my first bass build

[Lightyear]

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?

[birdie]

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!

[Bionic-Joe]

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!!!

[Lightyear]

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.

[dadagoboi]

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.

[Lightyear]

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.

[dadagoboi]

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.

[birdie]

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!

[birdie]

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.

[dadagoboi]

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.

[Bionic-Joe]

I used to wear Birkenstocks...but those comfortable POS sandals just couldn't handle getting wet. I destroyed them.

[Dave W]

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.

[Bionic-Joe]

Thanks Dave!

[birdie]

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.

[dadagoboi]

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.