Gavs ESB-4 Hollowbody Bass

hi guys,

Finally my ES335 Hollowbody Bass kit has arrived and it's a beauty. When I first queried Adam about the possibility to produce this as a kit, I didn't hold out much hope of it coming together. Nowhere else on the internet, either here in Oz or overseas can such a kit be found. But Adam came through thanks to the support of the bass building enthusiasts here in the Pitbull community. I owe a debt of thanks to everyone who helped make this a reality by supporting the kit with a pre-order. It's always a bit of a gamble with new kits - it usually takes a couple of rounds to iron out the small teething problems - so I'm really, really thankful that the guys in this remarkable community stepped up and enthusiastically supported it.

Anyway, enough gushing - on to the kit! The body is really beautiful, with a pronounced flame maple figure that will look great with the planned cherry dye with black highlights.

http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...itted-back.JPG

http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...tted-above.JPG

I have similar issues with the tuners on the headstock not fitting that Bassguy and Tim have previously reported, and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about it at this stage. My current thinking is that I'll have to fill the holes with dowel and re-drill for smaller tuners. Hmm, depends how brave I am feeling.

http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...3hj-tuners.JPG

I'm really itching to get started on this one. Checking the neck fit will be the next job while I mull over the required fixes to the headstock.

cheers,
Gav.

Its a shame the head gear doesnt fit ,
I am looking at doweling the holes and redrilling with smaller tuners to.
Looking forward to seeing how yours comes together.

Is it not possible to obtain a bushing to fit inside the larger hole?

Your right again Gav. I had to use conversion bushings on my LP, so I could fit the older style klusson tuners.
If my memory serves me correctly, the klusson had a 6mm peg and these kits have a 10mm hole.
They worked a treat.

Thanks Gavmeister! - you are a life saver. I didnt even know these existed. Awesome!

cheers,
Gav.

I doubt the bushing idea will solve my problem. The holes are so close that my tuners are touching each other. If I dowel to spread them apart I would have to trim the housing of the tuners. Not ideal.

Small tuners for me is the answer, but no loss- I have another bass in need of new 2+2 tuners....

Yeah mine are the same Bassguy. If i dowel and re-drill it will be for smaller tuners.

cheers,
Gavin.

Ok guys I need some serious help here.

Closer inspection of the neck heel fit shows some serious issues with the woodworking in the neck pocket. The interior bottom surface of the pocket is very uneven and to my amateur eye does not seem to be finished deeply enough. Here's what i mean.

There are several "steps" in the pocket base surface, where the surface has not been completely levelled. It may not be completely visible in the photo:

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...et_closeup.jpg

These steps lead to a big gap where the neck meets the edge of the body as the neck heel is not seated squarely on the base of the pocket:

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...cket_fit_1.jpg

It also shows a gap in the neck profile where the end of the fretboard meets the front of the bass. Looks to me like the pocket isn't quite deep enough. Maybe the factory didn't get around to finishing the pocket??

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...ht_profile.jpg

The real question is how can I rectify this? I'm a bit out of my depth here, so any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

thanks guys!

cheers,
Gav.

Looks like a question for DB or Gav. My suggestion would be to first check what your neck angle is like with the neck 'seated' as best as you can and the bridge sitting in place, with regard to action etc. That should give you an idea of what options you have and help to guide you on how to proceed.

Envious! That's the kit I would have loved to build, but knew my limited skills I should start with something simpler... Seeing your issues makes me think I definitely made the right the right choice, but I certainly hope you can sort out them out and make it into something brilliant. I'll be watching your progress with great interest! :-)

John / Gav - these kits do seem to have some variation in them - tried getting all my tuners in and they seem to be a snug, but comfy fit. I'll check the neck seating on mine and see how it looks.

Hi Gav,

If you have a router and a neck pocket jig/template this would work best. If not, i think that you might need to file the pocket down that 1mm or therabouts to get it as level as you can.

Thanks Gav, unfortunately no router or templates, but I do have a bastard file that might serve. Will probably be ok if i take small steps and test often. Will also take Scott's advice about an initial action test with the current height.

cheers,
Gav.

hi guys,

Filed out the neck pocket today with my bastard file. Just flattened it out a bit little by little. The height at the end of the fretboard has come down a bit and the neck is sitting much better in the pocket. There is a little gap at the heel, but not enough for me to worry about. I may fill it with Timbermate once the neck is on, or I may go back for a little more filing. Not sure.

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con..._alignment.jpg

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...lignment_2.jpg

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con..._fit_after.jpg

Anyway, I'm much relieved. The neck alignment was good straight out of the box and even with the neck lowered into the pocket the strings are still flat on the deck at zero bridge height. Now I can stop worrying about the fit!

cheers,
Gav.

Looking pretty snug in there Gav and should be OK with a bit of spakfilla ;-)
This'll be a nice brother to the florentine I reckon.

hi guys,

This morning I took the plunge and attempted my second ever burst using ColorTone dye - a so called "poor man's burst". I prepared the body with a light sand down of 360, 400 and 600 grits. At 600 grit I did a single pass of grain raising using Metholated Spirits, but the maple hardly needed it.

This time around I didn't perform a 'trace-dye' on the wood to check for glue spots. I was instead prepared to stop dying if any glue surfaced and perform a sand back to remove it. Amazingly, this kit exhibited no glue spots at all around the binding or veneer join. The quality of this kit is awesome!

I performed the burst using ColorTone Vintage Amber as a base, and then applying ColorTone Red Mahogany around the edges. I was Also going to darken the edges even more with a few drops of Tobacco Brown, but I like it now and don't want to muck with it.

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...urst_small.JPG

Gotta say I'm pretty damn pleased with it. The edges are nice and dark with the red mahogany bleeding into the flame maple as it reaches for the centre of the guitar. The centre has retained it's bright Amber hue and has not been muddied with brown. All in all a pretty awesome result - I'm right chuffed with myself. Now on to the back and sides!

cheers,
Gav.

As a postscript to my previous post.. I just took the masking off the binding and it's as clean as. The magic 471 pin-striping tape from 3M does it again!!

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...ll_binding.JPG

cheers,
Gav.

Noice, very noice!
Looks like you lucked out with the neck fit/ angle.... I had to shim mine at the butt end of the heel to get the neck sitting at the correct angle, and to get a nice flat action...

Very pretty! Another Gav masterpiece.

looks excellent Gav, for a 2nd burst you must be stoked ! Look forward to seeing this beast progress. Remember to psyche yourself up for the wiring !

great stuff Gav, 471 tape it is...

@DB, @Fretty, @Wokka, @Stan - thanks guys. it's coming along! @Wokka - yeah I'm not thinking about the wiring. Best to block it out until absolutely necessary.. ;).

Here is the back burst done. I'm pretty happy with it as well, although the lack of flame makes it harder to do IMO.

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...small_back.JPG

You can see a little glue spot over the join on the heel of the guitar. No glue spots on the back but one or two on the side. Looks like I'll have to sand the sides back a little and re-apply.

cheers,
Gav.

looks excellent Gav, nice work, is that 471 3M tape the same width as the binding ? I need to get some if it is.
Bummer about the glue but could be worse, could be on the cap !
what colour will the neck and headstock be ?
Will you be clearing with TO ? I'll keep you company in the naughty room, think DB says I got a 'life' stay there !

@Wokka - the 471 tape is just bigger than the height of the binding - about 1mm too high. What I have taken to doing is using an exacto knife and running along the top of the binding so that the excess is trimmed off. In the case of this build, the 3-ply binding on the top was also masked off with the 471 - adding a bit more overhang. Two strips, top and side, combine nicely to protect the whole lot.

I will get the Tru-Oil going to bring up the chatoyence of the flamed maple on the top and to get the dye bedded into the sides and back. Probably about 5 coats worth. Then I plan on hitting it with Acrylic lacquer if i can get my clear coat spraying regime worked out.

cheers,
Gav.

Hey Gav. The burst is looking really hot. You've done a fantastic job of blending one colour into the other. Smooth. And welcome to the deep side 8-)

@Lawry - thanks dude - I am pretty pleased with myself ;). This bursting stuff is bloody hard though...! Hoping I'll be able to tumble out a few basslines when this baby is finished. What's the bass equivalent of 3 blind mice? Is it... 3 blind mice???

cheers,
Gav.

That is a real thing of beauty Gav! Amazing job, two more strings on it and there would be my dream guitar! ;-)

Thanks Tim! - Yeah it would be great to have a matching 335 6-string. hmmmmmm... :)

cheers,
Gav.

hi guys,

Was putting my 5th coat of tru-oil on this morning and I noticed something disturbing. Seems the plywood on the sides of the guitar is bubbling. Looks like the veneer is lifting off the wood underneath.

http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...9d-bubbles.JPG


Not sure what I have done to cause this, but I'm pretty certain that there is nothing I can do about it at this stage. However, I thought I'd see what you guys thought / suggested about this little issue.

What do you reckon?

thanks,
Gav.

Hey Gav, not sure what to suggest, never seen this happen, looks like the only thing to do is to sand back the affected area as sad as that sounds. Why not try lightly sanding till the bubbles have been removed from the clear ?

Damn Gav, what a shame.

If you really think the bubbles are the top veneer of the ply lifting, then I'm not sure you should try sanding them back, as I assume you will end up sanding through the top veneer and who knows what you will find underneath. I tried to sand lifting veneer on a table once. Totally ruined the table. If they are really that noticable then you may need to sand back the whole sides and put some sort of solid colour on the sides so the patches can't be seen.

Or are they small enough so you can live with them?

@Wokka, @Fretty - thanks for the replies guys. Yeah it's definitely under the veneer not the clear. I can feel the bubble(s) sink and spring back when i put a small amount of pressure on them.

I really don't want to ruin my finish at this stage, so sanding back is a last resort (that i probably won't attempt anyway). You can't really see them if you don't know they are there, but unfortunately i will know from now on ;). I'll have to live with them if there's no easy solution I think.

I wondered whether putting a pin/needle/nail in the top of them might release some of the air pressure in there and allow the wood to sink again? Unfortunately as I've no understanding what has caused this I'm not sure if this would help. There's definitely air in there though since I can gently compress each bubble with my finger..

I'll keep pondering it. Maybe someone out there has experienced a similar thing before..

cheers,
Gav.

My thought is that the glue holding the veneer in place was missing under this section, so that when you applied the paint it seeped through the veneer and then since there was no glue to hold the shape it has warped creating the 'bubble' effect.

I's suggest getting a syringe with a needle, add some super glue and inject the super glue into this area. Then using a flexible metal sheet, press the sheet hard up against the body of the guitar until the glue is dry.

hey Gav, sounds like its worth trying to put a pin hole on the bubble to release the air - you won't see a pin hole in the finish. Sounds like sanding back isn't an option.
I'd email a pic to DB and ask his advice, I've never seen this happen and have no idea whats caused it. Have you had any humid or hot weather ? Sure you have followed the usual T.O. procedure.
Its a real bummer to get this far into a build and have the issues you are having, hope you can sort it bro !

Hey Gav, I jjust did a Google search on "repairing bubbled veneer" and there's loads of links and even a YouTube video. I'm at work so can't do much more, but if you don't get answers on Google, it may be worth an email to dingobass@pitbullguitars.com.

@Gav, @Wokka - thanks guys. I'll have a think about it. The superglue approach sounds like an option. @Adam - thanks for reminding me of google ;). I'll have a look and see if I can find that video.

cheers guys!

Gav.

yep, here's the video @Adam referred to. @Gav - of course - was right on the money with syringe & glue. The only additional detail added by the video is to drill two holes, one for the syringe and one to allow the air to escape. You guys rock. Now all i gotta do is find the equipment ;).

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEWrIWNjK_U[/embed]

cheers,
Gav.

That seems really straight forward. Gotta love YouTube tutorials.

I hope it is this straightforward for you Gav. Man, it would've broken my heart.

Thanks for the sympathy @Lawry. It's a bit of a shit I don't mind telling ya. If I don't fix the bubbles then it's going to be impossible to cut and polish the clear coats. :(

Fixing the bubbles looks easy in the video on a flat piece. Unfortunately mine is right in the curve of one of the cutaways. Will be almost impossible to clamp. I might find something heavy to rest on it like Gav suggests, but I'm not sure what I've got. I'll try a few permutations and see if I can find a way to apply enough pressure to hold the bubbles down while gluing.

cheers,
Gav.