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My first commissioned build!

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 3:14 pm
by Gerry Beckles
This is a bass that I built for my brother - started back in the 3rd quarter of last year but finished this past weekend.

Body: Alder
Neck: Maple, one piece
Fingerboard: round-laminated Indian rosewood
Fingerboard radius: 10"
Pickups: Jerry Sentell B16 single coil (2)
Electronics Mod: DPDT switch to run both pickups in series when the switch is pulled up
Finish: Duplicolor primer, Gracey's Maui Blue lacquer, Minwax Clear Gloss Lacquer
Scale: 34"

The finished product:

Comments are welcome.

Re: My first commissioned build!

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 5:42 pm
by Barry Daniels
Looks good. I like the finish.

Re: My first commissioned build!

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 7:03 pm
by Gordon Bellerose
Congrats on selling a guitar!! Nice color.

Re: My first commissioned build!

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 7:52 pm
by Jason Rodgers
Yes, sweet paint job!

Can you tell us how you did the laminated fingerboard?

Re: My first commissioned build!

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:23 pm
by Peter Wilcox
Nice looking bass. Where did you get the pickup and bridge covers?

Oh, and nice shirt! Someone gifted me the same one - "So many guitars, so little time". :)

Re: My first commissioned build!

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 11:20 pm
by Steve Sawyer
Very pretty. I think the pickup & bridge covers really set off that color. Just started playing bass last September, and I was thinking that pickup cover would make an interesting rest for my hand.

Re: My first commissioned build!

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 7:12 pm
by Dan Hehnke
Cool! I like the headstock and the color alot.

Re: My first commissioned build!

Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2016 11:17 am
by Gerry Beckles
Thanks to all for your comments!

Jason - for the laminated fingerboard, I cut a 10" radius on the maple portion of the neck using a router jig. Next, I took two Indian rosewood acoustic guitar sides (from Luthiers Mercantile) and laminated them together, using the radiused neck as a caul. After they were glued together, then I laminated them onto the neck, using Titebond (I used a couple of brads with the heads cut off to keep the fingerboard from sliding during the gluing process). Finally, I trimmed the edges with a Robo-Sander flush trim sander, chucked into my drill press. I would have included some pictures of the process, but my board attachment quota has been reached :( Hopefully, my explanation will suffice, but there are some sites that have some descriptive pictures. For the next bass, I have a fingerboard with the 10" radius on the underside - this eliminates the need to bend the fingerboard (and avoids the possibility of cracking; don't ask me how I know this).

Peter - the pickup and bridge covers came from Guitar Parts Factory (formerly Guitar Parts Resource), although there are plenty of online vendors who supply them. I know many people ditch them and use them for ashtrays (!) but I love them, personally. My daughter bought me the t-shirt on her trip to LA a couple of summers ago.

Dan - yes, that headstock is my favorite, although it isn't original. Those who love the early British-built Vox range will recognize it as belonging to the Vox Symphonic Bass. The color, Maui Blue, was my brother's choice. Easy to apply, but make sure to cover it with lots of clear lacquer to avoid sand-throughs.