Bass builds: My own & for clients (friends)

[Larry V]

Keep at it and I'm sure it can turn into something good. At some point you'll need to invest into some decent powered tabletop tools to take your work to the next level. Belt/disc sander combo, drill press, band or scroll saw, maybe both... Good luck!

 

[ThaCoast]

Already have a band saw & a spindle sander. I've had success drilling straight holes manual without a drill press but it is something for the future. But yes, i do need a "shop" of my own. Some time in the near future it'll happen, then i'll bolt everything to the table & leave them exposed so i can work with them when i need it. & also have a room dedicated to just having my projects exposed in there rather than the bulk taking up my room hahaha.

 

[ThaCoast]

So this has nothing to do with the RD build, but it's in regards of my main bass: Sheena.

Little story behind it: my Main bass before this one was an Eastwood black, maple/maple pbass copy that i bought used in summer 2009 for 180$ + gig bag nicknamed RIOT bass since it was my main during the time i was on strike in cegep. It served me well & it's been through many fixes (i'm glad i decided to do all my fixes instead of paying someone ). But it was time to find a backup if ever Riot were to be out of play (my other basses are an epiphone thunderbird goth series, a logical Rick 4003 copy & an ibanez GaxB short scale). The goth doesn't have a gig bag or case for me to carry it around, the logical is too sentimental value to leave home & practice/gig with, & the GaxB has no tone definition.

One night in spring 2014, i ran into Orin, my RD bass build client, & we spoke a bit & he said he had an old pbass body that he wasn't using. So i picked it up, for 20$ & that included everything on it (it came with a red tort pickguard - very 60's). Then i found a used neck for 65$ maple/rosewood & it wasn't a perfect fit but i shimmed the neck pocket with a few popsicle sticks & it works. The headstock came pre shaped so i sawed off the treble ends, glued a piece of pine & cut out an inspired by ibanez black eagle headstock. While piecing it, i knew i wanted the big 70's fender style tuners, so i went to order some schallers - only to come back a month later to discover they'd only be in shop in november 2014. So i took my money back & in the summer i found them: Fender branded 70's tuners. Picked em up & installed them on the headstock that was newly finished. Bought a string tree, & a nut, filed it to jazz bass spacing & it was done...for now.

Fast forward til a few months ago: i had to reposition the neck cause the strings were to close to the bass side of the board, i rounded off the excess fretboard at the bottom cause i would always hit my index on it & it would hurt (can't you tell by the picture i play like Dee Dee Ramone ) Once that was done, today, i decided to make my headstock more fender like while keeping the sharp point. So i printed out 4 fender bass head templates: jazz standard, Jazz American vintage 75, Pbass American standard & precision American Vintage. & basically made a combination of all 4 & i gotta say, i love it much more than before. I guess if i stay in fender terms it went from the fat strat headstock found on tele deluxe & such, to a typical strat slim headstock.

Except the mods don't end there: In a few weeks, it'll have a high mass bridge (the original one is going onto one of my friends basses that needs much love & repairs), & i also plan on getting a pair of seymour duncan Hot for Pbass pickups to replace these ones.

Later on, i plan on getting ready made pieces & create Sheena's cousin: Loudmouth. Same visual look as sheena but with a maple/maple neck instead of maple/rosewood.

Yup, i'm a punk rocker at heart with a love of the classics! & this bass just makes it all better

 

[ThaCoast]

So minor setback on this build: The parts we had ordered on october 4th sadly got shipped to his old address & had been returned to sender. That's the bad news, the good news is that they are happy to ship it back to us a a new address & the plus side is that he doesn't have to pay all over again for the array of parts!! I did also shape the armrest & rounded off the edges a few weeks back & last night, i took the Rd template & drew the layout of the pickups, controls & the pickguard. Everything works perfectly so far. Should have the newly reshipped parts by november 10th latest then i can keep going with this build. Still have lots of carving to do on the body alone so hopefully i can be done with all that soon. At worse the neck pocket & the neck will come later on.

 

[ThaCoast]

Been busy today with more drawing & a little puncturing into some builds of mine.

The RD body has the pickguard, the pickups & electronics trace & pilot holes. I will most likely begin drilling & routing next week.

I've also started the first piece of my future Gibson Ripper Inspired build: The pickguard. I had traced & cut it out a few months ago, but today i decided to shape it & drill out the control holes. The Rotary switch is a 4 position like the original that cost me 1$ & i've got a spare just in case but i do have to cut the shaft down because the knob sits too high off the guard. My version of the ripper bass has the same looks but i'm using GFS lipstick humbucker pickups in black rather than the SD custom shop replacements. Also, it'll have a rosewood fretboard stained to look ebony & the bass itself will be painted blood red. So far i'm sticking with the original wiring variation, but i would want to do the following:

Position 1- Both, humbucker, in series, in phase
Position 2-Both, humbucker, parallel, in phase
Position 3-Both, Single coil, in series, in phase
Position 4-Both, single coil, parallel, in phase.

I'm also planning out a revamp of my epiphone thunderbird goth series bass. I've had it since summer 2011, but it's been through much damage & changes & one of the reasons i want to modify it is because my other basses have much slimmer width necks & when i bounce between them & the bird, it's very difficult for me to adjust. So i've carefully planned what i'm going to do to it. I am going to completely repaint it as well after having filled all the dings & gaps that weren't filled properly the first time i painted it. Going to breathe new life into it & it'll be much better than it is now.

That's all for now, I'm awaiting parts for the RD bass & the work will continue. Thanks to all who are following this slowly.

 

[Callan]

Looks awesome so far! I am currently making myself an RD also! I'm gonna follow this one!

 

[ThaCoast]

I took my thunderbird to pieces yesterday (since i decided to play my halloween gig with it) & have done the following:

-Sanded both the neck & body
-Plugged & drilled the two back posts for the 3 point bridge
-Filled gaps & dings in the body
-Removed the old plastic nut & have drawn the new nut string spacing
-Repainted the face of the headstock red & black
-Resized the width of the neck at the bottom (the top is left untouched).

I still have to fill in the gaps on the side for the neck pocket for the neck to be snug inside, repaint the back of the neck satin black & some red splatter detail ala Paul Simonon. Repaint the body with a red base coat, then do a burst/fade to darker red & then black, & then file the edges down to paint a red type binding. Then i'll get myself a black tube jack output, some gotoh tuners to replace the factory dead ones, & a new white nut to cut & shape. The bulk is done which is good, everything else will be done within the new year. Fast revamp project that'll feel much better than it ever has

 

[ThaCoast]

Today came a package waiting at my door, one i've long for since october 4th! it's the parts for the RD bass of course!
-3 Economy 500K potentiometers
-Switchcraft Mono tube output jack
-Grover Vintage series 2x2 tuners
-Gotoh 201-4B High mass Bass bridge in chrome
-0.47 uf Capacitor (i probably should've told him to go for orange drop, but these ones work fine, i've used them plenty)
-Gotoh neck plate & cushion.

Tomorrow i'll be able to work on the body much more & get most of the work done, while i wait til he orders the fretboard, truss rod, bass frets & strap pins. I'll be getting the nut blank (along with 3 others for my personal projects), & some knobs for this bass since i didn't add speed knobs to his list of parts to order. (looks like i'm either getting black dome or barrel knobs instead of the typical speed knobs) & i'll get the neck wood at some point as well. Hopefully before snow starts falling & it gets to cold to work outside.

If all goes well, i'd be able to have this build done by Xmas/new years.

 

[ThaCoast]

Decided to go ahead & drill out the Volume & tone control holes. Just finished up drawing the cavity for the electronics. So i'll get a new solder pen & start wiring up every project i have to finish! Can't wait. 3 client projects that will be done by the end of this month, & this RD build (assuming everything arrives in reasonable time) will be done by Xmas. Pictures to follow 2mrw during the day. Most of the body work will be complete.

I'm supremely stoked to continue my builds & stoked to have some relief in regards of mods & builds until the next one , but for some reason, i always start another one when i've got a ton others to finish. Endless fun & endless projects.

 

[ctmullins]

Endless fun & endless projects.

Man, I know the feeling!

RD build should be cool.

 

[ThaCoast]

A lot has happened in the last 24 hours: I realized my goth neck mistake & now am "forced" to rebuild it which results in tonights ordering of frets & a new blank bass fretboard for it. Also, last night i had drilled out the control holes for the RD bass which resulted in todays control cavity carve out. The good news is that it's pretty much done aside from having to clean up the "mess" of little holes left but my forsner bit. The downside to it is that the top is now extremely fragile so that kinda sucks. but at least the jack & control holes are drilled at the right places. I also sanded the edges/roundovers/cutaways down to 60 grit to remove burn marks & wood fuzziness.

Next step is to get a neck blank & start that soon after i get the fretboard for it. then i can route the pickups & drill for the bridge location (although im fairly certain of it's location right now even without being drilled). It's more a precaution on my part.

 

[ctmullins]

What happened to the Goth?!?

 

[ThaCoast]

What happened to the Goth?!?

Well i wanted to revamp it cause i found the neck to be wider with a wider string spacing compared to say my pbasses & so i thought: well i'll resize the neck width down that way it feels comfortable all around & have a new nut with a narrower spacing. It turns out, i shouldn't have shaved the neck width at the heel cause even if i do have a narrow spacing, the strings are going to be too close to the edge of the fretboard which isn't good.

Which is why, i gotta remove the original fretboard (good old steam iron & patience - & this is my first time ever doing it but i'm pretty good at patience in salvaging a good neck), then i'll glue on a piece of alder on each side of the neck heel, apply the new fretboard (that i'm ordering tonight it's a blank so no inlays at all nor any fret slots), shape the fretboard/neck heel to fit properly in the neck pocket. Cut slots for the frets, Drill holes for side dot markers, I'm thinking of using quick set epoxy for the twelfth inlay marker, remaking the roman numeral XII. Then after all that is done, i'll be reshaping the neck profile (which is what i realized i should've done in the first place) to make it less chunky in my hands & therefore easier & faster to play, then i'm painting the sides of the fretboard red to give that red binding type look, along with matching the inside headstock part & body edge binding (it's all paint there's no actual red plastic binding used on this bass). Then once the shaping is done i can paint the whole bass in satin black, then varnish it all in semi-gloss.

So if all goes well, i should have the bulk of the wood work done before snow starts falling & that it's too cold outside to use my power tools. I really wish i had a garage or shed to work in. Would be efficient cause i could work year round

 

[ThaCoast]

The parts for my Goth neck rebuild are in chicago at the moment, so hopefully this week it'll arrive. But onto another project that has taken a slight turn for the better. My short scale bass build that has been put on the backburner many times before is yet again back there. For a number of reasons, since i still need to get many parts & mostly due to me wanting to get some ash wood big enough to make the "new" longer body shape. & i had already cut out what i thought was going to be the body for that project but after looking at it & drawing a better template for that short scale, i've decided i'm going to use this "old" body to build myself an electric guitar. I've got enough parts to actually make a guitar, & i might build my own neck but i'm thinking i'll just hold out for a cheap telecaster neck.

I'm going to make it look like those cheap teisco guitars all while Updating them to the 21st century. I've already decided on colours - Black & orange yup Halloween guitar . Single humbucker pickup, i'm going to get myself a tailpiece/bridge combo like gibson les paul jrs. Volume & tone control. & that will be my guitar.

 

[ThaCoast]

With all the projects i've got going on, there are many others that have been in the dark for a very long time. Been down in math calculating & searching every possible piece that i need for each project including a few bike refurbishes. But all in all, if my good friend/bandmate/one of my customers has 150$ to spare in the next weeks, we'll be able to finalize his Fender mark hoppus bass (only need to get a new bridge for it), his Fender Tom delonge strat (missing a capacitor & resistor to do the treble bleed circuit). & on my end, i'll be finalizing the electronics in my Eastwood precision bass (missing output jack), Ibanez GaxB (new volume & tone controls - 3 way switch later on), advance my ripper build (missing the master ton & midrange potentiometer - i'll get the choke later on) & i'll be able to finish my White parts pbass - going to swap the bridge for a high mass one.

It's going to be great! Details later on regarding the Rd build, my goth rebuild & other misc stuff.

 

[ThaCoast]

Not much to post about except that my fretboard & fret for the goth neck rebuild are arriving soon. After i've finished this one, i'll be tackling my White parts pbass, Sheena. Gotta do a little machine head reposition & dowel/drill new bushing holes so they fit snug without masking tape. But i have rounded off the Excess fretboard to make it less 1950's fender fretboard & more the standard fretboard look. Not much but it will prevent my index banging into it at high speeds while downpicking like DeeDee Progress to come in pictures when major work is being done, no sweat cause this post is useless without pics

UPDATE: I've ordered the last of the parts my friend Mike owed me as pay off for his previous mods & small builds overtime. So i'm expecting most of my electronics for my ripper bass, ibanez short scale bass & some misc for my eastwood precision copy as well. Also in that order is some misc electronics for his delonge strat guitar, the new bridge for his hoppus bass, & an added bonus for me is a brass saddle for my acoustic guitar. I've also placed an order on amazon for a high mass bridge (sadly it's out of stock but they will ship one out once they've got more in stock). So few projects on my end are starting & finishing in a day, others are overtime.

 

[ThaCoast]

So today i've received the new knobs for the hoppus bass, & my fretboard for my goth thunderbird. The bad news is that i gotta wait to go retrieve the fretboard since i wasnt home when they delivered it. Oh well, pictures will follow soon.

Update: 1:51PM, I've got the fretboard. It's very nice & the best part, no cracks of breaks! I've gotta find a way to radius it with my lack of tools, but one step at a time. I'll be removing the old fretboard first to glue on pieces of alder to each side of the neck heel & then i'll glue the new fretboard blank (wait 24-36 hours to be sure), radius it, stain the top ebony, cut the slots for the frets, install the frets, replicate the XII inlay for the 12th fret marker, drill the side dot markers, insert wood dowels for side markers, Re-profile the neck, paint the fretboard sides red, Slightly varnish the top of the board, paint the neck satin black, semi gloss finish the neck & headstock. Then after a week or so, i'll buff & polish the neck. By then i should have the body paint done as well.

EDIT: I've printed out some radius gauge templates & i'll create my own radius block to radius the new fretboard. Some work done today & the fretboard removal will be sometime next week.

 

[ThaCoast]

There' hasn't been much work for the Rd bass, but i have done all this.

Took me an hour & some but the fretboard is off, the neck is flat & ready for the new fretboard in about 36 hours. The pieces of alder have been glued i just need to draw the neck pocket onto the new heel & cut it out.

 

[ctmullins]

Awesome! While I've never attempted this procedure myself, I have read that the Tostitos help a lot.

 

[ThaCoast]

indeed they have