I have some electrodes and a lightning rod you can borrow ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary B
Printable View
I have some electrodes and a lightning rod you can borrow ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary B
Oh, I'm glad! Make sure you document it so we can all enjoy the journey too!Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary B
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/00/e7/a0/0...enity-geek.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by FrankenWashie
Jane, the man they call Jane.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fretworn
I'll have a pint of what you boys are drinkin' ^^ :D
In other news, between clear coats had another trial fit of the neck with bridge and strings due to issues other builders have had with having to shim the neck.
All looks good. My nut slots (ooh err missus) are nice and low compared to some I have seen on here and neck looks to sit nicely.
I think one more clear coat and then its time to take the brave pills and glue the neck in :-)
You've seen my Signature line right? gotta love a low slotted nut.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary B
Good to hear that progress is being made and that you've not had some of the common issues others have encountered. Look forward to seeing the beastie in one piece!
Right, binding scraped back.
Have to say probably not the highlight of the build so far for me but it has turned out ok. A couple of minor bits of fettling still required but generally looking good.
Attachment 24943
Had intended to fit the neck tonight but footy is on now so will leave it til tomorrow :cool:
Looks amazing. That color is awesome! Great work!!!
Very nice, cleaning up the binding always lifts it.
That's looking really good.
Looking great! Scraping the binding is a thankless task, but it's worth it in the end.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary B
Did you watch Monday's FA cup match? My neice's husband is Dan Burn, the 6' 7" Wigan captain (whom I've never actually met yet).
Thanks for the positive comments guys, it is appreciated.
Simon, I didn't see Mondays game as I have an aversion to watching Man City;)
However, I did enjoy hearing the result! There is a great pic of Dan on the BBC website surrounded by fans on the pitch after the match.
Yes. I'm not a football follower at all, but I keep track of how Dan's doing just to make sure he can keep my niece in the manner to which she's now accustomed.
Well, a big moment - the neck is in place.
Not without a moment of drama. I had it clamped up and took these phots then, fortunately, took a closer look to make sure all was well and found a gap of a couple of mm between the heel and the edge of the neck pocket. Major panic but I got it sat properly and re-clamped and all is looking well now.
I think the glue, even though I applied thin layers, was enough to make the snug fit of neck and pocket a bit tighter than it had been.
Anyway, disaster averted hopefully!
Attachment 24976
Attachment 24977
Yeah, scraping binding is an...interesting job. Yours is looking really good thoughQuote:
Originally Posted by Gary B
Took the bold step of un-clamping the neck and it didn't fall off!
This small gap between the end of the neck and the back of the pocket bothered me.
Attachment 25013
It must be better for the neck to make contact with the pocket as it is less likely to lift once under string tension is what I am thinking.
So made a shim to fill the gap. Started with a piece as at the rear of the pic and ended up with the piece at the front.
Attachment 25016
A coating of glue on both sides and in it went. Feeling happier with that.
Attachment 25014
And couldn't resist fitting a few bits of hardware.
Attachment 25015
Must admit to feeling a bit down now I am getting towards the end of the build. A little bit of soldering to do then it is just screwing a few bits on. Plenty of setting up to do and hopefully enjoy playing it after that. But then what? How to cure the post guitar kit blues?
I think I know the answer :cool:
Dude the grain pops so beautifully on your build. It's like you are seeing into the wood. I love the look.
You can do what I do. Take out the sand-paper and start all over again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary B
BTW I was sure you must have used Ebony Timbermate on that finish but there was no mention of it.
Probably a GOTM winner (unless somebody goes and enters an ES-3).
cheers, Mark
Ha that would be a bit drastic but I did that with the Tele I built previously :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by king casey
I did think about starting with a dark stain to bring out the grain but didn't in the end, just used the Wudtone deep colour coat then base and clear coatsQuote:
Originally Posted by king casey
A few more steps on the way today.
Pick ups and bridge fitted - I even remembered the earth wire:-)
Control plate just laid in place for the pics. Have to psych myself up for the last few bits of soldering.
Attachment 25053
Attachment 25054
I had the black pearl in mind for the plastics as soon as I chose the stain colour but I have been having my doubts as the build has gone on.
Seeing it coming together now I think it might not be to everyone's taste but I think it looks good.
Dude! It looks great!
The surround around the neck pickup is what ties it together. And I love the stain you got going. It looks really slick.
Great work so far. It's gonna be a beaut.
Wiring finished and its all buttoned up with the strings on.
There is a slight gremlin with the wiring no doubt due to incompetence/poor workmanship but it is able to make noise.
The action is very low - strings actually touching the frets at the moment. A quick check looks like it just need raising at the bridge but I am going to gradually increase the tension on the strings over a day or two until they are in tune to let the neck settle then will have a proper look at set-up.
Attachment 25228
Attachment 25229
Attachment 25230
DUDE!!!!! Looks really great!
That’s a nice looking bass Gary, that black pearl really pops against the light color of the stain. Don’t forget to enter it in guitar of the month.
Another cool interpretation of the Ricks style bass. Its come together well.
Thanks for the comments guys.
I mentioned electrical gremlins - well, it wouldn't work I stereo. Only the neck pickup would work.
Wiring and electronics is not my strong point, I can follow instructions but when it comes to fault finding I am in trouble.
So I went over and over it and re-made a couple of joints but just couldn't see anything wrong. Then I found a comment on the 'net that if you plug a mono lead into the stereo jack on a Rick it will only work on one pickup.
This lead me to suspect that the problem was not with the guitar but what I was plugging in to it which was the splitter shown at the top of the photo.
So I ordered the lead shown at the bottom of the photo and we are in business :cool:
Attachment 25337
I have only tried it through two channels of the same amp so far but it looks to be a success.
Forgot to mention in the course of doing this realised that neck vol and tone were operating bridge pickup and vice versa. D'oh!
Just had to swap pickup wires over on the switch and all good.
Glad you got it working. Does the mono jack switch over correctly when you insert a mono plug, both pickups through the single output?
It does Scott.
Thanks again for your advice - would never have got there without it!
On the basis that they're never quite finished - a bit of an update.
It has always niggled me that the bridge pickup isn't right so I bought a set of cheapy Ric style humbuckers.
I may invest in a rather more upmarket set at some point but wanted to use these to get the fitting right first.
Starting point
Attachment 35517
Bridge pickup cavity needed surprisingly small amount of material removed
Attachment 35513
And recently acquired palm router (only used it a couple of times but worth its weight in gold already) made light work of it
Attachment 35514
Also decided to have a change to white plastics and this is the end result
Attachment 35515
Attachment 35516
Not sure if I prefer the white parts to black. I think they each have a different vibe and can always change back later if I want to.
Not had much chance to play it yet but I'm much happier with the twin humbucker set up.
Nice work.
Are you running the humbuckers in parallel for a more twangy sound (it is a Ric style bass after all), or in series? Or are they single conductor jobs so no option?
Bloomin' 'eck Simon, you've gone beyond my level of understanding there!
But they have one hot wire which I guess means single conductor :)
Yes. Not a lot you can play with there. As you were.
Looks great