For those of you out there who aren’t builders but rather modders (or just a player that likes to tinker with instruments,) one bass instrument that can be had for well south of 500 USD (and even into the sub-400s) is the Peavey Millennium Bass. While true that it is tough to beat Squier when … Read more
See the business listing for this bass builder here This week’s feature bass has a fingerboard with a contrasting wood species for the octave frets. Builder Ben Bartlett writes: I built this bass for someone who bought one of my last basses. It has an ebony fretboard with American holly on the 12th and 24th … Read more
The fret wire used here was nickel/silver. It was of the narrow/tall style like a banjo or Martin guitar. Height is .040 tall and .080 wide. Neck prep The fingerboard has been radiused and is flat at this point. All fret slots are deep enough to accept the tang of the fret wire chosen. The … Read more
Dear Prudence is a song recorded in August 1968 and released that same year in November. The late 1960s was a time of experimentation not only in music style but also in the way it was recorded. This song in particular has a bass track that sticks out in a good way. Slow, smooth and … Read more
The feature bass this week is a fretless with a nice selection of woods and an upscale appearance. Owner Ashley Gray writes: Custom made in 1998 to my own specifications by the late Rod Button, luthier of Weston-super-Mare. The body of this superb six-string fretless bass is Walnut, faced with burr Elm and bound with … Read more
Why do we do this? To smooth the transition from the peghead face to the edge of the fingerboard. Do all headstocks require scalloping? No. Fender style headstocks require scalloping due to the curve of the peghead face. Pitched bevel headstocks do not require scalloping due to the fact the face is flat. What is … Read more
See the business listing for this bass builder here This week’s feature bass has a generous amount of buckeye burl to it. Builder Stephen from Ziegenfuss Guitars at www.ziegenfussguitars.com writes: This bass was a fun commission for a new customer. I have never had the pleasure of building with buckeye burl, and frankly avoided the … Read more
Inlay material An inlay material can be almost anything as long as it can be installed in a fingerboard. Examples of inlay materials are plastic, abalone, mother-of-pearl, stone, shell, acrylic and so on. Some examples of inlay materials (there are many): However, the easy route is to use premade inlay set of discs for standard … Read more
See the business listing for this bass builder here A pleasant gold top makes an appearance for this week’s feature bass. Builder Keith Montgomery from www.montgomery-guitars.com writes: I have always loved the look of a gold top Les Paul, so this is my single cut gold top bass. Body is Honduran mahogany, carved maple cap … Read more
Radiusing a neck can be done in a number ways. But generally speaking, there are two major methods. The expensive way and the cheap way. Expensive way – Use a machine to radius the neck The above is the Grizzly G0574 Guitar Fretboard Radiusing Sander. Not cheap, but very nice to have. It’s a good … Read more
