mistermikev

I've built the stingray for both bass and guitar before and experimented with different op amps.  You def can get more boost if that's what you want.  I prefer this op amp over all others for one reason: I have a lot of basses and guitars with 9v batteries... the less I have to worry about changing them the better.  if battery wasn't an issue I'd be putting strings of cool led lights in my guitars just to remind me to unplug the cable after use!

Also, between the stingray and the sabre2... sabre2 is really just some minor improvements over the stingray.  it adds a hi rolloff option to the feedback loop, a 1u input cap to prevent unnec lows getting into the feedback loop, and 20 picofarad increase to the the cap that bleeds off some more highs in the feedback loop - generally making it a bit less harsh should you crank it up.  Other than that they are identical.

In my build I actually increased that to 140p, changed the bright cap, and added pulldown resistors based on my prior experiences with the circuit.  So I could technically say I built either one!

thanks prostheta but 90% of the appeal is the idea of low current draw!  tossing in a dual would break that.  plus - it was good 'nuff for ernie!

making my own circuit - well, not really.  making my own layout based on baja's schematic and erni ball's circuit... wish I 'made the circuit' - haha.

bajaman is a member over at freestompboxes.  you can find all sorts of his stuff online.  someday I'm going to build his tubedriver clone... -inspiring.  Like building a model pirate ship! 

thanks for the responses.

I feel like I am probably wearing out my welcome by constantly posting minor updates... sorry y'all!

anywho, this week I got my neck shaped:

as many suggested it was a very satisfying experience.  I found a diagram of fender custom shop neck profiles and decided I'd shoot for the "60's P bass oval C" profile.  I used my planing jig to put in a taper a hair north of .79 at 1 and .95 at 12th(more like .85 due to a 3/8 truss rod - I didn't want to end up with much less than a quarter on the bottom).  Then I did two facets as google had taught me.  From there I winged it and at the end did a lot of sanding with the profile of my hand.  Feels great!

I cleaned up the knobs I made and if you look close you can see the small access for my truss rod that I cut.

also cut some relief for my tuners... don't know if I need it but thought it might echo the body nicely.

then I figured I might as well get started on my active preamp... The other day before work I whipped up a nice compact layout for a "Pre ernie ball sabre2 bass preamp" - based on baja's schematic (the man the legend - thank you baja!).  Below you can see it in the bag as I ironed on my press-n-peal blue and doctored it up with an etch marker.

about an hour and a half of etching using ferric chloride and voilla

wired it up knowing the top side(trimmer) would be exposed via my f hole, so I did all the wires on the back...

and put it in my test jig and blamo - works right out the gate.

labeled all my wires for convenience later and saturated the top with liquid tape... will hide it a bit, and prevent unintentional shorts.  Note the LM4250 above... I'm told they have a really low current draw and will allow a 9v to last for years under normal usage.  I have used them in other basses and am a believer... still haven't changed a battery in any of them while I've changed them a couple times in my lakeland tetsuya clone, and alembic stratoblaser clone -which were both built well after.

anywho... thanks for listening!

thank you sir.  That is a real compliment given your body of work, I will try not to let it go to my head.

It is all I can do to be patient (not start finishing) waiting for a few things.  Need to get my hardware so I can do final align on the neck/bridge as I think I need to deepen my neck pocket (5/8 -> 3/4), then rout my access to the truss adjust.

Been keeping myself busy with dreams of other projects!  mahog/maple dano u59, blueshawk, sg, lp, walnut strat, mm axis... dreams of sugar plums dancing! 

I glued some ebony to some maple burl and cut out some knobs and a 3 way switch tip.  need to order a 4p6t from stew mac.  need to do an etch of my preamp... been dreading that.

Last night I planed down my neck at an angle on my router sled.  drew some lines based on a 60's neck profile and will likely start shaping the neck profile with files tonight.  Looking forward to what others have said is the most satisfying step. 

thanks again all for support/advice/encouragement!

danger will robinson... I had a 1"x2" router bit come loose in a big porter cable router once... in my top 1 of scariest things ever list.  whole router started vibrating violently.  Likely my error but I'm not really sure if it just came loose... either way I tighten the piss out of my collett every time now.  Something I'll never forget. 

interesting and ergonomic looking guitar.  right on.

update: got my headstock overlay done.  cut my nut slot.  did my inlays, sanded the top headstock transition.

disclaimer: I have no idea.  New builder here and wondering much the same... perhaps if I bump you one of these kind and knowledgeable folks will chime in.  

Here's what I have read so far...pretty much everyone is going to tell you that the only reliable way to do this is to layout your specific items on paper.  Since it is the year 2018 I'd say as long as you take a calipers and measure you could do this more accurately in a graphics program.

my guess is you could lay things out on a flat plane, then see how far off your bridge would be.  that distance is your 'rise' and your scale length is your run.  rise/run = slope. 

then figure out the length of contact in your neck pocket... that is the adjacent and we probably want to know the height of the opposite or "what is the armount of rise in that neck pocket from front to back) so... tan(slope) = opp / adjacent

adjacent * (tan(slope)) = opposite.

there are probably better explanations and perhaps easier methods so perhaps my sloppy explanation will invoke them.

just a little thought... if you need to mass relabel things... there are a few free programs that make that really easy.  I use builkrenameutility, or used to, to name cut up samples.  it has a number of ways you can add patterns and stuff.  just a thought.

also that headstock - love that shape.  very nice.

great shape.  interesting idea... I would not have thought this would work as acoustic.  already making future plans!  can't wait to see the finish line.

that's always good advice on everything, I am not familiar with that unit of measurement but I will do my best!

Hello and thanks andyjr.  can hardly wait myself!  I am thinking of trying some watco danish oil on this one. 

night before last I glued on the fretboard - shout out to lmii - I asked for 'as consistent as possible, as dark as possible - in that order of importance' and they really cam through.  The fb is as dark brown as it could be without being black!  Zero light streaks on "west-african gabon" ebony.  very pleased. 

last night I routered off the excess fretboard and sanded my little curve in the heel part of it.  looks pretty good but drapes don't match the carpet yet - will be applying a piece of maple burl to the headstock this weekend if all goes well.  pics to follow.

that's what ALWAYS happens to me.  If you remove the tape and get to the wires that's one thing... but once I'm at the point where I have to add wire... I've never been able to do it.  I suppose a bright idea might be to drill two small holes in the bobbin, put a piece of copper wire through and use that to hold the pickupwire.   then solder it.  I freq use dummy coils and hubucker coils are nice and low profile so I've put them under another pickup in a bass.  Unfortunately it's about 50/50 whether I'm going to succeed or just ruin another humbucker! 

cheers

in answer - yes avoid a ball of really fine wire when I get frustrated and proceed to dismantle a pickup!

your last pic... that's where I've been... right there.  if you break that wire at the point where it goes 'behind' the coils... it's over.  Every time I've been at that point... and I tried to delicately wrap that fragile wire around some other wire and solder... I would break it.  Damn you sausage fingers!!!!!!  hair actually is harder to break.

well, for anyone who cares... I had a set of elephant ears at home and was able to flip them around no problem.  Might be usefull info... should work the same for most.  Don't think it will work for the ones I want as they look like they are sort of sealed in... but measuring them the small footprint will fit so - I'm a happy guy!

ok, so sort of a technical question... I am in love with some korean made right handed jin ho tuners - left handed are not available anywhere.  I have a right handed bass neck with a reverse headstock. 

1) They are open back.  I understand I MIGHT be able to take off the gear, slip out the head, re-insert it on the other side.  anyone do this?

2) They are pretty small profile so they MIGHT be able to fit without overrunning the neck side of the head stock.

3) Other crazy options: I have not drill ed the tuner holes yet... in theory I could simply move the machines 1/4" towards the end.  I know, this sounds crazy.  Med scale bass so... string length won't be an issue... might be kind of funny looking, but just a quarter inch? 

4) stop being silly and order something else in left hand

What say you?

On 5/6/2018 at 4:27 PM, curtisa said:

Wow, those instructions are a bit 'special'. You're after a capacitor (it's mislabeled as both  a 'transistor' and a 'transformer' in separate locations in the instructions).

A 0.022uF capacitor appears to be commonly used with the LP Junior.

funny, I'm reading this going "cool, it must have some sort of active circuit in it" pouring over the instructions and going "ok I must be missing something... I see no transistors involved in this at all".  hehe.

very interesting idea.

I have broken several cheap humbuckers trying to break them apart to use as dummy coils.  Would love any advice on how not to break those damn delicate wires!  was just trying to wrap them around a piece of wire and solder it so I could then tape them up... but time after time I would break the pickup wire and I would lose one end as it broke off right up at the coil and now I can't find it.

anywho, cool beans!

well... we know that a neck that is sealed well on the outside tends to be more stable... I'm just wondering why I don't see folks using tru oil in the neck channel.  You could tape off the channel and be careful to brush it on. 

was just wondering why that's not a thing.

so in response: I did mock up some colors but have decided to go natural.  colors, once I got the color dark enough, sort of hid the beauty imo.

Questions:

1) why don't folks seal the truss rod rout?  It would seem like it would be a good way to add a little stability, then again I suppose once you toss some silicon on either end that is enough of a seal?

2) neck grain... so the piece I chose was obviously flat sawn and the grain does not run the length of the neck.  I've heard mixed ideas on how this may be better as it allows the truss rod to do it's job easier, but am aware the age old standard is to find grain that runs perpendicular.  Am I getting that right?  so next time I want to look for grain that starts and finishes on the top/bottom?

progress updates:

finished thicknessing my neck...

rough cut the profile and routered it. 

built a jig for the truss channel and routed it.  screws made it a simple job to line up the blade right inside the lines.  loosen one and tighten the other and voilla.

truss rod fits like a dream.  not tight, but can't move around at all.  not my best work on one end... need to get better with a chisel... did the cut for the "fretboard stress relief thingy" by hand w router and chisel.  (was gonna go out the other side but in the end decided heal adjust so had to fit the additional square bar there).  I guess I've got a little spot for some silicon! it's not too bad, about a 1/16th of space on one side.

cut some slight reliefs for my controls...

did the control cavity cover and 9v battery compartment

I know I know... had a piece of mahog and figured I'd use it.  perhaps w a little light tobacco stain it will match better.  very happy with the fit tho.

hate to focus in on what is a trivial detail in the face of so many stunning examples of great craftsmanship but... just wondering if those pickups are  just veneer glued to the top of a sealed pickup?  really is a nice touch. 

wow, lovely top.  that is quite the flame.

def good advice: will do.

yeah, about that... I'm not decided on what I should do... perhaps if I work it out here in text it will come to me. 

So I have a west african ebony fretboard on the way.  I was planning on taking a piece of leftover from the top and planing it down to about 1/8" and overlaying the headstock and doing a nice 1/8 round on it.  I was planning on using other scraps to make some fret markers.

I think what I'd like to do is to tape off the walnut and just do clear over it.  then dye the burl medium blue and sand it back in hopes of just getting light blue veins.  The difficulty is... how is that going to work out on the fret markers and ebony fretboard.  I will likely need to dye the fretboard black.  so I guess I should do that before doing the fret markers... then dye blue over it after the fret markers are in and sand back.  I want the fret markers to match the body and headstock but am not exactly sure how that plays out best.  then again the lovely cream of this burl would really look nice all natural against an ebony fretboard.  I'm not sure if the burl will stand out enough without some sort of dye.

perhaps instead I should go with a light tan dye and sand back?

any thoughts and ideas appreciated.  what would you do with it?

so started on my neck this weekend... just started planing it down.  below a shot of my planing rig.

got my body all buttoned up.