Printable View
Hi everyone.
have only just stumbled on this website today, and have not moved for a couple of hours!
I have recently acquired an Iceman Bass Guitar.
Am looking to build that, and a mockingbird style when I can afford it...
completely new to the game of building/putting together these kits.
hope i can find some inspiration round here for these builds, though I am keen on a purple/black burst for this Iceman.
Headband Guy is the game...
Sam is my real name.
Welcome Sam. Ask as many questions as you like. We like to interfere, I mean help.
Welcome Sam, looks like purple is taking over from the blue guitar craze, enjoy
Welcome Sam - not seen an Iceman bass build before so it will be interesting to see...
Hi Sam welcome to the forum, where are you from ?
I've never seen an Iceman bass either, I see you get a bonus first fret block marker which the 6 and 7 string guitars don't have.
Start a build diary and ask as many questions as you like, the forum will guide you through the build
Thanks for the warm welcome team!
have been looking recently at the VHT Purple anodised paint.
not sure how this would go with wood, as it is an engine paint.
so, i am lucky enough to have a sample coming from VHT.
I am too excited to see this bass come to life!
what is meant by, fret block marker?
ill one-up ya there on the build diary, and see ya video progress...
will be one added this week with wiring and components, as I have a LOT of questions!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y-PxlvgNpU
Hi Sam, I mean the fret markers on the fingerboard, these are called block markers as they are block shaped.
My comment was both the 6 and 7 string Iceman don't have a 1st fret marker (they start at 3rd fret), where your bass does.
I love the look of a 1st fret block marker screams rock n roll !
I'll check out your video
ahhhh right on!
you can tell im new to this!
but, yes, now i know exactly what you speak of. :)
Hi Sam just saw your video and this looks like a DIY Guitars kit, which is different to BYOG and Pitbull Guitars. That's why PBG don't sell an Iceman bass !
Which store did you buy it from Australia or are you from US ?
Most of the holes you need to drill yourself (neck screws/bridge plate/pickups). The hole you thought was a ding is for the earth wire makes contact with bottom of the bridge plate and goes to the control cavity so it will be hidden by the bridge plate.
You need to work out the scale length of the bass to work out the placement of the bridge but we'll worry about that later.
If you start a build diary please start it in Non Pitbull Gear as this is a DIY kit
yeah, grabbed it from DIY guitars in oz.
i been eyeing it off for ages, so i thought id better grab it, since it was way cheaper than ebay from the states.
yeah, im here in aus, in adelaide.
so i have noticed, have to drill pickups, and bridge holes.
and yeah, was told only just after posting the video, the hole was do the bridge ground.
if i had of seen the pitbull website prior to purchasing, i would have thought twice, but i have it now, and there seems to be so much support and options for these ones.
ahhhhh... i have to work out the scale length... riiiight!...
hahahaha, sounds like im in for some complicated fun!
no worries, thanks for the heads up for forum places, and more areas for me to search!
appreciate it all!
Couple of good links if you're new - http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=1895 - basic how to on building kit guitars and http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=3048 - how to place the bridge on a bass... Hope they help.
Thanks for that on the bass bridge, and all that!
fantastic read.
the placing of the bridge and the wiring of the pickups and volume and tone knobs is going to be tricky real soon!
Take your time and don't worry about drilling any holes until you have done the finish and getting around to final assembly.
Lining up the bridge is very important and easiest way is to install low E tuner and G tuner, clamp neck in place, run both those strings through the bridge, over the nut and take up some slack on the tuning pegs, then drag the bridge south taking up string tension to somewhere near where you think the bridge should end up. This helps to align the north/south plane and how much string gap on each side of the end of the fret board. Highly recommend using masking tape as a straight edge reference point to show where these strings pass over the body & PUP's on the way to where bridge will be seated. On my EX-5 I found that the slots for strings on bridge saddles were not in the middle of such and used this method to properly line things up as using edge of base plate did not work so good.
Next part is measuring the scale length and the cheats way out would be to take a measurement off another bass as most are around 34" but the more accurate and better way is to measure distance from inside edge of nut to apex mid point of 12th fret, then double this to saddle on the treble G string side as it seems that mostly this will be the shortest string length and the fatter strings will need to be screwed back down south to get intonation right. Upside is most of the bridges have quite a lot of travel which immensely helps with setting up the intonation.
Once you have figured out scale length add more masking tape around base plate so you know where it should go after you have drilled the screw holes. Another tip, put tape down where you are about to drill to prevent any damage from drilling or accidently touching another part of body whilst drill is still spinning.
Finally, as the kit looks like Basswood, add another coat or two of top coat before commencing any wet sanding as fresh untreated holes will swell once wet and found this out the hard way myself.
Cool looking kit and keen to see how things progress.