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Custom built headless

Pep

Pep

Gold Supporting Member
Oct 5, 2010
4,813
11,288
Kentucky
#1
I don’t think I’ve published this before but if I have please let me know. I put together a 32” scale headless bass using a Warmoth body & neck. It turned out great so I decide to build Anita one using a custom body.
I’ve attached one photo from this weekend’s gig. It’s on the right next to the MTD. I’ve attached another photo from the build that shows the grain much better.
I changed the original pickup to a Reverend Split Brick which really brought it alive.

Note: the Guyker bridge came with the string clamp but it didn’t fit the neck so I located an OVSAL clamp that fits it perfectly.
Here are the details:

Body: Custom built from ash.
Lightly sanded but no grain filler.
Stain wiped-on and the several sprayed coats of satin poly.

Pickguard: Warmoth Shirt Scale P-Bass

Neck: Warmoth Warhead 32” scale, unfinished.
Sprayed several coats of satin poly, the steel wooded #0000.

Bridge: Guyker 4 string headless bridge. (Amazon)

String clamp: OVSAL 4 string headless string clamp. (Amazon)

Pickup: Reverend Split Brick pickup

Volume: CRS 250K

Tone: Stellartone Bass 10 Tonestyler

Misc Parts: Neck plate with screws, strap buttons, pickguard screws (eBay)

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#6
Pep said:
I don’t think I’ve published this before but if I have please let me know. I put together a 32” scale headless bass using a Warmoth body & neck. It turned out great so I decide to build Anita one using a custom body.
I’ve attached one photo from this weekend’s gig. It’s on the right next to the MTD. I’ve attached another photo from the build that shows the grain much better.
I changed the original pickup to a Reverend Split Brick which really brought it alive.

Note: the Guyker bridge came with the string clamp but it didn’t fit the neck so I located an OVSAL clamp that fits it perfectly.
Here are the details:

Body: Custom built from ash.
Lightly sanded but no grain filler.
Stain wiped-on and the several sprayed coats of satin poly.

Pickguard: Warmoth Shirt Scale P-Bass

Neck: Warmoth Warhead 32” scale, unfinished.
Sprayed several coats of satin poly, the steel wooded #0000.

Bridge: Guyker 4 string headless bridge. (Amazon)

String clamp: OVSAL 4 string headless string clamp. (Amazon)

Pickup: Reverend Split Brick pickup

Volume: CRS 250K

Tone: Stellartone Bass 10 Tonestyler

Misc Parts: Neck plate with screws, strap buttons, pickguard screws (eBay)

View attachment 7332485View attachment 7332486View attachment 7332487
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Wow! That looks fantastic! Good job! :thumbsup:
 
#10
Phreaky Phriday said:
How does the guyker bridge do at holding tune and was it a pain to set up? Looks amazing, nice work!
Click to expand...
I thought the Guyker would require consistent tuning but it hasn’t. In fact I hadn’t played it for about 3 weeks and took it to a gig last week. I pulled it out of the case, plugged it in and all but one string was in tune. That other string was close.

When I decided to do this I measured my E string from the nut to the saddle. Then I removed the strings and bridge.
I placed the Guyker where it needed to go and checked the adjustment on the saddle. The adjustment screw was too long and limited the travel moving towards the heel of the body, so I went to the hardware store and found a shorter screw.
I remounted the saddle and adjusted it to the measurement I had taken and found it would be fine.
If you decide to modify one of your basses to do this, you’ll need to rout a step in the headstock to mount the clamp properly.
If you need help just let me know and I’ll send you my phone number and some additional photos so I can answer any questions you may have.
This whole process was actually fairly easy.
 
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#11
Cleezmo said:
1) Nice work!
2) Am I the only one who noticed that there's a new Mesa 800-D in that rack?! Didn't those just come out like a week or so ago?

Enjoy them both!
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You are correct. They came out last Tuesday and mine arrived the next day. It’s the best Class D amp I’ve ever played through. It’s uncanny how much it sounds and behaves like a full tube amp. The sound is big and bold with clarity and punch. I took a chance on it. I have a WD800 that I love so I figured this should be at least as good. I like it better.
 
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#12
Pep said:
I thought the Guyker would require consistent tuning but it hasn’t. In fact I hadn’t played it for about 3 weeks and took it to a gig last week. I pulled it out if the case, plugged it in and all but one string was in tune. That other string was close.
When I decided to do this I measured on my E string from the nut to the saddle. Then I removed the strings and bridge.
I placed the Guyker where it needed to go and checked the adjustment on the saddle. The adjustment screw was too long and limited the travel moving towards the heel of the body, so I went to the hardware store and found a shorter screw.
I remounted the saddle and adjusted it to the measurement I had taken and found it would be fine.
If you decide to modify one of your basses to do this, you’ll need to rout a step in the headstock to mount the clamp properly.
If you need help just let me know and I’ll send you my phone number and some additional photos so I can answer any questions you may have.
This whole process was actually fairly easy.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the detailed info, i will for sure give the guyker bridge a shot on a future headless build and will keep in mind replacement screws.

Great tip on the headstock - i have built a few headless guitars where i needed to take the top of headstock down a few mm and it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure that out!
 

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