Building A Precision Bass Part 22 What I Would Do Differently

[@ChinJazz]

Thanks for your experience. If you wanted to consider a 12" radius fretboard it would give you more room to play with for the fret dots... Just a common option.

[@thespidermike]

Thank you so much for your super informative videos, Chris. Your channel is my go-to place for advice on building guitars. I'm on my sixth build now, and I definitely couldn't have done it without all your helpful tips. Just bought a T-shirt to support the channel. Keep up the great work!!

[@HighlineGuitars]

AWESOME, Michael! Thank you.

[@DaveWestGuitar]

Man, I know I got off on the wrong foot (in my mouth) with you, snd I’m sorry. This is the hallmark of a great luthier, reflecting on what went great and what can be done better! Bravo.

[@HighlineGuitars]

No worries!

[@davidvitale9338]

Thanks!

[@HighlineGuitars]

Awesome, David! Thanks for the bump. Every bit helps to keep my content coming.

[@kayessGuitars]

Thanks

[@HighlineGuitars]

Hey Stephen, thanks for the tip! I really appreciate your contribution to the work I do here on KZbin.

[@TiagoMorbusSa]

That is a very sweet looking bass guitar!

[@mihovildanicic5305]

For smoother edges on pickguard: Use a bit with more than 2 cutting teeth - the more the teeth the better, just like on a saw or a file The teeth should be slanted/spiral, not vertical so the teeth don't hit the material but slice it Moving the bit around should be slower to give the time for the bit to do its job Experiment with rpm - normally the rule is the harder the material the lower the rpm but since this is plastic you might start to build up heat and deform the material a little or clog up the bit... it's nitpicking, most likely you'll be fine

[@roberthurless3295]

I was about to ask if you preferred shielding paint over foil, but at 6:30 you answered my question. lol

[@rellikguitars7237]

I have had both of the same issues with exposing the side marker and not getting a seamless join. What I have tried since, is to bind the fretboard below the seam . This then gives you a bit more thickness to work with when drilling your side dots 💜💜💜 Sarah

[@lukeermyeahman]

Great video as always! I cut my first pickguard on CNC last night using the below settings/bits 40 inch/min feed 20 inch/min plunge 5 degree ramp About 18k RPM (Makita router) You may notice these were very similar to yours... haha. Thank you! I noticed the edges of the bevel could be better. I need to do some noodling on my machine but before I waste lots of plastic, have you solved this mystery? More RPM, less RPM? Slower? Full depth finishing pass on a slower speed? I've been using a profile tool path for the bevel so I'm going to try a v carve maybe. Let me know if you have any advice buddy.

[@kayessGuitars]

Thanks Chris, this series has been great and I have learned a lot. Currently building the Highline CNC, and the pickup winder is already done 😄

[@LeMans512]

I made a slotted straight edge and leveled it by using double sided tape and fine sandpaper on our granite countertops. While my wife wasn’t home.

[@tomasescobarruiz9648]

What you can do to position the fret marker dots is to radius sand the fretboard first, then mark the centerline of the side of the fretboard that's already radius sanded, and drill the holes

[@HighlineGuitars]

That's how I did it.

[@alexanderguestguitars1173]

A little suggestion I might make to you Chris. When I do scratchplates, I always use a specific tool to cut the bevel on the edges. It's just a cut down piece of old planer knife, that's too narrow to sharpen again (about 4" long). All you do is cut it off to length and grind the end completely square on the grinder then you use the 90 degree sharp end as a scraper, and your finger acts as a guide. If you've got serrations on the edge of your scratchplates from the machine, you can use these to scrape the edges, but you need to make sure that the angle you hold the scraper at doesn't follow the serrations, but cuts diagonally across them (difficult to explain). I used to be an industrial Pattern Maker, and this is a tool they used to use in the Pattern shop to fine scrape shapes on patterns and models. Just a thought. 👌

[@hippychipsguitars601]

I'm just getting into scratch-built Guitars. I don't have a CNC yet, but your videos work just as well with manual tools. The process is the same, but it takes a lot more time.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Glad you like them!

[@_mysilentblue2227]

Cutting plastic: make sure you are climb cutting and add air to clear out the chip. You will get marks if you end up recutting a chip. Always great concepts from this channel.

[@HighlineGuitars]

Thanks for the info! I wondered about chip buildup.

[@_mysilentblue2227]

As you know the pickguard material is softer than regular acrylic so a little more melt and build up. I have never had any luck with vacuums evacuating the plastic chips, so air it is.

[@demoninkstudios7735]

This series has been great as a first time builder. Granted I'm using hand and power tools, but a lot of good information nonetheless! Thanks, Chris!

[@HighlineGuitars]

Great to hear!

[@short6691]

Love your new black n' white openings. A bit pretentious, but fun!

[@alexanderguestguitars1173]

Oh You're so RIGHT!!!!And once you reckon you've got one design of guitar ALMOST perfect, you then think you've got to go round and do all the OTHER designs perfect! In fact I've just doen a re-creation of a guitar I had some years ago and was my main guitar, before I had to sell it. But now I've finished the new one (almost), I'm now thinking of the NEXT one, which WILL be perfect. It never ends!🤣

[@HighlineGuitars]

Exactly!

[@danielsaturnino5715]

The learning never ends. There's always something :)

[@sunn_bass]

Great video. There is no perfect guitar or bass. One of my favorite basses is one i built in the late 80s. It's abused and worn out, has great hardware but cheap Select by EMG pickups (P-J-J with messy wiring and needs a fret job. But it has a sound and feel that is awesome. Everyone thats played it likes it. Perfection is a unicorn that doesn't exist. Its fun to chase, but imperfection has It's own beauty and uniqueness.

[@user-mt4vo4ey5n]

How do you know there isn't a perfect bass out there?

[@sunn_bass]

@@user-mt4vo4ey5n The search for the perfect bass is fun and I've been looking for 40 years. But I'll never find it. I really value variety and like way too many scale lengths and pickup combinations. I do have a few of what I consider flawless basses, but no perfect. But i still search.

[@lukeermyeahman]

Great video as always! I cut my first pickguard on CNC last night using the below settings/bits 40 inch/min feed 20 inch/min plunge 5 degree ramp About 18k RPM (Makita router) You may notice these were very similar to yours... haha. Thank you! I noticed the edges of the bevel could be better. I need to do some noodling on my machine but before I waste lots of plastic, have you solved this mystery? More RPM, less RPM? Slower? Full depth finishing pass on a slower speed? I've been using a profile tool path for the bevel so I'm going to try a v carve maybe. Let me know if you have any advice buddy.

[@lukeermyeahman]

Bits used 1/8 inch 0 flute for straight edges/screw holes. 90 degree 2 flute for chamfered edges.

[@TheTomt5150]

Hey Chris, a little off topic do you believe spraying an uncatalyzed clear like Createx will hold up like the old uncatalyzed lacquers and even enamels? Thanks Tom..

[@Backtothere]

Currently test cutting my guitar neck on CNC. You design your model in CAD with exact sizes in mind. Do you offset the CAM any to allow for sanding or does a 1mm stepover mean that you can start with smaller grits and thus don't need to?

[@HighlineGuitars]

That's exactly what I do. A tiny amount of stepover during the finishing pass takes longer on the CNC, but it greatly reduces the sanding time and allows me to start sanding at a finer grit.

[@raymondruiz1843]

Hi there! I hope you're doing ok, like your skills,I'm planning for the future to build a Fender Style Steve Bailey's edition 6 strings bass but a little different. I want it just like those PJ basses without a pickguard just like the Fender's PJ made in Japan between 1985 - 1990. I want a Solid Alder body with a complete Maple Neck, obviously with the 4 tuners up and 2 down. I'm wondering how much more or less would it cost me if I would ask you to build me those to parts? I'm from Puerto Rico. P.S. My daughter is going to do the purchasing this week of one of those T shirts that your selling, Thanks! Raymond

[@b476816]

Thanks, Did you build your guitar bench?

[@HighlineGuitars]

Yes.

[@harveyd_5-11under]

Thanks Chris! It's always a good idea to document a "Lessons Learned" after completing a project - What to do differently? What were the biggest struggles? Also, what worked well? Finally, like when a boat is completed, don't forget to celebrate with some champagne or picture taking or whatever works for you (don't break the bottle on the guitar - that's just dumb, imho).

[@1-eye-willy]

you just summed up addiction alltogether. you keep chasng the dragn, donkey and the carrot