Australian/New Zealand Luthiers Forum

This is my first Bass build and my take on the Gibson EB style, the main difference here is that this has carved plates where as Gibsons are pressed laminates and also Gibson made a short scale and a long scale, this one is a mid scale, 32".

Back and sides/ Silky oak.
Topwood/ Curly maple.
Neck/ silky oak
Evo gold frets on a Ebony f/b with pearl diamond inlays.
Bridge/ Hipshot
Pups/ Vintage Vibe
Tuners/ Grover.
Cheers,,

Rod.

Beautiful work Rod. Is this one going to Port Fairy?

Regards

Great looking bass. Would love to see some of the build. Did you take any photos along the way?

Martin

Thanks Bob, yes it is, i have a bit of a cross section to choose from now and seeing as this is my only bass i suppose i should take it along, i just have one problem and that is the case, i've ordered it a while back and i'm picking it up tomorrow i just hope that headstock fits in! i gave the guy a paper pattern of the the build but didn't think about those tuners, i hope he's had more insight than me, so if there's no case it won't be going to Port Fairy.
Martin i didn't put together a big portfolio on this one but i'll scrounge through the puter and see what i can get on here.
Cheers,,

Rod.

Your on a roll Rod, You got it right again , Another Beauty. Thanks for showing

What an ubber cool look'in bass.

Beautiful work Rod, well done mate.

Cheers

Kim

Jeez if that thing could walk I bet it would strut Rod.

Jim

Wow, this beauty would even make me as a tiny instrument addict play bass guitar if I had such a one!

Sorry for my maybe stupid question: Is this kind of a semi-hollow body? I have a hard time to imagine that this e-bass bridge would be just screwed to a carved maple top. Or is the maple top so thick that this can be done?

I love your work Rod, the quality of workmanship you are building into your archies is fantastic. What brand are the pickups?

Love it. That's one hot bass.

Markus, it's a semi, the solid block finishes just behind the bridge. Nick thanks for that, the pups are hand wound custom made hum buckers from Vintage vibe, the original EB's only had the neck pup and a genuine after market model was a bullshit price, adding to that was i really wanted to add the bridge pup so Pete built me a matching set at a very reasonable price, the exposed blades extend past the string spread so the strings can't lose the magnetic field and they are also radiused the same as the fretboard.
Thanks all for your encouraging comments .
Rod.

Beautiful work Rod .
Love the finish
Regards Steve

Bloody hell, now that looks nice.

Steve

Thanks Steve and Steve,,Well i've just returned from the case guys shop and no he didn't have a bit more foresight than me, the bass would have fitted perfectly in the case if that headstock with those [smaller than most!!!] bass tuners had have gone in!! . So he promised me i'd have another case buy late this or early next week, fingers crossed .
I've scrounged up some pics of the build for Martin, One of the sides in the mould withe the rough top lying on top, you can see the solid block and you might also notice that i've used laminated linings, a bit of stuffing around but they fit around those tight curves really well, also silky oak. A couple of the fretboard pre and post fretting, and one of the neck with the truss rod and carbon fibre ready to install.
Another thing i did different to Gibson is the neck to body transition, instead of creating a heel that butts up to the body i continued the back plate around and the binding beneath the neck and ran the neck into the body as a lot of solid body builds are done Telly's and Strat's come to mind, but then instead of having that uncomfortable lip at the neck/body intersection i made up a little transitional filler piece that still allows most of the binding to be seen.
Thanks for looking,,
Rod.

Thanks Rod, for answering my non-expert question. And for the additional pictures. I like them even more than those of finished instruments!
I know that it works to hang the chisels (or knives etc.) on a magnetic strip, but I think using this system would make me nervous!

And, my wife doesn't let me work on the bed!

nnickusa wrote:And, my wife doesn't let me work on the bed!

Just put your foot down Nick and let her know who the boss is

Tod Gilding wrote:

nnickusa wrote:And, my wife doesn't let me work on the bed!

Just put your foot down Nick and let her know who the boss is

Nick KNOWS who the boss is! As does every married man

What Nick said.....

Thanks for the extra pics Rod. It's great to see the hard work that goes into a beautiful instrument.

Martin

What a beauty!
How does the 32" scale work on it?

I was having a downer totay until I saw this I had a Gibson bass of similar stile in the mid 60's more in the red tones it made me remember my good friends of days gone by some have perished, next week is the 39th anniversary of thw tragic Whiskyagogo fire in Fortitude Valley Brisbane I lost two good freinds in that fire, Musicians who tried to save there precious instruments

Sorry to hear about your friends Eric but i think i can understand their actions in the face of such danger and trying to rescue their beloved instruments from the fire. I can remember the news reports on television, it was a very sad day. Glad the pics bought back some good memories too!!
Rod.

Your right (the late) Colin Folster the drummer loved his drums so much they were rarely apart. allways in the back of hi mini minor panel van or on stage some place

G'day Rod , Wow , that's another outstanding instrument . Superb work mate

DarwinStrings wrote:Jeez if that thing could walk I bet it would strut Rod.

Jim

Jim said it right !!