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The Talon bass

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Carnivorous HERBivore
(@herb)
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During a hiatus in my acoustic build I thought I'd try my hand at 34" scale, bolt-on neck bass. Here's what happened...

Full scale drawing, a book-matched maple top from Surrey Timbers and piece of mahogany donated by a friend.

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Mahogany blanks and maple top both prepared and glued together.

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Neck cut from a maple board, again from Surrey Timbers, truss rod installed and ebony 'board from Mark glued in place  

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Neck carved, control cavity and neck pocket routed.

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Thought I'd try my hand at binding the body... worked out pretty well.

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Dots in... and then it all went wrong... the dots about the 12th are all offset by 1!

Mark's solution worked a treat... routed out between the fret slots of the areas in error and replace the blocks with generous fresh ones using black CA glue. After sanding down and re-cutting the fret slots you'd never know. This probably would only work this well with ebony. Magic!

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Crimson Guitars black water-based stain throughout although heavily sanded back on the top. Followed this by multiple coats of Crimson Guitars finishing oil and Renaissance Wax.

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And here she is...

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mark bailey
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Bass-tastic - Glad to help!

Measure twice, cut once...


   
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Boo
 Boo
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Love the bass Herb, nice build. It really is a good fix for the inlays, glad you got it sorted, I bet it felt like nightmare when you realised you had put them in the wrong place. I can just imagine that feeling in the stomach. I think it looks great and I love the headstock shape. A bass or two is on my todo list. 

Make guitars, not war 🌍✌️🎸


   
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Carnivorous HERBivore
(@herb)
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yeah - it was sickening... hoorah for Mark eh!

I don't really play bass - you have to think differently don't you. I used cheap hardware thinking I can always upgrade if necessary. But it sounds great to me. Although it has a very slim neck it's quite a challenge for my pudgy little hands 😉


   
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mark bailey
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Cheers Herb - I know that feeling very well ? but one thing I have learnt over the years is that there is always something you can do...

That's what I'm here for!

Measure twice, cut once...


   
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