Simo

I love those ebony pinstripes. thats cool stuff. Do you slice up your own, or is there a place you buy it that thin?

I brought the veneer from eBay, it's 0.6mm thick Macassar Ebony.

It's starting to look like a neck...

I definitely try to take my time, I've learned the hard way that rushing or losing concentration leads to guitar shaped firewood

I try to keep my work as neat as possible, although not because it makes a good photo, there's always a practical reason why I do something.. for example, I square off the edges of the headstock after the veneers have been glued on, as it means I can place my set square against the edge when marking out the centre line, etc and know that it's parallel.

I love how you square off the top of the headstock perfectly even though its not necessary. You got OCD simo . I would love you to pop over and tidy my workshop!

Thanks, but I've got enough tidying of my own to do don't let the pictures of the clean workbench fool you, the rest of the workshop looks like the inside of a hamster cage at the moment.

Another quick update on the neck... the headstock veneers have been glued on (front & back) and I've also routed the truss rod channel.

The scarf joint is done. I managed to get the neck laminates nicely lined up, in fact it's a shame they'll be covered with headstock laminates

Just a quick update... the neck blank has been glued & planed to size, plus I've slotted the fretboard.

Not much progress this week I'm afraid, but I have sorted out the wood for the neck... I've gone for Maple with Ebony veneers, they've not been glued together yet but here's a preview.

Edges rounded over, ready for sanding, sanding and more sanding...

Did you use a scroll saw or something else?

I used a Dremel with a template, then sandpaper/files to finish it off.

The 'S-Hole' (still requires a bit more work with a file & sandpaper)

Really nice clean work Simo! I like the way you've matched the grain on the back. All the best for the comp.

Chad.

Thanks very much.

The top is now glued to the body, along with a dyed black Sycamore veneer...

Looks awesome.

Whats with the plastic wrap under the plane?

Can't wait to see it finished.

Edit: looked again, you're using the plane as a weight during the glue up... the plastic is to keep it from getting glue on it.... gotcha...

Bingo

Chambers routed, ready for the top be be glued on..

That's some nice looking wood. Good luck in the contest!

Jonny

Cheers

Here's a few more pics...

Top & body joined, sanded to size on the drum sander and then rough cut ready for shaping...

(I'm not building a lefty by the way, this will be the back)

Body cut to shape (wiped over with a damp cloth to raise the grain)

Ready for the chambers to be routed...

This is my entry for the 'Fretless 5 String' competition that's taking place over at www.talkbass.com. I thought I'd post some progress pictures over here too, in case anyone is interested The rules are simple... you have to build a 5 string fretless bass, starting no earlier than December 27th and ending on March 31st.

Here's the spec so far...

34" scale, 19mm string spacing

Claro Walnut top

African Mahogany body (chambered)

Maple(?) neck

Ziricote fretboard (lined)

Hipshot hardware (black)

Graphtech Acousti-Phonic preamp

Finally I'm back to work on this bass! I had some time off with Bronchitis earlier this month, then I've been busy catching up on the back log of work... no bass building makes Simo a dull boy

Today I've strung the bass up for a test fit, just to double check everything is as it should be. The frets haven't been leveled yet but it plays really well, it has a nice punchy unplugged tone, I can't wait to hear how it sounds when it's wired up. Next I'll be stripping it down and finishing the shaping, sanding and fretwork... then it's time to crack open the lacquer.

(Ignore the Gold ferrules, they're just for mock up)

Things are progressing, slowly but surely... the side dot inlays are finished, and the neck has been fretted.

If you look at other short scale basses like the Hofner Violin or Gibson EB0, etc.. the neck pickup is in the same sort of location too. I've always liked the deep, resonant tone from those type of basses, so hopefully that's something I can capture with my own, although with the EMG it's likely to be a bit more 'modern' sounding.

You need to get that 12th fret sidemarker sorted, Simo ;-)

Well spotted that one got a squashed a little when I tapped it in, so I had to drill it out and start again.

After a lot of thought I've decided to add a magnetic pickup... as I've mentioned, this will be my personal bass and will mainly be used for recording purposes, so I decided that adding a magnetic pickup would be a good idea to give me a greater range of tones. I've gone for an EMG 35P4 in the neck position, I tend to favour the neck pickup when playing and the deeper tone should blend nicely with the bright sounding piezo.

Just to give an idea of how it will look...

I've also done the side dot inlays, they're 2mm sterling silver tube (the centres still need to be filled)...

The neck pocket has been routed & I've done the majority of the neck shaping... it's starting to look like a bass

The neck is getting there, slowly but surely...

Another quick update... nothing too exciting I'm afraid I've slotted the Macassar Ebony fretboard (21 frets) and the truss rod channel has been routed.

30" scale, Jon? I'm moving in the opposite direction from "standard" to 36" ;-)

That backstrap looks fantastically clean - steam bent, or was is pliable enough on its own?

This really makes me wish that I would have the opportunity to continue making instruments sooner....I have so many ideas and concepts to try out....

My arms aren't long enough for 36"

I pre-bend the veneer before gluing... I damp the veneer down with some water, then place an mdf caul underneath (curved to fit the bend of the neck) and clamp it down for a little while. Once the clamps are off, a quick check to make sure everything fits ok, then it's time for the Titebond. It makes the job a lot easier, especially when the headstock angle is quite steep, like mine.

A couple of toothpicks to keep the veneer from moving while being glued works well too...

i love those veneers (anita yes?). a headstock just looks so much classier with a black veneer back

Yep, they're from Anita, it's the same stuff I use for the body accent line.