Hey folks,

I've recently become interested in learning to play bass, so I bought an el-cheapo bass to learn on. Well While for a cheap bass it's probably just fine, I've always had a bit of the woodworking bug and decided to make my own bass.

I'm going to reuse the neck and all the hardware since I'm on a _really_ tight budget right now. The nice thing is we've got a bunch of cherry lying around, so I figured I would go ahead and make the body out of cherry. It's probably not the best choice, but it can't be worse than the plywood body of my cheapie bass.

Anyways, I thought it would be fun to share my first adventure in bass building with others who are also interested in building basses.

So far all I've got done is getting the wood cut to an approximate length and we ran it through the planer since it was all rough cut. Then a few passes through the jointer to get some decent edges.

Heres a few pics:
(ignore the piece of poplar ;) )
http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2275&g2_serialNumber=4 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2273) http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2278&g2_serialNumber=4 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2276)
http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2281&g2_serialNumber=4 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2279) http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2284&g2_serialNumber=4 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2282)

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cherry is a very good tone wood. Older Streamers had cherry body.

cherry is a very good tone wood. Older Streamers had cherry body.

Amusingly enough after writing this I was browsing some threads and noticed some people talking about cherry having a nice tone; I'm glad I had some lying around. We've got some walnut too that may become part of my next project (if this one comes out decently).

We just glued up the two pieces that will be the back of the bass. Sadly they're not bookmatched or anything fancy like that, so I went with what I thought would look more interesting when the bass was finished.

Does anyone who has worked with cherry before have a recommendation on stain? I'm thinking something red-ish, but nothing so dark that you can't see the grain.

I'm worried about the joints on all the pieces being lined up. It seems to me like this would be a weak point. Should I slightly offset the bottom pieces from the top when they're glued together for added strength or should I not be worried about it?

http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2287&g2_serialNumber=2 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2285)

Don't worry, full thickness bodies are almost never bookmatched. Tops / backs are bookmatched more than 90% of the time though. Nice work so far!

"My First Bass Project" sounds like it could be a cute children's book :)

Cherry will naturally turn a nice reddish colour over time. The body might be a tad on the heavy side if you didn't chamber it anywhere. If it feels too heavy you could reduce the body thickness by an eighth of an inch.

I think I would have either dado'd or at least biscuit joined those two pieces. More surface area for the two halves to glue to.

I love watching these bulids progress - good luck!

And it's especially good karma that you're building your own instrument.

Once upon a time I had a beautiful wood shop - but a divorce and my desire to live in the city makes all that but a distant memory. ;)

I actually did use biscuits on either end, but they won't help any once the body is cut out. I haven't decided on a final shape, so I wanted to avoid putting a biscuit somewhere where it might end up showing on an edge.

The shop and tools are actually my fathers. I gave up having shop space when I quit my job, sold my house and returned to school. :)

This build is mostly just a learning experience. We have a lot of rough cut cherry, so it's not a huge deal if this doesn't come out perfect.

Thanks for the advice and kind words!

Well I haven't had much time this week between classes and work, so not much got done until last night and tonight. I got the boards planed to the proper thickness and glued up.

Both of these are the faces to be glued, not what will be on the outside. Silky smooth and ready to be glued:
http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2297&g2_serialNumber=2 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2295)
http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2300&g2_serialNumber=2 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2298)

I really really like the last one!!

I really really like the last one!!

Thats actually the backside of the top piece. The side that will be facing out looks similar, but without the knot on the inner edge. I'll take a few pics tonight after I get home from work.

ZOMG! It came out guitar shaped! :D

Front:
http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2591&g2_serialNumber=2 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2589)
Back:
http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2594&g2_serialNumber=2 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2592)

The back is going to look a bit weird as the neck I'm using is from a left handed bass and I'm building a right handed bass, so it won't match perfectly, but hey thats life.

I love that shape!

I love that shape!

Thanks! I pretty much traced the shape of my other bass, but I added a little bit of material on the bottom side where the neck will be to try and make the neck match up a bit better on a right handed bass.

I love that shape!

Me too !!! Its my kinda thing I guess, good work so far bud, keep it up ! peace.

Me too !!! Its my kinda thing I guess, good work so far bud, keep it up ! peace.

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement!

More progress today. I rounded the edges off with a 3/8" round over router bit and did some sanding. I'm pretty happy with how it looks so far.

Front:
http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2606&g2_serialNumber=2 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2604)
Back:
http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2609&g2_serialNumber=2 (http://greystar.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=2607)

The easy stuff is mostly done. Getting the pickups in the right place and routing the pockets for them, the neck and the electronics will be fun. Oh and then making a cover for the electronics.

Looks real nice. Nothing wrong with using existing neck and hardware off a crappy bass to get you hooked.:p

Well I learned an important lesson tonight. Make templates for routing all your pockets. Getting it close without templates then using a chisel is a pita.

I just read your first post on this thread, and my advice was going to be to make lots of templates, and always keep a centerline on everything. I always use mdf for my template material since it's super easy to work with, and you can get a real smooth edge on it to route against. If you post a picture of what you've got now after your routes I'm sure someone can give you advice on a fix. Best of luck.

I just read your first post on this thread, and my advice was going to be to make lots of templates, and always keep a centerline on everything. I always use mdf for my template material since it's super easy to work with, and you can get a real smooth edge on it to route against. If you post a picture of what you've got now after your routes I'm sure someone can give you advice on a fix. Best of luck.

Oh, I tested (almost) everything on scrap first, so I haven't done any real damage. I did a lot of handwork on the pocket for the neck and it came out reasonable. I did make a template for the pickups though. I have to test it on a piece of scrap first.

I must say that is a sexy body..

Good clean work so far.

I worry that the 3/8" roundover is gonna feel a bit blocky for you. I'd suggest some handwork with rasps or a microplane, to make the edge look like it's one continuous roundover. My first project looks horrible with my 1/2" roundover, I wish I woulda just spent an extra afternoon making the edge look fluid and perfected.

And if weight still bugs you after you've bolted the neck to the body for a test fit, and before you've done any finishing, you can always make the belly cut and elbow cut deeper. Or, perhaps get fancy and make a sculpted top, kinda like an archtop PRS. The more sculpting or shaping, the less weight! Just keep the thickness down the center underneath the strings to retain strength, and everything else is game for experimentation.

Flat-faced guitars are boring. :D