BTB Style Singlecut Build

Woodsbass · #1 01-26-2012, 07:42 PM

Hi everyone, I'm planning a build. I want to build a singlecut, bolt on, 4 sting bass. The bass will be based around an Ibanez BTB body, with two jazz style pickups, and passive electronics.

This will be my first build, and I don't want to spend a ton of money on it. I know that a siglecut is going to be harder to build, but I'm willing to put in the extra work for the very cool look of them!

I would really appreciate any suggestions you could give me for getting started. I don't want to spend a ton on wood, just something that will work well and won't ding up easily.

Once I get started, I'll be posting pictures of the build.

Here is a *rough* idea of what the bass would look like. (body shape only)

Musiclogic · #2 01-26-2012, 11:28 PM

I would look at Alder, Poplar, Walnut, or Spanish cedar because of their ease of finishing, and relatively decent weight. Swamp Ash is also an option, but much more difficult to finish. Look at Maple for the neck, and you can have everything wood except your FB for under $100, and add $35 for a slotted and radiused FB shipped, and you are off to the races.

Woodsbass · #3 01-27-2012, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Musiclogic

I would look at Alder, Poplar, Walnut, or Spanish cedar because of their ease of finishing, and relatively decent weight. Swamp Ash is also an option, but much more difficult to finish. Look at Maple for the neck, and you can have everything wood except your FB for under $100, and add $35 for a slotted and radiused FB shipped, and you are off to the races.

I actually plan to buy a paddle headstock neck from warmoth. I KNOW I don't have the woodworking know how to build a neck from scratch, so I'm just going to buy one and build the bass around that.

Would pine work as a wood? I was reading on another luthier site that pine (if you use wood hardener on the finished product) can make a nice sounding instrument, that doesn't get dinged all that easily. Does anyone know about the truth (or falsehood :P) behind this?

**TheEmptyCell** · #4 01-28-2012, 05:18 PM

Pine is great. Check out my build thread. I like your design, just different enough from every other SC.

Woodsbass · #5 01-28-2012, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheEmptyCell

Pine is great. Check out my build thread. I like your design, just different enough from every other SC.

Thanks! I appreciate it. I was just doodling one day and kind of sketched my BTB, and decided to see how it would look singlecut. I started GASing for it, so I decided it would be my first build. And I will check out your thread for sure!

reverendrally · #6 01-28-2012, 09:55 PM

re hardware; budget chinese stuff is good. tuners can be bought for $20 (the whole set). Bridge for $10, etc. Look on ebay and get the stuff coming out of hongkong or china.

Woodsbass · #7 01-29-2012, 08:13 PM

Hello again everyone.

I have now established what I`m going to do for this build. I will be using six different pieces of straight pine, 8" wide and .75" thick. I will join two eight inch pieces together to make the full 16" wide that I need for the body.

I am using three separate pieces of pine as I want to stain the top layer a deep brown, the middle layer a blood red, and the bottom piece the same brown as the top layer.

I won't be building a neck for this bass, so I am going to buy a pawn shop bass, and use the neck and hardware for the build. Eventually, I plan to replace the pickups with Nordstrand jazz bass pickups.

I am trying to do this build as cheaply as possible, while still maintaining good quality. The only reason I plan to do it cheaply is because it is my first build, and if I make a mistake, no major loss. Lesson learned, right?

Here are some pictures of the design for the bass with the neck from the BTB bass that I used to design the body shape.

Suggestions are always appreciated!!