Alder J-bass

[kdownes]

This is my first all-Warmoth build, and first from scratch finishing project (I refinished a camouflage Dean Vendetta a few months ago -- that was my "learning" project, and actually it turned out ok).  This is an alder j-bass body paired with a birdseye/rosewood neck.

I like the grain pattern here a lot -- it's subtle, but should show nicely through the stain and Tru-oil finish it's going to receive.  Here's the neck (with a Warmoth stain finish):

Yesterday was spent sanding with 320 then 400-grit paper, then I gave it two wipe-downs with water to raise the grain, sanding with 400 after each, since I'm using a water-based stain (General Finishes Dye Stain).  Then a nice little naphtha wipe-down to clean things up.  Here it is after the first coat of stain:

Despite the two rounds of wetting and sanding, the stain still raised a bit of grain and roughed things up a bit.  The back, as you can see, is a bit splotchy, so today's project will be a light sanding, probably with a grey 3M scotchbrite pad, then reapplication of the stain, which I'm hoping will make it both richer and more even.  Yea, it's orange.  What can I say?  I like orange (black-white-black pick guard should like nice against it).

After the second stain coat has dried, I'm going to coat with Birchwood Casey sanding sealer and let it dry for at least a day, which should give a nice, smooth surface, then it's time for the Tru-oil. 

 

[dmraco]

very nice.  Alder took the dye nicely...keep us posted.

 

[-CB-]

Looks great in the pic - orange and black... Harley colors, no problem there!~

 

[kdownes]

I began yesterday by rubbing down the body with a grey 3M scotchbrite pad, which started out OK, but it put a couple of big scratches in the belly cut on the back.  D'oh!  Something must have gotten caught in the surface that I didn't see until it was too late.  So the "roughing up with the 3M pad" project turned into the "going over the whole thing with 400 grit paper" project.  I didn't go quite all the way to bare wood, leaving a light surface of stain on, but fixing the scratches and smoothing out the roughness from the previous stain application.  Another wipe-down with naphtha and I reapplied the stain.  I think it came out more evenly the second time, and somewhat deeper and richer, which is what I'd been after.  This morning I applied a coat of BC sanding sealer, and here is how it looks now (the sealer is still wet in a few places):

And a close-up:

The color is turning out nicely -- I was hoping once I started applying sealer and Tru-oil it would get a bit darker, and that's clearly happening.  In a few hours I'll check for any spots I missed and add the necessary sealer, then let it sit overnight and start the Tru-oiling tomorrow.

 

[tubby.twins]

Looks good so far!

 

[SlingBass]

Good fortune to you on your project - you scored a nice neck and body...and we all know alder is the bass body tonewood   :laughing7:

 

[kdownes]

First off, thanks for all the positive comments, folks -- definitely encouraging!  Here are some updated photos after the sixth and possibly last coat of Tru-oil:

It's turned out a bit different than I'd expected (more glossy) but all things considered, that's OK by me.  Naturally the photos don't show all the little flaws, bits of dust, micro scratches, and other things that I, of course, focus on like a laser, but overall it's coming out pretty well.  Now it's on to my black korina VIP and all the grain filling fun therein.  I'll update again once this baby has some hardware!

 

[Nando Vallart]

Looking great!!

 

[dmraco]

Looking great!!

+1000

 

[TomPerverteau]

I really like the orange!

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Orange J-Basses do rock!  Of course I'm little partial.

 

[MUYFUE]

looks good!

 

[kdownes]

Finally completed this bass yesterday (and by "completed" I of course mean "I will never finish tweaking this thing, but now I can play it").  Not all the pickguard screws are in place as I'm anticipating a bit more truss adjustment in the next week or so:

I'm not totally happy with how the finish came out -- it's not visible in the photos but there are many things I screwed up along the way.  But this is how we learn, and the nice thing about having my own custom bass is that if I want to sand it back, reapply a bunch of Tru-oil, and try to correct my mistakes, I can.  For now, it is for rocking out!

I think the first thing I'll probably have to change is the height of the nut -- I had Warmoth install a TUSQ nut, and while the slot heights appear to be perfect, overall it's on the tall side.  I've done about all I can with the action at the bridge and the truss rod to get the strings to sit lower on the neck, so shaving a few thousandths of an inch off the nut is probably in order.  The pickups are Dimarzio Area-J's, and the volume controls are push/pull switches for their "dual sound" (series/parallel) option on both.  To my ears they have a punchier tone than my Fender J-bass pickups, but so far I like them a lot.  The fretboard also has a really lovely rosewood figure, almost totally straight up and down lines that run the entire length.  Funny, but even though this neck has been in the house for months I never really noticed or appreciated that until it was attached to the body.

Thanks to everyone for their comments and help along the way with this project! 

 

[kboman]

Looks great! I like orange instruments :icon_thumright:

And yeah, when you play an instrument more and keep it up close, you tend to notice little things like fretboard figuring better

 

[mgaut051]

Loving the color!
Great job!

 

[baskruit]

Great build. I love the colour!