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Making headless tuners?

P

Praxist

May 28, 2010
209
0
British Columbia
#1
Okay, I have searched and searched, but I can't find any really good specific threads that address this.

I'm currently planning a new bass and have an idea for a quasi-headless design. I'm going to use a floating type bridge, but I want to have a headless-style tuning mechanism at the body end.

I also am exploring the idea of building one myself, but I don't have access to a headless unit to take apart and see how it functions, or how I could make one that works similarly. Anyone made their own? Any thoughts for me?

Yes, I know I could go buy one and that's what I'll do if I have to, but I'd rather see where this takes me first. :cool:
 
#4
scottyd said:
Ok heres goes, any questions just let me know, I think its all in order :D
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Click to expand...

Or we could post it here.
 
#5
That's great renniw, its pretty much exactly what I'm looking for. I was planning to go scope out HD to see what might pop into mind but this is a great start. Hats off once again to scottyd for the cleverness. :)

mikey you'se funny man :D We gotta get to the source of your grumpy old man syndrome somehow. Is this a part of every aspect of your life? Or are you a secret furry craving that special yiff? :eek: Thanx for hotlinking the pix though. :cool: I'm no machinist, but I can be a Clever Alice when i need to. And I don't have a lathe, but there are ways around that too.

thanks guys, anyone else have thoughts?
 
#6
Hi.

One clever approach that doesn't require any special equipment to make from Ben Miller:

Ben Miller said:
I think John wins for most cheese references in one joke. ;)


So I've been working on the headless system since last night. so far it's going pretty well.
Hope these pictures can give a general idea of what I'm doing.

IMG_4951.jpg




IMG_4965.jpg


here's what it should look like inside of the box.

IMG_4960.jpg


The plan is for the strings to go through the body and into the holes in the metal parts and get a knot tied in the back.
Click to expand...

From this thread:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=670458

IIRC, someone made headless tuners just like the ones on scottyd's pictorial out of hardwoods, but I can't find the thread.

And there's always the option to use conventional tuners on a "reverse headstock" ;).

Regards
Sam
 
#9
The only reason I like to use a lathe for the knobs is so I can get a perfectly centered hole for the threaded rod. If you have any "wobble" in the knob or the contact area from the knob it's going to make tuning tough. On a lathe you elimate any of this. You could do it without a lathe but dont expect perfection. I've also since started knurling the knobs...mucho better than the O-rings!

Here's a couple of sets I've built,
Picture130.jpg

Picture106.jpg

Picture104.jpg

Picture097.jpg

Picture105.jpg

Picture104-1.jpg
 
#11
In my quest to build my more ergonomic jazz-like bass for myself I've also been looking for suitable tuners. My wants are -

- I like fanned frets so I want separate a tuner/bridge for each string.
- I'm trying to avoid having the knobs sticking off the back of the bass.
- I want to to keep it smaller and have it fit in on traditional basses.

The gist of my design is that part of the tuner is sunken into the body and adjusts with a knob perpendicular to the body. I've been working with a machinist to make a it and have got the prototype done and am working on some mods for easier tuning now. I attached a rendering of the initial prototype. So far so good. Getting it done is pricey but if anyone is interested in testing them out I hope to get a few made eventually. Any feedback is appreciated too of course.

BTW, my next version is a bit stealthier looking than this. Picture more rounded edges and front/back.
 

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#12
jro said:
In my quest to build my more ergonomic jazz-like bass for myself I've also been looking for suitable tuners. My wants are -

- I like fanned frets so I want separate a tuner/bridge for each string.
- I'm trying to avoid having the knobs sticking off the back of the bass.
- I want to to keep it smaller and have it fit in on traditional basses.

The gist of my design is that part of the tuner is sunken into the body and adjusts with a knob perpendicular to the body. I've been working with a machinist to make a it and have got the prototype done and am working on some mods for easier tuning now. I attached a rendering of the initial prototype. So far so good. Getting it done is pricey but if anyone is interested in testing them out I hope to get a few made eventually. Any feedback is appreciated too of course.

BTW, my next version is a bit stealthier looking than this. Picture more rounded edges and front/back.
Click to expand...

This design looks neat, though doesn't it need a very deep routing in the body?
 
#15
OK, how about making the headless hardware at the neck end? I've bought single string tuning units, but need the part where the strings terminate. Apparently you can't buy just that part alone. I'm thinking of making my own, I have some billet brass, and just need to start carving and tapping, has anyone else made one of these? :confused:
 
#16
Scottyd, that is a gorgeous design. How is the weight? A thought that occurred to me is to replace the knob/threaded rod with a drum lug and tap the back wall of the unit.You'd need a drum key to tune but it would look pretty cool, I think.
 
#17
If you are going completely headless you could use something with set screws to lock the strings. King basses use this method -> http://www.kingbass.com/features.html

I like the look of a headstock and have thought about a simple bolt/lock nut through the tuner holes. I then changed the bridges/tuners I'm working on use the open string end at the heel and ball at head so I wouldn't even need them.

I found another cool way of doing this with a headstock on a LeFay bass. Check out the pic.
 

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#18
calshands said:
Scottyd, that is a gorgeous design. How is the weight? A thought that occurred to me is to replace the knob/threaded rod with a drum lug and tap the back wall of the unit.You'd need a drum key to tune but it would look pretty cool, I think.
Click to expand...

Lighter then headed type tuners. It adds the weight to the right place. Headless basses balance very well and are quite comfortable.
 
#19
Florida Jim said:
OK, how about making the headless hardware at the neck end? I've bought single string tuning units, but need the part where the strings terminate. Apparently you can't buy just that part alone. I'm thinking of making my own, I have some billet brass, and just need to start carving and tapping, has anyone else made one of these? :confused:
Click to expand...

Even easier, brass or aluminum stock with set screw to hold the strings. The set screw will clamp down on the string and the piece screws or bolts to the end of the neck. I prefer brass because it seems to hold threads better.

This ones is pretty simple

Picture113-1.jpg


I flared the end of this one similar to what King does on his.

Picture018.jpg
 

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