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charisjapan

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Everything posted by charisjapan

  1. charisjapan
    Thank you, curtisa! You are absolutely correct. If indeed Yellow/Violet/Red, then 4700pF = 4.7nF = 0.0047uF ... wrong value for a guitar tone circuit. Personally, I've never measured anything in my amp or guitar building using nF or pF, except the occasional tiny ceramic or mica caps. I can only remember a few times seeing anything on the 50s amp circuits but uF. Whatever, the new tropical fish I received today were called Mullard 0.047uF, and that should be the correct tone capacitor. Yay!
  2. charisjapan
    kmensik, you might be right! Or at least partially right. If that IS a Mullard, then that band has to be orange, not red. But if it another manufacturer, red would make the value 0.47uF. I am noticing a bit less tone pot response compared to my Chinaberry One, which has a correct Orange Drop. I got these in today, and they are definitely from a batch of vintage Mullard caps ... the 5-band are 250V (and the third band is clearly orange) and the 6-band are probably a better tolerance 400V. Just to be safe, I will switch out the cap in the Chinaberry Two and hear if there is any difference. I would expect a broader tonal change if indeed the present one is a 0.47uF cap.
  3. charisjapan
    a2k, Was really cool to go to a gig and see hand-built guitars in action ... Four Of Them!!! Thanks for the invite, and only wished I could have stayed longer!
  4. charisjapan
    I made a body template a while back, but after looking at it more critically, think I need to widen the lower bout a bit ... maybe 10~15mm. I kind of like the horns as they are ... their shape has a very specific reason. As you can see, I have a bit of room on this blank to play with. Will probably make a larger template, and keep this one "in reserve." Next design decision is either a big roundover like the basses, or maybe some bevels ... but not as much as an SG. Neck is coming along. The padauk is quite nearly enough for two necks if I use wings ... but I can't do that for Mt.Fuji! Maybe I'll cut that side off and make a "Winter Mt.Fuji" headstock with a scarf joint?! By the way, since this is a single pickup guitar, and I don't want to mess with a scratchplate to hide a long tenon, this will be a bolt-on neck.
  5. charisjapan
    A few bits came today. Was really pleased that the Hipshot knobs were shiny chrome instead of the pictured (on my supplier's website) satin finish. Tropical Fish and a shiny chrome jack! Don't know if anyone noticed, but I had to special order the Hipshot multiscale bridge, but they didn't have shiny chrome, so I ordered black, then bought a shiny chrome standard 6-string bridge locally and will switch the screws and saddles to connect with the TV Jones pickup black/chrome. I am considering getting a set of black Hipshot tuners and switch parts to get that same motif on the Mt.Fuji headstock.
  6. charisjapan
    Yeah, I like that much better. Personally, I still like the balance of both cuts scooped, but I can also appreciate the artistic "one-point" approach as well. Carry on (my wayward son). +1 on contact cleaner cans ... nice and long. I keep several sizes of thick-walled PVC drain pipe around for variety ... and with patience and a blowtorch, you can bend them gently and get concave and convex using stretchy fabric sandpaper. Question: my Limba 6 is also a single humbucker, and wonder if you have experimented with putting a bit more distance from the bridge? Not neck, or even middle, but just a tad farther. The TV Jones Filter'Tron Classic Plus promises more gain, but I don't want it too "bridgey" ... for lack of a better word.
  7. charisjapan
    Yeah... I thought it was red, too! But there is no red third stripe for mullards .... or at least, that's what I read on the internet. Haha! That's because there's no truss rod there! I used a guitar truss rod in a 30" scale bass, and then used carbon fiber rods to reinforce. I was a bit worried about that, but the neck is very sturdy, and the double-action truss rod works exactly as it should. In fact, I have not yet even touched the tr adjustment. Granted, this neck is a bit thicker and wider than some basses, but it's smaller than my R6 ... and 5 inches longer! A 1-bolt neck sounds cool! How about two truss rods and one bolt?
  8. charisjapan
    Thank you. The center post worked much better this time. If the capacitor is a Phillips/Mullard C280 as it is supposed to be, then Yellow/Violet/Orange/White/Brown should be 0.047uF. I'm getting some more in tomorrow from a reputable supplier ... we'll see!
  9. charisjapan
    No more stalling. The title says most of it, but a few pictures should fill in the blanks. White Limba, Padauk, Wenge, Hipshot stuff, single TV Jones Filter'Tron Classic Plus, 628mm ~ 648mm Multiscale (approximately Gibson to Fender)
  10. charisjapan
    So here's the proof of the scale ... a very nice weight, and quite nearly the same as Chinaberry One. And this is probably closest to the color you see in person ... The Saturday I strung it up, was gig night for a2k, so I was happy to find that this fit perfectly inside my Tele gigbag. He can tell you more about his night overall, but I will share here that he was kind enough to plug Chinaberry Two in for a few songs, and rocked (blued?) the house. I will use it next Sunday for my own (slightly more sedate) gig, but it is very nice to hear your own scratch-built instrument jamming with a great bass player and equally talented group. I will never hear "Black Magic Woman" or "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" the same again! a2k went on to use his own 5-string bass, and the two guitarist were using his pair of "6-string Piccolo Basses" most of the night. Super WoW Experience!! Just a short clip from an iPhone, but I assure you live was Really, Really Good! BMW with a2k on bass
  11. charisjapan
    Mr Natural, I went through a LOT of soul-searching AND experimentation to decide whether to just use clear epoxy (like Chinaberry One), use an opaque wood filler, various tints in the 2-part urethane sanding filler, and even tinted clearcoat. After seeing what I got, and wanting something a little different from Chinaberry One, I think it was the right decision. This piece of wood, or more correctly, this side of the same piece of wood, was not as chatoyant, so added a "spice" to the already strong grain ... and as this picture shows, brought the body into a close color tone with the Japanese Mountain Cherry neck back. The same cherry plank's sapwood made an incredibly contrasted fingerboard, too! Thanks for all your encouragement, my friend. And ... Mt. Fuji !!
  12. charisjapan
    Deeper? Maybe just a smoother transition into the roundover of the horn. Just my opinion, but a shallower version of that on the upper cutaway would give you better balance. Nice shape, good balance!
  13. charisjapan
    Yesterday was spent making this rat's nest with a pockmarked soldering iron and too tight quarters! But it looks like everything is connected to where it's supposed to. (Tech talk ... Bourns 500K pots, .047uf Mullard Tropical Fish cap, and dual Emerson Treble Bleed circuits) Got this far and started to get excited! Asked Mrs.Charisjapan to give me a reprieve from a few chores so I could push on, but no strings or sound check until today. And today, well, about an hour ago ... The Chinaberries!! (tada~!) ... and this is where Mr.Natural says, "Mount Fuji!!" Finally, the control cover attached with a single neodymium magnet. This time, it's well-seated, so the tiny magnet holds it nice and tight until a firm push on either of the top corners pops it off.
  14. charisjapan
    Thank you, kind sir! I had a full work day today, but after spending nearly a whole day of shop time yesterday to assemble and wire, I couldn't help sneaking in a few minutes to put strings on and do a rough setup. (shhh ... don't tell anyone!) Looks like I can bring it along tonight when I go to your gig ... perhaps you could do a "sound check?"
  15. charisjapan
    Was really happy to go up and visit a2k today. Got to show off the Chinaberry Two bass ... though it's just a body and neck bolted together ... and play around a bit with resawing and (big) belt sanding. Really sad that my newfound builder friend will be leaving Japan soon ... Will go to see (and hear) a2k and his band's last gig on Saturday ... hope to experience all three of his builds playing at the same time!!
  16. charisjapan
    Was about to give it a shot of cleat urethane, when I realized that I forgot the jack! (sigh) Went well, so no problem. A few shots while still wet, then next morning checking the neck fit. This might just turn out to be a useable bass guitar! Oh, and the cherry control cavity cover. One thing I just found was that some pots will fit, but the Bourns pots will not. Guess it's time for the Dremel ... again.
  17. charisjapan
    Yeah, I should have experimented with 8-10 coats to see how it would work only did 4 coats. Indeed, this is a different product from Watco Danish Oil. But, it seems to be good enough now for some wax, so please send some good thoughts this way. I put a first rattle can coat of clear on the body, and hope to go show the results to a2k today!
  18. charisjapan
    Two weeks and Page 2 ... My wife brought back from Hawaii something that was holding up finishing the body ... TransTint! I wanted to color the grain, so used a brush on 2-part urethane sanding sealer with a few drops of bright red. (I actually tried about 10 other colors on scraps) While this stuff has wicked fumes, it fills the deep pores better than anything else I've tried that is transparent. It cures real quick, and scrapes back and sands very nicely in about an hour. This is the first coat, and one more might do the trick. I will (rattlecan) spray a clear light amber urethane made by the same company, so the body may actually be done soon! The neck is still very slightly tacky from the Watco Oil Finish ... don't think I'll use that again. I hope a few coats of wax will fix that, but will give it another week while finishing the body. Everything else is done, ready to put together. I'm excited!
  19. charisjapan
    Hmmm ... could well be. Watco Japan only says "vegetable-base" oil, and I can't find any independent information. Except for the wait, I'll take it, though ... when it does finally dry between coats, it has a nice feel.
  20. charisjapan
    Seven applications of the Watco Wood Oil (apparently different from Watco Danish) and finally getting some depth and shine. Not to mention it needs 2-3 days between applications. I tried a test piece of cherry with this, and put two coats of their recommended Watco Wax, and it looks good and is slippery ... like dropped the test piece several times while buffing slippery! (will try to be more careful with the neck) ... little by little ...
  21. charisjapan
    Knob layout, and therefore control cavity decided. Volume/Master Tone/Volume. Amazing what light can do to the image sensor and software in an iPhone ... same day, same time, just different direction. I decided to go with the "sunken cavity" again, as well as neodymium magnets on that center "plateau."
  22. charisjapan
    Hey Dalton, This is my first try at a brass nut, but it was not unpleasant. It IS harder than bone, no doubt, but one of the few power tools I do have is a Ryobi belt sander, so getting basic shape was easy. In fact, easier than bone, because it shapes slower, and using #240, the shininess helped to get just what I wanted. The slots were another matter, as I don't have bass-sized files. I just used a rat file, putting tape on the taper at the desired gauge and went to it. Smalles string was about the same as my largest guitar file, and cut pretty quickly. If I were to make more bass guitars, I will definitely invest in some proper files. Final shaping and polishing was just #1000, #2000, then two grades of compound. I don't know what I'll do now ... let it tarnish and just polish top and side for an antique look, or coat it with polyurethane or something to keep it shiny. I'm open to ideas about that! As to tone and sustain, I'm really not expecting a huge improvement ... but would like to think it makes my playing sound better!
  23. charisjapan
    Had to deepen the pickup routs to 27mm ... the pickup height foam from Montreux was a lot more than foam! (think these are the same as the Scud HAJ-J part) They have three springs molded into two densities of foam, and a brass plate with a ground lead molded to the base. My neodymium pickups are supposed to be noiseless, so don't need this feature, but it does make a lot of sense for a normal single coil! So one more small step toward a guitar.
  24. charisjapan
    Thanks for the replies. all ... probably going for number 3, and Volume-Tone-Volume. A little progress with the neck, Yay! Frets in, leveled, crowned and polished. Will do final polishing after oil finish is done ... on the third application today. I chose Watco Oil Finish (which apparently is different from Watco Danish Oil ... but who knows?), the best info I can find says "vegetable based" oil. Watco Japan sells a wax that is made to be applied as a final coat(s) for their oil. I looks nice so far, but not yet enough to see if it will build up. Oh, well ... the cherry looks nice! (a little bit darker than the pictures show ... iPhone camera) Also, drilled the tuner holes, and checked to make sure they fit.
  25. charisjapan
    Hey a2k, Just WoW! Great looking pair of (ahem) guitars, and you made it on time. Sean is very talented, makes that sound like no bass I've ever heard. Singing and camera work are fine, too! Very happy for you to pull this project off.
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