"Pasquali" by Ken McKay

[Ken McKay]

Thanks Matthew! your the man.

Thanks Ken Smith, I did expect the honest opinion and thanks for your comments on the overhang and lining.

The lining is 1 inch and is made from cedar. I will not use it again because it is too splintery when the top comes off it will not be good, live and learn. The overhang on the photo you linked to the top was not quite finished. There is a healthy overhang though, but it is not perfect all around, it varies a little here and there. It blends in with the other imperfect things on this bass

Then you slipped in the "it sounds and looks beautiful". Thanks!, 'cause I know you are a straight shooter. When Josh was playing the Bach preludes, he just kept playing and playing, I sat there mesmerized. All he said was "Bach is a lot easier on this bass!" And "let me know when the varnish is on".

One more thing, you have no idea how many things were changed or influenced by your comments. The size, the depth, the neck overstand to name just a few! Either by a direct question of from other posts.


Here is the start of varnishing and antiquing. You can see the overhangs better here.
http://www.upnorthstrings.com/cornerlessbasspage20

[Ken Smith]

Wow, is that Red maple on the Back and Ribs or Sugar? Looks Red to me but a primo clean piece.. I don't recall if you mentioned the species earlier.

What will be the final color of the bass?

[Ken McKay]

Red maple, from Battenkill. Yea, that is a nice piece and I have one more set just like it. The ribs and neck are also red maple. The top is engelmann.

The varnish will have a red tone, sort of Venitian red ala Gofriller, but we will see.

[Ken McKay]

Varnish has a way of taking on a life of its own. I have varnished samples and said "that looks good" to myself and then varnished a whole bass, only to hate it. I have learned a few things along the way though. Some varnish looks good with some wood while others looks bad. Some varnish uses dyes to color but don't look old italian. Mixing pigments can also lead to surprises when the whole thing is done. For example I once varnished a bass and looked at the instrument at an angle and a funny salmon color shined through. It is an ongoing struggle. I don't know any maker who is fully satisfied with their varnish.

[Brian Gencarelli]

Looks and sounds good Ken!

Very nice, indeed!

BG

[Ken McKay]

Thanks Brian! I would love to have you try it in person if I were there.

[Ken McKay]

Here it is http://www.upnorthstrings.com/cornerlessbasspage26 read about it here and let me know what you think. It was a very interesting project which I might like to try again, not sure yet. I like the sound and the way it plays and what more could I ask.