(http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn170/birdie-55/IMG_0620.jpg)
(http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn170/birdie-55/IMG_0616.jpg)
THAT is lovely!!!!
:o Very nice!
Very nice, I like it. What pickup did you use?
thank you very much. It's a black t-bird soapbar which I am hoping to find some chrome cover and ring for.
Wow! Really sweet! More pics and info, please!
Love the color on the back, the burst turned out great.
that's a real looker, great job!
:toast:
Beautiful. Could you post some more close up pics?
Looks great! That headstock with the 1-up, 3-down tuning keys really works well.
Beautiful ! I love the simplicity of one pickup.
Beautifully clean lines...
Very,very nice! Youll fit right in . :mrgreen:
Great design & details.
Head stocks are always tricky and most "new" designs look like do do. Yours is just beautiful, the whole bass works !
VERY VERY nice. I think you'll do fine with the Non Reverse project.
Vey cool, any plans for the next one?
Just too cool!
Very nice! :thumbsup:
Quote from: Basvarken on August 04, 2010, 04:56:29 AM
Beautiful. Could you post some more close up pics?
thank you. Will take some soon!
Quote from: Dr. Aquafresh on August 04, 2010, 11:43:55 AM
Vey cool, any plans for the next one?
The red one is basically a prototype to try some ideas. The next one got a color coat today, along w/ 2 coats of nitro. Will post pics of that one when it is more presentable. And of course, thank you!
Thank you all so very much! I posted those pics precisely to see what you all thought and am pleased and honored by your support.There are a LOT of very talented and creative modder/builders on this board and any and all input,good bad or indifferent is welcome ;D The next design is entirely mine and is something I plan to perfect and hopefully sell.
I promise more pics of both the red and the next one soon!
Quote from: godofthunder on August 04, 2010, 08:09:05 AM
Head stocks are always tricky and most "new" designs look like do do. Yours is just beautiful, the whole bass works !
Aw shucks....! I spent a lot of time designing that actually. Didn't come easy.Thanks, really 'preciate it.
I want to agree about the headstock - that's one piece that people REALLY struggle with, and there are few original ideas. I think yours is among the very, very few which are graceful and distinctive...very well done!!!!
Great job!! That is really amazing and the headstock is VERY cool!
Give us some more details, please. What's the scale?
Quote from: Pilgrim on August 04, 2010, 09:45:29 PM
I want to agree about the headstock - that's one piece that people REALLY struggle with, and there are few original ideas. I think yours is among the very, very few which are graceful and distinctive...very well done!!!!
Agreed. Building a neck (a good one) seperates the great true builders from the hobbiest, in my opinion. Anyone can build a body and slap a neck on it (I did).
Hope you continue to share your projects. Very inspiring builders here.
Quote from: Iome on August 05, 2010, 12:49:12 AM
Give us some more details, please. What's the scale?
The neck is 5-ply maho w/ 2 strips made of paper and wood fiber. Very very strong stuff, that neck ain't going nowhere. Truss rod and 2 graphite strips. Scale is 32 in. w/ no detriment at all to the sound or tension of the strings.It has no back angle, truss rod set dead straight, f/b almost flush w/ the top. The bridge had to be set into the body slightly to get the saddles low enough. Thus the "reveal" around it. In fact it sounds amazing. I have lent it to a bassplayer friend who plays here in Austin w/ Patrice Pike, and it has been played on TV, open air venues and clubs,sounding uniformly deep and clear. Body is chambered mahogany,the center is solid as is the bass bout. Bridge and tuners are Hipshot -convertible and ultralite respectively. Circuit is a vintage pee from RS Guitarworks. And it weighs nothing. All in all, a series of happy accidents am hoping to repeat! ;)
(http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn170/birdie-55/DSC03670.jpg)
(http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn170/birdie-55/DSC03788.jpg)
(http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn170/birdie-55/DSC03815.jpg)
(http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn170/birdie-55/DSC03814.jpg)
(http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn170/birdie-55/DSC03811.jpg)
(http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn170/birdie-55/DSC03813.jpg)
Dude, you are the MAN! That unfinished one on the ground is a knockout! I really think you've hit on something with that headstock of yours. NO ONE has anything like it and it's graceful and stylish. You ought to get a patent on it.
Yep, that delivers... in spades... (hope that translates nicely over your side of the pond...)
Quote from: birdie on August 05, 2010, 08:11:54 AM
The neck is 5-ply maho w/ 2 strips made of paper and wood fiber. Very very strong stuff, that neck ain't going nowhere. Truss rod and 2 graphite strips. Scale is 32 in. w/ no detriment at all to the sound or tension of the strings.It has no back angle, truss rod set dead straight, f/b almost flush w/ the top. The bridge had to be set into the body slightly to get the saddles low enough. Thus the "reveal" around it. In fact it sounds amazing. I have lent it to a bassplayer friend who plays here in Austin w/ Patrice Pike, and it has been played on TV, open air venues and clubs,sounding uniformly deep and clear. Body is chambered mahogany,the center is solid as is the bass bout. Bridge and tuners are Hipshot -convertible and ultralite respectively. Circuit is a vintage pee from RS Guitarworks. And it weighs nothing. All in all, a series of happy accidents am hoping to repeat! ;)
EVEN BETTER! How many frets? FB radius? Any special considerations on pickup placement? How does the E string sound - any issues?
Quote from: Lightyear on August 05, 2010, 09:14:57 PM
EVEN BETTER! How many frets? FB radius? Any special considerations on pickup placement? How does the E string sound - any issues?
frets-23. Why? I knew i wanted more than 20, yet would need some wriggle room if I chose 2 pups. FB radius is 12, and so is the one currently being finished. For pickup placement I take various measurements off my basses, combined with locating strong harmonics on the particular instrument. Then I grab the router, close my eyes, and start bashing away....! The E string sounds absolutely great, and feels solid as can be, no issues. Thanks!
Yes, I would copyright that headstock ASAP!!!! That is one of the hardest things to design on your own and you did it. NICE work, Bro!!!
Quote from: birdie on August 05, 2010, 10:10:30 PM
frets-23. Why? I knew i wanted more than 20, yet would need some wriggle room if I chose 2 pups. FB radius is 12, and so is the one currently being finished. For pickup placement I take various measurements off my basses, combined with locating strong harmonics on the particular instrument. Then I grab the router, close my eyes, and start bashing away....! The E string sounds absolutely great, and feels solid as can be, no issues. Thanks!
Do you think that the graphite strips contribute to the solid sound? I've heard claims that the graphite reduces/eliminates dead spots from manufacturers.
What kind of truss rod did you use? Single action or the newer double action rod?
And I'm with Baz - the copyright idea has merit.
Quote from: Baz Cooper on August 08, 2010, 05:17:36 AM
Yes, I would copyright that headstock ASAP!!!! That is one of the hardest things to design on your own and you did it. NICE work, Bro!!!
Unfortunately Ernie Ball OWNS the copyright on ANY 3+1 Headstock design. They were awarded that by US courts even though the design appears in Japanese designs that predate Leo Fender (or George Fullerton)'s design for Music Man. You can use it as a hobbyist but any attempt to use it in commerce will at the least get you a cease and desist order, at most a lawsuit and damages claim. You can use your shape of course but it would have to be 2+2 or 4 on a side.
There's a similar situation with the Vox Phantom shape. The guy who owns Phantom Guitar Works filed for a trademark on the design and now owns that and the Phantom script even though he didn't design or buy either from VOX.
The copyright/patent/trademark/ laws stink in many cases. They no longer fulfill their original purpose to encourage innovation but now in large part help corporations to build and keep monopolies.
Very nice designs! Look forward to seeing more.
I learned on a Tiesco that had a 3+1 arrangement - exactly like the MM - this was a 60's piece for sure.
I do know that there is a custom builder here in the Houston area that markets his basses with a 3+1 arrangement - I believe one of his basses was reviewed in Bass Player within the last 18 months.
Quote from: Lightyear on August 08, 2010, 02:54:25 PM
I learned on a Tiesco that had a 3+1 arrangement - exactly like the MM - this was a 60's piece for sure.
I do know that there is a custom builder here in the Houston area that markets his basses with a 3+1 arrangement - I believe one of his basses was reviewed in Bass Player within the last 18 months.
Maybe EB has decided to let it slide.
Quote from: Lightyear on August 08, 2010, 09:15:21 AM
Do you think that the graphite strips contribute to the solid sound? I've heard claims that the graphite reduces/eliminates dead spots from manufacturers.
What kind of truss rod did you use? Single action or the newer double action rod?
And I'm with Baz - the copyright idea has merit.
I can't say from my very limited building experience how the graphite rods affect the sound. I can say they add a lot of rigidity and strength. And certainly have not been detrimental to this particular bass. It has NO deadspots that my damaged ears can notice!
Quote from: dadagoboi on August 08, 2010, 03:07:13 PM
Maybe EB has decided to let it slide.
It is wise to pick your battles. If they want to come after little old me(can't see why) let 'em. I'll find a mad dog greedy hungry lawyer-can't imagine where ;) and give 'em a good David and Goliath black eye.
Quote from: birdie on August 08, 2010, 05:23:34 PM
It is wise to pick your battles. If they want to come after little old me(can't see why) let 'em. I'll find a mad dog greedy hungry lawyer-can't imagine where ;) and give 'em a good David and Goliath black eye.
Having been in that battle I can tell you that the party with the deepest pockets wins. In my case, me with a design patent vs Target and a knockoff of one of my chairs. No way was I going to be able to hire the kind of lawyers they have on retainer and the most I would be able to get out of it was a cease and desist.
EB is not Target but they do have to defend their intellectual property against all infringers or lose the ownership of it. A few years ago they were actively doing that but maybe they don't care any more.
Good to see I'm not the only one who works in flip flops.
I used to wear Birkenstocks...but those comfortable POS sandals just couldn't handle getting wet. I destroyed them.
I don't want to distract from Birdie's bass but a few things need to be cleared up.
1. You can't copyright a headstock design, period. This about trademark, not copyright.
2. You can trademark the "trade dress" of a product if you can demonstrate that customers associate the appearance with your brand name. Obviously this won't work for one bass you built for yourself, you have to be a company engaging in interstate commerce.
3. Ernie Ball has trademarks on the trade dress of their headstocks, nothing more (no matter what they may claim). They can take action against you if they feel your design causes anyone to confuse your product with theirs, but they don't "own" the configuration any more than Fender owns the 4 inline configuration. Function can't be trademarked.
Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Thanks Dave!
Yes, thank you! I don't know what my headstock would remind me of , if I were not aware of what I was majorly influenced by. It was actually a (gasp) 6 stringed instrument of very limited success...
As for patents etc. I doubt it would ever come to that. Does that h/stock really remind anyone of the MM? Maybe the 3x1 arrangement, yes, but the shape?
I did not set out with a 3x1 in mind. it just became a way of insuring a straight string pull for the E.
Quote from: Baz Cooper on August 08, 2010, 10:20:06 PM
Thanks Dave!
+1
I guess a good example is Fender vs G&L. G&L had to change it's original headstock design because it supposedly was too similar to Fender's trademark, not because it was 4 in a row.
Possibly the Music Man headstock originally had a design and/or utility patent (Leo claimed it helped eliminate dead spots) in addition to being trademarked but that would be expired by now.
Quote from: Lightyear on August 08, 2010, 09:15:21 AM
Do you think that the graphite strips contribute to the solid sound? I've heard claims that the graphite reduces/eliminates dead spots from manufacturers.
What kind of truss rod did you use? Single action or the newer double action rod?
And I'm with Baz - the copyright idea has merit.
It was a newer double action.