Radically new concept of bass

[Kwesi]

Apart from looking different, what does it do differently than other basses?

[carl h.]

Can't do much differently and still be considered a bass, so there is a pretty hard limit to how far the design can go away from standard spec.

Is the left hand of a keyboard player playing a bass?

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by carl h.

Can't do much differently and still be considered a bass, so there is a pretty hard limit to how far the design can go away from standard spec.

True enough. Was just wondering what made this 'new' beyond the material, radius and aesthetics.

[Belka]

Beautiful piece of engineering, but two comments:

Not going to go down that well with slappers, I would think.

Not going to go down well with the extended range crowd. A five string would be seriously awkward, a six string pretty much unplayable, and on those eight or nine string monsters you'd have the strings kind of orbiting the neck like the planets orbit the sun.

[Silver Blues]

That's bizarre- but very innovative. I kind of like it.

--Silvie

[SactoBass]

It has a "hey...that's different" cool factor to it, which has value to those who place value on that kind of thing, but for me, I have found that I get the best tone (that appeals to me) from basses made of wood. I have tried basses made of other materials, and the wood basses seem to sound best to my ears.

There is a reason Geddy Lee nixed the Steinberger...no tone. It was dry sounding. That was my experience as well when I played one.

All IMO/IME of course.

[Silver Blues]

Originally Posted by SactoBass

It has a "hey...that's different" cool factor to it, which has value to those who place value on that kind of thing, but for me, I have found that I get the best tone (that appeals to me) from basses made of wood. I have tried basses made of other materials, and the wood basses seem to sound best to my ears.

There is a reason Geddy Lee nixed the Steinberger...no tone. It was dry sounding.

All IMO/IME of course.

+1

[JoeWPgh]

How well does it hold tune? It seems to me metal reacts to thermal changes faster and more drastically than wood.

[Duuuuuuuuuude]

Hi stainlesslav,

I think it's very cool and I applaud your thinking. You've done a good job of showing the unique unique features of the bass, but I'd be interested in hearing you explain the benefits. In other words, what does the the design and materials offer me as a musician?

[khutch]

Originally Posted by JoeWPgh

How well does it hold tune? It seems to me metal reacts to thermal changes faster and more drastically than wood.

Probably better than a wood neck. If the neck and the strings are both stainless steel they both expand and contract the same amount so the string tension doesn't change and the string length doesn't change much. It is when the strings are stainless and the neck is wood that temperature issues arise....

Ken

[Barbo]

I would like to try that.

[Bassist4Eris]

I'm intrigued enough that I would try one if given the chance. The round neck is what I wonder most about: improved playability, or just awkward? I also wonder how (or even if) slap technique would work on it.

From what I could tell in the video, I like the tone.

I must admit that I am a traditionalist, aesthetically speaking, and don't care for the look of the body. It seems very utilitarian, like a Soviet building or something.

[pacojas]

Originally Posted by SactoBass

There is a reason Geddy Lee nixed the Steinberger...no tone. It was dry sounding. That was my experience as well when I played one.

ROTF!!!!

i use my Stein every show for one reason only,... it is a TONE MONSTER! but, thanks for the laugh!

[Gord_oh]

creative.

[DrSpunkwater]

Originally Posted by SactoBass

It has a "hey...that's different" cool factor to it, which has value to those who place value on that kind of thing, but for me, I have found that I get the best tone (that appeals to me) from basses made of wood. I have tried basses made of other materials, and the wood basses seem to sound best to my ears.

There is a reason Geddy Lee nixed the Steinberger...no tone. It was dry sounding. That was my experience as well when I played one.

All IMO/IME of course.

Steinbergers have no tone? That's a new one on me. If anything, they produce one of the best slap tones I've ever heard.

[grisezd]

I like the design a lot, and the player in the vid seems to be getting on with it OK. I'd love to give it a try. The body shape doesn't do much for me, but I love the construction details.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by DrSpunkwater

Steinbergers have no tone? That's a new one on me. If anything, they produce one of the best slap tones I've ever heard.

Jerry Casale still sounds hot with a Steinberger in Devo. He's about the only major bassist I know who still uses one, but I think they sound great.

[SolarMan]

I bet Jerry would rock this bass on a couple tracks - and sound and look fantastic doing it!

[stainlesslav]

Hi everybody.

Your responses surpassed my expectations! I seriously appreciated them and thank you for the kind words, motivation and valuable advice as well as the constructive criticism on my bass design process. I would like to collectively answer your questions since many will be from a detailed engineering perspective (sorry to bore you with the specifics!)

The reasons and objectives for the stainless tubular neck:

-This design improves stiffness, mechanical and environmental stability, sound quality, tunability, and, mechanical accuracy, and ergonomic matching to the natural radius of grip of the human hand.



- It provides unique tones and harmonics. (I will try to demonstrate that in my next video)

-The bass is noise less (in regards to interference) due to total shielding of the pickups inside of the tube.

-The construction of the entire instrument, body, neck, and strings, are of the same metal having one coefficient of thermal expansion, eliminating relative dimensional changes as a result of extreme temperature shifts. Such a design provides an instrument that stays in tune much longer than conventional instruments. Stainless steel is an ideal material. (The bass stays in tune extremely well)

-A tubular metallic neck provides for the highest degree of mechanical accuracy and reproducibility available with CNC machinery. With such a design the fret boards are machined into the tubular neck providing a high degree of accuracy in the fret positions

-The tubular neck presents to the fingers of the musician a parallel array of strings around a circular radius. This is the natural grip of the human hand having evolved over time for the efficient grasping and manipulation of tools and handles almost always highly radiuses. Access of the fingers to each string is achieved naturally and comfortably unlike strings arrayed on an approximately flat surface where stress to the fingers, hands and wrist result not unlike that experienced with flat computer keyboards.

-With a tubular metallic neck the inherent stability, the acoustic properties of the hollow tube, and the matching of the resonate properties of the string and neck (by using common materials) improves the tonal quality of the instrument.

Playing technique inquiries:

-In terms of the slapping and popping techniques, it still works out well (I will do a demo for these soon)

- In regards to the question about the reach of the strings; the G,D and A are the easiest to play. E required a minor adaptation.

-The radial position of the strings in actuality can quite comfortably accommodate finger picking. It simply requires a bit of familiarity with the bass like getting to know any new instrument. The testers have not remarked that they felt the radius was too small.

-The bass player in my first video performed on the bass with literally only about 3 minutes of “feeling it out” prior to performing in his show. He had no experience practicing on this bass. Other testers who have picked up this instrument almost always initially remark that it’s different; but that as every minute goes by it feels rapidly more familiar, natural and fun to play. The fact that several players have asked to come try it again because they just loved the feel of it tells me it’s not just a cool design, but functional and entertaining to play.

Thanks again everyone for the curiosity, and here is a link to my Facebook to see some more pictures with details.
http://www.facebook.com/StashBassGuitar

[mongo2]

Originally Posted by stainlesslav

Hi everybody.

Your responses surpassed my expectations! I seriously appreciated them and thank you for the kind words, motivation and valuable advice as well as the constructive criticism on my bass design process. I would like to collectively answer your questions since many will be from a detailed engineering perspective (sorry to bore you with the specifics!)

The reasons and objectives for the stainless tubular neck:

-This design improves stiffness, mechanical and environmental stability, sound quality, tunability, and, mechanical accuracy, and ergonomic matching to the natural radius of grip of the human hand.



- It provides unique tones and harmonics. (I will try to demonstrate that in my next video)

-The bass is noise less (in regards to interference) due to total shielding of the pickups inside of the tube.

-The construction of the entire instrument, body, neck, and strings, are of the same metal having one coefficient of thermal expansion, eliminating relative dimensional changes as a result of extreme temperature shifts. Such a design provides an instrument that stays in tune much longer than conventional instruments. Stainless steel is an ideal material. (The bass stays in tune extremely well)

-A tubular metallic neck provides for the highest degree of mechanical accuracy and reproducibility available with CNC machinery. With such a design the fret boards are machined into the tubular neck providing a high degree of accuracy in the fret positions

-The tubular neck presents to the fingers of the musician a parallel array of strings around a circular radius. This is the natural grip of the human hand having evolved over time for the efficient grasping and manipulation of tools and handles almost always highly radiuses. Access of the fingers to each string is achieved naturally and comfortably unlike strings arrayed on an approximately flat surface where stress to the fingers, hands and wrist result not unlike that experienced with flat computer keyboards.

-With a tubular metallic neck the inherent stability, the acoustic properties of the hollow tube, and the matching of the resonate properties of the string and neck (by using common materials) improves the tonal quality of the instrument.

Playing technique inquiries:

-In terms of the slapping and popping techniques, it still works out well (I will do a demo for these soon)

- In regards to the question about the reach of the strings; the G,D and A are the easiest to play. E required a minor adaptation.

-The radial position of the strings in actuality can quite comfortably accommodate finger picking. It simply requires a bit of familiarity with the bass like getting to know any new instrument. The testers have not remarked that they felt the radius was too small.

-The bass player in my first video performed on the bass with literally only about 3 minutes of “feeling it out” prior to performing in his show. He had no experience practicing on this bass. Other testers who have picked up this instrument almost always initially remark that it’s different; but that as every minute goes by it feels rapidly more familiar, natural and fun to play. The fact that several players have asked to come try it again because they just loved the feel of it tells me it’s not just a cool design, but functional and entertaining to play.

Thanks again everyone for the curiosity, and here is a link to my Facebook to see some more pictures with details.
http://www.facebook.com/StashBassGuitar

Suggestion: Roll the fingerboard part of the neck tube to be a bit flatter to make it more accesible. In fact, maybe the tubular neck could be shaped into a more familiar profile.