Inspiration (6/6) ~ Luthiery Laboratories

Inspiration (6/6)

Most of my projects are inspired by classic designs, but with a twist.

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Stratocaster Bass VI

The Fender Bass VI was a bass for guitarists. It was basically a Jazzmaster body with a 30" short-scale bass neck and six mid-weight strings tuned EADGBE one octave below a guitar, or the same as a bass. The string spacing is such that it can only be played with a pick. You can look up the rest of the details. Danelectro actually invented the Bass VI, they were always willing to try new things while Fender and Gibson were just determined to deepen the rut they were in. Rickenbacker's rut is so deep they can't even see out of it.

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Stratocaster Fretless Bass

This fretless sounds really cool, and is super-easy to play, as you no longer have to stretch your hand unnaturally just to make ordinary patterns. It is set up with flats I found in the junk box. Can anyone tell me what kind of strings have blue thread leaders? The intonation fell right in, which is surprising considering the bridge was previously set up for 25.5" guitar strings. ( Actually, how important is intonation on a fretless anyway? )

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Stratocaster Micro Bass 1

Eden paddle-head guitar neck converted to bass. Strings are lower four of 5-string set, unwound to fit 25" scale.

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Stratocaster Micro Bass 2

Originally all red, refinished in black burst. Eden paddle-head guitar neck converted to bass. Strings are lower four of 5-string sets, unwound to fit 25" scale.

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Stratocaster Uke Bass

21" neck, adjustable bridge with piezo saddle, active electronics. EBay body. Now has metal-wound strings.

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SX SPB-57 Precision Bass

This is my attempt to recreate my very first bass, a "Montaya", as well as one of my first ventures into 'modding'. These SX's are great instruments. For 109 bucks you get an alder body with a beautiful 3-tone sunburst, a decent neck, functional bridge & tuners, and a flawless finish. What you don't get is any kind of useable pickups or strings. On this one, I installed a USA Fender pickup, my favorite d'Addario strings, and gave it a careful fret dressing and setup. I also added the tortoise pickguard, rosewood thumbrest, and ashtray for the looks only. At the time, I was going purely from memory, but I later found a picture of the original, and I got it dead right.

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Telecaster Bass

Solid ash body, 32" neck, active electronics ( stacked tones. )

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Telestar Mona

Around the time that Evets was putting out their first round of Danelectro reissues in the late '90s, several disaffected Gibson employees started their own company, and put out two models - 'Mona' and 'Lisa'. The Mona is a copy of the Danelectro 1457 from the 1960s. It is a mix of old and new. The body is classic masonite over a hollow core, but lacks the Tolex edge binding of the original. While it has the speckles of the original, the finish is modern polyurethane. The pickups are true lipsticks, wired in series, but the pickguard is bevel-edged plastic, and the bridge is basically a Fender. The headstock is the right shape, but bent down to lessen the awkward string angles.

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Inspiration

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Drill Press

I took a drive over to Harbor Freight - purveyor of fine {sarcasm} Chinese tools & hardware - and picked up this little drill press. With a coupon, it cost me just over fifty bucks. This is not what I would call a good drill press, in fact, it is pretty crappy. The base and the table are stamped, not forged, and small. The quill travel is a measly two inches, parts that should be steel are aluminum, parts that should be aluminum are plastic, vibration is excessive, and the 3/8" chuck has a disconcerting wobble to it. I knew all that when I bought it, and I never would have if I did not already have a much better one, or at least a decent one. What I wanted from this drill press is small size and lightweight, so I can add it to my inside workstation, and not have to leave the heat/ac to go drill a hole in the garage. This press weighs well under 40 pounds and doesn't take up too much space on my inside workbench. My 'good' drill press is not something you'd want to move around a lot.

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