My first commissioned build!

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Gerry Beckles
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:58 am

My first commissioned build!

Post 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.
Attachments
headback.jpg
headfrontal.jpg
bodytilted.jpg
bodyfront.jpg
headfront.jpg
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Barry Daniels
Posts: 3186
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 10:58 am
Location: The Woodlands, Texas

Re: My first commissioned build!

Post by Barry Daniels »

Looks good. I like the finish.
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Gordon Bellerose
Posts: 1186
Joined: Wed May 30, 2012 11:47 pm
Location: Edmonton AB. Canada

Re: My first commissioned build!

Post by Gordon Bellerose »

Congrats on selling a guitar!! Nice color.
I need your help. I can't possibly make all the mistakes myself!
Jason Rodgers
Posts: 1554
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2012 4:05 pm
Location: Portland, OR

Re: My first commissioned build!

Post by Jason Rodgers »

Yes, sweet paint job!

Can you tell us how you did the laminated fingerboard?
-Ruining perfectly good wood, one day at a time.
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Peter Wilcox
Posts: 1317
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 1:31 am
Location: Northeastern California

Re: My first commissioned build!

Post 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". :)
Maybe I can't fix it, but I can fix it so no one can fix it
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Steve Sawyer
Posts: 965
Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2013 2:20 pm
Location: Detroit, Michigan

Re: My first commissioned build!

Post 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.
==Steve==
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Dan Hehnke
Posts: 166
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2012 12:22 am
Location: Colorado
Contact:

Re: My first commissioned build!

Post by Dan Hehnke »

Cool! I like the headstock and the color alot.
Gerry Beckles
Posts: 17
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 9:58 am

Re: My first commissioned build!

Post 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.
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