Bass guitar build Post #4

I spent about 12 hours yesterday working on this. I actually felt like I got somewhere with the project. After gathering supplies I spent about 4 hours creating my templates. I didn't realize that acrylic was such a pain to work with, however now I will be able to reproduce this build very easily if I choose to do so.

Templates complete

Next up came routing the channel for my truss rod. It was here that I encountered my first screw up on this project. I knew I was bound to have a few so I couldn't really get too upset. The router jumped away from my jig (my own fault) and left a couple shallow cuts next to the channel. These will be covered by the fretboard and pose no significant structural issue. Even so I have learned that routers are tempermental and should never be trusted.

Truss rod laid in place. Still need to lubricate the threads and install permanently.

The next stage of my work was attaching "ears" to my headstock blank. The headstock was not quite wide enough to accomodate my template.

Finally to wrap up for the day I laid out the templates for the body wings and traced the outlines on my 1-3/4" maple blank.

Next up: Lay out the headstock and cut to size, rip the fretboard down to the correct width/length, install truss rod, glue on fretboard, rough cut the body wings, and finally profile the width of the neck and add side marker dots.

Bass guitar build Post #3

Not as much time to work on this as I would like but progress has been made. Here is a shot of the rough neck out of clamps. The long red thing next to the neck blank is the truss rod. To install the truss rod I have to route a 7/32" channel down the center of the neck blank at a depth of 7/16".

Close up of the "scarf joint".

Close up of the blank I picked up for the fretboard. This Bolivian Rosewood is gorgeous.

Last but not least is the drawing I put together to create my template for the body and headstock.

I have been itching to work on this project so I took tomorrow off of work to dedicate some more time to it. I will continue to take photos as I go along and will try to update soon.

Bass guitar build Post #2

Ok, so I seem to be learning stuff as I go. I have done tons of research however it seems that when you actually do it, it is a bit different than just reading it. Go figure. Todays work included cutting the scarf joint in the neck and gluing on the headstock. The headstock was basically created from the waste I created when doing the scarf cut. I ripped the waste piece down to 1", flipped it over and glued it to the existing neck blank. I need to think things through better as I almost glued the headstock back exactly in the same position I had cut it off from...D'oh indeed. Thankfully I caught that before I fully committed.

This is the jig I "jerry rigged" up to cut the neck angle. My table saw (which is awesome) cannot cut a 13 degree angle with the stock mitre gauge. Even though this wasn't a perfect solution it worked out fine.

Here is the neck and headstock after cutting the scarf.

The next few images are of the headstock being clamped to the neck blank. You may notice in the next few pictures that there are nails in the joint. These are present to prevent the headstock from slipping while it is being glued. The material that the nails go through will be removed when the neck is routed to size.

This is a close up of the joint on the headstock/neck blank. The line will pretty much disappear in the coming weeks as I route the neck into shape.

Bass guitar build Post #1

Wow! I have not posted anything here in over 3 years. I guess its time to change that. Many of you who know me know I like to putz around with stuff. Build decks, do home remodeling stuff, etc. I also play bass in a cover band (when we can all get together) and am working on becoming a somewhat competent bass player. So since I apparently do not have enough hobbies/chores to keep me busy I get involved in artistic projects. I restored a B.C. Rich Mockingbird electric guitar a couple of years ago and really enjoyed doing it. Obligitory pic:

Of course that project led me down the path of obsession. My plan, and the purpose of this new post is to not only build a four string fretless bass, but to document the entire process as I go along. The design of the bass is mine with influences from Ibanez (Soundgear models) and Warmoth (Gecko model). Let us be honest here, nothing can be created without influences any longer. I would sooner be up front and tell you what they are rather than lie and say this creation is totally original.


Here are the design specs I have decided on so far:

Neck: Maple/Bolivian Rosewood 5 piece laminate.

Body: Maple wings (possibly accented with Bolivian Rosewood).

Fretboard: Bolivian Rosewood board. Fretless design with NO visible fret markings (side dots will exist on the actual fret positions for 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, etc per normal) and possible a figured maple inlay (TBD).

Hardware (all hardware at this point of design will be gloss black):
Schaller 463 bass bridge
EMG-PJ Active Bass Pickup Set (eventually adding an on board pre-amp)
Gotoh compact bass tuners

I am not sure how quickly this project will move along but I will do my best to keep this page updated.



My new table saw. I was afraid I would have buyers remorse due to the price but can honestly say I love it and do not regret purchasing it one bit.

Neck lumber

Closeup of lumber. Lighter wood is maple and darker is bolivian rosewood for those of you who are unfamiliar.

Neck laminate glued up and clamped. This part was a little tricky. Glue sets up in about 5 minutes and I really should have purchased larger clamps, not to mention glue squirted out of the joints when I tightened up the clamps. Live and learn.

Close up of clamped neck

Neck laminate "trued up". Took about one quarter of a sixteenth of an inch off of each side to bring it square.

Close up of trued up neck

That's all for now. Will be doing more work tomorrow if I have the time.

Unleash the Casey

We had an unexpected surprise/addition to our family over the Thanksgiving holiday. Psycho and SIL brought a couple of stray kittens north with them. They could not find any space for them in the shelters down in the OKC area so they decided to bring them up and see if they could find them homes. We are now enjoying the company of my new co-pilot Casey. I cannot seem to get anything done lately without his help.

I'm not dead yet!

Well I said from the beginning that I probably wouldn't be good at keeping this thing up. There have been way too many things going on in my life lately. When I do have the time to update this blog lately I find myself just vegging out in front of the television.
Work is getting better since Sean came back. I actually feel as though we are making headway. We still however are being dragged into a lot of weekend work that sucks time away. Couple my hectic schedule with the change in seasons which always puts me in a dark mood and you have "Insta-Grump" (sorry 'bout that Nik), a character that most of you who know me are familiar with.
The band thing has been coming along nicely. We were supposed to have a gig a week or so back at a wedding but then said wedding got cancelled. I was a little disappointed but hey we only missed out on a show. Once I got my perspectives straight on that I realized that we will have many other opportunities. We are working very hard at the moment to put together a demo CD and a press kit to distribute to local clubs. It has been a lot of work and it won't be letting up any time soon. We recorded 5 rough tracks yesterday and Nik put us through the paces in a 200+ photo photo shoot. Now we have to sift through the results of the shoot and choose the best pics for our kit. We also are going to start recording individual tracks beginning tomorrow evening. I have to finish setting up my "studio" in the basement and test the systems. After that I have a band mate coming over every night until Thursday to lay down tracks. I am really looking forward to this experience but at the same time am looking forward to a little me time as well.
Time to get back to work on the studio. Hope everyone is well. Until next time please enjoy this standard "We are a tough yet sensitive band photo". Ooooooh Markov Chain is scary. LOL

August already? Better paraphrase my update

I have not kept up with this blog very well. I just can't seem to get the energy to tell you all about my incredibly dull life. All I seem to do is work, clean house, work on projects, practice music (with or without the band), and not sleep enough.

The latest hire for my department at work seemed to be a good thing at first. He was a little young but he knew his shit. We made rapid progress getting stuff done. Then it becomes apparent that he is a bit of a mental basket case. I started feeling like a high school counselor. Needless to say it wasn't working out as well as I had hoped. My worries did not have to last very long however as New Guy #2 was terminated. It turns out that he lied on his resume. He stated that he possessed a Bachelors degree in IT when really he was a few credits shy.

Markov Chain has been progressing well even though we have had difficulties with schedules. We are all still very committed but it gets hard when life keeps intruding.

The storms that rolled through here in May trashed my roof and knocked holes in my siding. It has been a long tortuous process to get all of this sorted out. Today was supposed to be the day that our roof got done. The shingles were supposed to be delivered yesterday. I got home from the office around 4:45 and still no shingles. So I called the contractor. He "wasn't in the office" so he said he would call me back as soon as he figured out what was wrong, assuring me all the while that the delivery truck was probably just late.
It wasn't late. About 6:45 or so I finally got a call back. Not from the contractor but from the rep I had dealt with getting this all set up. He jumps in right away saying "I just found out that your shingles are on back order". So I replied: "You just found out because I called your contractor to find out why they aren't sitting IN MY FUCKING DRIVEWAY!!! Since the roof was to be replaced tomorrow I figured that they might possibly need those. . ." Of course he hemmed and hawed and promised shit just like every other low life piece of shit sales person out there. Since I rearranged my work and band practice schedule to accommodate this work that was supposed to get done you can imagine that I was very pleased to hear this news. We are now waiting for new shingles to come in. We were offered the option of picking a new color. What??? Why the fuck would I want to pick a new color? I picked the original color because why? Because that is the fucking color I picked DAMMIT! Anyway, I am sure the guys will give me shit for changing practice around so I could work from home and NOT have the roof done today. I am tempted to call the contractor and tell them to just forget it. *sigh*