Any advice for my bass making journey?

[Yoon]

Ever since I entered the world of bass, I've been kept selling and buying so many basses. But none of them satisfies me 100%. So I'd like to make  a bass of my own. Well, all I do will be assembling, but still it would mean a lot for me.  I'm trying to order a neck and body for bass. The specification is like this. Chambered Roasted swamp ash body (Dinky J shape) with maple neck (Quarter sawn or roasted I'm not decided yet) and ebony fret board + hipshot tuner and bridge and sadowsky pickups. But there are some things that worries me. Since I'm not the professional luthier, I'm little worried about the combination of the woods. About weight balance (ex. neck dive) and sound balance.
And about ebony fret board of warmoth. I want a ebony with less color variation. Then would it be necessary to choose a 'Unique choice' option? I've never seen a general ebony fretboard option that warmoth make. If there is anyone whomever used 'Unique choice' option or ordered ebony fret board, than please give me a advice.  Thank you and have a nice day you all.

 

[rgand]

Welcome to the forum. If you have concerns, keep checking the in-stock necks until you find one that you like. Here's a roasted maple one with a nice even ebony fretboard.

You could always phone in your order and discuss what you want with one of the sales people. They can tell you what's possible and help you get exactly what you want.

I would consider roasted maple. It has a feel like nothing else and doesn't need a finish so it's actually less expensive.

 

[BigSteve22]

Welcome to the forum, Yoon! Building your own bass will be a great experience. Rgand's absolutely correct about the show case: It's a great place to start, and a great place to get the best deal on exactly what you're looking for.

...all I do will be assembling, but still it would mean a lot for me.

You're doing a lot more than just assembling! You're planning, and spec'ing out, every aspect of a new instrument. You'll know every millimeter of your new bass, and have the satisfaction of knowing that your new instrument is built to your liking, and not to someone else's idea of what a bass should be! It will be your's, and your's alone....

You have come to the right place to get answers to questions that are sure to come up. Don't be afraid to ask. Good luck with your build!

 

[Cagey]

If you order "Black Ebony" for a fretboard, there's no need to pick a "unique choice". It's just black. On top of that, it won't add any noticeable weight to the thing. Another consideration is that "quarter sawn" woods are chosen for their stability, which is a Good Thing, particularly when you're talking about long pieces such as some bass necks. But, as it's slightly wasteful of the lumber in its raw form, it's a bit expensive (you can't get as many pieces of quarter-sawn board out of a log). Thing is, roasted Maple is not only just as stable, it also doesn't require a finish. So, it's less expensive to buy, is just as stable, and can be burnished so the lack of finish isn't an issue - it'll be as smooth as silk and easy to play, plus it'll stay that way. Ebony over roasted Maple is one of my favorite combinations these days - very hard to beat.

 

[Rick]

No worries on any of your combinations.

 

[ghotiphry]

If you're going with roasted maple, it's still maple.  I'm not certain, but I believe it is lighter in weight than most of the exotics.  And it still can be left raw and burnished.  I highly recommend it.  I've got raw, burnished roasted maple, it feels wonderful, and it's faster than anything glossy.  If you're going with an unroasted maple neck it will need finish, go with the satin nitro in my opinion.  I've got a couple of these also, I like them just fine, just not as much as the roasted maple.  The white precision and and pau ferro jazz in my signature are both QS maple with nitro.

QS maple has a very subtle texture at times that is very attactive, plus the classic maple color.  Obviously you don't get that coloring with roasted maple as the process darkens the wood.  So, you're looking at a decision between the darker color of RM and the ability to have a raw neck versus the lighter (classic?) color of maple and needing to have a finish.

As a recommendation?  Try the raw roasted maple and burnish it.  You won't regret it.

Good choice on the Sadowsky pickups.  In my opinion your pickup choice is going to matter way more than any choice of woods.  Some people say they notice a difference in tone depending on wood choices.  Maybe my ears don't work as well as those people.

My favorite neck?  The pau ferro short scale on the flame maple mooncaster in my signature.  Raw and burnished.  Beautiful.  Slick and fast.  My absolute favorite wood for necks.  A bit heavier than most, but worth it in my opinion.

Close up of QS maple grain pattern:

Burnished roasted maple:

Burnished pau ferro, just because: