Hi everyone! I ordered a semi-hollow body bass as a gift for my boyfriend and i’m realizing i’m in over my head. I painted the body andy stained the neck but I have no idea where to start now with the actual building and I’ve been referring to the manual and videos but still feel just as lost. If anyone has any advice I would really really appreciate it!
Let me first start off by saying how cool it is you are building a Bass for your boyfriend. My partner gifted me my first guitar kit, but left the building process up to me ;-).
Couple of things to get you started:
1. I would advise you to start a building diary, with the code ( i think it might be HB4??) in the title. That way people can follow along and answer questions when you have them. Also add an explanation what type of look/ finish you are going for.
2. What hollow body Bass kit did you order? If it is the HB-4, Cliff Rodgers provided some excellent links to help Rabbit start his build: https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ht=hollow+bass
3. Further more, lay out all the components and do a Mock-up built to see if everything lines-up. Take some pictures and post them into your build diary, so people can see where you are in the process.
So get that build diary started, do the mock-up and let's take it from there!
Ow and don't forget to have fun!
Check out Guns and Guitars on YouTube. Dan Thompson has put together many basses, You will get a good idea of what you need to do watching some of those.
You are going to be in good company here. My 14 year old decided that he wanted to build a guitar, and bought the exa7 kit. I'm not as adventurous as he is and would probably have not been comfortable pulling the trigger and trying to build this. And he decided to upgrade some of the hardware, so he bought new pickups, new tuners, etc.
We made a good number of mistakes along the way. Honestly, we learned more from the mistakes then we did the things that simply went together correctly. This forum was super helpful in setting us straight.
The things I had some trouble with
1). Took way more clear coat than I thought
2). When we wet sanded, i didn't realize that a tiny amount of water in the hardware holes would cause the wood to swell and crack finish a bit
3). My neck had some issues with the cut angle and when I first clamped it in and glued it, it was way off and left the guitar with unplayable action. I learned how to steam the neck off and reset it.
4). I had some problems in my wiring, we had a volume knob that didn't work and lots of noise from the amp. Turned out to be some bad grounds, and a bad volume pot.
But end of the day, my son has a 7 string guitar that is working and he's learning to play a 7 string.
I'll help out whenever I can if you have questions.
Take your time.
Make sure all the bits are there (the pictures of your chosen instrument on the PBG website will help)
Ask questions.
Try and put the bits together without screws or glue.
Start a build diary and ask even more questions - there's no such thing as a stupid question from a raw beginner.
Have fun, take your time.
You've started facing in the right direction with doing the finish on the body & neck, but do not expect that this won't need looking at again as work on other things progresses.
Do you know how to solder? Does the kick need anything soldered?
Well now you've opened the door to building kit guitars don't be too surprised if the door won't shut.
Also remember to use proper PPE. You should be wearing a P2 mask with fine grit sandpapers especially with Bone nuts. Also using a decent spray respirator for stains and clear coats. You should not be able to smell any fumes when applying finishes if your protection is working.
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