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What are these pictures? These are some drawings of a few of the important features of the doubleneck that I made to illustrate what I wanted when I ordered the instrument from Bill Conklin. I got the measurements from arranging the 2 7 string single necked bass that I had at the time and figuring the doubleneck's layout from them. Bill matched my designs very closely. The few deviations from what I requested he discussed with me, and I ended up agreeing with him. These were just cosmetic things, like making the tips of the top and bottom horns not quite so sharp and thin, to minimize the potential for breakage. Also, he suggested making the pin at the bottom smaller, for the same reason. |
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He also suggested making the necks bolt on, since I wanted him to chamber out the body, and he felt that doing making the necks neck-through would be an unnecessary expense since the body would be chambered anyway. Besides, in this instance, the bolt-on joint is stronger than a neck-through where some of the "neck-through" area is chambered out. | |
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When I first ordered the doubleneck, I was torn between having 2 cutaways at the bottom or only one. You can notice that on the picture to the far left, the center horn is a lot longer than the surroundings. Bill convinced me that that was a bad idea - it would make it that much more difficult to sit the bass in any kind of a stand. Also, that horn sticking out so far there would increase the likelihood of it catching on something and breaking. As it is, the doubleneck, incredibly enough, fits nicely in a regular guitar stand. I can put the fretted neck in the neck holder, and the bottom sits nicely and evenly, with one of the supports of the stand fitting perfectly in one of the bottom cuttaways. The instrument is so heavy, though, that the stand that I have been putting it in has actually bent. I need to get another one. | |
| Whenever anyone orders an instrument from Bill Conklin, the first thing he does is fill out an order form, like this one. The customer gets a copy, agrees on the layout or makes whatever changes they want, and then Bill gets started. Easy as pie. |  |
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To
ease my impatience, Bill Conklin sent me the 2 pictures you see below
of the doubleneck almost ready to be finished, about 4 months after
I ordered it. You can see that the necks still haven't been carved
when this picture was taken, as well as no holes yet drilled for the
knobs and the bridge. Still though, these pics carried me for a few
months until I got the doubleneck itself - I carried them in my wallet. |
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| The following 3 pictures show the fabulous "Melted" top being made. That's what Bill Conklin calls the process that he uses to combine all the different woods into the fabulous designs on his instruments. The top takes shape over the course of these 3 pictures, following the design that I came up with and sent Bill. What a craftsman!. |  |
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| To the right you can see the almost completed top and the body chambering, to help decrease the weight. I remember one time flying to L.A. with the doubleneck, and looking at it with a few security guards in the Atlanta Airport under the x-ray machine. We could see all the chambering and the electronics, as well as both neck's worth of truss rods. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. The security guards were calling all their friends over to check it out - we had half the airport security team checking out my doubleneck's x-rays. |  |
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John
Turner on Bass
Doubleneck 7-String Fretted /
7 - String Fretless Bass -
How to Order a Custom Masterpiece.
| all content, graphics and pictures copyright2000 lord only productions |