Brett's First Build - IB-6S

[Mechanixxxer]

Hey guys!

So I've been wanting to build my own guitar for a while and stumbled across Pitbull, yada yada yada long story short I bought myself the IB-6S because I wanted a bass guitar as well, and it looked like a beauty.

It arrived today and I'm really happy with it, but I'm a complete noob when it comes to building guitars so I just had a few questions before I get stuck into it.

1. The neck socket doesn't quite line up with the end of the neck, and is somewhat sunk into the body. (Picture included) I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on how I might make them more even?

2. I'm not a huge fan of this style bridge and I wanted to know if anybody had used the Hipshot A-style bridge with any success

3. I also bought the Dingotone Coolangatta Gold stain, since it looked beautiful on the site. Is staining the spalt veneer with that and using a different/darker colour for the back worthwhile?

Anyway, besides some average frets (10th fret in particular is really badly dinged up, but I'm figuring I'll get it professionally dressed/set up etc), and a small amount of filler I had to use between the neck and the fretboard, I'm incredibly happy with it, really looking forward to getting this thing up and running!

[Gavin1393]

Hi Brett

Welcome to the forum.
Have a look here. These are previous builds of the Ib6 by members on the forum.

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ead.php?t=2559

[Tindrrel]

You might find yourself shimming the neck pocket to angle the next back slightly (lowers the string action) which may bring the scoop at the end of the fretboard level with the body. Maybe.

Be aware with any replacement bridge of the string spacing and overall width from top to bottom string. Too wide and the strings won't be over the fretboard. From top notch to bottom notch divided by 5 (for a 6 string) gives you the spacing. mm / 25.4 to get inches (which a lot of the sites will quote specs in). (15mm = 0.590" ~= 0.593" = 19/32")

[Mechanixxxer]

Thanks Gavin! Those are some really nice guitars there.

Thanks for the advice Tindrrel, I've been looking at the neck join and I think I can live with it as is, the scoop is sort of angled so one side sits almost flush but the other doesn't, and shimming seems like a lot of work for potentially no payoff really.
I also decided to stick with the supplied bridge after I found the prices on Hipshot bridges ($200! Damn), and realistically if I become incredibly attached to it I can upgrade the parts later in life.

I also bought the Tone Monster SBK-3A since everybody seems to rave about them, and they're so much cheaper than going a full active pickup path

[Mechanixxxer]

Some progress pics, did the staining today. The Coolangatta Gold has turned out much more orange than I expected it to, but I'm happy with it. Decided not to stain the back and sides different, might save that for another kit.

Neck finished in clear Dingotone and looks great, and the headstock is finished in the same gold as the body

[Mechanixxxer]

In hindsight I'm actually not particularly happy with the finish, it's gone incredibly orange. Looks a lot more gold in photos.

Is there any way of changing it at all, adding another colour etc or am I more or less stuck with this?

[wokkaboy]

Hi Brett, what colour are you looking for a lighter yellow ? Not much you can do with the cap as they are thin I'd leave it. DB may be able to send you out a white mix that you can add to the CG to make it lighter.
The only way to lighten the back/sides is to sand it back a bit. I'd use the grit you last used so probably around 320 grit so you don't leave any marks.
I've built one of thse kits with the pre-amp and it sounds great with the stock gear

[Mechanixxxer]

I was hoping for a slightly more gold colour, like in the demonstration videos and the example pictures. I was pretty happy with the cap actually, but the basswood is very, very orange. That could just be the wood and my expectations being incompatible though! I'll try sanding the back and sides down a bit, and see if that helps, thanks Wokka!

I saw your build and what you'd said about the SBK pre-amps and how good it sounded, so I figured I'd go for one too

[wokkaboy]

no worries Brett. Not sure why the CG has gone orange on basswood. The colour of DT changes a little as the oils take a few days to cure. Maybe see how it looks in a couple of days and post a pic and we'll help you make a decision.
As more coats go on you may end up coming around to the colour.

[Mechanixxxer]

I was a bit surprised at the colour too, haha. I think it will benefit a lot from not being quite so matte, so after the final coats go on and it's a little bit glossier it will be nicer. I'll give it a few days and see how it goes. It's not so much that I don't like the colour, it's just not quite what I was expecting!