New kit arrived in the mail today and I couldn't wait to get it open. Terribly dissapointed - the Maple neck has that much character and grain in it I was tempted to get out the spray on Black straight away... 8-)
Overall super excited about this build and the neck has just got me started!
Project name: "Legs".
PS - yes - that grain is all the way along the neck!
Current builds:
GPB-4B: https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...548#post184548
neck looks good Brendan, hows the grain in the body ? pics of a mock build ?
Current Builds and status
scratch end grain pine tele - first clear coat on !
JBA-4 - assembled - final tweaks
Telemonster double scale tele - finish tobacco burst on body and sand neck
Completed builds
scratch oak.rose gum Jazzmaster - assembled needs setup
MK-2 Mosrite - assembled - play in
Ash tele with Baritone neck - neck pup wiring tweaks and play in
Woks,
Ask and you shall receive...
Body a 3 piece - rougher than I remember the P Bass being, but just gives more scope for sanding. One worm hole in the back near the join of the top two pieces of the body, but nothing too bad - part of the character of the guitar... The fit of the parts is good - the pickguard is a bit tight around the neck, but I'd rather tight than loose.
Not sold on the pickguard - was even trying to work out how much of it I could cut away - it's only really needed to cover the front pickup hole and then the stainless control plate covers the back cavity.
Now - to fret or not to fret... Seeing what Tim is doing with the Black MOP has got me thinking, though the goldish colour of the current frets is pretty nice as well. I do think that the ebony dots have to go - Black MOP or Paua may be the way to go.
Main thing is I think this will be a nice and slow job - looks to me like a keeper.
Current builds:
GPB-4B: https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...548#post184548
looks great Brendan, I didn't know bass kits came with maple necks, so you going for a light or colourless finish ?
You shaping the headstock to a stock fender shape ?
Current Builds and status
scratch end grain pine tele - first clear coat on !
JBA-4 - assembled - final tweaks
Telemonster double scale tele - finish tobacco burst on body and sand neck
Completed builds
scratch oak.rose gum Jazzmaster - assembled needs setup
MK-2 Mosrite - assembled - play in
Ash tele with Baritone neck - neck pup wiring tweaks and play in
Yep - basses do come with maple necks - check out the JB-4M - I think Adam has a couple left.
Headstock - Fender(ish)...
Colours - to be confirmed but something light - colourless, dairy blonde, wax, tru oil maybe???
Following on from the wooden pickguard recently - may give one of those a go - so stoked with the grain in the neck that I really want it to pop!
Current builds:
GPB-4B: https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...548#post184548
As a paid-up lieutenant of the Bass Acquisition Squad, I will be watching this one with great interest.... :P
"Music is in the air; it's my job to pull it out."- Jaco Pastorius
Look forward to seeing this project unfold
Righto - first update in a while - have been working on a few other things and sanding, etc, etc....
To get the natural look, I've ended up shellacing the body and will Tru Oil over the top and neck. Overall - not a massive fan of shellac - gloss is fantastic, but Wudtone is easier to apply - just seems to give a better outcome first time (mind you - limited experience).
So far - new bridge has arrived (oooh nice and heavy!)... Replaced the fretboard dots with Black MOP. Headstock shaped. Sanded. Sanded. Sanded. Sanded. Sanded. Shellaced. Sanded. Shellaced.
Major issues to date:
- low angle "split" in front and back - there were three small low angle "splits" - one in the front and two in the back - sanding didn't do too much to them as they were somewhat deep. My efforts to fix them were somewhat unsuccessful - in the end it was superglue and sandings from the rest of the body, but by then I'd done enough damage with Timbermate to make them somewhat visible...
- shellac - seems hard to get a nice even coat - if you leave an edge that bit will be noticably darker than when you come back to it. Yes you can keep on applying, but it does become tacky pretty quickly. It can be sanded back and then spot fixed, but Wudtone did seem more user friendly...
- China - waiting on some things to make a new pickguard and it seems to have taken a slight detour - via Germany or the US or something...
Anyway - some status pics to date.
Current builds:
GPB-4B: https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...548#post184548
Pickguards:
Options:
1. Stock. Pic attached.
2. Blue mirror - picked up at eBay auction hoping I could get rid of the blue and have a mirror finish. Can't. That said - starting to grow on me... Pic attached.
3. Maple replacement pickguard. Still waiting for it on the slow boat from China. I'll need to join a couple of pieces then shape them. Should be a fun exercise as I think I'll need to redefine the shape a little to fit the pieces. No pics.
Any thoughts?
(Stripes in the pickguard in the above image are the corrigations in the roof of my man cave).
Current builds:
GPB-4B: https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...548#post184548
Well, for what it's worth, I like the blue. It's most definitely different and quite striking.
'As long as there's, you know, sex and drugs, I can do without the rock and roll.'
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