The Creation of the Reverse Delgada 12:

First Act's First Custom 12-String Bass

by Philip Snyder

Everything has a beginning... a spark that sets a series of events into motion. In this case that spark was a visit to the First Act Guitar Studio in Boston, Massachusetts in July of 2007. The events over the next 16 months resulted in the creation of the very first 12-string bass ever built by First Act.

Many emails and phone calls passed between myself, Kelly Butler and Bill Jancar at the First Act Custom Studio to hammer out ideas and plans for the design of this 12-string bass. Throughout the process Bill photographed his work, detailing exactly how the bass was constructed. Here are the details of the building of the First Act Reverse Delgada 12-string bass.

This is the first rendering I did for the Reverse Delgada 12 (note that it only has four strings). The idea was taken from an existing First Act design because it was important from the beginning that this 12 be immediately identifiable as a First Act instrument. The reversing of the body not only gave the 12 a unique look but would also help balance the bass. Kelly Butler approved of the design right away and so we dived directly into the details of the build.

Then the headstock was designed and constructed. This design featured a more dramatic taper than the original concept drawing featured. The new design will insure that each string has good clearance of the tuners. This design is a variation of the First Act "Pompadour" headstock (shown in my original rendering).

A 1/8” ebony overlay was then fitted for the face of the headstock. Its undersized shape is to allow for the binding to be applied. White single-ply binding is installed next to complement the natural look of the ebony veneer. This was a feature First Act has used on many of their instruments and we thought it was a must for this one as well.

After the neck and headstock we move to the design and construction of the mahogany body wings. The extra lines drawn on the sheet show possible deviations from the original Delgada design that might better suit the reversed body. A series of pins in the neck blank will help to secure the body wings for gluing.

The pickup positions are marked as are the bridge and tailpiece positions. The scale length is 32" but we wanted the string tension to feel and sound more like that of a 34" scale bass. This was achieved by moving the tailpiece back 3" from the bridge, thus creating a longer overall string length from tailpiece to tuner.

With the strings and hardware removed it is time to begin routing for the pickups. A pickup routing template is made to insure a proper sized rout and to protect the body. Note the large cavity created in the upper horn: Each pickup will have its own retro-style on / off switch.

The multi-ply pickguard is a slightly off-white color called "parchment". This choice was suggested by Bill Jancar after he recommended metallic Pelham Blue as a good choice for finish color. We bounced a lot of ideas around concerning possible finishes but Bill's idea stuck because it suited the retro-meets-futuristic vibe of the bass.

The 12 is wired up with one pickup and tested. It stayed this way for a short while in the Custom Studio and it is reported that several lucky people got to check it out during this time. It's almost certain that some of these people had never seen or played a 12-string bass before and we're sure it made a strong impression.

The hardware and electronics have all been removed and the fretboard is masked off in preparation for final sanding. All of the sanding is painstakingly done by hand to insure that all edges are sanded evenly and all lines are straight. The quality of the instrument's finish is determined by the sanding job underneath.

Now that final sanding is done to the neck and body, the entire instrument gets a coat of sealer. The sealer really brings out the colors in the mahogany. After the sealer is applied the mahogany body wings get pore-filled. The sealer and pore-filler really bring out the character of the mahogany. Even on an instrument destined for paint, the First Act Custom Studio guys don't cut corners with less-desirable pieces of wood.

Note the clever use of foam ear-plugs used to protect the brass threaded inserts for the bridge studs from the sealer.

Adios to the beautiful wood! After the pore-filler completely dries the 12 goes into the spray booth for its first of two coats of primer. A day after this coat of primer goes on, the bass will be sanded again and another coat of primer applied. The off-white primer creates an even finish that really shows off the body shaping Bill has done.

After all of the sanding and priming the 12 finally goes in for paint. The color is metallic Pelham Blue. Notice the dramatic difference in hues from different lighting and angles. The metallic quality of the paint grabs and throws light in different ways depending on environmental circumstances.

Once the paint is completely dry the next step is the antiquing process. This step "ages" the paint and binding in order to give the bass the appearance of a vintage instrument. This aging, along with the overall shape of the 12, will provide the "retro" part of the equation.

The antiqued finish also helps to make the white binding match the off-white "parchment" pickguard and to give it the added touch of a vintage vibe.

The Alumitone pickups, hardware, Gotoh tuners, and fretboard inlays will balance that with a distinctly modern edge. This blend was one of our primary goals in the project - balance old and new to create a 12-string bass unlike any other.

The entire bass is scuff-sanded and leveled before the lacquer topcoat is applied. Once the lacquer dries it is sanded to 1500 grit. The buffing is complete and now we see what the finish really looks like - a Pelham Blue mirror!

These are the Lace "Aluma 90" pickups we specified for this project. They were chosen for their groundbreaking design and lower magnetic pull on the strings. The underside of these pickups show just how unique they are.

The tuners are Gotoh GB7 bass tuners, Gotoh midsize 510 guitar tuners and Gotoh Mini 510 guitar tuners. The serial number 0810003 is stamped into the back of the headstock; 08 for the year, 10 for the month, and 003 for the third custom of the month. First Act's limited edition models have their own serial numbering system that is exclusive to their custom shop instruments.

After the tuner installation Bill moves to the electronics. These are the on-off switches for the three Alumitone pickups. They are industrial switches that First Act has used on special projects before. One example would be the "Bettie" guitar made for Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen. Copper shielding tape has been applied to the back of the pickguard where the switches will be mounted. The switches add a distinctive vintage appearance as well as being perfectly functional.

With the wiring completed, the pickguard is fastened to the body and the Hipshot O-ring knobs are installed. The custom pickguard was designed by Bill Jancar. Note the extra notch in each pickup rout that is required for clearance of the Aluma 90 pickups; Based on P90’s, these pickups mount to the body and not the pickguard. The truss-rod cover Bill fashioned out of the leftover parchment pickguard material. The shape was inspired by the design at the end of the fretboard on some old jazz-box type guitars.

Each pickup has its own designated volume and tone control for maximum tonal versatility.

Finished!