WezV Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 well i have been wondering if i can justify getting involved in this corvus idea. I think we have already proved that its not to difficult to take something odd and clunky like the corvus originals and make something much more beautiful from that idea. So anyway, i had said i would only allow myself 1 new build for myself this year (other than re-building a few older guitars) and it was going to be a bass. So if i am building a corvus it has to be a bass. Taking a shape that doesnt balance and making a bass from it doesnt make a lot of sense but i think i can get around that.... somehow!! i started drawing and realised what i had done reminded me of an idea i had a few years back and never got around to trying... so i scribbled the idea down quickly this is the first sketch i have never done a bowable instrument but i am thinking skinny waist (probably skinnier than it is now) and a tighter fretboard radius are essential. still not decided if i want it fretless yet, or what i am doing with the bridge/tuners - i might just go for a small headstock to save hassle/money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 Cool that you're in! Nice plans! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 oh, they are a long way from being plans!!! i do everything full size as it give me a better idea if it will work or not... so even my sketches get the essential measurements drawn on first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirge for november Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 Haha with plans I meant plans as in "plans for the future" not design plans. I'm also sketching full size, straight onto my template material. It def. helps to do it full size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted March 15, 2009 Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 It's amazing what you can balance with Hipshot ultra-lites on the headstock end and some big old heavy brass bridge on the other end, but yeah, I can see this pushing it. Thing is, if you make it bow-able, you remove all the problems with balance! Give it a retractable pin, or a mount for a small tripod/stand, like many EUB, and make it to be played upright. If it's a stand mount, you also get around the fact that you can't put this thing in a guitar stand or lean it against an amp. I'm liking the bevel in some places, and not in others. The bevel coming to a point at the rear bass end, combined with the "ax-like" bevel back there on the rear treble end gives it a little "grr" without being too ridiculous. I also really like the bevel that lines up with the cutaway in the back. I'm not sold on the bevel meeting the corners and coming to points on the vestigial "horns" at the upper end of the body, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2009 i did consider the idea of having it playable as an upright. definatly possible but i think i would like the versatility of soemthing that can swap from upright to normal anyway, i am not rusing this and i know for a fact the bevels will probably change once i start working on the wood. at the moment i like either end of the shape - but not completely sold on having them together... we will see i started thinking about doing it green and even carving a green man into it somehwere... i might not go that extreme but it may receive some inlay work... and possibly a sage green paint job similar to this scott french http://www.scottfrench.com/i/Finished%20Cu...cut%20Guitar/09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 still getting the details sorted on this, one of my mates asked if he could borrow a bass and i dont actually have one around at the moment so i may go for a fretted bass just just because it will get more use, and i am just about to start a rethaer special Fretless EB0 replica/reimagining - another guitar with lazy gibson design that i feel will benefit from a rework this is how gibson did it, short scale, all mahogany, usually bad sounding pickup, lazy ass pickguard design... etc so mine is going to be a longer scale through neck with a junior style pickguard that suits the shape much better. probably a TV yellow finish. It will have an EB0 pickup but its an old dimarzio one that actually works better than the vintage originals. that will be paired with a '76 thunderbird pickup in the sweetspot. should sound more thunderbird like but still have some EB0 qualities the general idea: anyway, that will be fretless so i want to do a fretted bass with the corvus and may also drop the bowable idea unless i find a way to do it without loosing standard bass playability - i did consider a reversed compound radius to get it fretting like a standard bass near the nut but still bowable over the pickups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 thx for that... possibly a bit more cello like than i want but some good ideas!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 Except for the Thunderbird, I don't care for the looks of any of Gibson's basses. Given that a bass is neck heavy to begin with, add that to an un-balanced design like the Firebird and it sounds like a recipe for disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 meh. the EB0 is a comission from a repeat customer. He has given my free reign and nice parts to do it with. i know i can get it to balance better than an original, definately better than a thunderbird. The gibson EB0's always seems to me like they were designed as an afterthought to go with the juniors, done quickly and cheaply. The plan is to inject more junior styling into the design, get past the farty gibson bass sound (longer scale, change in woods/fretboard) but still have the style i always find it funny how people here jump on things as being badly balanced... so many classic designs are actually quite poor designs but we accept them. We seem to be less tolerant of people doing new designs with those similar 'faults' that musicians have shown they are willing to live with. If someone asks for a classic design i am happy to do it because i love most of them. If they ask for an 'improved' version of a classic design i am even happier. I always think about balance with everything i build, probably more than the people that come along and say it wont balance. have faith that i know what i am doing, or am happy with the compromise i am making the corbass idea may have balance issues - but if i think it looks good enough i will go with it and do all i can to reduce those issues knowing full well that if people play thunderbirds (and it will never be as bad as that) then perfect balance really isnt a deal breaker for everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 To anyone who can see the crow shape in the corvus that looks a bit dirty. You may wanna remove that bottom horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 now i see a completely different crow to what i see in a proper corvus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 hahaha...i don't think you see the bird...the lower horn is supposed to be the beak...this looks like some picasso or dali-esque bat I suppose i should say something about the design...not really liking it...but perhaps there's still some potential. Good to see some interesting ideas though...I figure if you are going to make something as weird and ugly as this, you should perhaps try and make a feature of it... like this ferrington string quartet... this being a violin, but you get the idea... Unfortunately the corvus is inherently ugly by comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Okay...Who melted the violin??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 i think mitch is seeing the can opener bit as the beak and the axe blade bit as the wing coming down - like a flying crow in side profile i am not completely settled on the design - but it wont be something everybody likes, thats for sure!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 but it wont be something everybody likes, thats for sure!! It's a corvus, dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted March 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 indeed. i was trying to express that i dont really mind if people dont like it. Once i have settled on a design I like it wont matter what others think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick500 Posted March 19, 2009 Report Share Posted March 19, 2009 Wait until you guys see my Cormonica. I'll let you know when it's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Okay...Who melted the violin??? Phoebe's brother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted March 22, 2009 Report Share Posted March 22, 2009 Phoebe's brother. Oh look...a "friends" call back...good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted March 29, 2009 Report Share Posted March 29, 2009 hahaha...i don't think you see the bird...the lower horn is supposed to be the beak...this looks like some picasso or dali-esque bat Now this looks like a crow eating a worm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 my corbass ended up not being very corvus like at all. i know john isnt going to like it but i cant justify doing the corvus thing at the moment. i still have something i want to try with it at some point but not just now but in brighter news i did want to do a bass so i started one. I drew around my 60's teisco spectrum bass for the shape, thought i would throw that in there before someone says its a schecter rip-off its going to be simple, maple neck with black binding and dots. a finish like this which is a rough idea for a guitar i may start soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avengers63 Posted April 8, 2009 Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 (edited) Isn't Kisekae just great! I've had a LOT of fun on there in the past year. Try that color & shape, but with a tortoise p/g. It's a little dark, but the combo looks great. Hey, do the Corbass or don't - it's not really any skin off my nose. I won't say I'm not disappointed, but you were very clear from the beginning that you have other priorities that HAVE to be met first. It's all good. Edited April 8, 2009 by avengers63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted April 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2009 yeah, i use it quite often for doing mock-ups of the standard shapes - it got better once i realised i could import the actual wood i was using quite easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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