#1249 is a mahogany Lobe with mahogany, maple and purpleheart neck and h a purpleheart fingerboard. This bass has a rear cavity.
I’ve taken a fair bit of time to re-shape the back of this bass, using angle grinder for the rough-in and then a mixture of sanders and scrapers to give a subtle but more curvy look.
Having started the application of sealer and Tru-oil, I decided that the the string spacing was off enough that I should fix this and re-drill. I did this by routing and inserting purpleheart inlays front and back, which were then re-drilled. Spacing (18mm) is perfect on the front, but having not fully plugged the original through holes, my bit ‘strayed’ into one of these so the 2nd string is a fraction off, albeit the layout is symmetrical and with the added ferrules it looks good.
Because of the uneven shape of the pick-up rout I decided to enlarge this and fit a Kent Armstrong MM style pick-up. This then allowed for parallel/split/series switching and I added a tone control via a split-shaft pot for what is a sonically very varied bass.
I decided to go with more of a satin finish on this bass so after I got to the right number of TruOil coats sanded back to get a satin finish. I then used a little finishing wax to give a little shine. It’s a very smooth finish indeed.
As usual I’ve added some Schaller strap locks. For this bass I decided to use purpleheart for the bridge, but I’ve left the original nut which has been sprayed black. The cavity cover has been powder coated black. Finally, it was restrung with some Fender flat-wound strings.
All in all this is a very pretty and great sounding bass; a great player.
Completed Work:
Sanded and shaped to 100 grit.
Edges redone and back contoured.
Strip Bass of hardware
Shape/sand body to 220 grit
Shape/sand neck to 220 grit
Initial sand of fretboard to 220 grit
Sand/radius fingerboard: 12”
Sand fingerboard to 800 grit and polish
Paint cavity cover
Rout for new p-up.
Shield cavities with conductive paint
Filled holes/gaps as required.
Sand body to 400 grit
Sand neck to 400 grit
Rout body (front and back) for inlay to correct string spacing
Fabricate and fit purpleheart inlay
Drill for 18mm spacing
Seal wood
Apply Tru-Oil
Sand-back and polish
Fit string thro’ ferrules
Redo wiring harness add tone control with parallel/split/series switching
Shield cavities with copper tape
Fabricate purpleheart nut
Refit hardware
Final set up
