Good afternoon, Luthier's Corner.
I've started on what I am planning to be my last bass build. The basic deal is that I have almost all of the basses I want, and with the recent expansion of my family, I simply don't have a sufficient amount of time to dedicate to builds for paying customers in order to get the instrument finished in a reasonable amount of time.
For my last build, I'm going to make myself the bass I've always wanted, but never managed to get done. It's the reason I started building in the first placed.
It's a Carl Thompson inspired personal build. Here's the overall design:
OK, there's a lot going on there, and there's some stuff that you can't see in the drawing, so let's break it down.
Body:
So...lots of gluing. And there are some other features. I'll be making the bridge. It'll be a 3/8" base plate made of Katalox, with dovetails routed for the saddles to slide in. The saddles will be some complementary wood, probably Maple with a thin (3/32" perhaps) laminate layer of Purpleheart down the center of each. I'm planning on using the pilotjones/Dingwall string saddle setup, which is to say that the strings will ride along some stainless steel round-headed screws. The saddles will also have a small set screw to fix them in position when the setup is complete, so they don't fall out or move when changing strings and such.
I'm using Hipshot Ultralight tuners with the 1/2" shaft. I'd like to do a stainless steel nut, but it may be brass if I lose patience with the stainless. The strings will anchor in a 3/16" thick brass block on the back side of the body, which will be flush-mounted in a routed recess.
The pickups will be a pair of Bartolini narrow humbuckers affixed within a wooden block cover/ramp. I haven't quite decided on the woods I'll use in the pickup cover. I'm thinking an African mahogany (because I happen to have some on hand) body with a thin (1/8"?) top of something cool, perhaps Bubinga. The pickup height will adjust from the back of the body.
I have an EMG BQS control I might use in it. It has bass, treble, mid, and mid-freq controls, to which I will add master volume and pickup blend controls, and maybe an active/passive switch and passive tone. If I don't use the BQS, I'll just go with master volume, tone, and pickup blend controls.
Other specifications:
I guess that's about it for setup and specs. Thanks for watching!
I've started on what I am planning to be my last bass build. The basic deal is that I have almost all of the basses I want, and with the recent expansion of my family, I simply don't have a sufficient amount of time to dedicate to builds for paying customers in order to get the instrument finished in a reasonable amount of time.
For my last build, I'm going to make myself the bass I've always wanted, but never managed to get done. It's the reason I started building in the first placed.
It's a Carl Thompson inspired personal build. Here's the overall design:
OK, there's a lot going on there, and there's some stuff that you can't see in the drawing, so let's break it down.
Body:
- 3/4" Padauk top
- 3/4" Sapele back
- 1/42" Maple veneer accent between padauk and sapele
- Center core:
- 1/2" Katalox center
- 1/8" Maple stringers
- Treble and bass side stringer laminates:
- 3/16" Purpleheart stringer
- 3/8" Maple stringer
- Beam:
- 1/2" Bubinga core
- 1/4" Katalox stringers
- 1/42" Maple veneer accents between all layers
- Bubinga cheeks
- 1/2" Bubinga core
- Scarf joint and headstock:
- 3/8" Maple scarf joint chinstrap
- 2-piece Bubinga headstock core
- 1/16" Padauk headplate
- 1/42" Maple veneer accents between all layers in the headstock
- Fretboard:
- Birdseye maple fretboard
- 1/4" wide Katalox binding
- 1/16" Aluminum side dots
- Stainless steel frets
So...lots of gluing. And there are some other features. I'll be making the bridge. It'll be a 3/8" base plate made of Katalox, with dovetails routed for the saddles to slide in. The saddles will be some complementary wood, probably Maple with a thin (3/32" perhaps) laminate layer of Purpleheart down the center of each. I'm planning on using the pilotjones/Dingwall string saddle setup, which is to say that the strings will ride along some stainless steel round-headed screws. The saddles will also have a small set screw to fix them in position when the setup is complete, so they don't fall out or move when changing strings and such.
I'm using Hipshot Ultralight tuners with the 1/2" shaft. I'd like to do a stainless steel nut, but it may be brass if I lose patience with the stainless. The strings will anchor in a 3/16" thick brass block on the back side of the body, which will be flush-mounted in a routed recess.
The pickups will be a pair of Bartolini narrow humbuckers affixed within a wooden block cover/ramp. I haven't quite decided on the woods I'll use in the pickup cover. I'm thinking an African mahogany (because I happen to have some on hand) body with a thin (1/8"?) top of something cool, perhaps Bubinga. The pickup height will adjust from the back of the body.
I have an EMG BQS control I might use in it. It has bass, treble, mid, and mid-freq controls, to which I will add master volume and pickup blend controls, and maybe an active/passive switch and passive tone. If I don't use the BQS, I'll just go with master volume, tone, and pickup blend controls.
Other specifications:
- 4 strings
- 34" scale
- 24 frets
- Bolt-on neck
- 19mm (3/4") string spacing at the bridge
- 1-5/8" nut, P-bass spacing at the nut
- 12.5 degree scarf joint angle
- Dunlop flush-mount strap-loks
- Stewmac Low-profile double-action truss rod
- Wooden cavity cover (haven't decided on the specific wood yet)
- Warwick Thumb pickup angle/spacing/position
- All stainless steel screws and threaded inserts
I guess that's about it for setup and specs. Thanks for watching!
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) with a bang!
I'm also pretty sure you could find some coin making pieces for others (bridges, tailpieces, necks) and fund builds from there. Again, obvious skills. 
