mistermikev

hello sir, thank you for your thoughtful comments. 

1) wood around the neck joint... I thought I was being pretty conservative with my rout out, but I trust that just about anyone here has more experience than me... and I'm second guessing myself.  Funny thing is I was just working on this again and putting in plan a bigger rout out on the top and bottom!  Perhaps I need to re-think that.  My goal was to make it as light as possible, but hopefully not end up with something neck heavy.

2) pickup separation... good point.  well,  I wanted the mm pickup further away from the bridge as I like it for a thumb rest and have one on my p bass that is a little too far back.  I had toy'ed with the idea of doing a second mm pickup for neck but just like the look of the two singles.  I'm not really trying to get the 'j' sound, as I have a j bass.  That said I wanted my neck options to be more plentiful because this will undoubtedly be bright as my first bass was a 32 and it was.  also, I've had really cool results using a set of split-able j and using top from one and bottom from other... kind of end up with a p sound (which is my fav by far!) which would work well with them closer together.  will all depend on pickup choice in the end... for now they are really just place holders.

3) controls, as I usually do as of late... I would put in a volume, 6 way rotary, and a home built active preamp likely with a concentric and maybe a push/pull bright switch.  Haven't decided on pre as I have done a music man, and a few others, but am not settled on that as the mid options are ltd.  afa 6 way I was thinking b-series, b-para, inside series, outside para, all 4 coils, then neck para. - with the option to change the inside/outside to splitting the singles if I go that route.  As usual, I'm full of ideas!

so, inspired by all the excellent work I've seen here, I'd like to try and build a bass.  You guys make it look so easy... which scares me, I'm certain my p bass will end up looking like picasso did a version of a sort of jagged ernie ball albert lee.  Either way, I'm determined to at least build a body and attempt a neck - if it goes south my plan is to buy a warmoth neck.  what I'd like to end up with is a 32" scale pbass mutant. 

just looking for any advice on my design, gotchas I might face, etc.

my design (below) started from the 62 p bass body.  made it 7% smaller, then squashed it some more afa body width.  kept the orig neck pocket and then modified it to be 2.375 based on warmoth 32" necks.  built my own fretboard based on a fret calculator then saw the thread here regarding a fretboard builder (doh).  used that to build a fretboard just to check mine and they line up great. 

took a p bass headstock and flipped it... made the area where it joins the neck a hair smaller - not sure why as a pbass is sposed' to be 2 11/16 right?  anywho, this is just dreaming at this point, but I've got some mdf and after a few more fine points will send a pdf to a printer to get full size. 

all thoughts, comments, disparaging remarks, affirmations, and otherwise welcome.

as I understand there are really only 2 or 3 actual string mfg... that said I recognize all sorts of dif recipes I like... used to use fender wound 3rd bullets and liked them... used to love blue steel... I keep finding myself stringing up ernie balls - more cause I think there is a slight difference in how snappy they are - for about a day or two.  Also, many of my guitars are setup and intonated with them.  For bass I love nylon tape wound -really gives me a dull sound I like while going easy on my skin.  No eric johnson here... but that's what I like.

gtr is def a beauty, love the wood, but I can't help but be distracted by the router base... omg... whats up with them wires?  tell me you have batteries in that handle and led lights in that base that turn on when you are holding down the button?  if so... amaz balls.  if not... what the heck is that?  some sort of dooms day device no doubt.

Wanted to start an official build thread for this project.  I had posted before regarding questions I had so hopefully you'll forgive what might seem like a double post.  Will try to keep this thread focused on evolution...

here is the body I bought - not bad for $178.  Its a wd 3A flamed maple that has a good split in the back by the control area which I will need to fill in.

as posted elsewhere my intended wireup...

This weekend I went to rockler here in phoenix.  I just found out we had one and man... I could spend years in that store.  Staying on point: I bought a piece of 1/8" maple that had a little bit of flame on it ($13).  I built it into a trem rout cover and a control cover.  Not exactly skilled workmanship as my string holes are 'compensated' (feature not a bug) even though I used a drill press.  Didn't bother clamping down my material so - lesson learned!  Anywho, good enough for the likes of me so here is what that looks like:

also, in the background is a simple jig I built for my dremel router base to use in cutting the 5 way slot once my bits arrive.

Here's a shot of the body with the babicz bridge I bought (got a deal on amazon for $117! plus signed up for a card so got $40 off).  Wasn't thrilled with the amount of 'wobble' in the posts (when not screwed all the way in) that came with it but I guess the general consensus is it doesn't matter.  I bought some wilkinson locking posts but they don't fit as smooth so... I figure I can add washers if I need to raise it - to keep it screwed tight so they don't wobble. 

my parts bin on the right... so far have a graph tech nut, some gotoh sgs 510z magnum locking tuners, a 5 way super switch, a 4p3t rotary, some gold pickguard screws and a neckplate and screws - so far.  Have two texas specials and a seymour antiquity middle in my 'misc' pickups bin so... waiting on a musikraft cbs neck that should be about 4-6wks out yet.  will update as I go! 

Thanks for watching!

thanks for chiming in curtisa.  afa the offset for the trem arm... figured I'd have a center line mark (like you mentioned) and just match it up.  afa perpendicular... I would assume the factory cnc route would be more likely perpendicular than anything I'd do... but there I go assuming.  good point. 

also good point: I'm only doing one and perhaps over-thinking it.  In my defense I have a few weeks to wait for a neck so... guess I'm just getting anxious!

thanks again for the response.

Hello folks.  Recently posted about doing studs for a 2 point tremolo.  Happy to say I have acquired a modest 13" drill press so - going in the right direction anyway! 

I was thinking... could just drill the holes... but what about a jig that would help me get it right afa a parallel line. 

I was thinking... maybe take two pieces of pine and build a 'T' that would sit in the trem rout covering the area where the stud would go.  Then get the one hole marked and drill, then flip the T so the hole is on the other side?  does that make sense?  I suppose this would only work as well as I am able to line up the drill bit to that hole in the pine then. 

Am I wasting effort thinking about it - should I just drill the hole?  Measure twice drill once?

There's a lot of smart people in here, so surely someone has something better?  (keeping in mind I don't have the throat depth to make a jig that would allow me to drill one then slide along a rear parallel to drill the other)

also, where are my mannors: sweet tele.  Some pretty pine.  no sticker is my vote. 

please forgive if this has been covered... or is otherwise irrelevant but i found it a good trick so passing on... take pickgaurd screws and screw them into the body within the neck pocket facing up, then get the neck lined up and press body and neck together: perfect little x where each neck screw pilot should go. 

right on... I'm not expecting a huge difference from parallel: but like series vs parallel without using dummies... I would expect the output of series to be higher than parallel.  you say 'less highs' - yes less than a single by itself but more than a parallel dummy at least in theory.  When I get to that point - it will be interesting to do a video of series in the light of this video.  although it will be different pickups/wood/etc,  Perhaps even one comparing magnet vs no magnet.

also, theory vs practice - It's interesting to me that although I loose highs w parallel - there is a certain 'sparkle' that is not there without the dummy engaged. It sounds to me like - while there is a loss of highs that happens - there is a (perceived) gain of the very top of the highs - if that makes any sense.  I say it "Sounds" like that because I know I'm not gaining highs with a pickup mounted under the guard.  I suspect that it is the loss of highs below that they make the very top end stand out a little more.  Would have to get it on a scope to actually verify and probably not worth the effort but I'm curious: anyone else hear that?

anywho, thanks for humoring me and I appreciate your insight.

sorry, just saw your last post now.  while everything you said is accurate and I'm not in any way disagreeing... and although I have yet to try the series dummy... I've read there is a perceived (slight) volume increase due to the increased focus on highs - keeping in mind that this is a subjective possibility.   Ultimately, we'll see.  I'd be really happy with slightly less of a drop in vol compared to parallel... I suspect there is a good chance of that. 

Hello again... so flat tire this morning resulted in vacation day today... was going to do another demo so figured I'd toss up a vid of my current dummy pickup setup while there may (or may not) be some interest.  Hope you like it!

oh, also, although this is a ways off as my new neck is still 5weeks out and I have some 'work' to do on this one... I will eventually post some recordings for your and others' curiosity.

curtisa - thank you for what I can only guess is a 'mercy post' in that it didn't look like I would get a response!  I appreciate.

my original notes did have a hand drawn depiction of the pulls and throws much like you would find on a schematic.    this is really the diagram I will use to make sure I don't make mistakes at wire-up - so basically exactly what you said.  notes are attached.

afa dummy coils... I've been very happy with the results on another strat with the pickup placed right next to the neck pickup and wired in parallel to a pot.  parallel does cut the output a bit - sort of becomes a tone control with hum cancelling.  Def more mellow.  Some like, some don't.  The one thing it does GUARANTEED is cancel hum just like pos2 and 4.  Series should boost the output at the cost of some highs... I will probably do a no load tone pot to compensate. 

I hear ya on the 'keep it simple'.  My hope is this will be pretty straight fwd in modes 1 and 2 where it is essentially the typical 5 way setup but in series and with dummies to hum cancel in mode 2.  mode 3: well all I'll remember later is that pos1 is my pseudo tele option.  the rest is fluff. 

All very good points.  I may have to build a washer with label so I know what mode I'm in.  AFA performing... I just record a lot.  never play out any more.

I very much appreciate your thoughtful comments.

SuperstratWireUp.pdf

so... all comments ideas thoughts etc welcome.  I have a strat with a push/pull to do series vs parallel... love the sounds but can never remember what I'm using when I pull and go to series mode.  Building a new strat and wanted something that would ultimately be more straight fwd afa use.  Here's what I've come up with...

3 position mode switch: normal, series, tele/other

series mode will employ two dummy coils in the normally singe positions.  I've removed poles before and while it probably sounds more like a single, I don't think it sounds as good as simply leaving the poles in so my dummies will have polarity and phase.  pos 5 will be parallel...

tele/other mode is just kind of a 'leftover'.  Ultimately I wanted to get bridge + dummy with neck + dummy but I don't want to remove poles, not sure it'll be an improvement if I connect rev to rev wound dummy.  don't really want 3 dummy coils!  there is some redundency in this mode (4 and 5) so not sure if I'll revisit... but it's hard to do anything in mode 3 without adverse effects on modes 2 and 1 which I'm quite content with.  Any ideas here would be welcome... but my constraints are these controls. 

Ultimately I like the idea of a simple 5 way switch with series vs parallel modes that are similar and hence why I'm not going to use the strat deluxe s1 or nashville s1 scheme.

circuit is unverified at present, but I've been over it many times and will verify/update once I get to that point.

thanks for looking!

as an afterthought... this is a rear route strat so I've got plenty of control room space.  will mount my dummies there.  also, cap is missing from the master tone at bottom between tone lug 2 and vol lug 2.

UPDATE: so today I finally got around to reversing the wires on the dummy coils (D1/D2 above) in my superstrat.  apparently the chinese pickups I bought were different wind/polarity to my texas specials/seymour antiquity.  I can tell you the above drawing is absolutely verified (with respect to two things) - there is one 'mis-label' and that is on the drawing the "D1W" label should be "D1Y" to correspond to the notes above.  Also as mentioned the tone pot is missing the cap from lug1 to ground and lug 3 should not be grounded. 

This wireup gives you a standard strat with mode 1.  Mode2 is all hum canceling in series.  It is the perfect thing for going to a 'metal' or 'high gain' sound.  In M2 pos 1/3/5 the output is observed as the same but there is a small loss of highs.  M2 pos 2/4 more lows result in a perceived vol increase.  Mode3 is not hum canceling but has some really nice sounds - more output and great for both clean tones and bluesy as there is a lot more bass with 3 pickups on. 

I removed magnets/poles for the main wireup but did a 3rd dummy coil in parallel on a pot with poles left in tact - I don't think the poles/magnets made much of a difference.  Dialing in that parallel coil in M1 (compared to M2 pos1) results in quite a cut in output.  It really mellows out the single coils and is a nice sort of 'gain trimmer' while cancelling hum.

Verdict:

dummy coil in series - less output loss but some highs loss

dummy coils in parallel - more output loss but less loss in highs

at least that was my perception with these dummy coils on this guitar on the 33rd of june under a pale moon while drinking absynth.

what a nice figure you have... I mean your wood... err... very nice guitar!

wow, just wow.  very nice - full photo would be nice too.

seems like a lot of work... but a solution is a solution.  will do some searchin'.  thanks

i have no planer and no jointer and not even a table saw.  Just a router and some other stuff.  I do have experience cutting two pieces of solid surface to match using the front/back side of a router bit.  I've heard of others using that method to join two halves of a guitar body.

I'm going to go visit some local lumber yards but wanted to ask: what is the liklihood of finding wood that has been planed well?  Is this a recipe for disaster?  Should I just buy a body blank?  I'm confident I can make a joint that will work, but my whole plan would be caput if after that I was working on a surface that was less than flat.

very inspiring when I see some of these threads.  I admire your hand drawn layout.  You got nuts the size of cantelope to take on that as your first project!  that said you have a planer which means this is obviously not your first rodeo.  Good on ya.  Looks really great.  

I've got a lot of experience using a router in my younger days and have routed pickups and such... seeing 'first time' builds like this is encouraging.  I think I am going to do one... but a lot more conservative - just a body(thank you for your part in the inspiration).  

thank you gentlemen.  I will def update on how things go. 

i hear ya skyjerk.  spacing on this trem has a little forgiveness due to the second post riding on a wide blade, but the two studs not being parallel - yeah, could cause binding.  that'll be the biggest thing to look out for. trying to get my mind around some sort of jig that would lock into the trem cavity and allow the body to slid along a parallel plane.

anywho, thank you both, and everyone for all the comments.  great community!

handen't realized the site might actually tell me exactly what bit to use - good call.  they did.  still good info factoring in the hardness of the wood.  body is maple/alder so I guess that's medium hard.

today I realized that we actually have a drill press at work - right under my nose!  Apparently I need to get out of my office more.  I'll have to run it up the chain of command, as I am but a lowly code monkey, but I think I'm all set. 

thanks again for all the advice!

prostheta - many ways to skin a cat.  i think given my understanding of my skills, dremel is going to be best for me.  I have the router base and will use a board as a fence.  I think the skill and tools to clean up a hole are a hair out of reach for me at the moment.  I will take your advice on shopping around for an HSS set.  love your analogy and pun! 

at risk of hogging the forum 'bump pole position" on this topic... can you please comment regarding bit size for these studs?  I assume the bit size should be a hair smaller than the stud itself... but how much smaller?  stud is  .389 so what is your gut on the bit I should use .375, .354 or .39? my guess is .375.

just thought I'd share something in case someone can use it...

This is a very nice boost, small footprint, that can be mounted in a guitar.  the pcb is designed to mount on an alpha (pcb lugs) 100k push pull pot (you could mount it on a 2PDT + pot) that is easily aquired on the net(Fee Bay).   

NOTE: Since the orig circuit calls for a 5K rev log pot (impossible to find as a push pull) the layout shows a 4.7k resistor from lug 3 to lug 2 on the pot to bring its' value down to 4.4k.  This makes the pot feel a bit more touchy than the original but I found it acceptible.  Note that the pot will 'KRACKLE' when you turn it but that's "OK"!

also note that the .1 uf cap will sit between the push/pull part and the pot - on the board - I used a box cap and I don't think I even needed to bend it over to make it fit - your results may vary.

Hope you can find this usefull!

mlv_sho_push_pull.pdf

oh, yeah, forgot to say thanks regarding the 5 way switch.  good advice.