Got me one amazing beast of a neck....

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Yesterday, got a small pile of stuff for my upcoming headless project:

- Labella Tapewounds (5 string set), strap buttons, neck plate, and Gotoh-style tuners all from Carvin
- J-bass routing template & Stellar Tonestyler from Best Bass gear
- High C tapewound from JustStrings

The tuning will be D-G-C-F-Bb, I just haven't decided whether I'll be using the low B set tuned up, or High C tuned down.  I'll have the strings for both, though, and the left over string will help determine what my next bass build will be.  :glasses10:

Still waiting on:
- 5 string bass bridge (except I got it from Amazon for free w/points - yay Amex!)
- Warmoth Deluxe 5 straight paddle, all purpleheart, fretless w/o lines, black side dots, 1 7/8" nut.  :toothy12:  . . .ordered only 2 weeks ago. 

See below. :toothy10:

Already on hand:
- Carvin J99 single coil (will be putting it in the sweetspot)
- mute switch (bass will be wired: pickup -> Tonestyler -> mute switch -> jack)
- a wonderful slab of purpleheart (pix attached)

The purpleheart slab I've had for a few months, and only recently decided to go with a travel sized bass.  It's 6.75" x 36.25" x 1", and I'll be cutting it in half in the middle, planing it a bit, and folding it over; so I'll end up with a body 6.75" wide x 18" long x 1 7/8" thick, with a handful of chambers cut out right in the middle, and a ton of contouring.

For the wood, there's a ton of saw rash on one side of it, but that will be the side that will be routed out for the chamber & glued to the middle.  The outer side will also need quite a bit of sanding, but not nearly so much to get it smooth.  It's GORGEOUS - but I've yet to see a piece of purpleheart that wasn't.

The shape/layout will be somewhere between the Kramer Duke/Hondo Alien (and the tuners will be at the butt end) and the Steinberger Synapse.  I don't know how exactly I would do it yet, but I like the idea of the little extension hook thing that the Synapse has for balancing the strap.  I have a pencil sketch, but I'm too lazy to get it scanned on my wife's computer.



Oh, and since it's going to be both purple and magical, I'm pretty much required to call it The Alicorn.    :headbang1:  (see here for more info - IF YOU DARE!)

... and now I've still got weeks of waiting to go for the neck.    :sad1:

 

[leo12.]

Looking forward to this build, is the chambering for acoustic properties or weight reduction?
Will the body get a clearcoat finish or oil? Good luck

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Looking forward to this build, is the chambering for acoustic properties or weight reduction?

Yes!  I don't know how much it will change the sound, but I do know there's a bit of effect.  Also, the piece of wood as is weighs almost 11 pounds.  I'm hoping to cut that in half or less once it's shaped, but this still won't be a featherweight bass, especially relative to size.

Will the body get a clearcoat finish or oil?

Well.... purpleheart doesn't really need a finish, so I don't feel the need to coat it too thoroughly.  I'll probably put on a few coats of TruOil varnish just to get it a little shiny, but I'll see how it looks after I've sanded it down to the final shape.

 

[Pelagaard]

I'd say some sort of clear finish would be a good idea as purpleheart will, eventually, oxidize into a silver/brown if left alone.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Got the email today, it'll be on my doorstep tomorrow. :toothy12:

Wow.... and only 3 weeks after I ordered!!!  :cool01:

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

I'd say some sort of clear finish would be a good idea as purpleheart will, eventually, oxidize into a silver/brown if left alone.

Hmm... true.... or maybe:

Tru-OIL!  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Just holding it in my hand, I feel like some mythical warrior who's just held the mighty weapon of destiny in his hand for the first time.  It's awesome.

And check out the grainlines on the back!  The fretboard isn't ugly by any means, but compared to the back, it might as well be ebanol.  The sad thing about it is that this is going to be a headless instrument - most of that is going to be cut away! 

That headstock is pretty enough to reconsider the whole plan, but I've got an alternate idea:  I'll be using the headstock wood to make a custom pickup cover.  Have only a vague idea how, and lots of skills to ramp up before I can pull it off, but not using that wood somewhere else on the project would be crominal.

 

[LushTone]

Nice wood.. :laughing7:

 

[Ddbltrbl]

Love that Purpleheart neck! And the build concept too!  :icon_thumright:  I've been thinking about building myself a Steinberger like 6-string guitar and have gathered most of the hardware I'll need. I'll be watching this project closely!
:guitarplayer2:

 

[Blind Prophet]

I was lucky enough to play a purpleheart neck once, wish I had one now... This one looks amazing and I would totally rethink the headless thing after seeing grain on that headstock. :icon_tongue:

 

[Nando Vallart]

I was lucky enough to play a purpleheart neck once, wish I had one now... This one looks amazing and I would totally rethink the headless thing after seeing grain on that headstock. :icon_tongue:

+1 on rethinking!!!
You can do a fake headstock anyway! Better than headless