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New Bass project

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greywolf

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Starting with an Alder body blank and Carvin 24 fret hard rock maple / ebony neck through .  This is for a young client who plays in both Rock and Bluegrass bands .

Top cap : Curly Koa from Volcano Guitar works

Preliminary body design is approved , he's a fan of Carl Thompson basses , so there are hints in the silhouette .  Mock up pics

Pickups : Bartolini Soapbar M34CBC  and Graph Tech Ghost piezo in Hipshot A bridge
Pre-amps :  Graph Tech Acousti-Phonic  for piezo / Carvin 18V  3 band  with Piezo blender 
Rosewood knobs , chrome Carvin tuners 
 
Hints of Carl Thompson in the original drawing.  I see hints of Zon in the cutout shape now.

Very cool! :headbang:
 
greywolf said:
The client is a fan of the Carl Thompson ,  I like Zon and Alembic  worked on the overall balance and contours today
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Cool project indeed, doesn't Les Claypool use Carl Thompson basses? :icon_scratch:
 
He does indeed, Doug! He has his most famous one, the Rainbow Bass, as well as a few other. Carl Thompson basses make me drool, but I'd sooner buy a Languedoc.

Really liking the body style Greywolf. Very very cool!
 
Carl was there way early on, he and maybe Abe Rivera were the East Coast version of the Alembic fellows. Except they aren't famous. Some of his basses wouldn't get you an "A" in high school woodworking, but he was there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjkrvbathvQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZILQBY_l-4&feature=related
 
greywolf said:
Carl is a trip , he was the proginator of neck through design, and did it because of the frustration of getting a clean deep tenon joint.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean by "proginator" (sic) here, but Ric was mass producing neck-throughs before Carl and most others even got started.
 
I think he means "progenitor", which means "a direct ancestor". You're right, though; neck-through designs have been around for a long time. There just aren't a lot of examples floating around. I suspect pieces of wood that long aren't stable enough for that application.
 
Your right , Gibson made neck throughs as well as I recall with the Thunderbird / Firebird .  I like the design and have used it on a few , although more labor intensive I like this one a bit more.
 
greywolf said:
Your right , Gibson made neck throughs as well as I recall with the Thunderbird / Firebird .  I like the design and have used it on a few , although more labor intensive I like this one a bit more.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I would love to do a neck through, but I have neither the patience, the tools, nor (most importantly) the skill.

So I'll have to live vicariously through yours, which is looking fantastic!  :headbang:
 
Neck thorough is actually not too hard , you just have to have to accopunt for the width of the saw blade and the taper of the neck, I am finishing up a WGD body with a neck through .  It's all an adventure
 
Aren't you a little out of sequence here? You haven't mated those top pieces, but you're committing to an outline and a neck pocket. If it was me, I'd be concerned that once that top was joined that it wouldn't mate up to the core any more.
 
Except, there is no pocket that the neck goes "into": the neck is the primary start (progeniture?), and the body wings get fitted to it. The neck can never be wrong.
 
Nothing is out of sequence,  I've been building and modifying guitars for almost 30 years . 

The body seam will be aligned prior to gluing , it 's close but that's why this is a "rough cut"  .  This one doesn't have "wings" as it is a deep tenon , not a neck through . There is 1cm of body under the neck.
More tedious than a neck through , but provides many of the benefits .

At this stage of this project , nothing is glued yet , I'm waiting for the client to come into town next week for fitting.  The neck contour, tummy cut, lower body edge , any elbow contouring , will all be fit for his body . Any other body modifcations will be discuseed and implemented as agreed on then. We are thinking of a scroll for the upper bout top .

When that is finalized, the neck will be glued in , the front pickup routed, the pocket for the Graphtech Acousti-Phonic pre amp routed , then the Koa cap glued on , the whole body final shaped and sanded  , abalone inlay done , then French polish finish applied ,  Tuners /bridge /pickups installed , copper shielding laid in , 3 band pre amp for the Mag pickups installed , wired up , and set up.

 
You know, it took me a while to warm up to that body, but having seen it with some finish on, it's starting to work for me.  Nice handiwork, sir.


Bagman
 
FINALLY strung up and VERY happy with the sound , considerably more sprakly than the last one I built (Koa/Mahagony G4)

The client is very pleased too.
 

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