Trussrodless Bodyless Pickupless Fretless Bass Questions

[ehque]

No, im not building a DB.

Hey guys. im thinking of putting together a bodyless mag-pickupless fretless bass. If i can find a headless solution ill do headless as well.

Ive found some [.060" x 36" x anything] carbon strips at http://www.acp-composites.com/, and i was thinking of making the neck maple-CF-maple-CF-maple-CF-maple, with each carbon fiber stringer in between a pair of strings (ill have six).

A nice 34 inch ebony board from larry will top it off. this will go from nut all the way to the bridge. for theoretically almost infinite octaves (bragging rights, not important)

Question : Do i need a trussrod with this build? What if i replace all the maple with wenge? I am hoping not to need trussrods cos i dont have a router. also hence the lack of pickups.

Another Question: Do you guys taper your neck blocks to the same ratios as the neck taper, then glue it up; or glue it up then taper it down (which would result in center stringers increasing in relative width toward the nut)

A Third Question: if im only using piezos, do i need to ground the strings? im under the impression the static comes for mag pickups picking up my static.

4th Question: My knees and ankles are giving way, ive already went for one operation and probably going for another. will this bass be any lighter than my zon if i build it out of wenge? this is because ill still need a strap even when sitting down.

5th Question: If i eventually dont want to build this but want a custom builder to do it for me, who's the best guy to approach with such a design?

PS: The neck will be about 1" thick minus the FB... which is 3/8". Weather here is uniformly 90-100% relative humidity, 28-31 deg c. Im never going to sell this bass.

[Kcorren]

Maybe something like this using the Carbon?

http://www.nophi.net/ghettotronix/

[Suburban]

Originally Posted by ehque

No, im not building a DB.

Hey guys. im thinking of putting together a bodyless mag-pickupless fretless bass. If i can find a headless solution ill do headless as well.

Ive found some [.060" x 36" x anything] carbon strips at http://www.acp-composites.com/, and i was thinking of making the neck maple-CF-maple-CF-maple-CF-maple, with each carbon fiber stringer in between a pair of strings (ill have six).

A nice 34 inch ebony board from larry will top it off. this will go from nut all the way to the bridge. for theoretically almost infinite octaves (bragging rights, not important)

Question : Do i need a trussrod with this build? What if i replace all the maple with wenge? I am hoping not to need trussrods cos i dont have a router. also hence the lack of pickups.

I would put one in. If nothing else, just to make sure that I can get my preferred relief. That is not easy to make without it. Also, maple or wenge the same, only three strips will not be quite enough. I'd say you need three .2" strips to do that trick. Limited experience, though, your setup just might work...

Another Question: Do you guys taper your neck blocks to the same ratios as the neck taper, then glue it up; or glue it up then taper it down (which would result in center stringers increasing in relative width toward the nut)

Usually: glue, then taper. If you do that, the strips will not go between the strings, but they will end at different lengths. If I was to do your setup, id taper the wood before gluing.

A Third Question: if im only using piezos, do i need to ground the strings? im under the impression the static comes for mag pickups picking up my static.

The noice comes from the open capasitor formed by the pup and the strings. Taht will not be on a piezo only - you will have other sources for noice... Shield well!

4th Question: My knees and ankles are giving way, ive already went for one operation and probably going for another. will this bass be any lighter than my zon if i build it out of wenge? this is because ill still need a strap even when sitting down.

It should...

5th Question: If i eventually dont want to build this but want a custom builder to do it for me, who's the best guy to approach with such a design?

PS: The neck will be about 1" thick minus the FB... which is 3/8". Weather here is uniformly 90-100% relative humidity, 28-31 deg c. Im never going to sell this bass.

I can understand that...

[ehque]

3 .2" strips? wow, thats a lot of carbon fiber. stewmac rods are .2" x .2"... my strips are .06 x 1" (all the way through the neck and visible on the far side) does that make up for it?

im thinking 6 carbon stringers then... maple-CF-maple-CF-maple-CF-maple-CF-maple-CF-maple-CF-maple... one carbon fiber under each string.

its a fretless so im not too concerned about optimum relief... i hope to get it stiff, then sand the fingerboard down to the optimum relief. i believe this is how its done on a DB?

anyone has experience with ETS headless hardware? do their micrometer tuners work without the ball end of the string?

and yes, i was thinking something like the ghettotronix one, but with that price, i could nearly get all the parts for my bass... which has carbon fiber, ebony fb, and headless tuners.

right, i see you werent suggesting i buy one. i think they look like wishes. especially the disclaimers.

Q: Can you make me an [X] string model?
A: Yeah, just remember it's $50 per string. this covers the cost of another tuning peg, additional work, and swear words.

Q: Do you offer gig bags or cases?
A: We are currently working with a crotchetier to offer hand-made cases for our basses. otherwise, we suggest wrapping it up in a blanket and tossing it in your back seat.

[Suburban]

Hm, six stringers would get you close to the useful. Perhaps even be enough. I did consider my suggestion from the standpoint of the stringers all through the neck...

You should be very concerned to get the correct relief, even if not especially on a fretless.

ETS (and every other headless tuners on the market) are build to take on the ball of the string.

[ehque]

ah well, ok, 6 stringers it is then.

maple-CF-wenge-CF-maple-CF-wenge-CF-maple-CF-wenge-CF-maple!

ack. then how do you attach the otherside beyond the nut? double ball strings? they dont sell those here... any solutions for this one? are there mini-tuners that work without the ball end?