Finally gave into months of temptation and pulled the trigger on an SHB-4 headless bass a couple of days ago. Already been despatched by Adam but in the current climate who knows how long it will take to arrive. Will update when it does.
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Finally gave into months of temptation and pulled the trigger on an SHB-4 headless bass a couple of days ago. Already been despatched by Adam but in the current climate who knows how long it will take to arrive. Will update when it does.
I’ll be watching with interest. What's the plan?
Depends on the wood obviously but i'm thinking of contouring the body and, if it's a nice slab, a red stain. I don't have any red guitars! Will need to look at some kind of poly finish on this one though as tru-oil can send red orange too easily. Probably do the usual pot and cap upgrade but there's not much else that can be done hardware-wise. Will see what happens when the wood arrives.
It has arrived in the UK - super quick! Thanks Adam. :)
And is now waiting in customs. I think this may take some time. :(
P.s. I totally get that this is not exactly the most important thing in the world right now, but, well, new guitar! :D
Ha, nice one, fancied one of these but as my second build got a P Bass from a UK supplier.
Not quite as good as a Pitbull one but I am pressing ahead with the build as I can't go anywhere
and have cleared most domestic chores. The place smells of fresh paint :)
I know what you mean about it not being important but we all need to find ways to retain our sanity
and that is important.
For once the delivery boys find us all at home and eager for the parcel !
Crack on and stay safe/well.
Yeah, they can't just wander round with a stack of those 'while you were out' notes... ;)
Drew, I know your far away from doing any finishing, but I'll offer this anyway...Quote:
Will need to look at some kind of poly finish on this one though as tru-oil can send red orange too easily.
I'm presuming spraying is not an option for you if your go-to finish was Tru Oil. If this is the case and you want another wipe-on finish, don't buy wipe-on poly... make your own!
Mix 50/50 mineral turps and your preferred brand of (oil-based) polyurethane and you have wipe-on poly for 1/3 of the price what they charge at a hardware store. That's all you get when you buy branded "wipe-on" poly anyway. Thinned polyurethane.
In good conditions, you can get multiple coats on per day just like Tru Oil. (I find 3-4 coats/day is achievable)
Spraying isn't really an option so that is a really useful tip. Thanks! :)
I'm assuming Aussie mineral turps = UK white spirit or turpentine substitute.
Yep, that was my assumption too. Of course the relative prices of turps and polyurethane might be different here...
Yes, turpentine.Quote:
I'm assuming Aussie mineral turps = UK white spirit or turpentine substitute.
It's get confusing crossing oceans and continents with some of these fluids.
Here, White Spirit is something else again, not turpentine.
It has cleared customs. Another £50 and it will be mine... ;)
A box has arrived:
https://i.imgur.com/zWhpaqq.jpg
One appears to have a 12th fret marker missing.
Fell out when unpacking. Found it now.
Are you going to look at upgrading the bridge and “headstock”. Haven’t built on of these myself, but those who have seem to find better result with better hardware.
I did have a look at some after market options but the prices were such that it'd be cheaper buying a new Steinberger and stripping the bits off.
Which seems counter productive...
Besides, the upright will remain my main bass instrument, this will really just be for studio work where an electric is a better fix for the mix.
So i'll start with stock (apart from pots and cap) and see how it goes from there.
The pictures on the website show a very slab sided body, so part of my plan was to cut away at the shoulder and to make a belly cut.
However, on opening the box it seems the kit has been upgraded slightly.
Shoulder cut (I think I'll go a bit heavier on this though):
https://i.imgur.com/5CPEcR1.jpg
Belly cut (I shall probably roll over the edges):
https://i.imgur.com/icbDW8r.jpg
Fitting it for a mock build shows lots of play in the pocket so some shimming* will be required here:
https://i.imgur.com/SmVfqZq.jpg
Lining things up looks pretty good, neck pocket shimming notwithstanding.
https://i.imgur.com/YsdLprB.jpg
Typically, instead of thinking 'yay, less cutting and shaping' I have instead had an idea about how I could make it more complicated.
* It also occurs to me that I have no idea how long the scale should be and therefore whether any additional shimming or cutting will be required at the end of the neck pocket.
So, have you thought about either enlarging the belly cut or else going on a diet? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by blinddrew
I am genuinely thinking about the latter! 2 weeks of self-isolation and another of recovery have not been kind to my waistline!
It'll be 34" Fender scale.
Feeling you on the expanding waist line. I rely on Parkrun every week to keep me reasonable....
The two ways you can come out of the lockdown:
https://i.imgur.com/VUu3xm7.jpg
Well I can definitely confirm I'm heading firmly to the right-hand image there!
Today was supposed to be about experimenting with stains and seeing what might work and if I wanted to male life hard on myself.
But I appear to have mislaid my inks.
Which is vexing.
So I carved a name plate for the studio instead.
Looking at Rothko and frost, I'm wondering what size bottle of dye I might be needing. I'm assuming a 250ml would do the trick.
https://www.rothkoandfrost.com/wood-...ute%5B3%5D=192
Any counter-arguments?
No. You'll use a small fraction of one of those bottles on a single guitar. Remember that you'll need to dilute it a fair bit as well, so don't pour too much out at once.
Is Parkrun still running?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
No it's been shut down for nearly a month. I have a group that I meet there and we normally peer pressure each other to show up. Which helps with getting motivated. Not the same trying to run regularly on my own, but I'm trying.
Cheers Wonks, i shall pop an order in.
Not much progress to date as I've waited for stuff to arrive and focused on other stuff.
But the neck has now been set straight, there's a couple of high frets but mostly it's looking pretty good. After my previous experience with fretboards I've waxed this one before doing any taping up.
Aside from that, all I've done is marked up some carving/chamfering and experimented with some dyes.
https://i.imgur.com/8DYXSvK.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/DN5T5ar.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/zrWgTYB.jpg
What's red and sticky?
Drew's test stain stick.
This is getting interesting.
If by 'interesting' you mean 'Drew's biting off more than he can chew', then yes, interesting. ;)
Got a bit of time today so smoothed off the belly curve, rounded off all the back edges, put a bit of profile around the back lower waist and took a bit off the shoulder. Then got everything sanded to 120.
Taking a file to the belly and the, well, under belly?
https://i.imgur.com/Ul3tgFR.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/q00eQly.jpg
Back edges smoothed and sanded:
https://i.imgur.com/SQmrcdz.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/QtKPIer.jpg
Quick question, grain pop then grain fill? Or vice versa?
Mahogany isn't really a wood that takes to being popped, as there isn't any part of the wood that absorbs a dark colour more than any other part. You'll pretty much just end up making it darker all over.
But a dark grain filler would work to highlight the pore structure.
Hmm. I was thinking it was basswood rather than mahogany. But i am happy to defer to your wisdom! :)
[BBasswood doesn't require grain filling and won't pop either. But it says 'mahogany' in the kit description. Though maybe not as we know it.
Pit Bull Guitars SHB-4 Headless Electric Bass Guitar Kit Includes:
Mahogany body
Maple Neck (bolt-on, C profile) and Rosewood fretboard
34″ Scale with 24 medium jumbo frets
Black Hardware
Overlord of Music Locking Bridge and Nut
2 volume and 1 tone knobs
Black Bass Humbuckers
All electronics (pots, caps, wires and solder)
Lead
Strap buttons
Set of Bass Strings
That top rear bout piece looks the most like mahogany of all the pieces.
Probably mahogany's 2nd cousin twice removed.
I should probably have read that at some point...
Double checking the alignment:
https://i.imgur.com/XNkCEWz.jpg
Making a little shim:
https://i.imgur.com/DFlHk0H.jpg
gluing it in:
https://i.imgur.com/6lmUBvH.jpg
Did something else today but didn't take any pictures and can't remember what it was.
Maybe you levelled and profiled the frets?
That could be it... ;)
Lesson learned from last time was to wax the fretboard before taping up. So after levelling off and polishing the frets there was only a little bit of lift and no massive chunks taken out.
Also took off the nut/string clamp to file out some rough casting. I'll paint that up before re-attaching.
https://i.imgur.com/FwAPwpS.jpg