While I was waiting to complete my first acoustic build I thought I'd make a friend for the Talon bass.

I bought a plank of Panga Panga (East African Wenge apparently) and a figured ebony fingerboard blank from Surrey Timbers. The plan was to book-match the "Wenge" for the top and the back. I had been given a chunk of mahogany I thought I'd use for the core. I also acquired a lump of mahogany-like wood that came from a hardwood pallet - unbelievable. This was to be the neck... risky maybe but it seemed very stable and rang like a bell.

These posts can become very samey so I'll just include the highlights and honest low points.

I had tried to split a maple plank for book-matching using a reasonably substantial bandsaw with mixed results so I thought I'd bite the bullet and saw it my hand - a few inches a day - no hurry.

Then a drawing in the spirit of my Talon bass.

I decided to try and make the fretboard myself so I cut the fret slots according to a 25" scale. 

Working on the neck...

Chambering the mahogany core...

Attaching the top and back. Note the Crimson Guitars inspired cavity access.

The neck attached, staining and oiling...

And the completed instrument...

The pickups are Warman (cheap) and the wang-bar is Duesenberg.

To be continued because there are a couple of things I'm not happy with...

• I made the fingerboard too thin - over 7mm
• The radius of the bridge doesn't match that of the fingerboard
• I'd prefer the finish to be lighter - it looks too much like furniture
• Need to review pickup and switching - a Gibson-style varitone is a possibility