Finished Pics! Ultra Modern Bass

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  • paulnb57paulnb57 Frets: 3044
    Love this as its quite radically different, good work Andy, I bet it's causing a bit of head scratching.....
    Stranger from another planet welcome to our hole - Just strap on your guitar and we'll play some rock 'n' roll

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  • impmannimpmann Frets: 12641
    Loving this.

    Never Ever Bloody Anything Ever.

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  • BigMonkaBigMonka Frets: 1763
    Love it! 
    In a world of mass produced guitars all following the same 60 year old design it's really brilliant to see something unique being hand crafted like this :-)
    Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman, in which case always be Batman.
    My boss told me "dress for the job you want, not the job you have"... now I'm sat in a disciplinary meeting dressed as Batman.
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Thanks, folks :)

    The controls are going to be hidden from the front but conventional and freely accessible from the back.

    This is broadly where they will go:


    There will be a powered piezo preamp / magnetic pickup mixer (John East ) a 9 volt battery, two pots (blend and master volume as a minimum) and a jack socket.

    Because there is little room for error, I'm opting for the much safer forstner and chisel rather than let a router loose on it.

    In terms of the knobs access, the chamber is now cut.  Here you see it:


    ...and here you don't:


    Next step is the main chamber.  

    Oh...and remember that the back will be carved concave...and the main chamber will need a cover...which almost certainly will need carving to suit!
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  • RavenousRavenous Frets: 1484

    Nice idea, those hidden controls...

    It might be possible to shape the back cover by first sanding a softwood "mould" against the back (if it's still intact), putting sandpaper on it and flattening the final cover against the mould.

    (Though on second thoughts you can clearly handle just carving it.)

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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Ravenous said:

    Nice idea, those hidden controls...

    It might be possible to shape the back cover by first sanding a softwood "mould" against the back (if it's still intact), putting sandpaper on it and flattening the final cover against the mould.

    (Though on second thoughts you can clearly handle just carving it.)

    I might use a softwood block simply to work out how best to do it - so halfway to what you suggest :)  I haven't got a huge amount of sycamore to risk scrapping so would be probably better having a practice run!


    In the meantime, I've been carving the control chamber and of all the 'go carefully' jobs, this is the one...

    It needs to be deep enough, but the remaining top needs to be thick enough. I know carved-archtop makers do this all the time but I'm going very carefully. I will check the thickness with some calipers this evening but I reckon there's another 3mm to come out of this. A job for tomorrow....

    You can see here in the top left of the chamber the pickup cable rail breaking through. Phew - right place!  That was lucky!


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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4158
    I love how, generally Bassists embrace change more readily than their guitar playing Brethren, looking great :)

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  • equalsqlequalsql Frets: 6084
    What an incredible concept. This is such a great thread and thanks for sharing all your hard work.
    (pronounced: equal-sequel)   "I suffered for my art.. now it's your turn"
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    edited May 2017
    The carving of the top and the back is an iterative process.  The lower bout here is as gentle a curve as I would be happy with - if I can, I will take a bit more off:


    ...but I need to work out how much I can/need to scoop the back without breaking through the top and still be able 
     to fit all the bits and cover and accommodate the back scoop - still to do.  

    So I will now start considering the back, using the thickness gauge to see just how far I can safely go:


    Then I'll start the scooping at the back, after I've finished any remaining routing

    Then check the thickness and depth of the chamber and deepen further if necessary

    Then back to the top - if the thickness allows, to finalise the lower bout radius of the bass's top

    And only then can I finish the carve of the top
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    The two jobs I need to do while the back is still flat are the holes for the magnetic pickup coils:


    And the rout for the cover at the back - that will cover the shallow chamber that will give access to fit them from the back and to adjust their individual slugs - which will be a longer version of this, flush-fitted into the neck:

     
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Last couple of jobs before I start the carve at the back.  

    I've added a couple of sycamore fillets either side of the rear wedge and also routed the back of the neck ready for the coils access cover:


    The stripy cover will be flush with the stripy neck and the body rebates will be carved away as part of creating the convex shape at the back.


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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    ..and the back carve has started  :)


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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    The carve continues. I don't know if everyone else is the same but, after sorting a basic concept out and the absolute functional positions, I carve on the basis of removing what doesn't seem to belong and what creates the illusion I am attempting. It's a slow process and this is probably half way through time-wise... so another couple of days for the basic carve.

    What I am trying to do is to create the illusion of the 'contact lens' without compromising the functional needs of the controls, neck and pickup provisions.

    Here it is so far end on:


    Mick doesn't want the edges to be sharp so the tip won't be much narrower than this, However, on the left hand side I will increase the under-scoop and bring the top radius just a touch closer to the fretboard.

    The right hand side is scooped more once you get past the chamber, but I'm leaving the back flat until I've safely got all the electronics and cover confirmed to fit OK.

    So there is a bit of artistic licence going on. Nevertheless, even though it will be even closer when finished, the radius does actually visually look compatible on the top:


    ... and it already is starting to look sleek and contact lensy:



    And of course the neck carve will transform the look.

    I know that basses aren't everybody's cup of tea...and single cuts are regarded by many as downright fugly.....but hopefully there is a bit of elegance creeping into this one, despite it all ;)
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16541
    It's starting to look like a very expensive bass
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    WezV said:
    It's starting to look like a very expensive bass
    ...and probably one I've under-priced...again! ;)
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16541
    It's Ritter I am thinking of and after a google  I see they do similar stuff with the R8 concept.  Calling the tuners a "backside tuning system".  Snigger ;)
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16541
    I am a bit out of touch with the modern bass market.  I am thinking of stealing some of these ideas a Corvus inspired bass I drew years ago
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  • BorkBork Frets: 252
    Here's one I made with hidden tuners. 


    If yours is headless you won't be able to use double ball strings.  I'm sure that won't be as much of a problem for you as it was for me given the neck will be wood.

    [This space for rent]

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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    WezV said:
    I am a bit out of touch with the modern bass market.  I am thinking of stealing some of these ideas a Corvus inspired bass I drew years ago
    Great stuff - I'd be very interested to see that progress :)

    The basic shape was Mick's (the guy I'm building it for) who's had Ritters in the past so no doubt it's heavily influenced by that style of modernity.

    I think the concept of attaching a £24 steinberger-style tuner block to it was all his very own! :)   Sorting out how to fix that in place and get the strings to poke though the front at approximately the right angle was definitely mine but I'm more happy for Ritter to copy that in their future designs  ;)
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Bork said:
    Here's one I made with hidden tuners. 


    If yours is headless you won't be able to use double ball strings.  I'm sure that won't be as much of a problem for you as it was for me given the neck will be wood.
    That looks nice :)
    Are your tuners at the back too?

    The head block I'm using is actually a double clamp system which means I don't need double ball end strings.  I've taken a hacksaw to it and turned it round 90 degrees so it will simply clamp the strings at the back of the headstock.  This was the prototype I used to prove the concept:



    The nice thing is that therefore the block only need a small locating screw - the string tension trying to pull the block through the headstock is where the main strength comes from....the strings are very firmly clamped and neither they nor the holding block can go anywhere at all.
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