The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Now the fboard is on I really wanted to know an answer to one of the "you-won't-know-until-you-get-there" questions. During the initial sketching phase I was trying to achieve a blend of visual balance along with a mechanical balance.

The visual balance has had one or two detours along the way but I am still quite happy with the its appearance. The mechanical balance has always been something that would be hideously lengthy to try and calculate to any degree of accuracy and just isn't worth the effort.

So now the bass is in one piece I thought it would be well worth slapping some of the major components on and try it out. First up was the strap buttons. I must admit I was not foreseeing any difficulties here, but the way the top horn curves downwards required a short drill to avoid the neck being in the way. The Dremel just about squeezed in!

The Hipshot Type A bridge was marked out as accurately as possible on a guitar with no straight edges or a centreline and fitted with the supplied self-tapping screws. It looks good, though part of me wanted to fit a thick brass plate on the back and use bolts to clamp the bridge on more firmly. Maybe one day...



As can be seen above, the volume controls and pick-up switch have also been fitted temporarily. These are not wired up yet, mostly because the pick-ups are still in a box.

The Schaller M4 series tuners were fitted onto the headstock. On the original sketch the tuners were angled in sympathy with the headstock outline. In practice the tuners have a worm drive that can be above or below the main tuner shaft.

If I swap the tuners over from left to right, there is sufficient room to angle them and get my fingers in without bashing my knuckles on the wood. The downside is that the tuners operate backwards which will seriously do my head in over the passage of time.

The tuners were put back to normal and straightened up. This comes under the heading of bad as I am sure with more planning this could have been resolved, but it is just going to have to stay that way now.



The control cavity plates were recessed into the back of the bass. This is the ugly part. The cutting of a curved outline with a straight chisel across different woods was always going to be a bit fraught, but the end result is quite scruffy.

I would like to present a whole range of excuses, such as "it was too hot" but it was largely impatience. I wanted to get this relatively dull part finished so I could move on to something more interesting. Fortunately it is on the back and the careful photography hides most of the undulating gaps. The brass covers were fixed with any available screws, but will eventually will be finished off with a shine and fitted properly.

The two AA batteries just about squeeze into the top control cavity, between the switches. The animation circuitry and LEDs are still working.



Once all these jobs were done, a strap was fitted and the bass was tried out in a stringless fashion. The overall balance was quite good - not particularly nose heavy, but fitting a large brass nut could change that to some extent. It seemed quite happy sitting at the usual 30degrees.

The tuners, bridge and strap buttons will have to be removed again before the neck is shaped to prevent them from getting damaged. Fitting them again will be much easier as the holes will be already in place. I've still got to try and cram the pickups onto the front of the body without fouling any of the switches & pots hidden underneath. There's only one way to find out...