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Double Bass 1/2 size body with full scale bolt on neck conversion

#23
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I brought home the hybrid one to start working on. I had intended to get it running as is, but the neck started wiggling and I couldn’t figure out where the bolts were hidden. I took off the fingerboard and found these. Suffice to say, we have a volunteer!! The back is coming off already, too, so I should be able to get in there and fix that seam crack on the top, no problem. There is some funky bracing on the flat back that I look forward to running by ya’ll once she opens up. For now, I sure hope these bolts aren’t stuck… we’ll know soon enough!
 
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#24
JBarz said:
View attachment 4295254 View attachment 4295255 I brought home the hybrid one to start working on. I had intended to get it running as is, but the neck started wiggling and I couldn’t figure out where the bolts were hidden. I took off the fingerboard and found these. Suffice to say, we have a volunteer!! The back is coming off already, too, so I should be able to get in there and fix that seam crack on the top, no problem. There is some funky bracing on the flat back that I look forward to running by ya’ll once she opens up. For now, I sure hope these bolts aren’t stuck… we’ll know soon enough!
Click to expand...

Well, at least somebody had the decency to remove the fingerboard before installing the bolts. RE removing them -- perhaps a job for lithium grease?
 
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#30
(I’m no luthier and am barely a player but...) Traeger’s “String Instrument Setups” book has some interesting stuff about tuning the top, the bass bar and the bracing of flat backs. In particular he updates his advice on flat back bracing.

Since you’ve opened it up and you presumably have some woodworking tools and experience you might consider optimizing the vibration of the instrument while you’re in there.

edit: unless the goal is to make a gigging instrument for loud shows, in which case freer vibration might just get you more feedback!
 
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#31
Bar Star said:
(I’m no luthier and am barely a player but...) Traeger’s “String Instrument Setups” book has some interesting stuff about tuning the top, the bass bar and the bracing of flat backs. In particular he updates his advice on flat back bracing.

Since you’ve opened it up and you presumably have some woodworking tools and experience you might consider optimizing the vibration of the instrument while you’re in there.

edit: unless the goal is to make a gigging instrument for loud shows, in which case freer vibration might just get you more feedback!
Click to expand...

I’m a Traeger devotee as well, but this is 100% unfamiliar territory for me so all advice, suggestions, guidance and/or observations are totally welcome and appreciated.

I want to tred lightly and slowly on this project and absolutely optimize it for maximum tone and projection, so it would be wise for me to break out “the book” and read/review all those tuning and mode matching sections I just skimmed in the past. Heavy stuff, though.
 
#33
Brilliant! Talk about heavy! I just reached out to him on Facebook. I can’t tell if he sells it commercially, but it would be great if it fit a 1/2 size. Thanks for the tip, I had never heard of this before - but, it may be a great way to sidestep the problems that may be inherent in what may be necessary non traditional bridge and sound post placement.
 
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#34
JBarz said:
That was going to be my next question… is this unnecessarily overbuilt for a carved flat back?are the three horizontal bars overbuilt?

The vertical stuff is essential, it seems, because the back has 3 seams.
Click to expand...

I'm not a luthier either, but to me the horizontal (ladder) braces look about twice as thick as most I've seen. The vertical braces (over the seams) also look overly thick to me. I'm pretty sure you could thin them down a lot without risking anything. Or, you might be able to replace them altogether with diamond cleats and/or linen strips. I'm sure Matthew Tucker can offer up an educated opinion on that topic too... Best of luck with it!

Edit. Just looked at the photo of the top and I'm wondering if the bass bar might be a little under built... If you're talking to MT, you might want to ask him about that too... Again, please bear in mind that I'm not a luthier.
 
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#35
He guided me to his responsive bracing Facebook group to ask questions. Holy moly this is a rabbit hole I’m going to have a ton of fun with. This project should keep me busy for a good long while. Once I figure out the neck, I can start considering the longer scale length and all the balances and compromises that are going to have to be made. At that point I’ll be able to adapt dude’s bracing system to accommodate. Good times! Ya’ll are awesome - super thank you.
 
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#36
... or wait ... hold the phone ... would it be more advisable to ditch the 4-part carved flatback and just 'borrow' a curved plywood back from one of the other two half-size parts basses? I'm not concerned about matching the finish and they're all the same size/make with gamba corners...
 
#38
Small manageable steps.

Fix the parts you have with an emphasis on doing a very good job. Once you get the hang of that, then worry about new construction. You can make the best half sized upgrades on the planet and it will still sound like a small 1/2 size bass.

Turn off your computer and disregard speculative advice from internet people who do not build or restore double basses....:thumbsup:
 
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#39
Mr. James Condino, for the win. Small manageable steps are my favorite kind of steps! Thank you for the reminder and wisdom. I really do appreciate all the input from even the non-luthier type folks, though. I'm so green that it's all news to me. I totally understand where you're coming from, though - I had to divorce myself from the SOTW saxophone forum years ago because, from a platform of experience, the amount of misinformation and ill-advised guidance is staggering. The DB side of talkbass is really the best of the best in terms of instrument forums, as far as I can tell, IMHO.
 
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#40
Mostly great advice, however, we've all heard people get a great sound from smaller instruments. My main bass is a small 3/4 and it gets a full sound, I've heard several 1/2 and other small basses sound great over the years (the Koussevitzky bass in my avatar for one). While I do not know the math behind it, experience tells me the size of the resonating body doesn't always translate directly into tone & projection - if so a lot more of us would be lugging 4/4 & 7/8 basses around!
The cheap 1/2 plys won't likely light the world on fire, but the concept as travel instruments is strong.

james condino said:
Small manageable steps.

Fix the parts you have with an emphasis on doing a very good job. Once you get the hang of that, then worry about new construction. You can make the best half sized upgrades on the planet and it will still sound like a small 1/2 size bass.

Turn off your computer and disregard speculative advice from internet people who do not build or restore double basses....:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
 
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