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New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10123&t=38187		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Chameleon [ Wed Nov 07, 2012 11:56 am ]
Post subject:  New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
Getting started on a new bass. This will be one of three basses in my head right now, this one, a tribute to the moon, in it's current state of planning, will have 30 fret markers, 2 jazz bass style pickups that will be my first try at winding with some fun stereo wiring, walnut neck and body with katalox fingerboard and burl maple top.

Let me know which of the two variations below look better to you, I'm leaning towards the first one.

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The top will be carved and the burl will be "eclipsed" by the walnut behind it. The dark woods emphasize the darkness of the moon, notably the katalox, which I feel has a certain moon-like quality to it. The crescent moon at the 12th fret will be cut from a light colored Guatemalan tigerwood, sometimes called mora, or cut from pieces of bone.
Author:  nyazzip [ Wed Nov 07, 2012 12:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
i think you should call it the "islamobass"....(crescent moon)
i wouldn't have the moon inlay span the board entirely, i'd leave a bit of fretboard on each end. in other words, smaller moon. but thats just my taste
Author:  Chameleon [ Wed Nov 07, 2012 12:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
Definitely not to symbolize Islam, or any religion for that matter. Yeah it'll probably be a little smaller, maybe 1/8" - 1/4" from the edge perhaps. I just used the closest round object to trace it that was close. I'll do the real one with a compass.
Author:  dzsmith [ Wed Nov 07, 2012 6:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
Nice hunks of lumber!
Where are you going to put those 30 fret markers?
I'd like to follow your progress, especially carving the body.
I don't play bass, but I'd like to build one.
DZ
Author:  Chameleon [ Wed Nov 07, 2012 7:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
dzsmith wrote:
Nice hunks of lumber!
Where are you going to put those 30 fret markers?
I'd like to follow your progress, especially carving the body.
I don't play bass, but I'd like to build one.
DZ


Thanks.

There's a few options I'm considering on the fret markers, one, which I'm leaning towards, is to have only partial fret markings that sort of hang off the edge of the fretboard on one or both sides and the middle will show off the wood.
Author:  Quine [ Wed Nov 07, 2012 8:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
I like the second body shape better. The beefier cut away horn looks better proportioned to the wide lower bout to my eye

That top will look awesome when finished up
Author:  Chameleon [ Sat Nov 10, 2012 9:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
I may end up doing a cutaway that's in between both of those as I feel like the second photo is just a little too beefy.

It feels good to be working on a bass after a long hiatus. And walnut is a joy to work with. Here we have a demonstration of the world famous scarf joint. There's something pleasing about sanding the two boards until you can't see light shine through under a straightedge.

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An here is some katalox I cut into fretboards:

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I'm having fun with this one.
Author:  John Sonksen [ Sat Nov 10, 2012 9:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
I like the second one better because of the lower horn too. That burl is gonna look sick when you get it finished.
Author:  Chameleon [ Sat Nov 10, 2012 10:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
Thanks John. Yeah now that I look at it more, I am favoring the second draft again. And you know I can't wait to have that top all finished up. It's gonna look pretty cool with the walnut creeping up under it.
Author:  Chameleon [ Tue Nov 20, 2012 9:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
Looking forward to getting back on this build. I've been making guitar picks that I sell on Etsy and some cocobolo kitchen utensils for the family. Oh yeah, and a chicken coop.

I'm considering using a piece of Guatemalan rosewood/mora for the fretboard. Looks kinda like this:

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Although my chunk is slightly less streaky than that. I was thinking the dark walnut on the back of the bass with the light woods on the front might look nice. Any thoughts?
Author:  Chameleon [ Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
Progress on the bass. The inlay concept has changed. I'm now gonna have the lunar phase depicted in the dot locations of the fretboard. Anybody have any reccomendations for plug cutters in the 3/8"-1/2" range? I'll be inlaying a lighter colored wood into the katalox board. Also have some of the body glued up. 4 sections of 4 pieces of wood, 16 piece body. Pictures later, enthusiasm now. wow7-eyes
Author:  Chameleon [ Sat Dec 08, 2012 10:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
Potential buyer for this bass, front man of my favorite band, Kayo Dot. I'm offering a large discount to get my name going around.

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And I've been wanting to do this for a while:

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But it's gone a step further adding a scarf joint to the template with the headstock shape and tuner hole positions.

Neck to be routed first, then truss rod installed and fretboard glued, then neck shape used to route fretboard flush to itself.
Author:  Chameleon [ Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
Here's what the top is gonna look like:

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DSC_0010 by markpotato, on Flickr
Author:  msands [ Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: New 5 String Fretless - The Moon
That body looks so cool!

~M
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