Bang!

[Stage Fright]

Well maybe, "Poof."  I pulled the trigger today for the first time.  Here's the order:

This top: http://www.springerlumber.com/images/44%20Spalt/A13.jpg
On a hollow purpleheart VIP body.  purpleheart neck with Ebony on the fretboard  Wilkinson trem recessed.  Planetwave tuners, earvana nut, stainless 6105s.  All black hardware.  Going to Tung-oil the finish the spalt but leave the neck bare.

Am I on crack?  I haven't  "Ordack'd" yet, so it's not too late to modify.  :glasses9:

  ---Russ

 

[jackthehack]

Did you check with Warmoth first? How thick is that spalted maple? What's the upcharge on the body using your own laminate?

 

[nathan a]

Wow, it sounds awesome to me. Hopefully the big W will let you do it (and hopefully the spalt will be safe under tung oil).

 

[-CB-]

Yes, your on crack and delusional.

Warmoth will not do a hollow spalt top.  Its too fragile.

Warmoth, would want to do binding - and at least do a clear finish on that wood.  Oils do not work on spalt, as spalt is very soft.

 

[Wyliee]

Going to Tung-oil the finish the spalt but leave the neck bare.

Am I on crack?  I haven't  "Ordack'd" yet, so it's not too late to modify.   :glasses9:

   ---Russ

I hope you bought the Tung oil by the gallon.  Spalt is extremely porous and will soak it up like a sponge.  I tried Tru-oiling a piece once and finally resorted to pouring the bottle directly on the wood.  (It was a test piece of spalt so I didn't trash a killer piece.)  It did not work out well at all.

 

[dbw]

Whoa, check out this bass from the gallery of finished products from that wood site:  http://www.springerlumber.com/images/Cust.%20ART/done_8x6_6.bmp

Looks like a Conklin.  Is that an all-spalted maple body?

 

[nathan a]

1. Some of those strings look like tree trunks (granted, I'm a mere guitarist, but still, I do well with a 90 gauge low B on my acoustic baritone)

2. Sweet inlays on that thing!

 

[dbw]

All Conklins are nuts like that.  They're kind of fun to look at.  Here's a typical one, a 9-string bass with a 7-piece through-body neck and god only knows how many frets (36-ish?), made accessible by the deepest cutout ever seen.  http://www.conklinguitars.com/facebass/9gallery/9zebra.html  Of course they cost like 30 grand and are impossible to play unless you're some sort of godlike session player.

 

[Wyliee]

All Conklins are nuts like that.  They're kind of fun to look at.  Here's a typical one, a 9-string bass with a 7-piece through-body neck and god only knows how many frets (36-ish?), made accessible by the deepest cutout ever seen.  http://www.conklinguitars.com/facebass/9gallery/9zebra.html  Of course they cost like 30 grand and are impossible to play unless you're some sort of godlike session player.

That's a bit of an exageration there.  While Conklins certainly are not MIM cheap, for one off, custom instruments they're not that bad and well under 30K.  The extended range basses, 7-10 string, do have wide fretboards but they're not impossible to play.  It just takes some good, clean technique.

 

[dbw]

Just a little good clean technique, eh?  Well, I'm more in the Sid Vicious tier of bassists than the Les Claypool tier, so I think I'll set my sights lower.  :toothy11:

 

[Stage Fright]

Yes, your on crack and delusional.

Warmoth will not do a hollow spalt top.  Its too fragile.

Warmoth, would want to do binding - and at least do a clear finish on that wood.  Oils do not work on spalt, as spalt is very soft.

I should have been more careful in the post.  I had the wood in the photo shipped directly to Warmoth.  They seemed okay with it.  As for hollow, I meant to "hollow option" as opposed to an "F-hole" configuration.  Other than the one bark inclusion, pretty sure there are no soft spots on that piece.

Good catch on the tung-oil and binding.  Doing a black binding and having them finish the top in clear would look good to albiet a few hundred bucks more.
Thanks.

 

[jackthehack]

Thought W did spalted maple with binding/finish ONLY?

 

[simple]

Thought W did spalted maple with binding/finish ONLY?

Spalt IS like a sponge. Unless you spray it will a thick coat of polyester to create a hard surface out of it, you're going to have problems.

 

[Bill in SC]

I'm no fan of spalted wood, but then, you are not building it for me. 
BB in SC

 

[ildar]

Whoa, check out this bass from the gallery of finished products from that wood site:  http://www.springerlumber.com/images/Cust.%20ART/done_8x6_6.bmp

Looks like a Conklin.  Is that an all-spalted maple body?

That's a zebrawood (zebrano) top.