My 8 string build

[PhilKing]

You got a front shot of that? :o

me? 

That looks like a lot of work with the pickup covers being flamed too!  A great looking bass though.

[opprobrium_9]

Every time i see this my mouth gapes wide open!  :D

[WezV]

i didnt mean to de-rail oli's thread but thanks guys

That was my first time doing wooden pickup covers, turned out easier than i expected.  i had a thinner bit of the cranberry coloured acrylized maple i was going to use as a headplate - but i decided the headstock looked better plain.  The pickups are SD basslines soapbars with 1/4" ziracote frame around the edge and about 1/8" of the maple on top.  they are quite chunky but that makes for a good thumbrest.  if i was really clever i would have done it so it had the sapwood in the maple continuing through the pickups :?

[Oli]

Been busy with a few other builds, so this one has been a bit slow, the inlays have been installed, and fretting started. Need to route for the pickup (which hasn't been ordered yet, no funds available :(), and then start the final sanding for the finish :)

[WezV]

gotta love a bit of toob... looks really good against that wood... a very nice touch that rises it aove what people can purchase easily... i like a lot and may steal ;)

[SG Thrasher]

Wez, am I right in thinking the bloke from Esteban uses one of your basses?
They played at my college a while back, great band.

[Oli]

Hah, it's actually much cheaper than normal inlay dots too! a piece that was over 1m long (from B&Q, shhh), was only a couple of quid. You can't really see it from that picture (i'm gonna try and get a closer shot at some point), but the inside of each tube has a little piece of abalone in it, but it doesn't really show much... especially as the tube is only 2mm diameter outside!

I'm a big fan of cocobolo, it looks great, and i find it a nice wood to work with too.

[WezV]

Wez, am I right in thinking the bloke from Esteban uses one of your basses?
They played at my college a while back, great band.

esteban are pretty great and a good local band you should listen too.  ricky had a fretless bass made by me but the record company they signed with ensisted on him playing lakland basses.  since then ricky sold his MIJ J bass which was almost his signiture instument and he also sold the fretless i made him.  he still has a fender custom shop Jazz which is the only instrument he kept after the endoresment deal

i have worked on almost all of ricky's basses

he never got on with fretless as much as he expected to, being classicly trained.  i offered yo fret the bass for him free of charge... at the end of the day he sold it to a guy that happened to be a bass collector and he payed me to fret it for him... because he realised fretless anit for him and wanted it to be a bass he could play

i have no ill feeling with ricky and still regularly muck about with his basses, but it does show how hard it is to get my stuff in the hands of an up and coming band... most of the record companies offering deals are already in bed with manufacturers they want you to use.... on the upside, ricky did offer me trade prices on any orange amp i wanted... i can see the appeal of endorsements


oli, i have used the b&Q tube for dots many times... but please done tell anyone ;)  the pinkish  bass i posted earlier had B&Q brass tube with gold pearl inside as the side dots

[Johnny Mac]

They both look great, you both have great skills!

[TomAwesome]

Looking nice!

[SG Thrasher]

Wez, am I right in thinking the bloke from Esteban uses one of your basses?
They played at my college a while back, great band.

esteban are pretty great and a good local band you should listen too.  ricky had a fretless bass made by me but the record company they signed with ensisted on him playing lakland basses.  since then ricky sold his MIJ J bass which was almost his signiture instument and he also sold the fretless i made him.  he still has a fender custom shop Jazz which is the only instrument he kept after the endoresment deal

i have worked on almost all of ricky's basses

he never got on with fretless as much as he expected to, being classicly trained.  i offered yo fret the bass for him free of charge... at the end of the day he sold it to a guy that happened to be a bass collector and he payed me to fret it for him... because he realised fretless anit for him and wanted it to be a bass he could play

i have no ill feeling with ricky and still regularly muck about with his basses, but it does show how hard it is to get my stuff in the hands of an up and coming band... most of the record companies offering deals are already in bed with manufacturers they want you to use.... on the upside, ricky did offer me trade prices on any orange amp i wanted... i can see the appeal of endorsements


oli, i have used the b&Q tube for dots many times... but please done tell anyone ;)  the pinkish  bass i posted earlier had B&Q brass tube with gold pearl inside as the side dots

Oh ace, good to know.  :drink:

I don't think I could ever deal with being told what gear I can and can't use. :lol:

[Oli]

Well, the oil has dried, and it's been wired and strung.... sounds great :) The low end sounds thunderous! It's got an EMG 45DC pickup in it (sorry Tim! There'll be a BK8 in another build.... that's in progress :)), and even with an old battery, it sounded so full yet clear. Only spent about 15mins playing with it as i'm just off out, so pics and sound clips will have to wait until tomorrow evening. The nut needs to be done properly, but as i've only got half of a 0.010" nut file, and some needle files, it's not great yet, but still playable :)

[WezV]

tease ;)

[Philosoful]

That looks wonderful man :)still looking foward to seeing the finished deal. No new pics of mine yet I'm afraid, got to wait till about Febuary before I should ask for more.

[Oli]

Ta-dah!

Really comfortable to hold and play:


3rd fret chord; the neck isn't too wide to be unplayable, actually feels quite comfy.

Couple more here. After playing on it for a couple of hours this evening, my thoughts are that it's going to take a while to get used to, going from 7 to 8 strings seems a much bigger step than the 6 to 7 was. As i said before, the nut will be re-done when i get a chance, and also, the cavity cover will be done again, as it's going to be a magnetic one; the current one is just a temporary one to hold the battery in :)