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

[GretschWretch]

I cannot speak to travel, as Damon does, mainly because nowadays I prefer not to travel so far that I cannot get home and sleep in my own bed after the gig. With the band I was with from about 1998 well into 2005, which morphed into a dance band early in its history, at first I had to travel with a Kay quarter-sizer because there was no room left in the travel vehicle for anything larger.

Trust me, trying to propel a bunch of dancers in a de-commisioned school auditorinasium with a 1/4 size bass is frustration and futility. Back then we had an annual gig at just such a venue in Tate, GA. Though they all are in their forties by now, back then those Tate kids could DANCE!!! I still am in awe of them. They were able to adjust their sets to the tunes we were playing, even though those tunes were not designed for those particular sets.

But more to the point, a fractional or ugly duckling bass may be the most suitable for niche applications: sidewalk busking, skiffle bands, jug bands, spasm bands.

 

[damonsmith]

Not that there isn't truth here, but, a full fingerboard and string length and a good set up should add some power. There are plenty of smaller travel instruments out there that project well enough to be functional.

I cannot speak to travel, as Damon does, mainly because nowadays I prefer not to travel so far that I cannot get home and sleep in my own bed after the gig. With the band I was with from about 1998 well into 2005, which morphed into a dance band early in its history, at first I had to travel with a Kay quarter-sizer because there was no room left in the travel vehicle for anything larger.

Trust me, trying to propel a bunch of dancers in a de-commisioned school auditorinasium with a 1/4 size bass is frustration and futility. Back then we had an annual gig at just such a venue in Tate, GA. Though they all are in their forties by now, back then those Tate kids could DANCE!!! I still am in awe of them. They were able to adjust their sets to the tunes we were playing, even though those tunes were not designed for those particular sets.

But more to the point, a fractional or ugly duckling bass may be the most suitable for niche applications: sidewalk busking, skiffle bands, jug bands, spasm bands.

 

[GretschWretch]

Not that there isn't truth here, but, a full fingerboard and string length and a good set up should add some power. There are plenty of smaller travel instruments out there that project well enough to be functional.

Of course they would. But sometimes other variables take precedence over a 3/4 size 42" mensure instrument selection.

 

[damonsmith]

Of course, they may work best amplified, but there is a market for that. There is no reason they can't be fully functional travel basses - based on what is already on the market. If done well, they should have a bigger sound than the video of the guy who did it with a 1/4 sized bass earlier in the thread.