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The feature bass this week was made with a concentration on symmetry, and the end result was amazing.
Builder John Tinsley writes:
I was looking to build a neck thru bass (the others that I built were bolt on necks). I did not want the neck to show in either the front or back of the bass and I was looking for a fairly symmetrical shape (again, my others have been highly asymmetrical). The maple neck with ebony finger board were shaped using my templates for the bolt on necks I had made before, just extended for the neck thru and 24 frets. Basic body shape is a 12.5 inch by 10 inch ellipse. Lines were extended from the ellipse for the bass and treble upper horns. The squared off extension at the bottom of the body was added when I decided to use the Hipshot 2 piece bridge and tail piece. The body is layers of walnut, cherry, purpleheart, and maple. The cherry and purpleheart are chambered. I used 0.25 inch dowels to keep the layers aligned during glue up. After a bit of research, I decided on Delano SBC5 HE/S set, a Delano Sonar 3 preamp with active/passive capability, and a switching setup that allowed for series and parallel humbucking and single coil operation. I did not want to try to solder all of the connections inside the bass, so I made a jig of the exact size and hole pattern out of 3/16 inch bass plywood and made all of the connections except the final pickup and ground connections on the jig. Considering the small area for the connections, this was a very good decision. The tuners are Hipshot Ultralights which I really like for 5 string basses. Dunlop Straplocks are used with the bottom Straplock flush mounted. The bass is finished with 4 coats of tung oil. The bass has really different sounds depending upon the switching options. The soloed neck pickup is really deep. Soloed, the neck pickup has a real nice upper mid-range and good bite. The bass balances well and is very comfortable to play.
Gorgeous instrument, and it seems very well thought-out. Nice work!
Very very nice! Interesting how you used layers and chambered the body. The top is gorgeous! Is the top and back one piece? BTW where ever you live you have frickin huge spiders!
That`s no spider.
That`s one big blood-sucking tick!!
Gorgeous bass, excellent design concept and even better execution. The jig for wire up is such an elegant idea for an always challenging job.
Sweet build!!!!
Love it. The top is gorgeous, I love the selection of wood and the chambers. Not in love with the headstock.
Thanks for the comments. I really appreciate the feedback. The top and back are two pieces which are as perfectly joined and pattern matched as I have ever done (surprised myself). Oh yes,the next to the last sentence in my description should read the “bridge pickup. I know what Kirk means about the headstock. I was trying to squeeze 5 tuners into the smallest and lightest space possible.
Lastly, that is not a spider. It is a shadow cast by one of the sun catchers my wife put on the windows.
Nice bass build! I also like the layered chambers of various hardwoods. Did you use a Carvin NT5 neck blank?
Nice to see you’re still building, I remember your first one, or second, not sure which. Hopefully you wear them out before a new one emerges.