Thanks, and great questions!
pjmuck wrote: What exactly is a, "drop top accent veneer"? Is the quilted maple I think I'm seeing in pix 2 and 3 actually veneer, or is it the actual wood's finish?
a 'drop-top' is a top veneer/laminate that rolls down over the forearm contour. to do this, the body core has the contour machined prior to gluing on the bookmatched top and any accent veneers). in the image below, you can see how the top and accent veneer roll down over the forearm contour maximizing the visual display of the fancy high $$ top woods. the process adds several steps of complexity that requires CNC accuracy and alignment pins on the body blank.
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Quote: What about the top photo of what looks like a walnut/maple combo?
the Walnut 6 has a 1-piece figured Maple center block with side wings of a Claro Walnut burl/Spanish Cedar/Peruvian Walnut sandwich. It's even more complex to build due to the need to also have the neck perfectly positioned so that it mates to the body with perfect alignment to the core. The edges of the neck need to meet the edges of the center block so that it appears to be a single piece (like a neck-thru would be)
Here's a shot of the back side. I like how the tapered center block gives the appearance of the bass being neck-thru construction when viewed from the front, yet clearly it's a bolt-on when you see the back
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In all of these basses, the headstock veneer was a piece of the top wood that is typically waste from the lower horn area. I carefully trimmed the headstock blank prior to gluing on the top, thinned it down to under .06" thick, and then laminated it onto the headstock with clamps and a caul. it adds a significant amount of time, and runs the rick of exploding in the drum sander if there's an internal crack and the piece gets too thin
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