Cons of a thin Bass?

[Porkbun]

Im thinking about building a bass and wondered if the body being 1" thick will affect it negatively in any way. I have never heard of such thin basses or guitars (no one measures? Thinnest I can think of is Ibanez SR300) and Summer is coming up and I wont spend a year farting around the house doing nothing. Is it doomed before it even starts, or is it crazy enough that it just might work? Or am I just behind the times?

 

[Beej]

Nothing wrong with a thin bass, just make sure its thick enough to be able to recess the pickups deep enough and can accommodate the pots and electronics you want to use. You should be able to get a neckthrough to be thinner than a setneck or bolt on...

 

[dblbass]

I make my bolt ons 1 1/4" thick. It works great. Be careful about where you put the input Jack. I put mine on top but I build a "football" to give it more room.

 

[Rickett Customs]

Like Beej said, pickup and cavity routes would need to be shallow. neck through would be wise.

Perfect example of a thin one, is the Ibanez "S" series, however, I think the center is slightly over 1", which 'splains why it's a bolt on, then tapers off to the edges.

 

[PseudoSpaceman]

thinnest guitar I have ever seen is probably this:

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hope this helps

 

[bassy7]

I am building a 1.25" thick bass right now. Make sure the pickups you choose aren't to tall to fit into the body properly. As mentioned already-- the shallow electronics cavity will restrict the types of active preamps (if you want one). Some of these circuits are attached to really large and long pots.
Balance is also something to consider- a thin and light body may make the bass neck dive.

 

[Porkbun]

thinnest guitar I have ever seen is probably this:

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hope this helps

WOW that is thin. I dont plan on tapering it to the center though, but its proof that it can be done.
I feel like 1" is the thinnest you can get and still have enough room to fit everything else

 

[bassy7]

thinnest guitar I have ever seen is probably this:

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hope this helps

sweet looking guitars there!

 

[Greenman]

Bam !

 

[mikeyswood]

I was uncomfortable when I built a few at 1", so I want a little thicker and found that I really love 1.25".

 

[Rickett Customs]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the prestige....

Bam !

 

[Greenman]

Maybe neck dive on a 5er might be an issue.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Yeah, you may want to consider what the lack of weight on the body, and what that will do with respect to ergonomics and neck dive.

 

[Sardine]

I just snagged a Synsonics Steinberger copy (guitar, sue me) today, which measures 1 3/8" thick. It's routed for a humbucker, which is a little close, but with slimmer pickups you could easily go thinner, maybe even 7/8" with some reinforcement. The only reason 1 3/4" is the standard is that Leo did it that way. Remember, at that point players were used to jazz boxes, dreadnoughts, and doghouses. 1 3/4" was absurdly thin at the time.

 

[Porkbun]

Bam !

OH MAH GAWD
Im speechless

I plan on making it a 4 string and adding contours, no doubt

 

[Greenman]

OH MAH GAWD
Im speechless

I plan on making it a 4 string and adding contours, no doubt

Not my creation but I bet it's a good sitter downer.

 

[Stone Age]

The biggest drawback is like dblbass said, at 1 1/4" you barely have enough room for the input jack. Easily fixed with a football, or other type of surface mount. It can get tight with any kind of active electronics too.

The pros of a lighter body are well worth it though, if that's what you're going for.

 

[sonic assassin]

i was wondering why the other day why people didnt taper the back of the body for weight relief. im starting to wonder how much weight i could take off my stingray this way.

 

[Porkbun]

The biggest drawback is like dblbass said, at 1 1/4" you barely have enough room for the input jack. Easily fixed with a football, or other type of surface mount. It can get tight with any kind of active electronics too.

The pros of a lighter body are well worth it though, if that's what you're going for.

Im still thinking about Active electronics. Wouldnt a wider cavity make more space? I would have to put the 9V flat on its side though.

 

[Frank Tuesday]

You could use the Vishay panel mount pots.