3d Printed Rickenbacker 4003 Bass

[bearfoot]

My only 2 cents is, it might be useful to start with smaller models, and scale up. You might learn a lot of expensive quirks, on a smaller , less expensive scale?

I also want to mention that, it seems 3D printing is often looked at as an isolated thing - build it all of plastic w / printer - but the more practical application is in creating parts, or using 3D printing in conjunction with traditional construction methods.

History is replete with examples of people laughing at young (and old) people's garage projects. Consider it merely an aspect of biology: essentially it's people telling you not to eat the red berries. They tell you this for good reason. But we never find the new berries without going through it.

 

[Watchootognbout]

The sheer amount of time it would take to make this happen could be used to earn enough money for a good used one.

There is a reason why everyone isn't making their own basses on 3D printers. Actually, there are dozens of reasons.

I just did a quick search. But I can't find a single bass in the interwebz with a printed neck. All of them are printed bodies with traditional necks. ODD Guitars sells one. To be sure, if a printed neck were feasible they would have done it.

3D printing is not "new" tech. If it were practical for bass necks, we would have them in the marketplace.

Can you explain how a "broke teenager" has access to a reeeeeeeeally expensive 3D printer? Because a cheap one won't do it.

It's was a marvelous thing being a teenager.
All attitude and little ability.

 

[Axstar]

Then why was your original stated goal to wind up with a Ric-style bass for less money than it would cost to buy and actual bass?

You can't have it both ways.

Either your goal was to waste some expensive goo in a machine you don't know how to use in the name of science and adventure only to wind up with (likely) a third of a useless bass body..... "but it'll be fun'.... and make for a nice paperweight....


Or your goal is to wind up with a usable bass that costs less than your favorite real bass that you can't afford (which..... call me crazy...... is what you actually stated).


Which is it?

Why are you so emotionally invested and generally wound up about this thread?

 

[somebrains]

At least the OP isn't trying to 3d print replacement body mods in his garage without the benefit of any medical knowledge or understanding of 3d printing.....like my last dentist.

 

[two fingers]

Why are you so emotionally invested and generally wound up about this thread?

The story changed mid thread.

It went from what seemed like a broke, misguided kid who desperately wanted a nice bass he couldn't afford....

....to just some kid who wanted to mess around with a 3D printer and see what happened.


It went from "Please guys! Help me start my bass journey!".....


.....to "Meh. If it works it works. If it doesn't, who cares? Whatevz."

I thought we were advising a broke kid emotionally invested in becoming a bass player. The best advice would be to put the 3D thing on the back burner and save up for an actual bass.

Turns out we were just having fun with a printer with no ACTUAL goal of this kid winding up as a bass player or even owning a bass.

So, at first I thought I was one of the few people here giving him good advice. In a sea of "Go for it kid!" I thought I was helping to turn the ship in a direction that wound up putting a usable bass in the hands of a kid who really wants to play.

Later I found out he doesn't really care. So neither do I at this point.

 

[clickclack]

I'm sure at this point if he asks for it, someone with 100 bass guitars will donate one to him so he already won for trying in more than one way.

 

[Oberst]

At least the OP isn't trying to 3d print replacement body mods in his garage without the benefit of any medical knowledge or understanding of 3d printing.....like my last dentist.

 

[TreySonagras]

I'm thinking it'll be a Ricketybacker

 

[Gojira72]

I'm thinking it'll be a Ricketybacker

Thats actually not a bad name

 

[Gojira72]

Why are you so emotionally invested and generally wound up about this thread?

Im starting to wonder that myself

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Anything to do with Rickenbackers always riles people up, it’s our version of Partisan Politics on TB.

 

[Axstar]

I thought we were advising a broke kid emotionally invested in becoming a bass player. The best advice would be to put the 3D thing on the back burner and save up for an actual bass.

Turns out we were just having fun with a printer with no ACTUAL goal of this kid winding up as a bass player or even owning a bass.

I see your angle, but I didn't get that invested into OP's story, either way. I don't feel like I've been robbed of my time, effort or resources in this thread. This might be because I don't pay attention to the back stories half the time. OP seemed like a broke kid who happened to have access to a swanky 3D printer? Teenager gets bored of a thing and doesn't finish off the thing? Last I saw, OP had a sort of jigsaw of 4003-shaped 3D printed tiles.

I honestly don't think you can run a 4003 bass off a 3D printer, but I admire the gung-ho attitude of a kid who thinks they can give it a shot. As I wrote in here before, I got a bit peeved when all these stories of 3D printed guitars came along, and they were wooden-core instruments with wooden necks and wooden fretboards, only with a 3D-printed framework for a body.

There is maybe some scope to 3D print a bass with a fretboard of the sort that was used on the Bond Electraglide guitars:

I also want to mention that, it seems 3D printing is often looked at as an isolated thing - build it all of plastic w / printer - but the more practical application is in creating parts, or using 3D printing in conjunction with traditional construction methods.

I think there is something to this. Not for nothing do Gartner publish a hype cycle specifically for 3D printing.

I think there is a lot of scope to employ 3D printing to recreate old, obscure plastic parts from vintage instruments; old parts that were made from brittle plastics in unusual colours, or which conformed to unusual dimensions and shapes. For bass players I'm guessing it would be useful to 3D print some ramps as well.

OP could generate some income by 3D printing sets of Peavey T40 pickup rings in a variety of finishes. One or two builders already do this, but OP could undercut the competition and save up for a Rickenbacker this way.

 

[bearfoot]

Action figure accessory 3D reprints, comes to mind. I lost Han Solo's blaster decades ago. Then again, maybe it's better to stop playing with dolls? Nawwwww

 

[CGremlin]

Action figure accessory 3D reprints, comes to mind.

The problem there is that fused-deposition printers (most 3D printers on the market - the ones that squirt melted plastic) can't do fine enough detail. An stereolithography (SLA) printer (works by exposing photosensitive plastic to UV light) could, but that requires a special resin that doesn't have the same characteristics and isn't as durable as the ABS plastic that those kinds of toys/accessories are made from. Both kinds have some fairly severe limitations on the geometry of the part to be printed, often requiring supports to be printed that then have to be removed after the part is finished.

The best bet is probably using an SLA printer to make a master, then making silicone molds from that and casting parts in regular resin. *Much* faster than printing parts directly, more reliable, and easier too - the SLA resin is about $60-80/liter, is obviously sensitive to outside light, and is messy/stinky as all hell.

 

[BassHappy]

So recently I Embarked on a project to completely 3d printed Rickenbacker 4003 Bass Guitar. The Body, the Neck, the Fretboard, and the Headstock will all be 3d printer

Hey Gojira

What a fun read and a great project! Success or failure? Success lies in the leaning process you are undertaking - not necessarily in the destination. Thanks for enlightening us and posting your progress along the way. Continue to go for it! Don't let anyone discourage you or take the wind out of your sails. The mostly negative weekend "experts" and naysayers do nothing but make me chuckle.

Remember, there is always a solution to any problem you encounter, you just have to continue to dig deeper to find it.

 

[boilingTheDead]

Why would anyone be upset because someone out there builds a bass? That thought alone is a very absurd IMO.

What should a "broke kid" who obviously loves to build rather do:

- build it his own, try and error, learn something, having fun.
- selling his hobby and save for a 1500$-2000$ premium instrument?

 

[BigDrew]

The story changed mid thread.

It went from what seemed like a broke, misguided kid who desperately wanted a nice bass he couldn't afford....

....to just some kid who wanted to mess around with a 3D printer and see what happened.


It went from "Please guys! Help me start my bass journey!".....


.....to "Meh. If it works it works. If it doesn't, who cares? Whatevz."

I thought we were advising a broke kid emotionally invested in becoming a bass player. The best advice would be to put the 3D thing on the back burner and save up for an actual bass.

Turns out we were just having fun with a printer with no ACTUAL goal of this kid winding up as a bass player or even owning a bass.

So, at first I thought I was one of the few people here giving him good advice. In a sea of "Go for it kid!" I thought I was helping to turn the ship in a direction that wound up putting a usable bass in the hands of a kid who really wants to play.

Later I found out he doesn't really care. So neither do I at this point.

Why are you so invested in trying to stop someone from being creative ? So odd that you wouldn’t encourage someone to think differently.

 

[two fingers]

Why are you so invested in trying to stop someone from being creative ? So odd that you wouldn’t encourage someone to think differently.

Building a car out of yarn balls is creative. It's also dumb. And you won't wind up with a car.

 

[gumtown]

Building a car out of yarn balls is creative. It's also dumb. And you won't wind up with a car.

 

[micguy]

One word: density. The resins used in 3d printers are considerably more dense than most wood. If you want this to be a reasonable weight, lots of chambering would be a good idea.