The six-week process of making a custom Overwater bass naturally begins with the client. They fill out a detailed two-page questionnaire about their playing style and their requirements which, on occasion, have been known to exceed reality. 

"There are classic musicians; doesn’t matter what instrument they play, they will always sound like them because it’s in their fingers and their approach to the instrument", says Chris May. "So, just by having the same equipment and same instrument as that person isn’t going to make you sound like them.

“My proviso is always we’ll do whatever you like as long as we think it’s sensible, or it will do what you want it to do. Because there’s no point doing something for somebody that won’t work for them and all they’ll end up doing is being dissatisfied. I’d rather send somebody away than do something that I really don’t think is gonna work.”

Chris also has to make an assessment of the skill level of the player. Egos do have to be managed sometimes, but after 30 years of making guitars for the top names in music, Chris has built up a body of knowledge that even the biggest egos do not ignore.

“We have to gently steer people, and there has to be a certain amount of arrogance in this, but people don’t necessarily understand what suits them best, in the same way that they don’t understand what clothes suit them best. Things that will and won’t work. So it’s about finding your sound.”

Presumably that requires some delicacy?

“As time goes on, I get slightly less delicate!” he laughs. “I think it’s about, dare I say, authority, if you see what I mean, in that way. I talk a lot, but I also listen. I’ve had a huge amount of feedback over the years and I’ve got good ears.”

Creating an Overwater

From these discussions the design specifications are nailed down and parts chosen, beginning with the wood, of which at least three varieties are chosen.

The neck is usually of maple and the fingerboard either rosewood or ebony because of their strength and endurance. A lighter, more open-grain timber like ash or mahogany is chosen for the body because, says Chris, they will absorb some of the harsh higher frequencies and “soften and even-out the tonality of the instrument.”

After being dried and seasoned the timber is laminated, cut, and glued together. A truss-rod and reinforcing bars are inserted into slots grouted into the neck to counteract the tension of the strings.

A mixture of machine and hand cuts the wood into the shape of a guitar, including the cavities for the electrics, slots in the wood for the frets and holes for the tuning machine heads. Then there is the final hand-carving, hand-shaping and dressing.

After being pressed or hammered in, the frets are trimmed and shaped so that they’re absolutely level for the strings to pass over. Then the whole thing is sanded by machine and hand. “This is the last chance to get it right,” says Chris. “You have to have your eye on the ball when you’re doing it because you can easily change the shape.”

Finishing

The finishing process alone can take several weeks. A lacquer is applied to enhance the grain and protect the wood and, if required, it is then painted. It must sit in the cold cupboard and then the hot cupboard where it cures and is finally polished or wire-woolled to provide a sheen.

The advantage of the big factories is they can afford to separate the locations of woodwork and finishing. Chris says: “We have more problems because we do everything in the same building. There’s more dust in the atmosphere. With the natural wood finishes a little bit of dust doesn’t show, but if you’ve got a light paint job any tiny little speck of anything in it has to be removed because it will show. We spend quite a long time with those finishes and the fancier the finish will cost you because it takes longer.”

Next, the electrical components are mounted into the cavity and it’s all wired-up. The neck is bolted onto the body, the machine-heads are added, and the fingerboard is cleaned. 

Adding the strings marks the final rite of passage. “More often than not it’s me that strings it up and kind of births it, if you like”, says Chris. “And it is a bit like that. You put the strings on for the first time and you know as soon as you tune it up. You start to get a feel for what the instrument’s going to be like and you really do. It comes to life. You put the strings on and it comes to life. 

“Even before you’ve plugged it in, you start to hear and feel what that instrument’s going to be like. And then I’ll adjust it and plug it in and start to play with it for an hour or two and then it sits for two or three days and let everything settle down and then I’ll go back to it usually in the morning when I’ve got natural light.

"I’ll look over the whole instrument. I’ll play it again. I’ll check all the adjustments and make sure everything’s right.”

Of course, things don’t always run to plan. “Have I got things wrong? Yes - lots and lots of times. I would say to anybody it’s not that you don’t make any mistakes that is the issue. The issue is knowing how to get out of it.

"When you’re in a hole, stop digging. Know what you can do. Things go wrong. Sometimes you have to abandon it and say “That’s a f**k up. That is now firewood”. Other times you know what to do in order to solve the problem. But that’s the same in any trade.”