Chambered P Bass??

[c5hokie]

Planning a custom P Bass. Any thoughts on chambering? Especially interested in hearing from someone with some experience/familiarity with a chambered P bass.

I have a chambered ash 30" Maruszczyk Jake L (which is a P bass) - went with the Hipshot Ultralites, but still had some neck dive. However, when I switched to a wireless system I mounted the transmitter on the strap near the bridge strap button and no more neck dive.

I've had 2 Sandberg Lionels (P-bass) both unchambered ash, and I can't say the chambered one sounds any different due to the chambering. But it is quite a bit lighter (1-2 lbs lighter than each of the Lionels).

 

[darwin-bass]

One of my short scale Warmoth P bodies is chambered with a solid top. It happens to be super light which makes it a joy to play. I don’t hear any difference between it and the my other solid P body.

 

[retslock]

Planning a custom P Bass. Any thoughts on chambering? Especially interested in hearing from someone with some experience/familiarity with a chambered P bass.

It might open up possibilities to use interesting wood not usually associated with Precision basses where weight is a deterrent. Chambering may make it workable. Neck dive may be cancelled out as well.

 

[Michedelic]

I refuse to google what that is. What did he mean by that?

Also - I like a single sided leather strap (one side grips your shoulder) for basses prone to neck dive.

If you haven’t experienced a boner, this is what they look like:

As opposed to a cowpoke…

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/boner-bass-club.721661/

 

[FullumMusic]

Planning a custom P Bass. Any thoughts on chambering? Especially interested in hearing from someone with some experience/familiarity with a chambered P bass.

Depending on who's building your custom and how "custom" it is (option selection vs ground-up design), there are builders who will chamber a bass in such a way to avoid neck dive by only chambering towards the neck, but not towards the bridge. Worth looking into if you're worried about balancing low-weight with neck dive.

Off the top of my head, LEH Guitars out of Portland OR does a technique like this for their chambered basses. They have their own body styles, with whatever pickup layout you want. But, I'm sure other builders probably do the same or something similar chambering on a traditional FSO P Bass.

 

[boombloom]

Here's a radical P Bass design from the great Steve Wishnevsky......