A couple recent builds.

[GuitarDoc]

Hey guys. It's been a while since I've posted anything on the forum. I've been very busy with some health issues and with building many guitars (about 20 new ones) in the past year or two. It looks like there have been a few changes to the forum since I last posted. I hope I can still remember how this is all done.

The first guitar here is my Chameleon. Several laminate layers to the body...Purpleheart, Ebony, Flame Maple, Ebony, Wenge, Basswood, and the back is Black Limba. Neck is White Limba with walnut stripes and fretboard is Purpleheart with brass ring + abalone fret markers. All hardware is chameleon chrome plated.

The second is my P/J/J bass. Black Limba body with Basswood middle and mahogany back. Neck is Black Limba with Bloodwood fretboard and sized like a Jazz Bass neck. Fret markers are pearl with abalone block inlays. Control knobs are Bloodwood with pearl inlays. 5 position switch: 1= bridge, 2= bridge + neck, 3= middle, 4= middle + neck, 5= neck. What makes this bass really fun is that it has a p/p to put the neck pup oop, and a p/p to put the neck pup in stereo with either of the other 2 pups so, with a TRS cord, you can play in either mono or stereo. Unlike Rickenbackers, it only has one stereo jack so you don't need to unplug your cord from the mono jack then plug a TRS cord into the stereo jack when you want to switch from mono to stereo. Simple...it's just in the switch and jack wiring (I don't understand why Ric guitars and basses still have two output jacks).

Since I'm basically a guitar player not really a bass player, I made the bass to play as easily as a guitar (low action and relief) with .009 at the first fret of "G" string and .015 at the "E" string.

Enjoy the pics. I'm glad to be back.

 

[GuitarDoc]

I forgot to mention that both guitars are chambered. The guitar weighs right at 6 lbs 2 oz., the bass is just 7 lbs 13 oz. The guitar is finished in high gloss nitro lacquer with oil finished neck, and the bass is finished with Glancy's #1 Oil (very similar to Tru-Oil).

 

[Mincer]

Wow, those look awesome! Any chance we can hear them too?

 

[jeremy]

they both look fantastic! interesting pup choice on the bass. whats the wiring?

 

[Sam SG]

Beautiful

 

[Mincer]

Yeah, I never tried a P-bass pickup that close to the neck before. What's it sound like?

 

[GuitarDoc]

I made two other P/J basses. The first one was pretty traditional as far as pickup spacing is concerned. It is an amazing bass in every respect so I decided to make another but I moved the precision pup a little closer to the neck to get even more fullness. With both pups on the sound is full, rich, clean, and articulate. Exactly what I was after. I also added an OOP switch which really sounds cool. Because the tone was so amazing with both pups on for that bass, I wanted to take it to the next level and have two options for "both pups on", so I added another Jazz (b) pup for the middle position so I could have bridge + neck and middle + neck. I was worried that the neck Precision pup might sound muddy that close to the neck, but it truly sounds wonderful. What a great sounding and versatile pup that Precision is...so full and rich, but clean and articulate by itself or in combination with either Jazz pup. The OOP sounded so cool on that second bass, I decided to also include it with this one.

When I was thinking about how I was going to wire it I thought about how I always played my guitar through two amps and two separate signal chains and pedal boards, and I remembered how good my Ric 3001 sounded in stereo mode, so I decided to also make this one stereo. But I didn't like how the Ric has two output jacks, one for mono and one for stereo so I figured how to use one stereo jack and a switch to add the neck pup to the mono signal (with the two Jazz pups) and to a separate stereo signal. And it works great. I don't know why Ric hasn't done that to all their guitars.

As far as sound clips...I wish I could but I have no way of doing that. I'll talk to my brother-in-law about it, he does professional recording. I also have a friend who is a touring bass player who I might be able to do the playing and put it through its paces. He would most certainly be able to do a better job than I could ever do. If/when I get it done I'll post a clip.

 

[GuitarDoc]

they both look fantastic! interesting pup choice on the bass. whats the wiring?

I use a stereo jack with both Jazz pups going to the tip of the jack (like normal guitar wiring). I have a SPDT switch (actually, I use half of a p/p tone pot) which sends the Precision signal to either the tip (for normal mono output) or the ring (for stereo output). It's really very simple and works perfectly. It's so easy and effective that I will probably do this on many of my future guitar builds.

 

[Mincer]

So do you play in stereo, and send the different pickups to different amps? I've never done that with a bass.

 

[GuitarDoc]

So do you play in stereo, and send the different pickups to different amps? I've never done that with a bass.

Yes. (Sorry it took me so long to get back to you).

That allows me to send a clean signal to one amp and a dirty one to another. For example, "Think for Yourself" by the Beatles...one pup thru fuzz to one amp, the other pup clean to another amp. Sounds soooo much fuller than just playing your bass (mono) thru a fuzz to one amp!

Or, and what I always did, use two different pedalboards...one for each of the stereo chanels of the bass. Totally different effects sent to each amp.

I'm working on getting a recording of the bass (and guitar) to post.

 

[Mincer]

Yes. (Sorry it took me so long to get back to you).

That allows me to send a clean signal to one amp and a dirty one to another. For example, "Think for Yourself" by the Beatles...one pup thru fuzz to one amp, the other pup clean to another amp. Sounds soooo much fuller than just playing your bass (mono) thru a fuzz to one amp!

Or, and what I always did, use two different pedalboards...one for each of the stereo chanels of the bass. Totally different effects sent to each amp.

I'm working on getting a recording of the bass (and guitar) to post.

Oh, I get it. This is what Chris Squire in YES did...a Marshall guitar amp and an SVT.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Yes, Chris Squire and many others played stereo...at least two channels. There was a time when I played guitar thru 3 amps splitting my signal to 3 separate channels.

 

[Mincer]

Yes, Chris Squire and many others played stereo...at least two channels. There was a time when I played guitar thru 3 amps splitting my signal to 3 separate channels.

He also used bass pedals through their own amplification (actually, a mini PA system- they were LOUD!)

 

[Snake Aces]

Wow, Doc, they're gorgeous! Nice work on that bass, I've been playing guitar and bass for a long time and I prefer an easy-to-play bass as well.