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March 30th, 2005:
Chapter 5: Colors and electronics
Since
Christmas 2005 unfortunately, my way wasn't leading me into beautiful
Palatinate anymore, so I could not visit Jens Ritter in his workshop.
But probably I would not have found him anyway since he is drowning in
work since his very successful exhibition on this years' NAMM show in
L.A., and he has no spare time anymore. His success is absolutely
justified, but probably he should think about hiring one or two
employees. His heart would be thankful for that...
However Jens always takes his time to keep me and you informed about the
state of the building progress of my bass. As you can see from the
photos he sent me, the completion is very near! At last, the bass was at
the paint shop where he got his very noble
Futura finish! On this picture you can the see the painted body with
already mounted
Ritter Master Bar Pickups and the pots for the Ritter Master
Electronics.
the
bridge on this picture is golden, but in the end it will be in black,
just as the knobs for the electronics.
The
next two pictures show the head plate which is painted in Futura as
well. The tuners are still missing, which will be in chrome. Furthermore
you can see the access to the truss rod which will be covered with an
ebony cover plate - certainly wearing the Ritter logo!
But
looks aren't everything, because just like with humans, personal values
are much more important! And certainly they are from the finest! You can
see the
Ritter Master Electronics which is not finally soldered together
yet. Jens Ritter had to modify his electronics for my bass since it
usually runs with 18 volts, fed by two 9 volt batteries. Because my fret
board LEDs (you surely remember, check out
chapter 4) needs one of
the two 9 volt batteries, Jens adapted the electronics to run with only
9 volts as well.
Meanwhile the bass went on another journey, this time to Berlin to the
company Plek. The guys
from Plek have developed a machine that scans the neck of an instrument,
compiles a computer profile of it, trims and
finally even polishes the frets on the neck. The result is a perfectly
adjusted neck with an optimal surface that allows a minimum string
height without fret buzzing. It was never more right to say "The bass
gets its final polishing"!
Now it
is almost the time to say that my bass is finished. But even when I am
full f pleasant anticipation, I will not pick up my bass silently and
take it home. If really somebody was interested in my little story, you
have the chance to see the finished instrument at this years'
Musikmesse in Frankfurt/Main. Jens Ritter will exhibit this bass at
his booth; afterwards we will have a grand handover. Visit Jens and his
basses from April, 6th - 9th 2005 in hall 4.0, both K43. I'll be there
frequently too, and I would be happy about one or another shoptalk.
See
you in Frankfurt!
Martin Motnik
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