Thanks, Ken! I appreciate the liberty you offer.
The bass is coming along slowly, as the weather has been troublesome, and I have been struggling with a cold...but, I did get the blocks shaped, finally. I think I may have to move the project to my son's shop where it is warmer and better lighted.
Used this rowdy beast to get the rough wood off:
It's a Kutzall disc, very coarse, and rips wood like crazy, but does not load up or burn the wood.
Then this little Stanley 100-1/2 plane:
It worked fine, though it is a little hard to control since it has such a radically curved sole.
Finally, I made this sanding block to finish the smoothing of each block:
It is two 2" PVC fittings cemented end to end, and a handle affixed, then some 60-grit corundum cloth affixed with the same PVC cement.
It worked very well, and the blocks are ready for ribs.
Thanks for looking,
Chet