DocBass ready to roll

Dave W · December 19, 2015, 04:01:58 PM

Quote from: drbassman on December 19, 2015, 09:51:06 AM
Finally put a couple of the basses up on eBay. I'm still developing the Reverb site, so that will have to come later. Onward and upward!

Good luck. Remember, you can also post a link to your eBay listings down in the For Sale subforum.

drbassman · December 20, 2015, 07:08:05 AM

Thanks Dave, didn't think of that!

godofthunder · January 10, 2016, 07:01:01 AM

Quote from: drbassman on September 11, 2015, 10:06:30 AM
Finally, I've had some time to get into the shop and finish something! This is #3 (1 and 2) will be next up on the bench. I am so happy with how this turned out. The fit and finish are really good and the sound is well beyond my expectations. The TV Jones pup is big and ballsy, it really does make me think of a p bass. I was worried about the single pup option, but the sound is so full and rich, I'm thrilled with the outcome. All I have left to do is install the strap buttons and control plate.

I'm working on pricing and how I'm going to sell it. Either eBay or at the House of Guitars. They want me to try and sell them at the HOG, but I know they can take a beating with people playing and messing with them. So, I'm not so sure about that option. Might try one just to see what happens. I'm working on a way to capture some audio of the bass. We'll see how that goes!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting up with Bill at his home/shop and getting to play his basses. I was very very impressed with the bass pictured above along with all his other creations. For the moment I am going to keep my comments focused on the bass above. The pictures don't do it justice in person it is stunning! I have always been a sucker for natural basses showing wood grain (must be the woodworker in me). This bass has a beautiful figured maple top and nicely grained maple back. The body is thin I don't remember the exact dimension but think Rickenbacker, even at that the bass being all maple weighs 10 lbs. I don't find that unacceptable as the bass balances very nicely. In the future this model will be 7% smaller and depending on wood selection that will help with the weight. I love the body shape defiantly an original shaped by the classics of the past. The neck is Mighty Mite maple and rosewood, beautifully finished, nice and straight with just a hint of relief. The action was low by most players standards, for me I'd bring it down a bit and there was plenty of adjustment left at the bridge for that. Ok so how's it sound? Bill has been singing the praises of the TV Jones pickups and I have to agree it is a great sounding unit, articulate without being sterile, nice fundamental low end and some zing. I got to play the bass through Bill's vintage B15N and wow just wow. With a pick or fingers I just love the tone of this bass, it sustains for days. Even with the one pickup you can get the entire spectrum from this bass, Motown thump to Geddy Lee snap. It just dawned on me that this bass has the best aspects of a Precision and a Rickenbacker sort of morphed into it's own personality. The simple one pickup layout and bridge of the P bass with the thin body maple construction of a Ric. Bill tells me the newer 7% smaller basses will have greater upper register access and sport his own head 2+2 stock design that will really tie this design together imho. Bill has come up with beautifully crafted unique design that covers a lot of sonic territory and does it with style, elegant simplicity and play-ability. I wouldn't hesitate to but one of Bill's creations, in fact I have put my order in.

drbassman · January 26, 2016, 08:03:27 AM

I'm moving things along. I have two semis on the bench and two more with all of the wood collected for gluing. This will be the next one, curly cedar top and splated cherry back. I used the cherry as I only had one piece of it laying around and I don't care for the look that much, but it makes a nice back with the right stain. This one gets one of the Gibson TB Plus pups I had in the parts drawer.

My new standard headstock design with ebony veneer. This will be stock for all future builds. The ebony touch is only an additional $6 or so and the look is really cool. Very easy to do.

amptech · January 26, 2016, 10:39:35 AM

Quote from: drbassman on January 26, 2016, 08:03:27 AM
I'm moving things along. I have two semis on the bench and two more with all of the wood collected for gluing. This will be the next one, curly cedar top and splated cherry back. I used the cherry as I only had one piece of it laying around and I don't care for the look that much, but it makes a nice back with the right stain. This one gets one of the Gibson TB Plus pups I had in the parts drawer.

Wow, that grain was hypnotizing, nice!

Highlander · January 26, 2016, 01:46:25 PM

drbassman · January 26, 2016, 03:15:47 PM

Pretty cool, huh! Just going to do an amber tint on this one. Should make the grain pop just right.

shadowcastaz · January 26, 2016, 10:03:10 PM

Mmmmmmmmmm!

drbassman · February 03, 2016, 07:20:57 AM

Got the neck glued onto the curly cedar bass and it's ready for finishing. I learned through trial and error that pre-taping the edges before gluing in a neck saves post-gluing sanding and fussing. I also wipe down the entire area around the neck/body joint with a wet rag to remove excess glue. I found that removing set glue after the fact was a major pain, waste of time and often meant losing some of the wood material under it as well. Now when I remove the clamps and tape, I virtually have no sanding or scraping to contend with.

The next one is a sitka spruce top and back that will be a natural/amber tint finish.

godofthunder · February 03, 2016, 10:04:01 AM

Looks great! Love that Cedar top!

drbassman · February 03, 2016, 10:35:16 AM

Thanks Scott. I'm getting all of my processes down and figured out so I can consistently turn out the same bass according to my specs every time.

Dave W · February 03, 2016, 09:24:56 PM

Lookin' good. I've hardly done any woodworking in the past few years but I tape to prevent squeezeout from sticking on any glue joint that will be seen.

dadagoboi · February 03, 2016, 09:39:00 PM

I don't tape but I do use a wet rag to clean up squeeze out before it dries. Also a chisel as a 'scraper' to clean up right angle joints like a neck to body. I don't remove any wood with the chisel.

Basses are looking great, Doc!

drbassman · February 03, 2016, 10:38:52 PM

Yeah, the tape is probably overkill, but it helps in the tight spaces under clamps.

gearHed289 · February 04, 2016, 09:12:37 AM

Definitely some good preventive maintenance there with the tape.