Drummerdude's build #2-- PBH-4

[Drummerdude]

Ok so with the first build almost complete I am starting the thread for #2. My plans for this build are a similar color to the tele build. A blue to green fade/burst. With a white pearloid pickguard. I plan to upgrade to tuners, pickups, install preamp and battery box, replace bridge, brass nut, and use the water based polyurethane just like the tele. I was super pleased with how it went on and finished out. I will grain fill with black timbermate to pop the nice grain in the Ash body. I am gonna use similar color to match the tele because I am learning and playing the bass and our worship band and the pastor hopefully will be playing the tele I am building for him, and think it will be cool to kind of match.

Any suggestions or advice will be very welcomed. I love hearing from you guys and getting ideas.

[Drummerdude]

So here is the headstock shape I am contemplating. I have seen a new Marcus Miller bass made by Sire Guitars and kind of like it. I don't want the traditional Fender Shape. What do you guys think?

[Drummerdude]

I have this kit made in the 30" short scale and would like to reduce the body a little to better a little smaller to be proportioned to the neck but I think I would have to take more off of one side than the other due to the control cavity and I am afraid it will look out of balance. Any thoughts?

[Andy40]

I like that headstock shape. Its cool. I like that nice grain on the Ash body

[ozzbike]

I have a PBH and she is heavy. Nice look with the Ash body.

I got a Seymour Duncan PBH pickup set from the USA, eBay, and it sounds awesome.

Love the colour choices. 😎

[wazkelly]

Hi Dude, always love the look of Ash grain and glad that you are running with a different coloured scratch plate as that red one is, well, just too red and limits your colour options.

If you can replicate the Tele colour scheme it should look awesome.

With the 30" scale and body shape I am afraid you are stuck with what you have got as there is too much routing already done and not much room to shorten things up. The only suggestion that comes to mind would be to draw a symmetrical pencil line that follows the flow of the scratch plate all the way around and sand in from the edges to this line, but with the edges rounded off like on a Strat or like around the belly and elbow cut-outs, basically shrinking it in size by about 5mm to 7mm off all round and this would also help lose a bit of weight, not that they are overly heavy.

[Drummerdude]

Well the neck pocket was a little sloppy and I decided to glue in some thin veneer. So now I will clean it up and sand down but already makes a tight fit.. much better

[Drummerdude]

Ok I need a little feedback. I am not going for the Fender look hence the the headstock design.. and I am going to have to make my own pickguard since I had it made in a short scale length the pickups are not the same. Thankfully I have a keen eye.. sometimes when I was ready to order one to save some time I noticed that things didn't look right. So I am thinking about the black lines to make it much smaller and show off the pretty wood. What do you guys think.

[ILRGuitars]

Design is always a difficult and personal choice. I find once I start, I can't stop getting ideas, then don't know which one to pick.
So....I make a few drawings, then make cardboard mockups of the ideas. Hit them with a bit of colour to help match.
From there, it's easy to customize your existing pickguard or any future ones as you have templates ready to go.
To me, your idea looks great but take your time to find something with which you are happy.

[dave.king1]

Yep DD, the cutdown pickguard looks like it will work a treat.

For my Tuff Dog pickguard I cut it down with a coping saw with a very fine blade and then used the Ozito ( Dremel clone ) drum sander to clean it up and do the bevel, easy done but practice on the offcut first to get the pressure and movement speed right.