickup, as I'm not very familiar with bass stuff yet. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maull Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Looking pretty good. From my own personal experience however I would have placed the alignment pins outside of the neck profile. If the holes can be filled with sawdust and glue they might turn invisible however I would prefer to be able to just cut those holes away when I trim down my neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted March 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Thank you! The pins are about 1/8" long and will remain inside the scarf joint, never to be seen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Looks like a good start KnightroExpress. I actually did my own CT tribute bass also! The original used an EMG-35DC if I recall correctly. You are of course free to use whatever you want, however since that is a blade-style pickup under the case, it makes aligning polepieces a lot easier....you just don't have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Welcome Knightro, you've got the building blocks for a really sharp instrument in place there. I'm looking forward to seeing this progress! SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Since you bring that bass up Carl, might I remind you that the very last post in that thread was a request for pics of the finished product......... Just sayin' SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 True. I need to get the cover fixed up with the magnets, plus the frets would benefit from a good levelling. I might even make a sound recording :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Original Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Very Cool. It looks like a nice start. I'm also building a short scale bass right now, but mine's more of a tribute to Semie Moseley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted March 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Thanks guys! I'm excited to have found this forum, there's a ton of great stuff here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted March 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 Hello all! I had a few minutes of free time this afternoon, so here's what I did. Solid joint, looks pretty good. Knocked off the excess with my ryoba, then cleaned it up a bit with my no.4 and some 80 grit. Here she is with a few quick layout lines. I've made some changes to my original spec after going to Guitar Center and playing a 30" scale bass for a bit. It felt too small, so I'm changing this one to a 32" scale. I feel that it will be a happy medium between that super shorty and a regular bass. Plus, that makes the 24th fret exactly 24 inches from the nut and for some reason, I like that a lot. I must be slightly OCD. I'll also be using a Hipshot Transtone bridge, as I like the look of that one over the Kahler fixed I had originally picked out. Anyway, thanks for looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 32" is a fun scale and the Hipshot TransTone is a cool choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 could you elaborate on the scarf-related work with the japanese saw? Is there some trick to it, or am I just wondering because I never used a japanese saw myself? I also cut my scarfs by hand, but my methods are very crude, I have a lot of plane work to do later - so that's why I'm asking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 Japanese saws work on the pull stroke so the blade can be backless and also be thinner. Pushing a blade - like western saws - requires that the blade is thicker or has a stiffening spine. I curse the other students for not understanding the specifics of Japanese style saws because they break them all the time. Seriously though. Why push a saw when pulling creates tension and makes the cut straighter? I have no idea why non-Japanese style saws even exist. A joke maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted March 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 32" is a fun scale and the Hipshot TransTone is a cool choice! Thanks! Have you ever used a TransTone? I haven't had the opportunity to see one in person yet and I'm curious. could you elaborate on the scarf-related work with the japanese saw? Is there some trick to it, or am I just wondering because I never used a japanese saw myself? I also cut my scarfs by hand, but my methods are very crude, I have a lot of plane work to do later - so that's why I'm asking I'd be happy to take a bunch of pics and explain my method the next time I cut a neck. It's pretty simple, just takes some prep time. I'd also highly recommend picking up a ryoba at the very least. I use it for a lot of my work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 Not yet. I'm hoping to be able to use one on the next bass. Finances are tight but those TransTones are a good buy for the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Thanks! I'd be interested in seeing how you do it. Pro - I get the basic concept and the advantage of japanese saws, in fact I will probably need to pull the trigged on one at some point BTW will a saw like that be good for something more brutal? I use saws sometimes to "thickness" neck blanks - for example I had a 10cm wide and 5cm thick neck-thru blank that I cut down to 2.5cm or so in the neck section with a handsaw... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted March 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Sure, a ryoba has two different sets of teeth: one side is for ripping, the other is for cross cutting. It's pretty easy to do something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 won't I get in trouble once I bury the blade do much that the teeth on the other side get contact with the wood? I was thinking something like this might be better for a start.. http://www.axminster.co.uk/japanese-kumagoro-universal-kataba-saw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted March 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 The kerf is the same on both sides, only the TPI is different. I haven't had any issues with the teeth on the side I'm not using. The one you linked would be perfect for making a scarf for a headstock, but the long wide blade helps the ryoba self-guide for bigger ripping or crosscutting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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