My Bass Project

[danw]

It's taken a year + a summer, but my bass project is about done, and I thought you might like to see it.
Specs:

40.25" scale.
Stew-mac bass tuners.
24" galvanized tub body.
Carved SPF top (lowes 2x12), with parallel bracing in lieu of a soundpost.
Maple / walnut neck and endpin.
Bloodwood fingerboard and tailpiece.
D'addario prelude strings.

The bridge and tailpiece-cable-holder just have a couple of coats of Zinnser sealcoat, and the face of the fingerboard is just sanded to 1500 and treated with a little bit of butcher-block oil; the remaining wood parts are all done in Tru-oil. The tub is painted with Rust-Oleum metalflake vintage copper.

Here's a front shot:

A closeup of the headstock front:

and the back:

Bridge and Tailpiece:

Carved heel and heelcap:

Endpin:

 

[lbanks]

Cool! How does it sound?

 

[danw]

Oh, right, I forgot. sound sample. I think it sounds about like an upright bass. It's pretty loud.

 

[lbanks]

That's pretty decent, if you ask me. Congrats!

 

[pathdoc]

I've considered doing something similiar. Nice job.

 

[muttley600]

I'm loving it.

 

[kcearl]

very cool

 

[Dogbreath]

nice job man.

 

[moresound]

Cool with the tub and all .... kinda looks like a bass banjo.

 

[danw]

Thanks, guys. Yeah, bass banjo was what I was aiming at; that's why I went ahead and made a flat headstock instead of a scroll. I'm seen one these done with a drumhead mounted on a tub, and a few others made from old bass drums that were closer to those lines. I've just always thought archtop instruments looked cool, and I figured this was as good a place as any to practice the carving. This was my first acoustic instrument, and it was good for that -- there are no back and sides to deal with, and as long as you keep it structurally sound and close to a 40" scale, there's nothing really strict about the design. At any rate, the amount I paid in materials is *way* less than I'd have spent on a traditional upright.

If anybody's interested in building one of these, I'm happy to share any measurements, construction details, and resources I found along the way.

 

[zazz]

sounds sweet..

 

[Wish]

Very cool! Great job!

 

[Terra]

badd as shit son! sound sweet, looks cool! great job!

 

[dintymoore]

So what?

Oh - I meant the song sample.

The bass sounds real good - congrats. It will look great on stage.

 

[rayc]

Truly odd & sounds fine so well done on all levels.
Some very sweet carving on the neck to head section.
What made you opt for such a heavy (looking) bridge?

 

[danw]

Thanks. The short answer on the bridge is that the maple I've got is 3/4" thick and my scrawny bandsaw isn't big enough to resaw anything that tall. It's actually just the "practice bridge" I made to see if the overall structure would hold string tension; it sounded ok, so I never bothered to make a replacement. I took a lot of wood off with the sander, but you're right, it's still a bit chunky. I've got a friend with a much bigger saw; the next time I see him I'll get a couple of blanks cut so I can try some lighter designs.

 

[grimtraveller]

That bass looks utterly magnifico and more importantly sounds good. I'm a great fan of DIY instruments and equipment. It's not a matter of cost {lesser or otherwise}, just a certain ingenuity.
Very encouraging.

 

[fixthedoor]

Fridgin awesome. Nice work, especially on the headstock.

 

[timtimtim]

Looks beautiful, sounds good. People who make their own stuff are the real artists

 

[Dr ZEE]

WOW!
Hats OFF!
and cheers
That is a one damn fine instrument. Super cool.
Great job.