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24" scale Bass-uke. Possible?

CoffeeBass

CoffeeBass

Aug 20, 2007
298
0
San Juan Island, Wa
#1
Hey TB,

I am building my wife and her friend some Ukuleles soon and it got me thinking about the bass ukes that I have seen here:
http://www.bassuke.com/Gallery.html
These are based on the baritone Ukulele (about a 20" scale I believe). I was wondering about building a giant bass uke or maybe it would be a tiny ABG with nylon strings. Is there any reason that a 24" scale would not work? And where would you get strings for that? Is there something out there that is similar that I could use the strings? The strings that the guy from bassuke.com uses can go up to a 23" scale which would probably be fine, but I do not know where to get them. Any ideas?

My wife and I are starting to build some instruments together and I think it would be fun to be able to play a "ukulele" bass with her too. Right now I am using a small ABG and it works but it is still too loud usually.

I appreciate any thoughts you have.

CB
 
#5
Anything is possible. Good luck with it.

bigbass.jpg
 
#6
CoffeeBass said:
I am using a small ABG and it works but it is still too loud usually.
Click to expand...

A small ABG that's too loud? I've never seen one that's loud enough, what is it?

As for your 24" uke, it's totally doable. If you get your strings figured out early you can figure out what the tension will be and then you can tell if you need more top bracing and the like.
 
#7
BobXboB said:
A small ABG that's too loud? I've never seen one that's loud enough, what is it?

As for your 24" uke, it's totally doable. If you get your strings figured out early you can figure out what the tension will be and then you can tell if you need more top bracing and the like.
Click to expand...

My ABG is a cheap no name brand from the 'bay. I think the manufacturer is Titan. In normal cicumstances it is just like any ABG..quiet. But when you are playing with a single Ukulele it is pretty loud in comparison:smug:

I did some more research and I think that I can get the strings used for the above Bassukes for a 23" scale.

Now how do I sneek this project by my wife before I finish my other three...:ninja:
 
#8
I play bass in an original music Uke band and I own one of Owen Holt's basses (Road Toad Music ie: bassuke.com). I also own an Ashbory bass and a Guild B3E ABG. Here's my comments on all of this.

ABG's are usless for anything but practicing by yourself. Some will argue this, but that's my opinion.

Road Toad basses are very well made and sound great, but you have to amp them up, just like an ABG, if you want to play with anyone else. Plus they are both prone to feedback at moderate volumes and I like to play fairly loud.

The Ashbory has a nice sound, but the strings can be problematic. They can break easily and require "dusting" to control the stickiness of the silicone. Also, intonating well on an 18" fretless with a crappy nut and rubber strings requires a lot of attention. Road Toad make a replacement string set that improves on these issues, but the tone is much less complex.

I've done several things to manage all this in my particular situation.
I play double bass so I can therefore play strictly acoustic gigs though I amp it up most of the time.
Out of need, I've built my own bass Ukes using a different pickup system but with the Road Toad strings. So far I have built a 20" and a 23", both fretless. They are light weight and look like Ukulele's, but they are designed from the ground up to be played loud and are extremely feedback resistant. You can order the strings directly from Road Toad. I'm planning to build a couple more, 25" scale fretless and fretted.
My most recent build is a steel string, fretted 25" scale bass that looks Uke-ish. I wanted something with more sustain and highs than I was getting from the other Ukes. I'm planning to build a couple more of these as well, again, fretted and fretless.

That's my three cents.
 
#13
Did you use the same strings for the 25" scale bass'? Is there any chance of some soundclips? Also, if it is not a trade secret, how did you reduce the tendency to feedback?

CB

Bofee said:
I play bass in an original music Uke band and I own one of Owen Holt's basses (Road Toad Music ie: bassuke.com). I also own an Ashbory bass and a Guild B3E ABG. Here's my comments on all of this.

ABG's are usless for anything but practicing by yourself. Some will argue this, but that's my opinion.

Road Toad basses are very well made and sound great, but you have to amp them up, just like an ABG, if you want to play with anyone else. Plus they are both prone to feedback at moderate volumes and I like to play fairly loud.

The Ashbory has a nice sound, but the strings can be problematic. They can break easily and require "dusting" to control the stickiness of the silicone. Also, intonating well on an 18" fretless with a crappy nut and rubber strings requires a lot of attention. Road Toad make a replacement string set that improves on these issues, but the tone is much less complex.

I've done several things to manage all this in my particular situation.
I play double bass so I can therefore play strictly acoustic gigs though I amp it up most of the time.
Out of need, I've built my own bass Ukes using a different pickup system but with the Road Toad strings. So far I have built a 20" and a 23", both fretless. They are light weight and look like Ukulele's, but they are designed from the ground up to be played loud and are extremely feedback resistant. You can order the strings directly from Road Toad. I'm planning to build a couple more, 25" scale fretless and fretted.
My most recent build is a steel string, fretted 25" scale bass that looks Uke-ish. I wanted something with more sustain and highs than I was getting from the other Ukes. I'm planning to build a couple more of these as well, again, fretted and fretless.

That's my three cents.
Click to expand...
 
#14
I say go for it! I love the Road Toad basses and wish there were more super short-scale ABGs out there. :smug:

Bofee said:
ABG's are usless for anything but practicing by yourself. Some will argue this, but that's my opinion.
Click to expand...

I'm curious as to why you would think this? What makes an ABG any less of a viable instrument than an upright bass or a uke or electric bass...etc. I've had quite a bit of professional success with my ABG. Much, much more than just a practice instrument for me. As with most instruments, I think it's only as useless as you allow it to be.

Also, I'd like to see pictures of the instruments you've built! :)
 
#15
I don't mean to say that ABG's aren't viable instruments. If ABG's could be heard against other instruments unplugged, I would say they had some value for me. I've played many that sounded fine alone, but tended to get lost in the mix even against one guitar.
A double bass in a very different instrument and I don't even try to compare it to an ABG or EB. A decent URB will stand up well with other acoustic instruments and that's one of the reasons I started playing it in the first place.

If I'm going to plug in a bass, I'm going to play something comfortable rather than a big, awkward box. (I'm a small guy.) Again, that's my opinion. I know several people/friends that use them to perform with regularly, but I don't care for the sound personally.

As far as fighting feedback goes, my bass Ukes are constructed much same as conventional Ukes, the differences are in choice of pickups, tailblock structure and top/back bracing. An added bonus is I can put 2 of them in a double Uke case and the whole mess slides easily into an airline overhead.

Road Toad make a few different types and scales of strings, I plan to try his "Long Scale" set if I ever get around to building the 25".

I've been meaning to take a bass family picture, I'll see what I can do in the next few days.
 
#19
Go for it. The rubber-stringed fretless designs are generally easy to build because of the simple fingerboard. A hollow body would be a bit more difficult It does help if you start with some commercial parts.

About three years ago I bought a (Fender) Ashbury with a broken neck off e-bay. Built a new body and neck w/ 20" scale. Solid body, fretless bolt-on neck, flat fingerboard. Used the hardware and electronics off the broken one. Bought some missing parts from LargeSound. http://www.largesound.com/.

The Ashbury pickup/bridge/preamp are nice, so is the nut. The Ashbury tuners work, are not so nice but much lighter than bass heads.

Strings are most important. I used Fender Ashbury strings at first - nasty, sticky, required powder on the left fingers and the g-string broke every month or so. Then I found Road Toad black strings - greatly improved the fingering. I have had them on for two years without replacment, although I only use it infrequently, when I have to fly to a gig.

I would recommend a longer scale maybe 24" or whatever Road Toad recommends as the longest effective length - easier to play on pitch w/ more finger room.

Because of the nature of the small body it is hard to hold/balance. I found that a strap button on the back of the neck was not a hindrance (if you want to play above the 12 position - get a guitar) and it corrected the balance problem.

I also built a hard case that houses a 12 watt amp salvaged from an e-bay Peavy Solo (cheaper than buying parts for an amp) and a high compliance, big magnet, 6" speaker. The case is wood and seals tightly to create a good-sized bass reflex enclosure. Much better response than a Pignose "bass" amp I tried.

Result: A portable AC/DC amp, mini-bass, and hard case that works well for acoustic sets and fits in the overhead.
 

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