docbass

Thanks so much Erik, that's the kind of feedback I was hoping for. I am able to craft whatever joint I might need on the neck, the real challenge is getting the neck angle correct with an unfitted neck. I'll definitely look into the Taylor neck idea, although I just remembered that I have a Martin acoustic neck, of the type you described. That might make more sense on this project since it's got a male dovetail routed into it already. I'll have access to the heel from inside the body since there will be a pickup rout at the base of the neck. I've done some challenging things before and this is just the next step. Here's one I did last year. Missing headstock on a 60's Thunderbird that I recreated from scratch............

I'm sure they will work together once I trim/cut the heel of the neck to fit appropriately and that's my dilemma. I've not done that before, tough I've worked on set necks before, but have never created one from scratch. That's my interest at this point.

OK, I've rehabed/refurbished a number of basses, starting off slowly and building my skills. I have two hollow body/acoustic bodies set up for set necks and two pretty raw necks without fret boards. What's the best book or two around for an amateur builder needing to upgrade his skills in terms of body and neck work on acoustics? Is the Benedetto book a good one for me here? Here's one of my projects........ body... neck.........

I finally got this done and thought I'd drop back in with pictures. The headstock fix turned out great and the bass sounds fantastic. It's become a favorite.

"Not sure exactly where to put this, but I thought I'd make a post regarding this after reading the thread with the Nuno N4 replica that was being sold on ebay. Now, please first understand, this is nothing against that auction or how it was listed, this is simply put, a post regarding design theft etc. I have just completed filing of patents and trademarks for the LGM Leviathan models. This is a brutally expensive process so when somebody goes through the hassles, time and expense of doing it, they expect their design protected. Under law, once a design is Patented, be it the Leviathan, a Strat, a Les Paul or otherwise, copying that design for more than personal use is completely illegal. The minute you post pictures you can be held liable for design theft if it can be concluded that you are using those pictures for personal gain, (ie: promotion) This is not a concern with posting project pictures really because no company is going to spend the money involved in a lawsuit on trying to nail somebody who is attempting to copy a guitar, the exception might be PRS, they seem to try to sue everyone. Well, maybe the Van Halen camp as well. If you try selling that guitar, you are immediately liable for design theft. You are stealing a patented design plain and simple and looking to profit from it. This includes but is not limited to, trading items for the guitar, even if you sell it for only a penny, it is considered profit reaped from another persons/companies design. In short, everyone was complaining about that particular auction being fraudulant due to a description that was misleading, making it sound like it was an original guitar, thats true, that's what I thought when I read it as well. However, being a hobby builder for yourself is fine, when you start selling the guitars, be aware of the legal issues you may face. Typically if you're just a small builder there will be no problems, as you become higher profile people start to notice. This is one of the reasons I designed the Leviathan. Everyone knows I started out by customizing Ibanez's to look like Custom Jem's. I don't want to do that forever and end up in trouble with Ibanez, I have a "handshake" agreement with them (which really doesn't protect me from anything, just an act of good faith) that says I can make custom Ibanez guitars provided I do NOT put "Ibanez" on a non Ibanez neck, never put "JEM" on a guitar that was not originally a JEM, and do not try to ever sell guitars that weren't original Ibanez parts as Ibanez guitars. That's all fine and good, but now more people are wanting 8 strings and I am not going to build an 8 string that looks like an Ibanez when Ibanez doesn't even have one, hence the Leviathan. Anyway, this is not in any way meant to discourage anyone. Just to make you aware, if you want to sell your guitars you build on ebay, and they are replica's, remember, the big companies are watching Ebay looking for fraud, that is where you'll start to get in trouble. Be careful, be smart, and have fun!" Yep, real funny.

So, what if you take a genuine Fender neck, put it on a body that resembles, but is not an exact copy of, a Fender? i.e., the body is obviously not a Fender product when you look at it. What happens when you use old parts to make new creations?

In the final stages of refinishing. Using Reranch's vintage cream nitro.

That model is a flat top Les Paul bass. The body is essentially the same as the LP guitar, might be a bit bigger, but not by much. This bass is a set neck, 34" scale. Some came with Barts and preamp, some did not. Typical construction was maple on top, mahogany the rest of the body and neck. No binding on these models. Warmoth makes a nice bass version of this body if you're not ready to build one from scratch.

Have you checked with www.rockler.com or www.woodworkersupply.com ? I'm sure one of them has these and will ship to you. I'd be surprised if they didn't.

Well, I don't know about the accepted fit for a truss rod, but when I took the old one out of my 60s T-Bird, it was encased in glue that ran down from the maple strip on top of it and was about as tight as you could get. I had to chisel the glue away and still had to tug like crazy to get it out. I guess things have changed since that bass was built! I had to use a new traditional rod and it went in with light pressure off my fingers. Hammering it in sounds too tight to me as well.

Yeah, I keep debating with myself. I'm going to try and match the stain first. If that doesn't work, it'll be vintage white )i.e. cream.

Tuner holes are done. Now I gotta think about the finish....

Well, for me the most comfortable basses I have are my T-birds. They fit me perfectly, but we're all different! The guitarist in my band only plays Parker Flys, has 5 or 6 of them and swears by 'em.

Also remember to remove the bit completely from the wood before trying to move to the next hole...that little spike likes to catch the template & pull you in. apparently Thanks for the tips and the warnings! I've had my share of mishaps, mostly due to my own lapses of taking care while working on a project. I'm getting better. Making the same replacement part 3 times for a bass sure makes you more skilled and careful!!!!!

Edited: posted in wrong thread! My error.