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Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
http://mowrystrings.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10123&t=36935		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Bizzar_Guitars [ Tue Jun 26, 2012 1:33 am ]
Post subject:  Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Way back in the fall of 2007, I was approached by John Hughes of Daisy Train (http://www.DaisyTrain.ca) about making him a custom neck-through bass, based on Hamer Impact.

At that point, I had only ever made neck-through guitars, and wasn’t sure if the laminating method I was using would withstand the tension of bass strings.

Also, at this point, my youngest daughter was about to start taking music in school, and wanted to play guitar. \m/ \m/ :)
She liked my Poseidon design, but the 27" Baritone scale and “Fat Finger”™ string spacing was too big for her hands, so a 25.5" scale version (Poseidon II) was made.

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My daughter took Poseidon II to school for her first music class, only to have the teacher tell her that they didn’t teach guitar, only bass. :(
So I made her a bass, Jove.
Jove was a test, to see if the neck laminates would stand up to the tension of bass
strings. Apparently, it passed the test.

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So, on to John’s bass.
Because I like to think I’m unique, just like everybody else, I prefer not to make copies of other designs, but John was set on this design. I told John I’d make him a ‘Bizzar’ version, it looks enough like one to see the resemblance, and he went for it.

Image Image

Specs
Based on a Hamer Impact bass
* 34" scale
* 7 Piece laminated neck-through (Figured Maple, Jatoba, Maple & Purpleheart)
* Mahogany Back
* Figured maple front
* Wenge Stringers
* Tigerwood (Gonalco Alves) Fretboard
* 24 frets
* Acryllic-in-steel inlay
* BadAss bridge
* 2 over-wound Bizzar Humbuckers
* 2 Individual Coil Select (North/Humbucker/South) mini toggle switches
* 1 phase (In/Out) mini toggle switch
* 3-way toggle
* 2 individual volume
* Corian Nut
* Gotoh Tuners
* Tung oil finish

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Wiring Diagram:

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Ciao,

Garth
Author:  Chris Pile [ Tue Jun 26, 2012 8:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Lotta work carrying your neck-thru design into the pickups....
Author:  Chameleon [ Tue Jun 26, 2012 10:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Chris Pile wrote:
Lotta work carrying your neck-thru design into the pickups....


And well executed too. Any insight on how you do this? I have a basic idea.

Also thanks for that wiring diagram, that looks like something I might want to try.
Author:  Lincoln Goertzen [ Tue Jun 26, 2012 3:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Really nice work!
Author:  alan stassforth [ Tue Jun 26, 2012 7:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Nice!
I like the finish too!
Pretty sophisticated electronics.
What are you,
a NASA employee?
Author:  Chameleon [ Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Wait a minute....

Your diagram shows 4 switches total... but there's 5 on your bass. What does the extra switch do?
Author:  dzsmith [ Wed Jun 27, 2012 6:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Groovy! totally groovy!
Thanks for posting the pics.
The pickup covers are awesome!
Author:  Bizzar_Guitars [ Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Hey folks, thanks for the compliments.

Chameleon, here's a pickup tutorial I did a few years ago:
Pickup Tutorial


1. Cut/shape/de-burr/sand bobbin tops (the de-burring process is crucial to make sure there is absolutely nothing that the coil wire can get caught on).
2. Cut/shape/de-burr bobbin bottoms (make sure that the pickup height adjustment screws can pass by the ends of the bobbins uninhibited). Image
3. Cut/de-burr pole pieces. Image
4. Polish pole piece bobbin tops (if they’re going to be exposed).
5. Drill pole piece holes in bobbin tops and bottoms.
6. Drill eyelet holes in bobbin bottoms (far enough apart so that the solder from the lead wires will not touch the wound coil wire).
7. Set eyelets with punch and tack hammer.
8. Ream holes in eyelets to ensure 5 wraps of coil wire and lead wire can fit through.
9. Finish bobbin tops to match body of guitar/bass (if you are using matching laminate off cuts).
10. Install pole pieces flush to top of the bobbin tops.
11. Wrap poles pieces with shrink tubing to prevent possible shorts.
12. Install bottoms parallel to the tops.
13. Make and insert “Power Blocks™” mounting ring anchors :) (“Power Blocks™” are pieces of wood that will accept the mounting screws used to attach the bobbins to the baseplate).
14. Locate and drill baseplate mounting holes through bobbin bottom and into “Power Blocks™”.
15. Drill baseplate mounting holes slightly oblong to allow for lining up the laminates on the bobbin tops.
16. Make spacers, small pieces of wood used to keep the bobbins level to the baseplate. I use the tongues and grooves from the hardwood flooring I use as neck laminates.
17. Test assemble pick up to make sure everything goes together properly. Image
18. Load wire into winder.
19. Tape 6" of coil wire to underside of bobbin for a buffer.
20. Wrap coil wire around all pole pieces several times, crossing over the previous wrap like a ½ hitch knot.Image
21. Start counter application. http://pickups.myonlinesite.com/programs.php
22. Test counter.
23. Reset counter.
24. Mount bobbin on winder with double sided tape.
25. Enter desired number of turns.
26. Slowly wrap several traverses of coil wire, ensuring the limiter is doing its job accurately.
27. Wind to desired number of turns.
28. Extract bobbin.
29. Cut coil wire, leaving a foot or so to load the next bobbin.
30. Un-tape start of coil wire (buffer) from bottom of bobbin.
31. Feed start end of coil wire through south eyelet (5 wraps).
32. Feed finish end of coil wire through north eyelet (5 wraps).
33. Tin eyelets.
34. Test coil resistence with an ohm meter at the grommets.
35. Secure ends of coil wire to top of bobbin bottom with clear nail polish, to prevent accidental breakage.
36. Wrap coil with Teflon tape, to allow for un wrapping/repairing (if necessary).The Teflon tape won’t stick to the coil wire.
37. Solder ground wires to start ends of copper tape.
38. Wrap coils in copper tape.
39. Wrap bobbin in cloth tape.
40. Feed lead wire through baseplate hole from bottom. I use some shielded computer wire for this. This wire contains 5 stranded wires inside a shielded cover. I use the 5th wire as a ground wire.
41. Solder lead wires to bobbins. I use the DiMarzio colours scheme.
42. Connect copper tape ground wire to ground wire.
43. Connect ground wire to baseplate.
44. Loosely attach bobbins to baseplate with mounting screws.
45. Insert magnet, Alnico V from Stew-Mac.
46. Insert spacers.
47. Line up laminates in bobbin tops.
48. Tighten baseplate mounting screws. Image
49. Install pickups in mounting rings. Image
50. Install pickups in guitar/bass. Image

Here are the four coils in the different stages of wrapping.
Image
The four coils (from right to left) freshly wound, wrapped in Teflon tape, wound in copper tape and grounded, wrapped in black pickup tape. Wrapping the coils in copper tape and grounding them acts as a Faraday cage, eliminating RF interference.

Here’s a video of my winder in action:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f21/B ... der001.mp4

The 5th switch is for the LEDs in the fretboard. This switch allows the user to switch between red or green LEDs of turn them off completely.
Attachment:
at John's Red.jpg

Hope this answers your questions.
Author:  alan stassforth [ Sat Jun 30, 2012 10:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Oh, you made the pick ups too.
[clap] [clap] [clap]
Author:  Chameleon [ Sat Jun 30, 2012 12:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Sick! I'm saving this page. Good stuff. I was wondering about that wiring diagram and how it works. I've yet to try it but I would think that changing coils of one pickup would put it out of phase with the other, but I may be wrong on that one. Does it stay in phase with that wiring?

Thanks for all the pics.
Author:  Bizzar_Guitars [ Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
The two humbuckers are wired in phase with each other.
When the user selects one coil from either pickup, it is still in phase with the other pickup.
The silver mini toggle switch allows the user to place bridge coil(s) out of phase with neck coil(s).
Author:  Chameleon [ Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Thanks for clarifying.
Author:  Bizzar_Guitars [ Wed Jul 04, 2012 12:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Luna: My take on a Hamer Impact
Here's a review of Luna from its new owner John Hughes of http://www.DaisyTrain.ca.

"My very own line of Bass Guitar! I've been playing this all week! I have to say I am quite impressed.

The neck is perfect with a bit of a groove in the back for comfort, and seriously, for a guy like me with tendonitis, it was so much more comfortable.

The sound is alive and present with punch and articulation.

The wide frequency response of the pickups allows you to shape your tone from punchy and aggressive to soft and mellow.

Every note is balanced and smooth. The different sounds I get from the pickups... I've never had a bass that can do that.

The woodwork is incredible and it shows and adds to the clarity and tone of this bass. My dad is a carpenter... he was amazed too.

Along with it's stamped "Handcrafted for John Hughes" and numbered 001 on the back of the headstock it comes with a custom case!

Thinking of getting a guitar or bass?

Get exactly what you want!

You'd be crazy not to go to Bizzar Guitars!'

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