Ordered it on January 5th and it arrived January 14th. So 9 days from USA to Mackay. Not too shabby really. Sometimes it takes me longer to get stuff from Sydney!
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Ordered it on January 5th and it arrived January 14th. So 9 days from USA to Mackay. Not too shabby really. Sometimes it takes me longer to get stuff from Sydney!
thats pretty quick from US, thanks Lozza, I suspect it will take a bit longer to get to way over the west !
Give me time to finalise everything else
Looking great Lawry. I know nothing about this pre-amp business. Well, I know what one is but not how they fit into the wiring of a guitar. Will be really great to see how it sounds! Ths is a really inspiring build. Keep it up!
Cheers,
Gav.
Another step forward today. The maple veneer I ordered to fill the fret slots has arrived.
Originally I was going to use Jarrah but decided it was too dark.
Anyway, I cut a bit off to try it out in the slots and it fits absolutely perfectly.
And I should have enough left over to do another ten guitars I think!
The pics are a bit dodgy cos they were taken on my phone.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...61p-Veneer.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...s-on-board.JPG
excellent Lozza you must be happy with that ! Looks fantastic
Yeah. Really pleased Woks. I'm just about to shoot through for a couple of weeks so won't be able to do anything. It's nice to leave on a good note but I'm itching to get stuck into it. I'm also expecting the Wudtone to arrive any day, so when I get back I should be able to make some serious progress. A question for you... How did you do your spalt without getting any spill/bleed onto the sides?
Those veneers look a treat. Don't you love it when something just fits.
The fingerboard should look good with the maple filling the fret slots.
Totally agree Dan. And couldn't have asked for a more perfect match in thickness to gap.
I've also knocked out the nut in readiness for finishing the fret(less)board and I am wondering if I should update it with bone or a Tusq.
So here's a question for you all... What are your opinions and experiences with these?
Bone for tone according to DB. Also if you're going eau naturale for all the other bits - why not that one as well.
Brass for class.
+1 for the Brass , put a brass one on my tele and oooooohhhhh sustain baby
Hey Lozza, to stop the spill/bleed you could paint tape up the sides but that was too much work so I just was careful ragging the spalt stain on. I made it easier choosing a darker colour for the sides/back in case any did spill, but best thing to do is have a clean rag dipped in turps ready to wipe away any runs from the spalt that go down the sides, you usually have at least 5 seconds to wipe it off. I always did the spalt top before the sides/back so the sides were dry and easy to wipe off spills. Practice doing headstocks and necks different colours helps ! Might help to use a fairly small rag on the edges to limit the spills.Quote:
/<\\/p>[/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/]<\\/p>/Quote from lawry on January 16, 2014, 17:40
A question for you... How did you do your spalt without getting any spill/bleed onto the sides?
Thanks for putting up photos of the pre-amp pot layout, mine should arrive when you are away so I hope to get closer to finishing my IB-6S possibly end of this month but I won't rush it.
Thanks Wokka. Really want this to be a classy axe so I'm going to ask a lot of inane questions in order to make this happen. Watch this space, there are more to come.
Coming along very nicely Lawry
Got a further query about the nut.
I can understand that brass/bone/Tusq/etc. are probably better than the basic plastic for transmitting the vibrations through to the neck, but surely that would only apply to an open string. Once the string is fretted (or fingerboarded in this case) the nut plays no part in the loop. Given that a fretless is less likely to sustain anyway (because of the damping effect of the finger) is it really worth upgrading the nut on this guitar?
On first thought I had to agree about it only affecting sustain on the open strings. But you got me thinking.Quote:
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from lawry on January 19, 2014, 09:33
Got a further query about the nut.
I can understand that brass/bone/Tusq/etc. are probably better than the basic plastic for transmitting the vibrations through to the neck, but surely that would only apply to an open string. Once the string is fretted (or fingerboarded in this case) the nut plays no part in the loop. Given that a fretless is less likely to sustain anyway (because if the damping effect of the finger) is it really worth upgrading the nut on this guitar?
The way I see it is this. When you pluck a string the vibration has to dissipate somewhere eventually. When you fret a string with your finger, most the energy would dissipate into you finger and the bridge. Though a certain amount of that energy would still travel the entire length of the string, as I see it.
So any energy that does make it to the nut would still be effected by the nut material
It probably doesn't make a huge difference when not playing open strings, but all string contact points are vital piece's when searching for sustain and TONE.
Does that make sense to anyone else. It did In my head.
Hey Dan. I appreciate your reply and I think I can see what you're saying. But the pups are only interested in the bit of string vibrating above them, and if the nut is out of the loop (because there is a finger on the board) then the tone of the string can't be influenced by the nut. Well, that's how I see it.
Actually, this thread may be getting just a bit academic because I'm thinking of putting on a brass nut purely because I think it will look cool!
Yeah we don't want to start a Tone war.lol.
Now you got me thinking again though.
Probably only aesthetic for a bass guitar since the brass / bone/ Tusq nut will only produce an advantage on open strings. I typically use brass on my electrics where the bridge is also metal. I will use bone or Tusq on acoustics because the saddle is also bone or Tusq, and since there are going to be open strings on your standard chords it makes sense. Not so much on a bass, but then I'd get rid of plastic nuts simply because they wont ring or sustain as well as the other three options!
@Dan. Tone Wars. LOL. Love it. Battle of the axes.
@Gav. Thanks very much for your post. The way you have stated things makes lots of sense (not surprisingly). I'm thinking that a brass nut is the way to go from a quality perspective so I reckon I'll go that way. Plus, as mentioned, I reckon it'll look cool. And in the end, that's what's really important! 8-)
Whilst the nut might only affect open strings, I'd still go for something that gives the tone you want, because you will still play open strings at least occasionally.
Apparently brass gives the brightest sound, bone the most mellow of the three and tusq and composites are somewhere in the midddle
Well here's an update I wasn't expecting.
Just got back from two weeks holiday in Victoria and we have landed bang into a cyclone. Before we went away we cleaned up the place 'just in case' so fortunately everything's pretty secure. The cyclone is due to cross the coast in about 12 hours and the winds are pretty wild already. There are also a few trees down and minor flooding occurring around town too. Still, it's only a category 1 and it's about 250-300 kilometers away so shouldn't sook too much. Probably in for a wild night though. And I was looking forward to getting some work done on the fretless when we got back :-(
Bugger!
Protect the bass! Good luck mate, hope it's not too rough.
thats not good news to return to Lozza, as Weirdy said make sure the bass is safe !
I've seen pics in Townsville has some mini flooding too.
Hopefully it blows over pretty quick and you are building on Friday sometime
Thanks for your concern, guys. For the bass that is.
It should be fine, it is at work in a new building only 12 months old (new Mackay Base Hospital - biomedical engineering department). So as long as I'm not flooded out I may still get in there tomorrow or the weekend.
Cheers.
Starting to ramp up in Townsville now. gonna be a fun evening.
stay safe guys, all the best
@Stan. Thanks man.
@Tony. We've already had one blackout for an hour. Gotta admire the linies that ago out in that crap and work on the bitey wires. Where abouts are you in TVL?
Hi Lawry
Special type of guys,them and the SES, Im out at Deeragun,
Mackay seems to have copped a lot more rain and wind than us so far.
reckon well start knowing about it in about three - four hours.
Gone Cat 2 so buckle up and stay safe.
Stay safe you guys
Lads stay safe and may your axes be dry after it all blows over... Yes, the Orange People are special kinda guys and gals to go out when the weather's the worst - storms, cyclones, floods and to top it all off run searches and traffic details during bushfires in the heat of summer. Where would we be without them?
@lawry - hope everything is ok with you and yours. Stay safe.
Cheers,
Gav.
Hope all is well Lawry, stay safe!
Wild night last night but all is well. Cyclone Dylan crossed the coast at Hideaway Bay (about 1.5 hours drive away) and gave us lots of wind but not too much rain. At its peak the wind was deafening and I could feel the house shaking but it was nowhere near as bad as some we've been through. So... apart from a bit of a clean up of tree litter all is good. The next big event is at 11:00 am today when the high tide and storm surge combine. The tide is going to be 6.4 meters with another 1 metere storm surge on top of that, so the lower lying areas will definitely go under. We live about 100 metres from the beach but on a rise, so we won't be affected. Might go rubbernecking though :-)
Thanks to all for your well-wishes.
@Tony. How did you fare?
Cheers
Hi Lawry,
Really well mate. The dip at the last minute down took a lot off,(almost a non event) Always rougher south of the eye.
They got over 400mm in the Pioneer river catchment last night so I thing you guys may catch a lot of water coming down the river backed up from the storm tide.
good luck Tony and Lozza with the wild weather, stay safe and best of luck, sounds like the worst of it is over
Was hoping to go into work and do a bit of building on the fretless yesterday but couldn't get in because the only road out of where I live was cut off by the high tide, storm surge and winds. Hopefully it will be open today, I'm itching to make some progress.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...wbz1-image.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...0k5r-image.jpg
Far out Lawry, some wild looking weather you got there.
The weather has been holding up my build as well. We are heading for 42 here today (Port Lincoln, SA).
Way too hot to be out in the shed mucking around with guitars!
Cheers
Andy
Can't argue with that statement, Andy. 41 is damn unpleasant and you don't want to get sweat drops all over the guitar. Although, it may evaporate before it hits the bench. Sorta like virga. I think you'd be much better off drinking beer.
Huzzah! Finally got to do some work on the fretless.
Have put the deep colour coat of burning sun onto the spalted cap of the body and headstock. Man that stuff is thirsty. It soaked up so much colour that I don't think I'll put on another coat. Some of the glue and machining marks are a bit evident but I can't sand anymore without going through the cap. Still, it looks pretty damn good. Also cut out the required maple veneer strips and glued them into the fret slots.
Here's the body and headstock.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...80l3-image.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...rbx9-image.jpg