Nice work, I like this
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Nice work, I like this
Sent from my GT-I9506 using Tapatalk
very nice H you should be proud
Thanks guys, I'm really happy with the way it's turning out.
Since I haven't had much stuff to work on the last two weeks (I mean, 15 minutes twice daily maybe for the tru oil, and my other kit's still curing), I got my first DIY pedal to the stage of being in the box and working 100% correctly. It's a gated fuzz with separate clean/dirty volumes, drive control, and gate threshold.
Sounds decent, if not exactly what I was hoping for. Should do better next time :)
http://i.imgur.com/GMpv45x.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/pHzVADx.jpg
Love the shiny finish you got there H.
So hard to fill Ash grain but reckon it adds more character and definition the way yours has turned out. So right about each TO coat taking next to no time at all to apply and hence the reason why I ended up with 4 on the go at one stage just to keep me busy on something.
Sounds like you have been bitten hard by the GAS bug. For a semi hollow the HB-4 looks the easier way to go as most who have tried the ESB-4 have all had dramas with the 3 anchor point bridge lifting off the body.
Looks great H, sooo dark and warm looking.
Did you get all the bits for the pedal at Jaycar?
The 1/4" mono sockets, foot switch, and large knobs I got in various places online because my local Jaycar has some surprising gaps in its range. Several of the layouts I want to try following specify transistors that don't seem to be easily avaible in Australia and I'm not knowledgable enough to substitute things like that on my own.
So I've been ebaying a fair few components for future attempts, since it looks like you can get a clone of a 3 or 4 hundred buck pedal together for about 40 bucks (cheaper if you don't mind a plastic box and cheap/no knobs) like this, provided you can find a perfboard or veroboard layout and follow it, which I can just manage although it's the very limit of my amateur electronics skills.
Yep :) But "acquisition" isn't quite the right word since I reckon I'd still be building rather than buying new even if money was no object.Quote:
Originally Posted by wazkelly
My cheapy ebay nut files arrived yesterday, so I filed the string slots in the nut I shaped a couple of weeks ago. I probably need to take more off the bottom, but I figure I'll leave it a little higher than I think it needs to be and wait until the strings are on - Easy enough to take more off, impossible to make it taller. Blanks are cheap enough that if I've messed it up bad I can always try again, but it'd be nice to get it right the first time.
http://i.imgur.com/TuJnFla.jpg
Bass is just about ready for polishing and assembly. I can leave a very very faint line in the tru-oil with my thumbnail, almost unseeable next to the one I did 5 days ago. I'll probably leave it until the weekend at least, but it's getting real hard to be patient.
I was thinking of getting one of those files as a learning process, I really can't shell out for the expensive ones....how do you rate the files H?
I have nothing to compare them to, but I can make observations.Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy40
They got the job done, as far as I can tell. They feel fairly flimsy, especially the finer ones, but I'm not sure how much tougher they could be made given the widths. The way they are locked on to the case is slightly annoying, but doesn't make them too hard to use. You could always clip or bend them off if you found it was a problem. The single flat file is probably useless if you already have any other flat files around.
The only serious negative is that they're described as "for guitar and bass" but they were not large enough for bass E or A string slots, which I did with round hobby files I already had. I did the bone nut for my telecaster build as well and they were the right sizes for that, but I probably wouldn't buy them again for bass only.
With all that said, I'm not sorry I spent seven bucks on them, but I'd be pretty dirty if they been $50. I'd hesitate to recommend them, but... for seven bucks I'd say they're probably worth trying for yourself. They're probably fine for occasional use. I'd want something better if I was doing the job frequently.
Save even more money by buying a 'welding tip cleaner', which is what those things actually are. :D
Where did you get the vero layout for the fuzz pedal? I've tried twice to build a DIY fuzz for bass, but only been able to tune the ABC with the pedal - looking for something that may be a little more successful...
Hi brendan, i usually get them from here:
http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com.es/
you can find them from type/brand. Everything its on there.
S!
That's why I love this place, every time I look at it I learn something new!Quote:
Originally Posted by pablopepper
Yep, got the plans from there. I'd look for plans tagged "verified" unless you're cool with troubleshooting and making changes, which I'm not.Quote:
Originally Posted by sansan
For other electronics beginners like myself, I'd also recommend www.diyguitarpedals.com.au, where you can buy a (limited and guitar-centric) range of kits that contains everything except the enclosure and uses a printed PCB rather than veroboard which makes it very easy to assemble something that works.
I just built the 1w Chime Amp from there, and it's cool as a headphone amp and also drives an old 4-inch hifi speaker enough to make an electric guitar about as loud as an acoustic. I'm intending to make an expanded version with EQ and use my new-found (thanks guys!) wood finishing skills to make a tiny 9v combo amp.
So... A nice sunny motivating day and...
http://i.imgur.com/ee3Uw1q.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/MfTIP00.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/41zA20R.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NsSuYbp.jpg
Final smooth and polish took forever with micromesh pads, but the results look like they were worth it.
Assembly was easy as pie, except that after I got everythign together and plugged in, there was no sound. None. Nothing. The socket tip was bent so it wasn't contacting the jack, so it was literally a 10 second fix, but scary.
It intonated easily (I know I'm gonna have to keep doing it over the next couple months), action wasn't hard to set up nicely after I realised that eyeballing it as if it was a fretted instrument gave horrible results.
Produces the correct Mwwah Mmmmwaaaah Mwhuhm noises. I'll get a recording when I'm not busy trying to get some playing in before rushing out for the night.
Again, I can't thank the community here enough for the help and advice I've received. It would have been impossible for me to get this result (or probably even a working guitar) without you guys.
she looks great H, nice work indeed!.
Nice work H! Looking great!
sweet looking fretless H, would love to hear a sound demo. Better enter it in the next GOTM. I was playing some fretless 4 & 5 stringers lastnight, so much fun to play !
Top job H. Really love how you achieved a similar colour on the back of the neck when compared to the body as that is not so easy to do with Ash & Maple being so different in their base timber colours.
Nice bass H love the finish
Thanks guys!
I'm pretty impressed with the sound from the stock pickups. I was expecting a much thinner sound, but they thump along OK. Not gonna say they're awesome, but they're certanly not bad! Sound demo tomorrow hopefully. Today was literally the first time I've ever played a fretless, so the playing's gonna be a bit wonky but I'm sure I'll be able to demonstrate the sound of the bass.
Waz, the first test stain I mixed from walnut and black made my maple test piece very close to the body so I went with that as the neck stain. 100% beginner's luck rather than careful experimenting and trials. I'm sure it won't be as easy next time :)
"Next time"......... *watches as Adam collects another soul and stuffs it in his bag laughing manically.Quote:
Originally Posted by UpperCaseH
Remember kids, no one stops at one.
Most of the time we have these visions in mind as to how things should look only for it to come out slightly different.
Good to hear your 1st experimental brew worked out perfect.
Nice one H, looks awesome
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Yeah, there'll be a next time for sure! And probably several more after that. I can't decide whether it's the enjoyment of the process or the fun of having a new instrument that's the best part, but they both add up to something better than "I bought a new bass". I've been emailing Adam with stupid questions about what's included with what and I'm on the point of ordering a kit at the moment.
In the mean time, here's a quick and dirty recording of the fretless. My recording skills are extremely primitive and I've never used this amp to do anything other than the demo you can see there of the pedal I posted earlier, so the recording leaves a lot to be desired but I think it shows the character of the instrument if you can ignore the input clipping I couldn't get rid of in the 20 minutes I had this morning to do it.
Bass directly into Ampeg PF500 into interface and Cubase because I didn't have time to do anything more fancy: https://soundcloud.com/furtivedog/fretless-bass-test-1
Edit: New kit ordered, gonna do an LPA-1 with black hardware. Plan is ebony timbermate all over, black back, sides, and neck (try to make the grain show on the body) and then either a more transparent black or transparent dark red on the top and maybe headstock. Finished in Tru-oil again because I enjoyed that process.
Sounds great H - overall - are you happy with the build? I'm guessing so as you've already started the ball rolling on #2...
Yep, very happy with this as my first "finished" kit guitar. I'm not sure if it's finished finished because I'm not yet 100% happy with the action. Right now it seems like the nut is a little bit tall, but I don't want to start making adjustments until a few weeks have passed and the neck's settled in properly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brendan
This one's technically build #2 - I've got a telecaster on the go but the dingotone still hasn't cured on it after 5 and a bit weeks, and with what I've learned from the bass I'm seriously considering sanding it and starting again because there are things I could do better./ I'll give it another week or two and see what happens though.
I'm not joking when I say that I can't figure out if there's more enjoyment in having the new bass or in building it. Wood work and especially wood finishing was not at all in my skill set before I started, and I'm finding that it's very relaxing and enjoyable to have something like this to work on, so there's every chance I'll just keep going and keep trying to improve each time. There's about 4 different ideas floating around in my head about stuff I'd like to try, so I've got plenty of inspiration to go on with.
Overall, I was expecting the process to be very difficult, and... well it wasn't easy, but it was far from the impossibility that I thought it might be 3 or 4 months back.
Hey H, I totally agree with you ... it's no wonder this guitar building game can get addictive. I'm also getting near the end of my first build and have already ordered the next one! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by UpperCaseH
Short video demo: https://youtu.be/tnhxxgoqqRo
I can't get audio from my interface to sync with my cheap webcam, so it's recorded via smartphone. Gives a bit of a better idea than the previous demo though.
Haha, for sure! (Gotta go check the tracking page again to see if it's moved!)Quote:
Originally Posted by ThreeBbass
Sounds great H!
Good demo H nice sounding bass
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nice result and great sound H, very pro quality beard going on there too mate
sounds great H, you have the hang of sliding into and out of notes already !
Nice mellow tones and love the ZZ Top Beard too.
MAn that vid is cool H. Im a massive fan of the stain on that axe and the black 3 ply pickguard...looks great and sounds great too...
Thank you everyone, I'm improving with the fretless and it's great to have a new thing to learn to play.
Beard's only about half way to ZZ Top, but it's a long term project.
If I grew a beard it would be mostly white and age me more than I feel I need at this stage in life. At least yours has a bit of Viking redness to it.