My Hyperjazz Is Finally Becoming A Reality...

[DiMarco]

It's looking great!
What body top are you using? Walnut?

Indeed, European Walnut Burl.

 

[J.Grim]

Indeed, European Walnut Burl.

Very nice! I love bookmatched tops!
Are you using chrome hardware?
I'm actually building a P bass for a friend with a solid Black Walnut body. It's the first time I'm using Black Walnut as a solid body wood so I'm really curious on how it will sound . I may create a thread with the progress soon.

 

[DiMarco]

That would be really nice to see! Walnut has about the same density as Maple so I guess sonically it will be pretty close too.
Not too heavy and not overly bright sounding. There is only one way to find out though...

 

[jester]

Well the same tools in my hands would not make anything close to a bass that's for sure.
Vincent has been one of my best friends for many many years now and a great guitarist besides an oldskool and skillful luthier. No CNC involved.

This whole idea becoming a real instrument and him building it means a lot to me.

The headstock - well it is the Vincent headstock. You either like it or not. I do.

The craziest thing to me (because I don't know how they actually do it) is the shaping of the neck by hand using tools like rasps etc. One wrong move and the neck is done. Also, how the hell do they get the neck profile correct? Mind numbing to me.

 

[jester]

Guys and gals, do you think we could make a "Luthier's Den" section under the "Gear Talk" forum? The point would be to host the content we already have about bass construction/repair, and also be a place to promote more content about certain forumers that are doing this, or the work of luthiers outside the forum. We already have a section named "Bass hardware, setup and repair". I think we could rename it to "Bass hardware and setup", keep the hardware/setup content there (since they are a bit related), then move the more construction/repair oriented stuff to the new section. @Florin?

 

[DiMarco]

I'm not sure Yanni, threads like this one are a rarity on the forum I would think.
In a few weeks, after the instrument is done this thread will fall down the path of time and be forgotten completely by most.

 

[jester]

I'm not sure Yanni, threads like this one are a rarity on the forum I would think.
In a few weeks, after the instrument is done this thread will fall down the path of time and be forgotten completely by most.

I fully understand that. We already have forum sections that are not very crowded so to speak. I kind of think this should not be a reason not to have a section focused on such a cool subject.

 

[DiMarco]

Slowly starting to look like a bass guitar. Standard control plate is on there for show.
Bridge is the actual bridge.

Edit: fixed images

 

[jester]

Slowly starting to look like a bass guitar. Standard control plate is on there for show.
Bridge is the actual bridge.

Edit: fixed images

Vincent works fast. The curved back of the bridge was a good option aesthetically. I would have recommended a Hipshot KickAss but it is square at the back and I don't think it would look that good. Also the slanted J looks well positioned inside the pickguard.

 

[DiMarco]

He made a lot of custom tools that help improve and speed up the process. You will not see those in any pictures but be assured he is a smart luthier. Also I guess when you have a built in feel for woodworking you can get things done quicker. Besides that he's working hard and apparently loving this particular build.

The molds for this bass are now part of the stack so maybe there will be more hyperjazzes. Who knows...

Once it is done of course you can expect demo samples of it.

 

[DiMarco]

Vincent works fast. The curved back of the bridge was a good option aesthetically. I would have recommended a Hipshot KickAss but it is square at the back and I don't think it would look that good. Also the slanted J looks well positioned inside the pickguard.

Yes, I was looking for a high mass bridge that is 3d and look good on a more classic design like the jazz. ABM seems to have been a good choice. We may have to raise the saddles 1mm extra though since it has a pretty limited range for the saddle min and max height.

Positioning the neck pick up was very carefully thought out and I love the result. The pickguard even looks more balanced now then it does on a regular J.

Speaking of pickup positioning: since the bass is passive and we do want low end, this is the positioning we decided on. A dolphin can get away with having everything closer to the bridge since it has an active pre.

With the pickup switching I am hoping for some growl (parallel) a bright (series) mode and two regular jazz tones, one a bit more barky then the other. These are all roughly educated guesses though...

 

[jester]

Yes, I was looking for a high mass bridge that is 3d and look good on a more classic design like the jazz. ABM seems to have been a good choice. We may have to raise the saddles 1mm extra though since it has a pretty limited range for the saddle min and max height.

Positioning the neck pick up was very carefully thought out and I love the result. The pickguard even looks more balanced now then it does on a regular J.

Speaking of pickup positioning: since the bass is passive and we do want low end, this is the positioning we decided on. A dolphin can get away with having everything closer to the bridge since it has an active pre.

With the pickup switching I am hoping for some growl (parallel) a bright (series) mode and two regular jazz tones, one a bit more barky then the other. These are all roughly educated guesses though...

I would slant the J a little less personally, but perhaps the tonal effect is very good this way.

 

[Toepfer]

I'm really curious, how the body will look with a finish on it

 

[Stainless]

Yes, I was looking for a high mass bridge that is 3d and look good on a more classic design like the jazz. ABM seems to have been a good choice. We may have to raise the saddles 1mm extra though since it has a pretty limited range for the saddle min and max height.

Sure ABM is a good choice, I have the father (or the grandfather?) of this bridge on my Cloud Atlas, you can see it on my avatar

 

[DiMarco]

 

[DiMarco]

I are somewhat excited seeing this. A vague glimpse of a smile showing on my otherwise boring face.

 

[Hardy]

I are somewhat excited seeing this. A vague glimpse of a smile showing on my otherwise boring face.

 

[J.Grim]

Guys and gals, do you think we could make a "Luthier's Den" section under the "Gear Talk" forum? The point would be to host the content we already have about bass construction/repair, and also be a place to promote more content about certain forumers that are doing this, or the work of luthiers outside the forum. We already have a section named "Bass hardware, setup and repair". I think we could rename it to "Bass hardware and setup", keep the hardware/setup content there (since they are a bit related), then move the more construction/repair oriented stuff to the new section. @Florin?

I think it's really cool! It could be a Section for Building/Repair/Mods, it really could be nice and I think there's enough content for that!

 

[DiMarco]

Those of you with a keen eye may have noticed the body reveal line and slanted neck pickup are optically perpendicular.

Nothing in this bass is a coincidence.

 

[Hardy]

The grain of the top wood looks like a warm stream of coffee...