Body design help

[DEbassist]

hey guys....I am starting work on my first build and I am kinda running into a wall. When you all design a body and headstock shape, do you just free hand it around your center line or do you use a program like Auto CAD or Corel Draw or is there another method that you all use?

[wilser]

A vector drawing program works best. What I do is start with the neck template (imported from fretfind ...see FAQ), drawing a 20x14 box that starts (on the longest edge) from about the 12th fret from the neck template and line it's centerline with the neck's centerline. Then draw up what feels good for you. For me, having the upper contour at about the 24th fret and the knee contour at about the neck pickup works great.

[DEbassist]

Wilser, you need to write a book. Thanks for all the help!

[DEbassist]

Wilser,
Are there any software programs that you recommend for vector drawing?

[Skelf]

I am still in the stone age I use a piece of paper and a pencil but the centre line is essential

[Greg Johnsen]

I'm right there with Skelf, I make sure I keep to the center line, and draw everything to scale. If you use a standard 12" ruler, split each inch into 5 parts and then you have a 1:5 scale drawing. Helps me alot to draw a box around how big I can go with the design (14" wide, and I stop the far end of the box at the 12th fret or so).

Greg

[g00eY]

I start by just sketching what "feels" nice. Then I work on making it to scale, with a center line and lines for the nut, bridge, and 12th fret. I like to draw on graph paper when drawing to scale.

[Bryan316]

If you have no access to a computer software program like CAD, do it the old fashioned way! French curves and drafting gear! Get a roll of paper (decent art supply stores should have 20" rolls of paper) and draw up your essentials like Wilser said. Start a center line, mark your scale length, mark the 12th fret and 24th fret, mark about 8" for a headstock, mark where you want your pickups, draw the rough dimensions of your bridge, draw a rough estimate of how wide you want the nut, how wide you want your string spacing at the bridge, and then draw your strings. The centers of your outside strings should be 3/32" to 1/8" from the edges of the fretboard, then connect those marks to the string spacing at your bridge. Example: 1-3/4 nut size to 2-3/4" string spacing on a 5-string bass. Offset from the edges of the fretboard means you lose 1/8" from either side, so make two marks on the nut line, 1-1/2" apart centered on your main centerline. Then, connect the lines down to the bridge line's 2-3/4" spaced marks. After that, you draw two more lines offset from those stringlines 1/8" back out, and there's your neck width.

Now then... ink all these lines in place so they can't be erased, and start freehanding your design. You'll be doing a ton of cleanup erasing, so get a good white block eraser. Drafting stores are awesome for this stuff. GOD I miss board drawing... damned CAD takes the fun away...

Once you've come near to a design/shape you like, lightly erase everything so the lines are very feint. Then, use your french curves to draw back the lines cleanly and perfectly.

If you like it, you've got your design! If not, start over and your inked lines won't change your essentials.

[DEbassist]

Wow, thanks guys. How do we get this put into the "How to" section? This was very helpful.

I even managed a little body design here at my desk with the centerline box idea put forth below.

[wilser]

I use a mac with adobe illustrator. there are several free and/or shareware programs that you can use that will work equally well. I have used inkscape with great success. handling of the bezier curves is similar to illustrator and it runs on linux (dual boot intel?) and mac with X11 installed.

[DigthemLows]

I use my Mac or PC with Corel Draw or Illustrator. And if you search all posts by Wilser there probably is a book........hmmm are posts considered copyrighted material?? Maybe I'll compile a book of Wiser posts sell it, and use the proceeds to have him make me a bass...........