photoshopdesigngeek

....oh it's a bass?

Silly me!

Yeah, I guess I should have clarified that since I'm posting on "projectguitar.com" lol

It's a beaut.

Thankyou very much! I'm getting to where I just wanna glue the neck to the body and throw some strings on it just to see how it sounds!

Can't wait to get it done!

That seems to be a pretty thick neck, is this a 7-string?

And yes, I'd keep the laminates in there, since they're going only to the neck/body join. It compliments the dark back wood and separates the front wood that is pretty similar in color and might blend together without the strip there.

Also, what about taking that belly carve in a bit more so you can see the line between the top and back woods more? Like this. I know his back laminates aren't as thick as yours, but you get the idea. Just a suggestion, mate.

The purpleheart strips are probably making it look wider. It's only 2 3/4" wide, an eighth wider than the 5-string I'm basing my neck dimensions off of.

I had thought about taking more off the belly carve. No one's ever said anything about it, so I just decided to leave it like that. I probably will change it now. If I do that, I'll probably do that to the elbow carve too.

Very nice.

You're gonna lose most of those thin lams on the outsides when you carve the neck profile.

It might be difficult to get the line between those and the maple strips next to them perfectly straight as you carve, too. You'll see every little variation.

Actually, the small strips of purpleheart haven't been cut to length. They're more part of the body than the neck. They'll stop at the body/neck transition. As you can tell by the gaps, I haven't glued them in.

I'm just trying to decide whether or not to use them... Not sure if they'll add or detract from the overall design. I hadn't originally planned on using them, but I think the two kinds of maple need something in between them.

Hey guys,

I want to put q-tuners in my first build and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them. If so, please post some audio.

Thanks,

Ryan

Just finished my first neck blank. It turned out much better than I thought it would. No complaints at all.

What do guys think? Should I have the thin purpleheart lams between the body and the neck? I think it breaks up the maple a little.

Hey guys,

I'm trying to decide on a design... I bought some walnut and spalted maple. I was originally intending to use the spalted maple for my neck, but after some research, decided that doing that would make my neck prone to weakness due the rot. I didn't want to waste the spalted maple though and I definitely want to use the walnut as the primary top, so I have come up with a few ideas. The spalted maple would be a laminate right underneath the walnut. The walnut would blend into the maple below it.

I am personally leaning towards the design with the maple under the electronics and at the horn.

Also, if you have any alternate suggestions for using the two effectively in tandem, please give me some ideas.

These are just some rough mockups I did in photoshop. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Ryan

Wow! They are really cheap! I wonder if their quality is as good as guitar sites?

Thanks,

Ryan

Anybody know where I can get a pot that clicks on like in those old radios? What are they called?

Thanks,

Ryan

Awesome! Thanks Greg. Helps alot.

Yeah, I'm going to use Q-tuners. http://www.q-tuner.com/bl5.shtml

They're humbuckers. I know it will work, just don't know if it would sound good or different at all.

Has anyone every done anything like this on a bass? (split the coils and had them in multiple configurations)

Just want to know if it would be worth the trouble. Looks like it could be pretty cool.

Any opinions? It looks cool, but I don't know if it would sound good in my bass.

Thanks,

Ryan

So are all systems wired to the bridge? Why does the bass I have now have no hum at all, even when you aren't touching the strings? Is it wired to the bridge too? I thought you became the ground, thus stopping the hum, when you wired it to the bridge...

Where is the best place to run your ground? I've heard that the bridge isn't the safest, and I also hate the buzz when you aren't touching the strings. What are other standard places?

Thanks,

Ryan

Hey guys,

I saw a pretty cool system at http://guitarelectronics.com/product/WDUHH3T1103

What would that system do on a bass with two humbuckers?

Would it have the 21 distinct sounds or would it just sound bad all around splitting the coils like that?

And where do the 21 sounds come from? I'm not adding that up...

Thanks,

Ryan

Wow... that is crazy! Like they were blending an organ and a guitar!

Yeah,

I kinda thought I'd get that response. Still deciding if I want to put all that in it.

The thing is that the way I'm setting it up, I could go to a strait volume and tone pot system.

Just thought it would be cool to have the extra features available:

I always lose my tuners and there are times an internal amp would be nice.

For regular playing, I could disable all of the rest so it wouldn't leave any electrical interferance.

Just kinda the lines I was thinking on...

Thanks jnewman,

helps alot. Wasn't sure if you could use an active preamp with passive pickups. Do you get any interference from it?

Ryan

Hey,

Has anyone ever heard of these pickups:

http://www.q-tuner.com/bl5.shtml

I like the sound of active pickups, but hate the extra noise you get from them. These look like a good alternative.

Anyone have any input?

Thanks,

Ryan

Hey guys,

I'm working on the electronics for a new bass and it's turning out to be kinda complex. Was wondering if I could get some help coming up with a diagram.

I have a layout of the knobs and features I want to implement at:

http://www.mypicshare.com/gitvlgkqpic.html

First off, I want to have a master volume, cause I hate having to adjust two volume knobs for each pickup. The thing is, I would also like to be able to adjust to volume between the two pickups, so was wondering if I could have a varible knob that would contol that. I'd rather have a knob than a switch.

Also, I wanna do something a little different with my tone and eq. I'm going to have passive pickups, so keep that in mind. I'd like to be able to use a simple tone knob sometimes, a 3 band eq, and also be able to use the tone knob as a master tone for the three eq knobs. I'd like to put that on a 3 way switch as shown on the pic.

The other switch I have on the pic is for the battery. I want to have leds on the neck and also a built in tuner that uses leds on the top of the body. Never seen it before, but I thought it would be cool. On the diagram, I would need a line for audio and power going to the tuner. Also would like the power to the battery to turn off when I take out the 1\4 in out.

The last thing for the electronics would be a small amp for headphones(practicing and such). It would need an audio feed to it also. I was wanting to put that on a switch knob(not sure what it's called, but one of those knobs that click at the first to send power to it.)

I know it's alot of electronics, but thought each feature would be cool. If you guys think it's too much, or if you don't think something will work, just let me know.

I would really appreciate someone helping me out.

Thanks so much!

Ryan

Hey guys,

I'm working on the electronics for a new bass and it's turning out to be kinda complex. Was wondering if I could get some help coming up with a diagram.

I have a layout of the knobs and features I want to implement at:

http://www.mypicshare.com/gitvlgkqpic.html

First off, I want to have a master volume, cause I hate having to adjust two volume knobs for each pickup. The thing is, I would also like to be able to adjust to volume between the two pickups, so was wondering if I could have a varible knob that would contol that. I'd rather have a knob than a switch.

Also, I wanna do something a little different with my tone and eq. I'm going to have passive pickups, so keep that in mind. I'd like to be able to use a simple tone knob sometimes, a 3 band eq, and also be able to use the tone knob as a master tone for the three eq knobs. I'd like to put that on a 3 way switch as shown on the pic.

The other switch I have on the pic is for the battery. I want to have leds on the neck and also a built in tuner that uses leds on the top of the body. Never seen it before, but I thought it would be cool. On the diagram, I would need a line for audio and power going to the tuner. Also would like the power to the battery to turn off when I take out the 1\4 in out.

The last thing for the electronics would be a small amp for headphones(practicing and such). It would need an audio feed to it also. I was wanting to put that on a switch knob(not sure what it's called, but one of those knobs that click at the first to send power to it.)

I know it's alot of electronics, but thought each feature would be cool. If you guys think it's too much, or if you don't think something will work, just let me know.

I would really appreciate someone helping me out.

Thanks so much!

Ryan

Hey Guys,

Does anyone know anything about a polyester finish? How to apply it, what it's characteristics are, where to get it... anything about it. The guys from alembic said they use a polyester finish. I've only ever heard of a poly urethane finish.

Thanks

Ryan

I'm doing an ebony fretboard. I've read in alembics forums that sometimes they don't even finish the fretboards. Does that sound right? I do know that most of the basses that I've played don't have a glossy finish on the fretboard, maybe not one at all. Or maybe just an oil finish? Does the oil protect the wood enough? Since ebony is so hard, I would almost lean towards the no finish route? What do you guys think?

Also, I'm thinking about making my nut out of black bone. Would I finish that with the lacquer or not?

Thanks,

Ryan

Awesome! Thanks!

The only thing is, I'm not sure that nitro and the stuff I use is the same thing. I use pre-cat lacquer. Is nitro the same thing?

Ryan

Hey guys,

I'm kind of new to guitar building (actually just posted a question), but I done alot of wood finishing, about five years worth. I've sprayed everything from trim to doors to mantles, but never a guitar. I haven't ever used the stuff you've mentioned, but we use something called pre-catalyzed lacquer. You don't have to mix it with anything, and it sprays awesome. In three coats you can get a durable, hard, goodlooking finish. It isn't as durable as poly, so I've been wondering if it would be okay for a bass or guitar. I think if I put five or six coats on, it would be, but I was wanting to get some opinions on it before I did. What do you guys think? If it does work, then I wouldn't use anything else. It's the easiest stuff to work with. I've used poly before and I hate it.

Ryan

Hey guys,

I am doing some research for my first bass. I work in a finish shop. We mostly do trim and doors. My question is can I use the same lacquer on my bass that I use for regular trim work? I'm doing a neckthough, so should I finish the neck separately? I think I read somewhere that you're supposed to finish the fret board separately, but if so, with what? Any help would be appreciated. If there are any full tutorial of how to finish a neckthru from start to finish, I'd appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction.

Thanks,

Ryan