New Fretless build in progress, updated with pics

[SDbass]

I did a black Ebony neck recently before I fretted it. I should have taken pictures. But, I'm not sure it would have eased your fears. It was getting stainless frets and those were going to be leveled to within a gnat's eyelash. As pretty as it looks and as sublime as it feels, the real concern on fretless necks is that they don't have any hills/valleys in them. The slightest variation can cause problems. But, seriously: unless you go apeshit with the coarser grits in a concentrated area, you've got nothing to worry about. Once you get to the finer stuff, you're not changing the plane of the surface at all. If I were doing a fretless, I wouldn't hesitate. Burnish it, and make everybody envious.

So would you say stick to 600-2000?

 

[Cagey]

Yes. I've tried going past 2000 but it didn't return any improvement even on the denser, tighter-grained woods like Pau Ferro and Ebony, so that seems to be a good stopping point.

 

[SDbass]

Body came yesterday. Here are some pics

 

[SDbass]

The body was ready in a month flat, which is incredible.  The wood is obviously beautiful.  My one thing is this odd blemish:

I mean, I don't think it's worth sending it back over.  Once I put straplocks in, it won't matter really, it's pretty out of eyesight.  But I can't quite tell what it is, exactly.  I mean, it looks like a straight up gouge, but is it possibly just a natural thing in the wood?  It doesn't really look natural.  It's completely sanded and finished over, no texture to it.

 

[Cagey]

Strange, inexplicable marks show up in wood all the time. Weather phenomena like a hard freeze at the wrong time, lightning strikes, high winds that cause stress cracks that eventually heal over, trauma from animals, insects or parasites, drought - the list is long. Sometimes we forget that when you're looking at a piece of wood large enough to make a guitar/bass body, the tree it came from may have seen 50 - 100 years of history, outdoors 100% of the time. Especially hardwoods, which can take forever to grow to useful sizes.

 

[stratamania]

That is going to look nice when it's done.  :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

No doubt. That Ebony face against that body is sharp.

 

[stratamania]

No doubt. That Ebony face against that body is sharp.

Absolutely and Koa seems to always have a good look to it.

 

[Logrinn]

Very slick!

 

[BigSteve22]

Looking great! The Pao Ferro headstock is a beautiful match for the Koa top, especially with the ebony fretboard.  :icon_thumright:

 

[bagman67]

Those parts all together make a beautiful whole.  Nice choices.  Looking forward to seeing this progress toward completion.

 

[Cagey]

Looking great! The Pao Ferro headstock is a beautiful match for the Koa top, especially with the ebony fretboard.  :icon_thumright:

Is that Pau Ferro? I went back through the thread and it's never identified, but it looks more like Goncalo Alves to me.

 

[ghotiphry]

Fabulous, man.  Just fabulous.

 

[bagman67]

Yep, those stripes definitely look goncalo alves-y to me, too.

 

[Cagey]

He's right, though. Whatever it is, it's a good match.

 

[BigSteve22]

Looking great! The Pao Ferro headstock is a beautiful match for the Koa top, especially with the ebony fretboard.  :icon_thumright:

Is that Pau Ferro? I went back through the thread and it's never identified, but it looks more like Goncalo Alves to me.

I do believe you're right, I don't know why I said Pao Ferro, just a momentary lapse of reason......  :icon_scratch:

 

[SDbass]

Thanks, everyone!! I'm really excited to play it when it's done.  Looking at the "blemish" more, I do think it's a just a natural imperfection -- character.

And yeah, it's a walnut/koa body with a goncalo/black ebony neck

 

[SDbass]

All done  :bananaguitar:

 

[Cagey]

Very sharp! You gotta be one happy camper!

 

[rgand]

Clean! I like it.