Wife's NGD: Emerald Bass (carbon fiber)

That is one beast of a fabric folding design. If they really did this in a one piece construction, then I am truly amazed about the expertize they put into this.

I mean... it's possible to do this, it's perfectly possible, but damn, without a single rogue fold or visible density change due to folding? This is what amazes me more, actually.

I've still been contemplating the 1 piece thing...and while I'm still skeptical I have thought of ways to KIND of do it, but it still leaves questions.

For example you could use 2 die halves like a casting. Then use some kind of blow up balloon inside to put positive pressure on the CF from the inside and force it against the outer mold.

I will say if they are working with CF cloth which they obviously are, there is a seam somewhere. It is physically impossible to not have one somewhere. It may be hidden/really well done, but it's gotta start and end somewhere. I still wonder why every single example on their site is painted black around the top. My guess would still be to hide a seam.

I really wish one of the nicer shops in Chicago carried them. I'd love to play one.
 
I've still been contemplating the 1 piece thing...and while I'm still skeptical I have thought of ways to KIND of do it, but it still leaves questions.

For example you could use 2 die halves like a casting. Then use some kind of blow up balloon inside to put positive pressure on the CF from the inside and force it against the outer mold.

I will say if they are working with CF cloth which they obviously are, there is a seam somewhere. It is physically impossible to not have one somewhere. It may be hidden/really well done, but it's gotta start and end somewhere. I still wonder why every single example on their site is painted black around the top. My guess would still be to hide a seam.

I really wish one of the nicer shops in Chicago carried them. I'd love to play one.

Just to this "they paint a black edge to cover up a seam" thing to rest, I stuck my phone inside my acoustic and took a picture of where the body meets the top. There's no seam dude.

The black is specifically my request. Prior to me ordering it, they didn't do it! My guitar is the green X10 in the ads because it was a custom job that I specifically requested a burst finish and for them to expose the full weave. It is now their most popular finish.

I can take a picture of every square inch of you'd like, but it's not going to prove you right. I even have pictures of the molds used for my electric that Alistair is making, but I am not going to share those as its a proprietary process.

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Well, there has to be a cut somewhere, simply because there's no method to fold a 2-dimensional fabric to a box without cutting it into a correct folding shape. Just like you can not make a cube from a rectangular sheet of paper: it has to have a "plus" shape.
Any kind of folding of non-trivial shapes will always create crease. Just like your wrapping paper on christmas. Carbon woven fabric is very inflexible and hard to drape, it is literally impossible to craft this shape without some cutouts around the corners.
I think what they meant with a "one piece construction" is, that the molding process was a one-piece, not the fabric. And this is possible using the RTM process. What they do to create an inside cavity is to insert an elastic tube in the center and apply pressure on it. When the molding is finished, you simply inflate the tube and remove it through a small hole.
It's a common technique used in the manufacturing of textile sandwich structures.

But considering that the bass actually weights 6-7 lbs, they probably used a solid core.

If you check out the last two pictures, you will see that the "stair pattern" changes on the right fold. This is where the fabric connects with itself.

However, my assumption about this is, that they made sure the cuts always lined up with the carbon tows, so that when they connected, nobody would see a gap or overlapping connection. Which is not in any way less impressive.
 
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I get what you're saying. Nobody is contesting that there must be some seam somewhere. Like you said, you can't fold a piece of paper into a shape without a seam.

The 1-Piece construction means they don't make individual pieces and then glue them together after they've cured.
 
I get what you're saying. Nobody is contesting that there must be some seam somewhere. Like you said, you can't fold a piece of paper into a shape without a seam.

The 1-Piece construction means they don't make individual pieces and then glue them together after they've cured.
Yes, that's what I was talking about. To go back on topic, I'd really like to see more carbon based guitars and basses in the future - not only because of the weight, but also because I'm curious to see how a carbon body affects the sound.
 
Looks great... but there's something missing, imho. It lacks something to balance out the color. A white area somewhere would make this look even more awesome.
 
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