Finishing is under way, so here's a little sneak peek:
This shot captures the real life colour pretty well. The top wood has some nice chatoyance to it. 
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Winter Build-Off 2019 - Grovatlanschion
- Thread starter Beej
- Start date
- Apr 18, 2008
- 14,661
- 28,698
- 6,221
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
This is my submission for the Winter-2019 Build off
For details, please read my build thread:
Winter Build-Off 2019 - Grovatlanschion
My mashup is made up of these design elements:
· Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird (upper horn)
· Ovation Magnum III (upper and lower bouts)
· Atlansia Stealth (head stock, tail point, beveled lower horn)
Specs:
Neck: Walnut, plain maple accent, walnut head-cap, zero fret, aluminum nut/string guide
Neck Construction: Double acting trussrod, head access, two aluminum stiffening beams
Neck/Body Join: Bolt-On
Fingerboard: Walnut, flat radius, polyurethane seal-coat
Scale length: 32"
Frets: 24 medium nickel silver
Electronics: Jazz pickups, 3-band Guitar Fuel preamp
Pickups: Jazz (from an old Ibanez pointy bass) Custom cream plastic and walnut covers
Controls: Volume, Blend, Bass, Mid, Treble
Knobs: Cream plastic mini chicken heads
Tuners: Gotoh GB707
Bridge: EBMM Stingray Style
Body: Walnut body, plain maple accent, book-matched walnut top
Finish: Tru-Oil
Strings: D'Addario XL Medium Gauge
I give you the Grovatlanschion Thundermagnum:
I'm nicknaming it "Shortcut", cuz it is the product of the most shortcuts I've ever collectively undertaken on an instrument.
For details, please read my build thread:
Winter Build-Off 2019 - Grovatlanschion
My mashup is made up of these design elements:
· Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird (upper horn)
· Ovation Magnum III (upper and lower bouts)
· Atlansia Stealth (head stock, tail point, beveled lower horn)
Specs:
Neck: Walnut, plain maple accent, walnut head-cap, zero fret, aluminum nut/string guide
Neck Construction: Double acting trussrod, head access, two aluminum stiffening beams
Neck/Body Join: Bolt-On
Fingerboard: Walnut, flat radius, polyurethane seal-coat
Scale length: 32"
Frets: 24 medium nickel silver
Electronics: Jazz pickups, 3-band Guitar Fuel preamp
Pickups: Jazz (from an old Ibanez pointy bass) Custom cream plastic and walnut covers
Controls: Volume, Blend, Bass, Mid, Treble
Knobs: Cream plastic mini chicken heads
Tuners: Gotoh GB707
Bridge: EBMM Stingray Style
Body: Walnut body, plain maple accent, book-matched walnut top
Finish: Tru-Oil
Strings: D'Addario XL Medium Gauge
I give you the Grovatlanschion Thundermagnum:
I'm nicknaming it "Shortcut", cuz it is the product of the most shortcuts I've ever collectively undertaken on an instrument.
Love it!
If I didn't know what the design cues came from I'd think this was a modern, high-end, single cut bass. If you look you can see the mashup elements but as a whole it is it's own unique instrument. VERY cool
, I'd rock it! 
If I didn't know what the design cues came from I'd think this was a modern, high-end, single cut bass. If you look you can see the mashup elements but as a whole it is it's own unique instrument. VERY cool
, I'd rock it!
Remarkably good actually, especially for the price. Doesn't do some of the stunning tone shaping you can get with a high end unit, but does perform as well as what you can get in a stock import bass with active electronics. It's dead quiet though, which is important to me.Defiantly got some killer lines going on
How does the three band EQ sound? I like their two band really well.
I'll get a sound clip up, but probably not before voting begins, so I'll wait until the contest is over before putting it up. Ethics 'n all, right?
Last edited:
My thoughts also. If your feeling adventurous sometime, wire it up as 18 volt.
- Apr 18, 2008
- 14,661
- 28,698
- 6,221
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Dude.... speechless... 
To me , this looks really quite wrong...in the best way possible. Really good looking thing, that!This is my submission for the Winter-2019 Build off
For details, please read my build thread:
Winter Build-Off 2019 - Grovatlanschion
My mashup is made up of these design elements:
· Gretsch Jupiter Thunderbird (upper horn)
· Ovation Magnum III (upper and lower bouts)
· Atlansia Stealth (head stock, tail point, beveled lower horn)
Specs:
Neck: Walnut, plain maple accent, walnut head-cap, zero fret, aluminum nut/string guide
Neck Construction: Double acting trussrod, head access, two aluminum stiffening beams
Neck/Body Join: Bolt-On
Fingerboard: Walnut, flat radius, polyurethane seal-coat
Scale length: 32"
Frets: 24 medium nickel silver
Electronics: Jazz pickups, 3-band Guitar Fuel preamp
Pickups: Jazz (from an old Ibanez pointy bass) Custom cream plastic and walnut covers
Controls: Volume, Blend, Bass, Mid, Treble
Knobs: Cream plastic mini chicken heads
Tuners: Gotoh GB707
Bridge: EBMM Stingray Style
Body: Walnut body, plain maple accent, book-matched walnut top
Finish: Tru-Oil
Strings: D'Addario XL Medium Gauge
I give you the Grovatlanschion Thundermagnum:
I'm nicknaming it "Shortcut", cuz it is the product of the most shortcuts I've ever collectively undertaken on an instrument.
Our drummer just texted me that we have a pickup gig on Friday night, so I'll test it at practice tonight and if all's well, I'll give it a run on Friday.
BTL
Commercial User
I took it to practice last night, and it performed pretty well for it's first foray. The ergonomics are a great fit for me, though it's more comfortable on a strap than in my lap. Those old pickups combined with that preamp are a nice combo - it reminds me of my old '75 jazz, but dead quiet. It was really loud compared to my main player, as I plugged into the same settings on my amp and had to turn way down not to overwhelm the mix. I can't imagine what 18v wiring will do! Our drummer said he really liked the tone and could hear it well in the mix. To get "my" tone, I didn't have to tweak it much, so that was a bonus.
For under $50, that preamp works really well, and is noise-free. That said, it did have four wires that broke at their connection points and needed repair just to make it work, so if you're not mechanically inclined, not sure I'd recommend it. Not quite as 'bolt-on' as they tout it to be.
The neck feels chunkier in my hand than I'd like so I'll be making some adjustments and doing a quick refin this weekend. It was a bit of a challenge to dial in the right relief - possibly a combination between the current thickness and the effectiveness of the aluminum stiffeners, but it's harder to adjust than similar necks I've build out of walnut with carbon fiber stiffening rods. My next neck may tell me more. It plays nicely, but it needs further fretwork too - my slapdash job of get-'er-done-and-submitted-fer-chrissake did not work in my favor for comfortable buzz-free playability, though I did take the time to dial in the setup before bringing it to practice. Once I shave the neck down a bit, I'll spend some time doing really extensive fretwork and make this thing much more playable.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with it, and if nothing else comes of this contest, at least I won this bass!
For under $50, that preamp works really well, and is noise-free. That said, it did have four wires that broke at their connection points and needed repair just to make it work, so if you're not mechanically inclined, not sure I'd recommend it. Not quite as 'bolt-on' as they tout it to be.
The neck feels chunkier in my hand than I'd like so I'll be making some adjustments and doing a quick refin this weekend. It was a bit of a challenge to dial in the right relief - possibly a combination between the current thickness and the effectiveness of the aluminum stiffeners, but it's harder to adjust than similar necks I've build out of walnut with carbon fiber stiffening rods. My next neck may tell me more.
It plays nicely, but it needs further fretwork too - my slapdash job of get-'er-done-and-submitted-fer-chrissake did not work in my favor for comfortable buzz-free playability, though I did take the time to dial in the setup before bringing it to practice. Once I shave the neck down a bit, I'll spend some time doing really extensive fretwork and make this thing much more playable.Overall, I'm pretty happy with it, and if nothing else comes of this contest, at least I won this bass!
[QUOTE="Beej, post: 22470349, member: 87992"I can't imagine what 18v wiring will do![/QUOTE]
18V power shouldn't make it any louder as it doesn't change the gain, it just changes the amount of distortion-free headroom the amplifiers have, so unless you're running a signal into the preamp that's hot enough to clip at 9V, you shouldn't see a volume difference.
[/QUOTE]18V power shouldn't make it any louder as it doesn't change the gain, it just changes the amount of distortion-free headroom the amplifiers have, so unless you're running a signal into the preamp that's hot enough to clip at 9V, you shouldn't see a volume difference.
- Apr 18, 2008
- 14,661
- 28,698
- 6,221
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Glad you got to put it through its paces so soon!
Word.
Totally agree. I feel that way after every build-off!
Word.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with it, and if nothing else comes of this contest, at least I won this bass!
Totally agree. I feel that way after every build-off!
The rear edges of the bent portion at the back of the bridge are lined pretty much right on top of the top edge of the body bevel. I positioned it as far back as possible, and then routed the neck pocket to match.Is the end of the bridge even with the..."body point"
Also... how's the weight/balance?
Looking top down, the "palm rest" part of the bridge appears to stick right over the end of the body "point", but it's pretty much lined up with it. There is a bit of an optical illusion because the middle of the centre string (A) is not dead centre in the bridge itself. This design uses offset saddles, but does not offset them in their mount to the bridge. In addition, the four rear mounting holes are not centred or lined up evenly along the rear of the bridge.
The weight turned out to be 7.2lbs as shown. I'm guessing I'll lose that 0.2lbs when I shave back the neck.
The balance is great, it suits me well. The headstock is light, and even though the body is chambered, it balances well on a strap. The upper horn reaches past the 10th fret, plus with the strap button up mounted above the end point, the whole thing feels compact and reachable. 32" scale helps that feel as well. Assuming I can get the neck and fretwork dialed in, I think this might be a main player for a while.