Finally completed my masterpiece!

[better]

Poplar body with burled top
Chechen fingerboard on rock maple neck
Faux pickguard
3 Volume, 3 Tone 1-Meg pots
North single / humbucker /south single coil selection switch for each pickup
Phase control for each pickup on tone knob push-pull

With each pickup effectively having 6 configuration options, the thing has huge range of voices.
Pretty impressive flexibility for a passive instrument.

[Beakybird]

1. So beautiful! It is a masterpiece!

[better]

2. Thanks! Can't wait to hear it in the hands of the guy for whom I built it!

[matt819]

3. I don't know what any of the words mean in your description

Except maybe the references to wood.

But it's beautiful. From start to finish, how long did it take?

[better]

5. Well, I started it in September.

Though it should be noted that I spent a significant chunk of time waiting on parts. In terms of actual work, I've probably got about 20 hours in it. As for the words, mainly just describing the control layout, with the exception of the coil switching and phase reversal.

That, in a nutshell, has to do with the fact that each of the three pickups are what're called "humbuckers", which means that they contain two pickup coils packaged together, wired in series and out of phase, so as to cancel out or "buck" any outside electrical noise (hence the name humbucker), by virtue of the two individual coils pickup up the noise, out of phase from one another.

The switching allows you to use either the entire assembly as one unit (like a MusicMan bass, for example) or use either of the individual single coil pickups comprising it. Fender Jazz pickups, for example, are traditionally single coil, so this bass, despite having humbuckers, can emulate the Jazz bass's sound by selecting the individual coils from the two rear pickups that match the Jazz pickup locations.

And phase reversal just means that I can put any pickup out of phase with the others, which gives a very different sound.

[better]

7. Here's a more understandable explanation of the coil switching and phase reversal...

[PJMcK]

4. That's lovely craftsmanship

If you can, post some music on the new axe played by your client!

[Hoyt]

6. Nice. Used to be big into Bass culture. Like that a lot.

[cynical_idealist]

8. sweet instrument

Did you make the neck and body too?
Listening to that youtube, it will be in good hands!

peace

[better]

9. The body, I built. The neck, another more experienced luthier did.

Necks are the next item on my agenda to master. I'm still pretty new to this.
Coming up on 2 years since I started building my first one, from a kit.

[cynical_idealist]

10. cool

I'm not a luthier.
My biggest project was converting this höfner shorty guitar to fretless with epoxy coated neck.
It came out great.

I spent at least 20 hours carefully sanding the fingerboard, alternating between a 16 inch radius block
and a big sheet of corian for a flat surface.

https://ibb.co/0q8Ngk7
https://ibb.co/25mG7j7

peace

p.s. also new bridge, tuners and pickup.

[better]

11. Very nice!

The first neck I plan to build is going to be a fretless. Just waiting until it's a bit warmer, since there's no heat in my shop, and I live in southern tier NY!