Acoustic Upright

mikeyswood · #1 12-31-2008, 12:56 PM

Is there anyone here that builds or has built (successfully) an acoustic upright bass?

Son of Magni · #2 01-01-2009, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyswood

Is there anyone here that builds or has built (successfully) an acoustic upright bass?

If you're looking for help with a build and you don't find anyone here I would suggest posting on mimf in the bowed stringed instruments forum.

Yvarg · #3 01-01-2009, 06:05 PM

I believe a few guys (maybe only one?) on the DB side have.

Kev2007 · #4 01-02-2009, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yvarg

I believe a few guys (maybe only one?) on the DB side have.

More than a few... there are some incredible luthiers who hang out in the Setup & Repair forum on the DB side.

Goodlawdy · #5 01-12-2009, 05:28 PM

Ok, so about 10 years ago I played a washtub upright at a bluegrass fest and wanted to build one of my own. The guy that built it said that he'd shown his to Victor Wooten, who told him that he had one but built with a kick drum.
I built my first one with a kick drum and a bolt on old neck I had lying around. That was my learning bass. It actually sounds great. An ass-ton better than any acoustic bass!
This new one that's almost finished is gonna be nicer. I bought the neck and fingerboard from Gollihur's and the tuning keys on ebay. These parts alone were~$250. So this ain't no cheap endeavor! Attachment 114764

Attachment 114765
You can see the basic concept. Bass drum head mounted to washtub, bridge sits on top of that.

More pix next post.

Goodlawdy · #6 01-12-2009, 05:34 PM

The washtub is 24", so I bought the requisite hoop & drum head, and the hardware $$$$

So this thing's pretty heavy. No way is a tin wash tub going to support that weight. So what I did was send a dowel rod thru the washtub directly to the neck saddle block. Oh yeah, that was kind of hard to make too. Thank god for my neighbor and his wood shop/ garage. He actually freehanded the groove for the neck to slide into. This is a large block of wood, so I chose a light weight piece of I forget what kind. The drawback is that it is softer wood, susceptible to indentations.

Goodlawdy · #7 01-12-2009, 05:40 PM

I relic'd the neck and hardware this weekend. Not a bad job if I do say so myself. I volunteered in a museum in college and got to touch up replica artifacts. Never knew it would be useful....

Next up, I have to make a bridge.....or buy one ugghhh!

I would like to have one with a pick up though. I think I'm going to probably paint the wash tub too now, so it matches the relic job a little better.

Goodlawdy · #8 01-12-2009, 05:43 PM

Almost forgot about the tailpiece. A cabinet hinge from Home Depot.
Again, after all the stuff I've bought, this adds up. Man I hope this thing sounds good.

Goodlawdy · #9 01-12-2009, 05:48 PM

Here's the cheaper version #1. This one sounds fine, looks all Sanford & Son. Great for acoustic jams. Always an ice breaker!
That's a 70's Lincoln P/J neck bolted onto a board. A threaded rod is the peg.

mikeyswood · #10 01-13-2009, 06:25 AM

Thanks Goodlawdy but I am not sure how that is going to help me with acoustic upright construction...?

Goodlawdy · #11 01-13-2009, 07:03 AM

That's my acoustic upright and how I constructed it.

mikeyswood · #12 01-14-2009, 08:18 AM

Thank you for your mulitple posts. Perhaps I should make this post more clear:

Is there anyone here familiar with the internal carcass of the traditional double bass?

Kev2007 · #13 01-14-2009, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyswood

Thank you for your mulitple posts. Perhaps I should make this post more clear:

Is there anyone here familiar with the internal carcass of the traditional double bass?

Again, you're much better off hanging out, searching and asking questions at the DB Setup and Repair forum. I've found loads of what you're asking for over there.

Also, http://www.cljazz.com/bass/doublebassmaking.html

Kev

mikeyswood · #14 01-15-2009, 10:04 AM

Kev - That is a heck of a link! Thanks!

Kev2007 · #15 01-15-2009, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeyswood

Kev - That is a heck of a link! Thanks!

No problem. At the risk of going waaay off track in the slab side of the forum, you might want to look into a book on the subject by Peter Chandler called "So You Want To Make A Double Bass". Affordable, and though it's a little sparse on detail, it's pretty much complete, and with lots of good pics. I'm using it now in conjunction with TB queries and my own know-how.

Good luck.

Kev

ctmullins · #16 01-15-2009, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goodlawdy

Here's the cheaper version #1. This one sounds fine, looks all Sanford & Son. Great for acoustic jams. Always an ice breaker!
That's a 70's Lincoln P/J neck bolted onto a board. A threaded rod is the peg.

Okay, that's just COOL.

vbasscustom · #17 01-15-2009, 12:44 PM

ok, so im a little unclear as to what you mean. do you mean just an acoustic double bass, like a regualr double bass. or do you mean something like les claypools. its almost like a slightly enlarged violin body, with an upright neck on it. cause i was thinkin about makin one of thoughs

T-Bird · #18 01-15-2009, 01:20 PM

Hi.

Making a full scale classic double bass is a massive undertaking, not to mention an extremely expensive one. The sheer size of the parts compared with slab basses could be seen as the difference between hot-rodding cars vs. bikes.

Large enough pieces for the top for example will be hard to find, and will be expensive.

The way I handled my desire to work on double basses was to buy broken ones and repair them. I haven't taken the top off or anything like that, but the near future 1/8 Chinese POS project has the top in three pieces and off already, so it'll be educating.

There was a link some time ago, on the DB side IIRC, about a double bass wood workshop where people could build their own DBs. Wasn't cheap I can tell You.

Regards
Sam