I already have a vintage ’72 Fender J Bass and a more recent Ibanez so I thought I would go for something a bit different this time. I’ve always wanted a fretless bass, so why not a fretless MMB-4??
First time for a couple of things with this build so it might be a bit detailed for some, but hopefully someone will learn from my mistakes.
First job was to decide on the headstock shape. Unfortunately the kit has the standard 4-in-a-row tuners like the Fender and I was kind of keen to keep the MM vibe going so I decide to do a 3x1 headstock.
I also wanted to keep the theme of my recent headstock design so I had to make a few concessions to the design. I'm not totally convinced that the design works aesthetically, but its the best I could come with.
My first decision was do I do the smart thing and buy an 18mm plug cutter, or do I make a plug by hand? As you have probably already guessed, I was not overly blessed with the smart gene so I decided to make a plug out of a bit of maple left over from a headstock from an earlier build. As per my recent penchant for hand tools, it was all done by hand. Saw, rasp, file and finally sandpaper. Not all that pretty, but it got the job done.
Next was to drill a replacement hole for the 4th tuner a-la MM. Again I had the choice of the smart (buy a new bit) or the dumb…... So I drilled a 14mm hole (the nearest bit size I had to 18mm) and reamed the rest out by hand (rat-tailed file and sandpaper).
So that's the headstock almost done. I will be putting a veneer on the headstock so although it looks a bit rough it should be OK. To avoid damage I will leave doing the veneer until after I have finished the fretboard. I must get used to calling it a fingerboard as obviously there will be no frets.
Stay tuned.
rob
Pic 1 - The embryonic plug and a rough outline of the headstock shape
Pic 2 - The plug fully formed
Pic 3 - Headstock shaped, plugged and drilled
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