davdud101
Max Output Level: -69 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1058
- Joined: 2010/07/15 13:30:44
- Location: Detroit, MI
- Status: offline
Inspired to build a bass
Been watching this guy on Youtube called Scrap Wood City (among other great woodworkers and craftsmen) and I'm no inspired to try my hand at building a fretless 3-string acoustic bass / bass guitar hybrid tuned to E-A-D.
I actually want to try an archtop and use cello strings, a sort of high-ish bridge and somewhat-rounded fretboard to give that cello/contrabass-iness to the whole thing. Add some decent pickups, and of course complete with a miniature contrabass-shaped body!
As a disclaimer, I have basically no woodworking experience, and also very few tools. I'm hoping my attention to detail and overall creativity will be enough to make this a fun little first-timer's project over the course of some weeks, if not an actual useable bass guitar.
I just want to spout some ideas and see if there's any feedback.... perhaps in the end it becomes better that what I imagined myself.
I'm going to try to put together some detailed measurement-accurate CAD-renderings in Anim8or and see what sticks.
Merry Christmas, God Jul, Frohe Weinachten :)
Mics: MXL 990, MXL R80, 2 x MXL Tempo XLRs, Cobalt Co9, SM48, iSK Starlight Cans: Hifiman HE4XX, AKG M220 Gear: Cakewalk BBL - PreSonus Firepod - Alesis Elevate 3 - Axiom 49 DAW: Win10, AMD FX-8300, 16GB DDR3
|
Mesh
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 27360
- Joined: 2009/11/27 14:08:08
- Location: Online right here!
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/18 15:33:41
(permalink)
Best of luck to you Davdud!!
This is a thread that Michael (Spacey) is an expert on.....don't know if he still visits here or not.
....and Merry Christmas!!
Platinum Gaming DAW: AsRock Z77 Overclock FormulaI7 3770k @ 4.5GHz : 16GB RAM G.Skill Ripjaws X 250GB OS SSD : 3TB HDD : 1TB Sample HDDWin 10 Pro x 64 : NH-D14 CPU Cooler HIS IceQ 2GB HD 7870Focusrite Scarlett 2i4The_Forum_Monkeys
|
Glyn Barnes
Max Output Level: -0.3 dBFS
- Total Posts : 7564
- Joined: 2009/06/10 05:12:31
- Location: A Stone's Throw from the Line
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/18 15:56:44
(permalink)
Good luck, a bass is an ambitious first project! I have built a few electric Mountain Dulcimers and lap steel guitars, but I am no expert.
Remember that Bass strings are very heavy and there will be a lot of tension so ensuring the neck has sufficient strength will be important.
Take a lot of care at the design stage, little things can be over looked and can cause serious issues that my not become apparent until its to late. For example a badly designed head on a lap-steel guitar I built means its awkward to string and tune.
If it all goes sadly wrong, don't give up, at least you will be able to learn from any errors and reuse things like the pickups and machine heads.
Finally, maybe consider a kit, it would be a good way of learning?
|
craigb
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 41704
- Joined: 2009/01/28 23:13:04
- Location: The Pacific Northwestshire
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/18 18:00:37
(permalink)
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
|
spacey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 8769
- Joined: 2004/05/03 18:53:44
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/18 20:31:22
(permalink)
☄ Helpfulby SteveStrummerUK 2017/12/19 01:23:16
I'm not an instructor for building electric guitar or basses but I will try to help and inspire if I can. This weekend I traveled 600+ miles to Texas in bumper to bumper traffic at 85-90mph traffic- literally- to deliver this guitar. It's my first semi-hollow build. I turned down building this guitar a year ago. A lifelong friends father had asked me to build him a guitar. He was 85 yrs then and wanted a light guitar. I declined. Because of who he is I decided to give it a go. He was the inspiration I needed. It was also good that if I succeeded it would be an unexpected gift to him. My concern was "balance". I had nothing to go on -experience or plans - to build a semi-hollow. Sure didn't want a neck heavy ending. One of the worst trips I've ever taken and it ended up being worth every second. I hope this helps inspire those wanting to reach out. Top is old growth Curly Redwood- certified- I completed the certification and delivered it with the guitar. Swamp Ash body, Flame Maple neck, Ebony fretboard, Spacey pups. (because Steve lists them as such LOL) 12" radius. 25 1/2" scale length. Bone nut. Pearl fret marker and side dots. Fortunately it turned out to be...I'm not comfortable bragging...he loves it. (I did too or wouldn't have taken it) It also turned out to be a wonderful gathering. My friends brothers and wives also made it - I hadn't seen in many years- and their dad's eyes watered a few times. What a trip. Talk about inspiration to build. Nice to build what one wants but nothing beats seeing another blown away by ones "workings".    Hope this helps with the inspiration part. Michael
|
Mesh
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 27360
- Joined: 2009/11/27 14:08:08
- Location: Online right here!
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/18 20:46:29
(permalink)
Hi Michael,
Great story and glad to see this type of thing happening. Good to see/hear from you. :)
Platinum Gaming DAW: AsRock Z77 Overclock FormulaI7 3770k @ 4.5GHz : 16GB RAM G.Skill Ripjaws X 250GB OS SSD : 3TB HDD : 1TB Sample HDDWin 10 Pro x 64 : NH-D14 CPU Cooler HIS IceQ 2GB HD 7870Focusrite Scarlett 2i4The_Forum_Monkeys
|
spacey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 8769
- Joined: 2004/05/03 18:53:44
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/18 20:59:54
(permalink)
Thanks Mesh. I thought the certificate may be of interest. This is a shot before I completed it. I also included shots of the bar code on the Ebony in the build book I supplied him. Getting nuts with woods so I try to record best I can just in case. I can't imagine standing under a 400' tall tree....I can imagine building a guitar with pieces of one though! 
|
jamesg1213
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 21760
- Joined: 2006/04/18 14:42:48
- Location: SW Scotland
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/18 21:09:25
(permalink)
Great story, beautiful guitar!
Jyemz Thrombold's Patented Brisk Weather Pantaloonettes with Inclementometer
|
ampfixer
Max Output Level: -20 dBFS
- Total Posts : 5508
- Joined: 2010/12/12 20:11:50
- Location: Ontario
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/19 00:37:17
(permalink)
She a beauty Spacey, well done. As for the OP, I'd recommend getting your feet wet with something easier that an acoustic bass. I wish him best of luck whatever he does. I build amps so I know how good it feels to create something with your own hands.
Regards, John I want to make it clear that I am an Eedjit. I have no direct, or indirect, knowledge of business, the music industry, forum threads or the meaning of life. I know about amps. WIN 10 Pro X64, I7-3770k 16 gigs, ASUS Z77 pro, AMD 7950 3 gig, Steinberg UR44, A-Pro 500, Sonar Platinum, KRK Rokit 6
|
craigb
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 41704
- Joined: 2009/01/28 23:13:04
- Location: The Pacific Northwestshire
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/19 01:18:35
(permalink)
☄ Helpfulby bapu 2017/12/23 23:13:13
Hey! That worked! Hi Michael!  Heck, I'm going to try it again... Cue that girl in Kenny's picture... 
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
|
craigb
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 41704
- Joined: 2009/01/28 23:13:04
- Location: The Pacific Northwestshire
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/19 01:21:12
(permalink)
spacey
Hope this helps with the inspiration part.
Michael
Sure, the guitar is drool-worthy, but I'm impressed by how clean and organized the shop is! Good job! 
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
|
SteveStrummerUK
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 31112
- Joined: 2006/10/28 10:53:48
- Location: Worcester, England.
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/19 01:26:20
(permalink)
That's a real beaut Mike And good luck on your build Dave!
|
davdud101
Max Output Level: -69 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1058
- Joined: 2010/07/15 13:30:44
- Location: Detroit, MI
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/19 02:02:39
(permalink)
spacey
Hope this helps with the inspiration part.
Michael
WOW Mike! Absolutely gorgeous product, and a great story to boot! Definitely inspiration fuel. Makes me excited to get started!
Mics: MXL 990, MXL R80, 2 x MXL Tempo XLRs, Cobalt Co9, SM48, iSK Starlight Cans: Hifiman HE4XX, AKG M220 Gear: Cakewalk BBL - PreSonus Firepod - Alesis Elevate 3 - Axiom 49 DAW: Win10, AMD FX-8300, 16GB DDR3
|
spacey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 8769
- Joined: 2004/05/03 18:53:44
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/23 20:20:00
(permalink)
Thanks James, John, Craig and Steve.
Dave I'm glad I added some inspiration and good luck with the build.
|
davdud101
Max Output Level: -69 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1058
- Joined: 2010/07/15 13:30:44
- Location: Detroit, MI
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/27 16:59:56
(permalink)
Plans have changed a bit - I've decided I'm going to go for a sort of "electric fretless upright bass' instead... I think that'd be a much easier project than any sort of hollowbody.. and definitely one where I wouldn't be hurting too badly if I made a huge mistake in the process.
I've got my CAD stuff worked out, measurements are ready to go. My plan is to build it with a thru-body style string setup and some sort of arched bridge/saddle, then use nylon strings to make a semi-authentic upright bass-type sound. I'm looking into pickups but I'll probably start off just buying some cheap $12 Chinese ones on Ebay... it's only a first build!
Pics are coming soon. I'm going to pick up some wood today so I can get this thing underway in Christmas break :)
Mics: MXL 990, MXL R80, 2 x MXL Tempo XLRs, Cobalt Co9, SM48, iSK Starlight Cans: Hifiman HE4XX, AKG M220 Gear: Cakewalk BBL - PreSonus Firepod - Alesis Elevate 3 - Axiom 49 DAW: Win10, AMD FX-8300, 16GB DDR3
|
Jeff Evans
Max Output Level: -24 dBFS
- Total Posts : 5139
- Joined: 2009/04/13 18:20:16
- Location: Ballarat, Australia
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/28 00:37:22
(permalink)
Using nylon strings means you will be into some form of piezo pickup system rather then electromagnetic. I recently had my real nice stick on piezo pickup device stolen unfortunately. I started the process of looking into a replacement. I bought some cheap Chinese piezo pickups and they were absolutely terrible so don't waste your time. The quality of the pickup will actually play a big part in the sound you finally get. The cheap ones had a seriously terrible sound.
I ended with a nice Dean Markley pickup that sounds real nice and works well when attached to a variety of acoustic instruments. Spend some money here when the time comes. There are under bridge systems too.
Piezo pickups sound good through preamps with very high impedance inputs too. You cannot just plug them into anything such as mixers or guitar/bass amps etc..
Specs i5-2500K 3.5 Ghz - 8 Gb RAM - Win 7 64 bit - ATI Radeon HD6900 Series - RME PCI HDSP9632 - Steinberg Midex 8 Midi interface - Faderport 8- Studio One V4 - iMac 2.5Ghz Core i5 - Sierra 10.12.6 - Focusrite Clarett thunderbolt interface Poor minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas -Eleanor Roosevelt
|
davdud101
Max Output Level: -69 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1058
- Joined: 2010/07/15 13:30:44
- Location: Detroit, MI
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/28 01:24:26
(permalink)
Jeff Evans
Using nylon strings means you will be into some form of piezo pickup system rather then electromagnetic. I recently had my real nice stick on piezo pickup device stolen unfortunately. I started the process of looking into a replacement. I bought some cheap Chinese piezo pickups and they were absolutely terrible so don't waste your time. The quality of the pickup will actually play a big part in the sound you finally get. The cheap ones had a seriously terrible sound.
I ended with a nice Dean Markley pickup that sounds real nice and works well when attached to a variety of acoustic instruments. Spend some money here when the time comes. There are under bridge systems too.
Piezo pickups sound good through preamps with very high impedance inputs too. You cannot just plug them into anything such as mixers or guitar/bass amps etc..
I thought about this after typing my response, Jeff... I'm actually flip-flopping between nylons with a nice piezo pickup of some sort, and flatwounds with probably an also pretty nice humbucker pickup or some type. It slipped my mind, both that nylons wouldn't register on a standard el. pickup, and that the pickup makes a HUGE difference in the sound quality, haha! Not really an area one can afford to go cheap. On another note, I've gotten starting marking my patterns on the wood and such. Managed to borrow some cool tools and stuff too from friends Here's my concept rendering... you'll see how simple it is as far as "curvature" and things go, lots of straight edges and such - I wanted to leave a LOT of room for error because I'll definitely make mistakes during this build!  More updates coming tomorrow as I get the table saw I'll be need to square off the wood before I get into detail cutting and carving.
post edited by davdud101 - 2017/12/28 15:09:40
Mics: MXL 990, MXL R80, 2 x MXL Tempo XLRs, Cobalt Co9, SM48, iSK Starlight Cans: Hifiman HE4XX, AKG M220 Gear: Cakewalk BBL - PreSonus Firepod - Alesis Elevate 3 - Axiom 49 DAW: Win10, AMD FX-8300, 16GB DDR3
|
batsbrew
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 10037
- Joined: 2007/06/07 16:02:32
- Location: SL,UT
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/29 17:27:19
(permalink)
|
Jeff Evans
Max Output Level: -24 dBFS
- Total Posts : 5139
- Joined: 2009/04/13 18:20:16
- Location: Ballarat, Australia
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/29 18:40:21
(permalink)
Specs i5-2500K 3.5 Ghz - 8 Gb RAM - Win 7 64 bit - ATI Radeon HD6900 Series - RME PCI HDSP9632 - Steinberg Midex 8 Midi interface - Faderport 8- Studio One V4 - iMac 2.5Ghz Core i5 - Sierra 10.12.6 - Focusrite Clarett thunderbolt interface Poor minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas -Eleanor Roosevelt
|
davdud101
Max Output Level: -69 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1058
- Joined: 2010/07/15 13:30:44
- Location: Detroit, MI
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/30 22:50:03
(permalink)
batsbrew
http://www.deanguitars.com/query?upc=819998005863
essentially yes bats, that is where I'm drawing my design from :) that and those NS Design basses. Point for me being to have some fun doing the woodworking and possibly make something custom.. But seeing that I've got sort of used, uncalibrated tools and no workspace, literally no worktable and of course I'm outdoors, I'm really struggling to do anything good. I've got some progress - the middle neck/body section has all the rough-cutting done but I've made some glaring errors in the cutting and I don't have anything that can do any detail beyond a jigsaw, but without a table or even some sawhorses the jigsaw becomes an even more difficult tool to use  I decided today I'd start over with something a bit smaller scale and just use this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk8e8UoQ8fk - as well as a new design to attempt something smaller and hopefully lower-tension (in both way); a (again, fretless) ukelele bass. I've got a pretty well thought-out design but at the moment since I can't cut precise angles or even straight lines (using a table saw that doesn't have a fence or even a guard) I can't really do much. *sigh*
Mics: MXL 990, MXL R80, 2 x MXL Tempo XLRs, Cobalt Co9, SM48, iSK Starlight Cans: Hifiman HE4XX, AKG M220 Gear: Cakewalk BBL - PreSonus Firepod - Alesis Elevate 3 - Axiom 49 DAW: Win10, AMD FX-8300, 16GB DDR3
|
michaelhanson
Max Output Level: -40 dBFS
- Total Posts : 3529
- Joined: 2008/10/31 15:19:56
- Location: Mesquite, Texas
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2017/12/31 01:04:39
(permalink)
Well, that's the issue with getting into building, if you ask Michael (Spacey) how much money he has in tools and equipment, I'm sure it's sizable. If you consider all of the investment, you can't really build your own cheaper than you can buy a used instrument or make one from pre-made parts. Consider even the finishing, if you get into using spray guns and compressors.
I have always thought of building being more about the love of building, or the artistry and craftsmen aspect, rather than the price.
|
spacey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 8769
- Joined: 2004/05/03 18:53:44
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2018/01/02 17:31:45
(permalink)
☄ Helpfulby Mesh 2018/01/02 19:16:14
FWIW
Mike I agree...at least that's how I was thinking when I started. I invested in me. No business plans or expected monetary gains.
As for the "size" of the investment. Well that's all relative I guess.
There are many ways to do things - different costs for different tools. I sure didn't invest in a CNC to make necks and one for bodies so I could have repeatability on hundreds a whack. lol. I settled for a router table and file.
The real deal is that when one takes on building rather than assembling by parts or kits it pays to do the homework before investing. One may imagine; How many people in factories do specific tasks to build an electric guitar? Then realize that you need to be able to perform each task at their professional level. Well each one of them do their thing 8 hrs a day...no telling how long they've been doing it and all their supplies and tools were paid for.
I know I studied for a long time and made decisions on how I would attempt each task and the tools it would require. When I could build the guitar in my head is when I decided to give it a go.
It was a minimum investment. Nut files and Fretting tools. I had a selection of power tools good enough to see how things went...on my patio.
My first build was a neck-thru design and I had been spending time checking out the workings of Carl Thompson.
Well that guitar build was worth my investment...including the cost of building a 24' x 30' shop and many, many more specialized tools. It is in a display case on the wall in my shop and I wouldn't be ashamed of any guitarist to check it out.
That was seven years ago. I've since built many guitars and absolutely love seeing the faces of the pickers when they receive them. Of course many where shipped so I didn't get that...but no doubt- it was an investment in me and still enjoying the thrill of not only the process but when the guitar is plugged in for the first time...that's when the story is told and it says it all. Only one way to know that story.
|
SteveStrummerUK
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 31112
- Joined: 2006/10/28 10:53:48
- Location: Worcester, England.
- Status: offline
Re: Inspired to build a bass
2018/01/02 20:19:51
(permalink)
spacey
I've since built many guitars and absolutely love seeing the faces of the pickers when they receive them.
I still grin like a loon every time I take my beautiful Ruby out for a spin
|