New custom Alembic bridge :: 1999 DeArmond Starfire Bass [9.7 lbs]

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A 1999 DeArmond Starfire bass in for a custom Alembic-style bridge and tailpiece installation.

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The tricky part of this installation requires routing the tone block of the bridge into the arched top.  The photo above shows my custom saddle slotting jig modified with guides sized to rout the mating pocket in the top.

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You can see the original DeArmond factory routs extending outside of the new bridge.  The player and I considered various cosmetic options to hide them.  In the end we decided to just let them show as they are not that much of an eyesore and fit the vibe of this player-grade workhorse. 

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This bass is decked out with a crazy amount of wiring ala Phil Lesh.  The pickups are Fred Hammon "Dark Star" pickups that are based on the Hagstrom BiSonics.  These pickups are recreations of the originals that were popularized by Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane) and Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead) in the late '60s.  Note if you are interested in these pickups, check out Curtis Novak as Fred has stopped producing them.

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Bridge radius matches fingerboard :: Melita Syncro-Sonic Bridge on a 1967 Guild Starfire IV

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Bridge radius matches fingerboard :: Melita Syncro-Sonic Bridge on a 1967 Guild Starfire IV

The bridge had smaller radius than the fingerboard, so the middle strings were higher off of the frets than the outer strings.  Correcting this involved filing the middle four string saddles to lower them enough to fall in line with the fingerboard's arch.

Sunset fingerboard sand :: 1967 Guild Starfire IV

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Sunset fingerboard sand :: 1967 Guild Starfire IV

Being able to steer this neck jig into the sunset and back light the fingerboard sand is just ridiculous. It makes checking the radius really accurate - incredibly lucky to have this much natural light in the shop.

I poured kitty litter into your guitar :: 1967 Guild Starfire IV

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I poured kitty litter into your guitar :: 1967 Guild Starfire IV

The owner of this guitar brought it by for a refret and commented that he thought the guitar smelled a little foul.  I didn't think it was too bad, but offered to try a little kitty litter to see if it would help pull a little of the odor out of the wood.  So in goes the kitty litter into both f-holes for a few days - we'll see if it makes any improvement.  I have used kitty litter in the past on a really foul case and it seemed to take away some of the 'stank.  The fun part is vacuuming it all back out ...