My First Bass build - Short scale (30") and a bit of experimentation with the fretboard...

[mistermikev]

16 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

There's a saying: A fool won't notice, a wise one won't tell.

And I was looking at the wrong place all the time! At first I thought that @mistermikev was joking! That's an awesome butt joint!

have a similar fav saying: if you keep your mouth closed folks might suspect your a fool... but if you open it they'll have proof.

[JGTay]

51 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

That's an awesome butt joint!

Thanks Bizman. It catches my eye everytime I look at it, but it is probably because I know it is there and so for me it is obvious. 

[Bizman62]

If it bugs you after applying finish (that's when you'll really know if the halves shift light differently), how about masking it to a decorative feature? Stitches, bow ties, an irregularly edged crater filled with epoxy?

[JGTay]

20 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

If it bugs you after applying finish (that's when you'll really know if the halves shift light differently)

To be honest if it was for someone else there is no way I would be happy with it, but it is for personal use so I will see how it goes and as you say I could always make a feature of it or maybe do some art work over it. 

[JGTay]

Sanded flat and up through the grades so that I could get a proper look at it.

In natural light it looks much better. I can probably live with it, depending on how it is with a finish on top. I will stop letting it bug me for now. 

Thought I would show the volutes other function off.

Should be difficult to drop if handing it over to someone. 

 

 

[Bizman62]

Now the volute makes even more sense!

 

[mwez219]

5 hours ago, JGTay said:

Thanks Bizman. It catches my eye everytime I look at it, but it is probably because I know it is there and so for me it is obvious. 

I think you are far to critical of yourself.

yes it’s there,  but only with close scrutiny and a very very minor thing. As I tell people these things are made by hand there will always be something to say could be better. If you want perfection then buy a machine made by the thousands guitar .if you want character then make by hand.

[JGTay]

13 hours ago, mwez219 said:

I think you are far to critical of yourself.

yes it’s there,  but only with close scrutiny and a very very minor thing.

Thanks for that.

I am critical of myself, most people are and I accept that maybe I can be overly so (the wife says I am a perfectionist), but I do find it helps me to go beyond my current limits and improve my skills.

[JGTay]

On with the carving. First roughly marked out the carves.

Then on with the Shinto rasp and files.

Rough shaping done on the top bevels, lots of sanding to be done and it should slowly reveal more of the green around the edges from above. will move onto the back next to get the bevels in and the neck transition can then be done.  

[Professor Woozle]

On 7/7/2022 at 5:52 PM, JGTay said:

Thought I would show the volutes other function off.

 

Should be difficult to drop if handing it over to someone. 

And there was me thinking it was intended as an alternative to a strap button!

[Bizman62]

Ooh! I really love how the bevel blends into a forearm contour! And funny how that butt joint hides from this angle!

[JGTay]

Moved on to the back bevels today. First roughly marked out the carve around the edges.

Then on with the carving.

Will do the heel next and blend it fully into the neck profile.

[Nicco]

Lovely work. Your carves are looking great. 

[JGTay]

Got some more done today.

Did some work on the heel transition, may do a bit more yet, but it is looking much better.

And the neck profile is basically done, just needs sanding up through the grades.



Then moved onto sanding the sides, top and top bevels up to 400 grit. Also increased the arm bevel a bit more into the body. Cleaned it off with white spirit so that I could see how it will look with a clear finish.









A good days work, think a clear finish is definitely the way to go.  

Edited July 13, 2022 by JGTay

[Bizman62]

That's starting to look like something I'd like to own! And tell everyone I built it...

 

[JGTay]

42 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

That's starting to look like something I'd like to own! And tell everyone I built it...

 

Wow, that is high praise. Thank you Bizman, very much appreciated!

[JGTay]

Collected the pickups today, Wikinson WJB Jazz Bass Pickups with Alnico V Magnets.
Bridge: 7.5k
Neck: 6.8k

Thinking of going with 2 vol and 2 tone with a 3 way switch, but need to work out the wiring for it and also the pots... if anyone can assist with a diagram it would be greatly appreciated.   

I rounded the edges of the frets yesterday and accidentally caught the last few frets slightly along the tops, but they will have a final clean-up and polish once I have done the finish.

After doing some jobs around the house this morning and checking in on an elderly neighbour, this afternoon I collected the pickups and then set about marking out. Have been dreading this bit!! 



Drilled some pilot holes to the correct depth.



And then a 13mm bit to take it close to the lines, scored the outline with a Stanley knife, went round them with a chisel and then started chiselling out the wood.







Still needs cleaning up, but it is the correct depth and managed to hit the wiring channel sot on in the bottom right hand corner. The pickup sits nicely.





Should be plenty low enough. I may put a very small bevel around the edges of the cavity, haven't fully decided yet. Will clean up the edges first and see how it looks.

Had to down tools at this point, so will get on with the other cavity in the morning.

[Bizman62]

49 minutes ago, JGTay said:

2 vol and 2 tone with a 3 way switch, but need to work out the wiring for it and also the pots.

Isn't that the standard classic LP wiring? For single coils 250k pots and a .047uf capacitors?

Something like this: https://www.bestbassgear.com/wiring-diagrams/volume-volume-tone-tone.pdf

[JGTay]

31 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

Isn't that the standard classic LP wiring? For single coils 250k pots and a .047uf capacitors?

Thanks for that.

I was unsure for single coils on the caps and the tone pots, I have seen some people use 500k on the tones. I have only used humbuckers on all my builds.

[Bizman62]

You can experiment with the caps and pots, they're not carved in stone. But basically you'd want 250k pots with single coils to tame the shrillness. The higher the value the more highs are allowed through. Humbuckers are darker sounding by nature so less high filtering is needed.

The caps cut highs as well. .047 µF is a common choice for single coils as it cuts a lot of highs. But if you feel like turning the knob darkens the sound too aggressively, choosing .022 µF or even .015 µF will make the tone adjusting much smoother.

Simply put, a pot alone cuts the highs at a set rate. A capacitor basically does the same. Putting the two together allows for adjusting between the "pot level" (bypassing the cap) and the "pot+cap level" (all signal through the cap).

[JGTay]

Got on with the bridge pickup cavity today.





With both pickups in.



And after clean up.



Also sanded the back up through the grades, still need to do the bevels and then I can move onto the neck profile.

[Nicco]

I know I commented on the carve before, but wow, that forearm bit especially looks just fantastic.

[mistermikev]

yes, as mentioned the carve came out really nice... esp how there are tasteful reveals of the lighter wood.  nice job.

[JGTay]

Progress was slowed slightly over the past few days due to the heat wave, my workshop was actually quite a bit warmer than outside even with both doors open as well as the window.

I did manage to get the neck profile sanded up through the grades and also did the transition between neck and body, then moved onto the back bevels.

All the bevels match up top and bottom, including the arm bevel as I do like a bit of symmetry.   

I will concentrate on getting it all cleaned up next ready for a finish. Considering Danish oil as I have plenty in stock, need to keep costs down. 

[JGTay]

Past few days have been spent tidying up my workshop ready for finishing. Still need to find some space for all the stuff at the back, but much better now. Even mounted some of my Kef speakers to replace some old dodgy shelf speakers and hung up some cat pics my daughter gave me.  

Marked out and drilled for the tuners.

Then tested them in place.

And then tidied up the headstock.

Next up was the first coat of Danish oil on the back, cavity cover and sides.

Moving along nicely.