I'm all about that bass

JohnB

Started building a bass a while back but have been refining the ideas for bolting on the neck etc with a little travel guitar made of bits that were knocking around in the workshop.

So here is the body blank glued up and the neck and finger board ready for assembly.  The neck will be bolted to the body with T nuts under the board as in the mini guitar below. The pocket needs to be cut in the body and the bolt holes drilled through to allow the T nuts to be inserted before the board is glued. ( I will make sure I get the centreline right on the bass neck before drilling the bolts). The mini guitar below is designed to fit in a standard cabin bag with the neck off, it will have a 3mm plywood top and a piezo transducer.

Has anyone else fitted necks like this?

JohnB

A bit of progress on the bass - body rough sawn out and neck pocket routed.  Truss rod fillet has been cut  and fitted and the neck drilled for the bolts. The reliefs allow the T nuts to sit flush concealed below the fingerboard.

 

Will hopefully get the bolt holes drilled and recessed in the back of the body with a washer Araldited in the recess and glue the fingerboard to the neck this week.  Then I can get on with the neck carve. 

paulnb57

My only concern with the neck captive nuts is, if they fail its a difficult repair wheres a woodscrew hole can be dowelled, probably not an issue, just a thought...

JohnB

paulnb57 said:

My only concern with the neck captive nuts is, if they fail its a difficult repair wheres a woodscrew hole can be dowelled, probably not an issue, just a thought...

I agree the neck is pretty much trashed if the nuts fail. I think it is a minor risk, the parts are not stainless so I don't expect galled threads - I had a slight concern with the reliability of a screwed joint  - nobody seems to do screwed mahogany (or sapele) necks 

Andyjr1515

JohnB said:

paulnb57 said:

My only concern with the neck captive nuts is, if they fail its a difficult repair wheres a woodscrew hole can be dowelled, probably not an issue, just a thought...

I agree the neck is pretty much trashed if the nuts fail. I think it is a minor risk, the parts are not stainless so I don't expect galled threads - I had a slight concern with the reliability of a screwed joint  - nobody seems to do screwed mahogany (or sapele) necks 

Can't see any problem to be honest. Let's face it, many decent acoustics necks are bolted on in not too dissimilar a fashion with no problems whatsoever. I think it's very unlikely the captive nuts will fail and sapele is perfectly strong enough in compression like this. More likely to be problem-free that the screw- inserts people use, in my opinion

JohnB

Made a bit of progress with this in the last few days - a dry assembly today before gluing the fingerboard in place showed that I had underestimated the compensation needed for a bass bridge - so I moved it back 5 mm. Board gluing over night, then neck carve and finishing - veneer headstock and possibly part of the body - then oil I think.

JohnB

Veneer done except to cover the 2 neck bolts - first 3 facets of neck carve done (just realised I have hidden the bridge mounting holes :-( ).  Need to complete the neck carve and radius and fret the board before final sanding and oiling.

Andyjr1515

It's coming on well. There are some interesting design approaches on this build...fascinating

JohnB

Neck shaped, veneers completed, board radiused and fretted. Crowning and polishing tomorrow - at least there are only 7 frets. :-)

Need to get some pots in and do the controls - have to go to Maplin tomorrow I guess

WezV

Must admit, concerns about the partial fretjob because I think a stepped fretboard works better for this.

But if anyone plays out of tune up top tell them they need to use their ears.

JohnB

I think it may be hard to play close above the frets but a stepped fretboard was beyond my current ability - perhaps I could have made a jig to radius it with a 2mm step using the router somehow. - we shall see, could possibly add a veneer step later?

JohnB

WezV said:

Must admit, concerns about the partial fretjob because I think a stepped fretboard works better for this.

I did see this article though 

http://www.ricktoone.com/2010/04/partial-fret-bass.html

Andyjr1515

JohnB said:

WezV said:

Must admit, concerns about the partial fretjob because I think a stepped fretboard works better for this.

I did see this article though 

http://www.ricktoone.com/2010/04/partial-fret-bass.html

Fascinating concept, @JohnB. Good article too. I'm really interested how this will turn out, particularly playing and sound-wise...

JohnB

Finished at last (actually still waiting for some pickup mounting screws but the pickups are an interference fit in the routs)

Finish is Tru-oil - still need to work on my finishing skills

Might replace the black intermediate fret position dots with white at some point or install some on the top edge of the board - and how did I get the centre line wrong when putting those dots in? :-(

it is a little tubby at around 10 lbs despite the relief contouring I cut in the body,  but is not too neck heavy despite the massive peg head needed to accommodate those massive tuners - won't be buying them again

fretmeister

JohnB at the next gig...

http://www.thydemonsbescribblin.com/uploads/2/9/2/8/29282825/4501471_orig.jpg?269

JohnB

Where did that hair come from?

UnclePsychosis

Cool concept. I think I'd want more frets though.

Andyjr1515

It looks GREAT, @JohnB =D> Love the overall look very much

Andyjr1515

fretmeister said:

JohnB at the next gig...

http://www.thydemonsbescribblin.com/uploads/2/9/2/8/29282825/4501471_orig.jpg?269

By the way, that looks like the babe I picked up at our last gig...