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8-string build

#101
Glad you guys are liking this! Yes, I love the vintage vibe, without all of the artificial wear that relic'ed instruments have.

As mentioned, I hand-shaped the bridge saddles out of 1/4" aluminum bar stock. I did this so that I could file my own string grooves, but I also chose the thicker bar stock so that I could file in some compensation for the fundamental strings. I finally took some time today to actually do the compensating:

DSC00463.jpg


This, in my mind, is akin to the approach that vintage Tele players take with the aftermarket three-saddle pre-compensated bridges; it's an approximation that is nevertheless a good deal better than the regular saddles.

You'll notice that only three of the four saddles are filed in this manner. I've left the G saddle alone for now, because the standard 8-string D'Addario set that I'm using right now has a plain octave G string, and I'm thinking about switching to a wound octave G string instead, which will require a different compensation, most likely. What I may end up doing is shaping two different G saddles, one for a plain octave string, and one for a wound octave string.
 
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#102
Nice job!

FWIW, I've found that wound 0.018 strings worked on my short-scale Hamer B12S, but not on longer scale instruments; they would break under tension when tuning up. Also not sure if having the (G octave) windings over the saddle is a good idea.....
 
#105
The witness point for the octave strings is at the leading edge of the saddle - only the fundamental strings have their witness points moved rearwards. The "core return" (is that what it's called?) ends at the middle of the saddle for the E and A octave strings, but it's just resting in the groove (I should probably double-check to make sure the groove is wide enough for this). The pairs of E, A, and D strings intonate surprisingly well right now. Still need to figure out the G pair...
 
#107
Hi guys! I took a minute to record a few simple clips of this beast. I plugged the bass into my PreSonus Inspire, and recorded directly into a GarageBand No Effects track, which was then downsampled to a 192kbps MP3. These are pretty quick and dirty, so you'll hear poor technique and a bit of clipping here and there...

First, played with a pick, with the Aguilar set flat:

Picked flat

Then, picked, with the bass and treble on the Aguilar set where I like them, approximately 30% to 40% boosted - this sample has some clipping for some reason:

Picked boosted

Then played fingerstyle, with the Aguilar flat:

Fingerstyle flat

And finally played fingerstyle with the Aguilar boosted as above:

Fingerstyle boosted

I didn't bother recording it passive, as it sounds very similar to the Aguilar flat, except with less sparkle.

Again, very rough and dirty, but there you go. I must say that the boosted sound, while it sounds distorted in the clip, really sounds good through an amp - If I get a chance, I may set up a microphone and do some more clips through my SansAmp -> QSC -> BFM Jack 10.
 
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#112
Thanks a lot, guys - I'm humbled by all of the compliments, really!

Just bought some S.I.T. strings for this one - JustStrings.com has them listed as having a wound octave G string. Guess what - they don't. The octave G is plain, just like the D'Addarios. :scowl: So I'm a little disappointed, but I'm going to put them on anyway, just because the D'Addarios are now a couple of years old (transplanted from my prior 8-string). The S.I.T.s have positive reviews, so I'll report back here with my opinions (of course!).
 
#114
There's no getting around it - I have to have that drop D. So I have Hipshot D-tuners on all of my 4-string basses.

Which means that I need that same ability for the 8-string. One Hipshot is easy; two adjacent is a little trickier. But I knew it was possible, having read of similar setups from others. So I telephoned the fine folks at Hipshot, and described what I needed. Six weeks later, a box from them arrived on my doorstep.

And here's what it looks like:

DSC00659.jpg


DSC00661.jpg


DSC00662.jpg


It's definitely tight. I actually had to cut down the tuning screw on the octave Hipshot, to clear the other one. But it fits. And it works!
 
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#119
:) Glad to spread the fever!

I haven't actually been playing this much lately, due to a band change - my current band is more dance/pop rock, so it's a fretted 5 and a fretless 5 - but it hangs on my wall in plain sight, so I pull it down sometimes and jam a bit.

Turns out that the SITs, while they sound great, are too low tension for a 32" scale. So I've temporarily gone back to the D'Addarios, but am considering the Rotosound 8-string set. They list a .020 octave G, so maybe it will be a wound string. Anybody know for sure?
 

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