W.I.P. - Fretless Bass Guitar

[Simo]

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've had a lot of time away from the workbench lately. Anyway, here's a brief update.. more on the way shortly.

The neck is made from 3 pieces of Maple, with black veneers laminated in between. The headstock is angled (scarf joint), and has Ebony veneers on both sides.

I use some masking tape to make the centre lines easier to line up, then after fitting some alignment pins underneath the fingerboard, it's glued on and left to cure, before being planed flush.

The tuner holes have been drilled, and it's starting to look like a neck (hammer)

 

[AJB Temple]

Nice work indeed. Despite being fretless, you use markers to show the positions, which surprised me a bit. Is that customer demand or just aesthetic preference? It got me wondering if luthiers ever make scalloped bass fingerboards (as in Ritchie Blackmore guitars for example, which are fretted but heavily scalloped)?Clearly wear would be an issue but positioning would be aided a lot if the scallops were subtle.

What neck back shape do you use? It looks like a D shape? Does it work using different profiles for bass instruments?

 

[Simo]

Nice work indeed. Despite being fretless, you use markers to show the positions, which surprised me a bit. Is that customer demand or just aesthetic preference? It got me wondering if luthiers ever make scalloped bass fingerboards (as in Ritchie Blackmore guitars for example, which are fretted but heavily scalloped)?Clearly wear would be an issue but positioning would be aided a lot if the scallops were subtle.

What neck back shape do you use? It looks like a D shape? Does it work using different profiles for bass instruments?

The lined vs unlined fingerboard is down to personal preference. Some players like the look of a plain board, others prefer having lines as a guide to help them play in tune. The idea behind scalloping is to prevent the finger tips making contact with the fretboard, the reduced friction makes bending and vibrato easier. On a fretless instrument, the note is ''fretted'' on the actual line of the fret position, therefore having scallops in between would serve no purpose.. it would also make it impossible to slide notes up and down the neck, which is a big part of the fretless playing style.

I carve the necks by hand (I'll cover this in the next update) with a spokeshave and some rasps. I do have specific thickness's that I use, so I make frequent checks with a digital calliper, along with a straight edge to make sure I'm not carving out any dips, but apart from that I don't use any templates or guides for the actual shape.. other than my hands.

 

[n0legs]

Keep it coming Simo, loving this WIP =D>

 

[bugbear]

I carve the necks by hand (I'll cover this in the next update) with a spokeshave and some rasps. I do have specific thickness's that I use, so I make frequent checks with a digital calliper, along with a straight edge to make sure I'm not carving out any dips, but apart from that I don't use any templates or guides for the actual shape.. other than my hands.

I assume you don't need the (full) accuracy of a digital caliper for this job - my personal preference is a mechanical dial caliper, which is accurate "enough", and I find easier to read quickly.

BugBear

 

[Simo]

I carve the necks by hand (I'll cover this in the next update) with a spokeshave and some rasps. I do have specific thickness's that I use, so I make frequent checks with a digital calliper, along with a straight edge to make sure I'm not carving out any dips, but apart from that I don't use any templates or guides for the actual shape.. other than my hands.

I assume you don't need the (full) accuracy of a digital caliper for this job - my personal preference is a mechanical dial caliper, which is accurate "enough", and I find easier to read quickly.

BugBear

Absolutely, a dial or vernier caliper would work just as well.

 

[Simo]

I installed the side dot inlays earlier today. The inlay material I'm using for this bass is Luminlay (www.luminlay.com), which is a type of luminous plastic that glows brightly when charged under UV light for just a few seconds.. great for dark stages. The version I'm using has a black plastic outer, which gives a nice contrast against the Maple, and makes them stand out a bit more in daylight conditions

I like the look of the inlay positioned right on the join of the neck and fingerboard.. the only downside to this, is that if you drill one slightly off, it's even more noticeable (don't ask me how I know that), so you need to take care marking the holes.

A good quality drill bit makes life easier, especially when drilling through two different types of wood in one hole (I use the HSS Professional bits made by Fisch).

The Luminlay material is fitted with a few drops of CA glue, and then filed flush with an Iwasaki carvers file.

 

[MattRoberts]

Beautiful work, and I echo the thanks for taking us through it with such great pics and descriptions

 

[Baldhead]

Looking forward to seeing the finished article. One day I too hope to make my own guitar, threads like this help spur me on.
Thanks
Stew

 

[stewart]

Fantastic workmanship - a great WIP - really enjoying this one!
Thanks

 

[AES]

Really great work (and posting), thanks for continuing your WIP.

Just as a matter of interest (I know nothing about musical instruments or Luthiers), where is this guitar going? Has someone pre-ordered it (anyone famous??); are you making it purely on spec to sell; or is it "just" for yourself? Don't want to get into your commercial confidentiality though, so if you'd rather not answer that, no problem.

I assume that to be a successful Luthier, even on a hobby basis, but also from some of your comments posted earlier, one needs to be able to play the subject instrument at least "just a bit" to have any success as a Luthier?

I hope your answer to the last Q is yes, 'cos I'm mainly interested in making toys and these days I'm playing nearly all the time!!

Lovely work, thanks.

AES

 

[Simo]

Really great work (and posting), thanks for continuing your WIP.

Just as a matter of interest (I know nothing about musical instruments or Luthiers), where is this guitar going? Has someone pre-ordered it (anyone famous??); are you making it purely on spec to sell; or is it "just" for yourself? Don't want to get into your commercial confidentiality though, so if you'd rather not answer that, no problem.

I assume that to be a successful Luthier, even on a hobby basis, but also from some of your comments posted earlier, one needs to be able to play the subject instrument at least "just a bit" to have any success as a Luthier?

I hope your answer to the last Q is yes, 'cos I'm mainly interested in making toys and these days I'm playing nearly all the time!!

Lovely work, thanks.

AES

This is being built to my own spec and then offered for sale, assuming that I'm happy with how it turns out. No famous customers I'm afraid :lol:

I certainly don't think you have to be a virtuoso player to be able to build a good instrument, although I can't imagine building a guitar/bass without at least some playing experience.. having said that, Leo Fender didn't play guitar, and he seemed to do OK out of it.

I'm actually a guitarist, not a bass player (I just prefer designing and building basses). I can/do play bass (just not very well :wink: ), and although it's not my main instrument, I feel like I have enough understanding of what goes into making a good bass guitar.

 

[AES]

OK, thanks Simo. Just for my interest. BTW, even I've heard of Fender (though I must confess I didn't know his first name was Leo).

If the instruments sounds & plays as good as it looks I'm sure you'll find potential customer/s.

AES

 

[Simo]

I'm busy working on various other things this week, but I did get chance to route the neck pocket for this bass today..

 

[Alikingravi]

Simply amazing, clean and beautiful! I also hope to build a guitar one day.

 

[markblue777]

Gorgeous!. Some nice work there, keep the photos up.
Cheers
Mark

 

[bugbear]

Nice Marples transitional plane too!

BugBear

 

[Simo]

The next step is to radius the fingerboard and shape the neck. I begin by using a hand plane to rough out the radius (20''), and then switch to a sanding block. Radius sanding wide Ebony fretboards can be hard work.. attaching plane handles to the radius block provides a better grip, and helps speed things up.

Next, the threaded inserts are fitted, and I'm then ready to make a start on the shaping process. To begin, the heel, and the area behind the nut are roughly carved out, using a Microplane rasp, and a small Iwasaki carving file. The shaft of the neck is then shaped with a spokeshave, followed by a Shinto saw rasp.

I down tools once I get close to the final thickness, in order complete work on the fingerboard. As shown earlier, the fingerboard has been sanded flat with a radius block, but there's an extra step to ensure a really good setup.

Without getting too technical.. the radius block produces a cylindrical surface, so if you place a straightedge on the center line, it will be flat. However, the width of a neck tapers along it's length, therefore if you tilt the straightedge at a slight angle (to mimic the path of the outer strings), you'll see that there's a high spot in the center. This can potentially cause the outer strings to buzz in the middle of the neck, as if the neck had a slight back bow.

Using a levelling beam, I sand along the paths of the strings (blending in the surface in between them). When completed, each string will have a perfectly flat surface underneath it, along the entire length of the neck.

With the fingerboard now at it's final thickness, I can finish sanding the neck..

 

[Simo]

Nice Marples transitional plane too!

Yeah, it's a great little plane. The handle is a bit of a tight fit, even with my small hands, but it's very nice to use.

 

[BearTricks]

Absolutely amazing.

I have a 10 or so year old Gibson stored away. Apparently I got lucky and bought a particularly good model that has appreciated in value. I have a feeling I might have to refinish it, however, so it's good to know there are some people on here who are in to building guitars.