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I like the cleanness of your work. It looks great!
As to finish, I'm with you there. It's one of the things about building that takes a huge amount of time and patience, but a good finish really sets off all of your hard work. I'm sure you'll do great!

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I got it assembled last night and noodled around a bit on it. It sounds great. The passive EMG pickup have a clear, ringing, bright tone, but with the neck pup mixed in, it sounds large and bassy. I'm happy with the tone.

The neck feels good, and the thing isn't terribly heavy...but the body carving has to change. It's just not comfortable when seated. So...I'm going to round over the edges on the mahogany, and leave the sharper lines on the walnut. It'll keep the basic look of the carving, but hopefully make it more comfortable.

I think that will work just fine. I also think you'll find that it will make the design look a lot smoother and sleeker. Can't wait for pics. Hurry up.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

A couple of photos all put together, wired and working.

I think that's absolutely one of the nicest basses I've seen. To put that into perspective, to me the epitome of bass design begins and ends with a P bass. So for me to say that about as modern a design as yours is saying quite a bit. With finish on, that's gonna be sweet!

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

By the way, I noticed the Hartke Kickback in the corner. Love 'em!

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

Thank you, Mr. Baker. Your words mean a lot!

But alas, it is not a Hartke kickback in the corner. It's just a crappy old Rogue 1x15, 120w practice amp.

Also, I finished rounding the edges. Here's a taste:



The darkish what-looks-like mineral stain is a bit annoying...but...not much I can do about it at this point. C'est la vie.

Sweet! I'm a big fan of a nice roundover (P bass again). Makes the instrument look nice and sleek, makes it feel nice and comfy.
The mineral stain isn't too bad. I have a big, huge mineral stain on an ash tele I built. Didn't show up until after finish. Oh well, it's wood. Doesn't bother me much. Yours will actually look good under finish, IMHO. Kinda like a knot or a darker grain swirl.

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Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

That looks great! Love the lines in the carving on the body. Also, the shape is really appealing. Good clean work man.

I put the finish on the body.

- 2 coats of Zinsser's dewaxed shellac sanding sealer, and a shitload of sanding
- 4 coats of rattlecan Minwax Satin Polyurethane
- a light ""sanding" with 4000 grit 3M polishing paper

And I'm pleased as heck:

Front:


Back:


All that's left for the body is to shield the cavities and re-assemble.

The neck still needs some work....a small adjustment to the backside taper and some adjustments to the headstock. Then it'll get the same satin poly finish.

Lovely work. Love the satin look, and the roundover really gives it a graceful appearance.

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

And she's done.

Frontal:


Headstock:


Body:


Tummy cut:


Neck lamination:


Compound side dots:


Headstock lamination:


To recap:

The body has a Honduran mahogany core with Tropical walnut top and back, with maple veneer accents between. The neck is Hard maple with Tropical walnut stringers and mahogany veneer accents between. The headstock cap is Tropical walnut with a maple and mahogany veneer layers. The fretboard is indian rosewood. The finish is Minwax satin polyurethane. About 5 coats each on the body and neck, with Zinsser's dewaxed shellac sanding sealer on the body.

Frets are medium height nickel steel. The fretboard markers are 1/4" Paua abalone dots. The side-dots are 1/16" aluminum rod inside 3/32" brass tubing. The bridge is a Carvin 5-string bridge with 19mm spacing, the nut is Graphtech Tusq XL, and the tuners are Gotoh GB7s. The pickup are EMG 40HZ passive humbuckers. Controls are passive with master volume, master tone, and pickup blend. It is presently strung with a Circle K Balanced .136ga balanced string set. The sound is evocative of a grand piano. Very bright and ringing, but with a lot of bottom presence.

Very nice work. It's got a great shape and flow to it. Probably sounds great too.

Thanks, Steve.

I changed the controls a bit today.

I took out the blend knob and replaced it with a simple 3-way toggle switch for pickup selection. Les Paul style. I also replaced the plain black Vol and Tone knobs with abalone inlaid knobs. It adds some color to the body, and I am pretty happy with the results.

Lovely!

Wow that's sweet