3rd build- Lightest possible/back problems

[Rip Topaz]

Ok here's my dilemma. Just turned 40, waiting for second back surgery. On verge of giving up playing completely due to the severe pain caused by my injury. All my present basses are getting to the point of not being able to play due to the weight (two of my basses are just over ten pounds, the other is 13).

This will be my third build. Since I'm taking my injury into account, I am building this next one as a keeper, and plan on going as "all out" as needed in order to be able to continue musically.

There are a few things that are decided in stone.

1) fretless. No lines. Since switching to fretless late last year, I haven't looked back. I've found my sound, so to speak.

2) I want a T-bird shape.

Other than that, I'd like to keep it passive if at all possible.

I'm planning on using a Carvin NT4 neck blank. (anyone know the weight?) Ive carved a couple of necks and they came out well, but the actual act of carving the neck takes me out of commission for a few days after. Figure this, even though cheating a little, still qualifies as a build.

Neck-thru, of course.

Any thoughts on weight relieving? I'm think maybe do a 3ply body and chamber the crap out of the center section.

My questions are this:
How much chambering is too much?
What lightweight, nice looking woods to consider? I dislike paint, so pretty grains are important.

Is it possible to build a nice looking, nice sounding Fretless Thunderbird, and keep it under 8 pounds?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Chasarms]

I don't know how much more volume a T-bird body actually displaces, but Sadowsky regularly gets 4-string "Fenderish" basses into the low seven pound range.

I would think an 8 pounder is possible. This biggest trick will be the balance. It may dive on you, which will stress your back more than any 10 pound bass ever would.

 

[mikeyswood]

You would want a Mahogany or other low density wood for the neck. A Maple Carvin neck will start at ~5 lbs, leaving ~3 lbs remaining for your target.

 

[Rip Topaz]

Wow I didn't figure on the Carvin neck weighing so much!!

Ok mahogany neck. Fits in with the T-bird theme.

Neck dive isn't a big concern. Most of my time I spent on a barstool anyway. This is more from a viewpoint of picking up the bass. From a stand, alot of days it kills me to even lift my basses.

So the body. Would the chambering negatively effect the tone of the bass? I mainly play praise and worship music, so the singing quality of fretless works nice. Not looking for something to overdrive the crap out of.

 

[Rickett Customs]

Chambering of the body. Lightweight tuners (aluminum). Aluminum bridge, smallish headstock. If you do a small headstock and a chambered swamp ash, poplar or pawlonia body, there is a possibility of a 6lb bass.

 

[Rip Topaz]

Will it still sound like a bass or a strat with bass strings?

 

[Rickett Customs]

That's just silly j/k....

it'll sound like a bass, i'd wager

 

[Rip Topaz]

Sorry. What I meant was will using such a lightweight body wood(s) take so much away from the low end that I'm left with a very thin sounding bass? I'd hate to think I was responsible for building the first wimpy T-Bird.

 

[mikeyswood]

The T-Bird sound comes from the pickups.

 

[Rickett Customs]

The T-Bird sound comes from the pickups.

Oh no you diiidn't j/k.... He's right (although many will now argue that), your amplified signal will have plenty of low end, provided you've got the right pickups.

 

[Rip Topaz]

Good to know, and also a great arguement for cheap plywood bodies. But paint is out of the question. It's gotta look good.

 

[mikeyswood]

Oh no you diiidn't

I did! The side wound pickups were something unique to T-Birds.

The last Gibson Thunderbird pickup I worked on didn't look like like that at all. It looked like this.

This style is often called a side winder. The one in the other picture just looks like a rail style humbucker.

 

[carlos840]

Have you thought about getting a standard gibson Tbird, mine is the lightest bass i own!

Regarding the shape im not sure i would recommend it to someone with back issues, mine hurts my back and shoulder more than my jazz bass style basses after a long gig!
Its something about the shape and the way it balances that makes you have to fight to keep it in place a bit more and its harder on your upper body!

 

[IPA]

Seems like a chambered body t-bird would be prone to serious neck dive, I guess a really wide strap would be necessary and good for your back anyway though.

 

[DanSwain]

If weight is really an issue - you could also have a look at the Lace Alumitone pickups...they might save you a bit of weight in the pickup department...

 

[vbasscustom]

give a cedar a try. its very very light, and you can find a peice with some decent figure if you look hard enough.

 

[ponticat]

Here's what I did to build the lightest bass I could:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=659442
It's not a neck-through or a T'bird but it does weigh 6lbs., 1oz.

 

[62bass]

I'm currently putting together a Carvin Bolt 4 kit with swamp ash body. It's a bolt on neck and pretty light (the neck, that is) A couple lbs plus without hardware. I specified the lightest swamp ash body they could find. This one is very light. Almost as light as the alder body kit I got from Carvin some years ago, That bass came in at just under 7 lbs. Wonderful to play and great balance on a strap or sitting. I expect this swamp ash bass to weigh just a few ounces more. I don't know what the weight of the Carvin neck through neck is. Some of that extra weight will be incorporated into the body in your bass.

Using the Lace Alumitone pickups could cut a bit more weight and choice of hardware is going to be important. The Carvin kit uses the Hipshot Aluminum bridge which I happen to like a lot.

For me, the bass has to balance well on a strap and sitting. Being light alone won't cut it if I have to fight with the bass to hold it in place. I have a Daneectro DC that is very light-maybe 5 1/2 lbs but because it's a bit neck heavy, I'm always squeezing the body with my elbow to keep the bass in position.

Anyhow, good luck with your bass.

 

[Rip Topaz]

The reason for the build is two-fold. One, I've yet to see a fretless T-Bird. And two, cuz building is fun!!
Honestly, the dive shouldn't be much of an issue, I will be mostly sitting.
I realize that a 'bird isn't the best shape from a practical standpoint. But I really like the looks and am hoping to be able to offset the typical Thunderbird issues a little by keeping the weight down as much as possible.

So keeping with the shape, what if the bridge end of the body was where the weight was? That should balance the dive issue, and keeping the chambering in the upper "horns" should alleviate some weight.

Sound crazy or workable?

 

[powerbass]

I made this bass as light as possible w/a chambered body. It is all cedar including the neck, dyamondwood FB and Graphtech Ghost piezo PU. I don't know exactly what it weighs but it feels like a toy - I use a narrow strap. The mwah is crazy, almost too much in fact. The Ghost PU has a nice 2 way switch dark/bright that is nice. Be careful too light of a body will produce neck dive.