Xylem Custom Basses and Guitars

"Odessa" Lefty 5 String Fretless Bass

Design of a 5 string lefty fretless bass Quartersawn black walnut neck blank Another shot of the neck blank Closeup of neck blank showing the straightness of the quartersawn grain pattern and plane shavings in the background Black walnut neck with scarf joint and truss rod installed with a rock maple spline Cat eyes of the bookmatched ebony for the top of the bass' body Full view of the ebony top The body blank of the bass The bass body blank closeup from the bottom Back of the body blank showing bookmatched black walnut with straight-grained center strip Back of the body blank closeup from the bottom Neck with ebony fretboard glued on, before binding Neck from nut with nut-side of rock maple binding Bass body with pickup pockets routed, string thru holes drilled and outline traced Neck from the side showing rock maple binding and fret markers contrasting with the black walnut shaft and ebony fretboard The maple bound ebony fretboard from the top showing the fretboard face and maple plane shavings on the workbench Maple neck shim from the side of the neck Custom bass body with neck pocket and control cavity The custom bass neck with headstock The custom bass neck from behind The cutout of the bass body from the front The cutout of the bass body from the rear The front of the bass body after carving The bass body after carving from an angle, showing the string-thru holes Back of the bass body. The darker black walnut contrasts with the lighter black walnut on the contours of the body. Back of the bass body from an angle showing the bookmatch of the old black walnut. The back of the body and neck of the bass. The black walnut of the body matches that of the neck The front of the custom bass neck and body shortly before the neck is glued into the neck pocket The front of the custom bass after the neck and body have been glued together The back of the bass guitar after the neck was glued into the body Headstock of the bass guitar with a maple Xylem logo The bass' ebony top and maple-lined finger board after the neck was glued into the body Ebony top and fretboard of the bass again from another angle The scroll, neck heel and black walnut neck of the custom bass Full shot of the custom bass' rear, showing the quartersawn black walnut neck and top wood Full shot of the custom bass' front after the first coat of finish was applied The custom bass from the rear after the first coat of finish The ebony fretboard and topwood of the bass' body with rock maple binding and fret markers The 150 year old black walnut neck and body of the bass with the rock maple neck shim The ebony custom bass guitar after completion with the bass' killswitch and radius ramp installed The custom bass viewed from the top down the fretless fingerboard The bass from the back with brass string retainer and bookmatched black walnut topwood The custom bass from the side highlighting the rock maple and ebony bridge and ebony knobs over the control cavity The front of the bass' headstock with maple Xylem logo inlay The back of the bass' headstock at an angle showing the flamed maple headstock veneer