IB-6S build in Copenhagen

[agersnap]

Finally got around to start assembling my 6 string bass kit. Ordered in April, but of course delayed due to corona.

Body and neck looks very good - the burl veneer is stunning - and fits together nicely.



I have decided to upgrade some of the hardware right away and have fitted a Hipshot bridge, Aguilar DCB PU's and a Glockenklang preamp. (The pre amp is so small that I can fit the battery in the cavity, avoiding routing for a battery compartment)

I have completed the mock-build and I am very satisfied with the result, - plays and sounds good.

Only one concern: The neck is very thick, and I am seriously considering shaving 3-4mm of the backside to make it more playable. Any experiences doing something like that in the group? May require some tooling to avoid ruining the shape.

[Ricky]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I cannot comment on the reduction of the neck thickness as I have no experience with bass guitars.
Is the neck thicker because of the extra tension with 6 strings??

I have, however, built a couple of necks from scratch and would say that careful use of a spokeshave will give good results and should not affect the profile in any negative way as long as you take your time (assuming that the reduction is possible).
Also, laminated necks (as yours is) are naturally a bit stronger than single timber necks as long as they are constructed properly.

Veneer looks great. What finish are you planning?
You could do with posting bigger pictures - I think the limit is 1500 pixels on largest side?

Cheers
Ricky

[Simon Barden]

Nice looking kit.

I'd be wary of taking too much off the depth of the neck, especially in the middle. I don't know the dimensions of the neck but there's always a danger of taking too much off and exposing the truss rods (I believe the neck has two). So maybe 1-2mm off the very back at most. I've got a 5-string and that feels very fat compared to my 4-string basses. But a lot isn't the depth, it's just the width.

The truss rods shouldn't be installed any deeper than on a normal bass, so if you've got a 4-string. measure the depth of the neck along the middle of the neck. Then try and measure the depth of the neck on the IB-6 where the two truss rods are, either side of the centre-line. I certainly wouldn't want to make the neck any shallower than the standard neck is at the locations of the truss rods, though you can then flatten-off the very back of the neck in-between those locations if you've been able to take the neck depth down at all.

[agersnap]

Thanks for your ideas Ricky. I have a carpenter friend, I'll consult with him as well about reducing the neck thickness - but I think a few mm's would be possible.

I will only give the body and headstock a very light oak stain to emphasize the wood structure and finish it off with 8-10 layers of true oil.

[agersnap]

I have been working on the finish for a while. Applied a warm oak stain to the front and a darker color on the sides and back. As it turned out there was some glue stains on the front that I thought was natural variations in the wood. I have decided that it is not worth the risk to try and sand it off.



Sanded the back of the neck, but only reduced it by a few mm's.

Now I am applying multiple coats of true oil.. Stay tuned.

[agersnap]

Here is a few pics with the front and back after 6-8 layers of oil

[JimC]

I don't think I can see glue stains if that's any encoragement. There's a mark that looked like a glue stain at first, but its so perfectly book matches I don't think it can be. Its an interesting look that, rather striking, although perhaps not what I'd want for one of my own.