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Don't laugh... it's my first attempt!

PiquetBass

PiquetBass

Aug 12, 2022
242
800
Northamptonshire, UK
#1
Well, after lots of thinking about it and a chance find of a nicely seasoned piece of Ash big enough for a through-neck in my brother's garage (along with quite a lot of encouragement from him), I've finally had a go at making a bass guitar.
I didn't own a fretless... so thought it worth having a go at one of those.
Here are some pics of the finished article. While there are dozens of mistakes (many visible), and a heap of things I'd do differently if I make another, it actually plays and sounds far better than I could have hoped.
I plan to do a step by step pdf of the process, and note the errors and corrections in there too in the next few weeks.
Now don't laugh, it really is my first go:

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#6
Matt Liebenau said:
Looks good. What’s the scale length? It looks like a longer scale than the other 2 in your picture.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I meant to put the specs in the first post, but got all excited and forgot....

34" scale (looks a little longer than the other two just because it's a bit more upright in the hanger).
Seymour Duncan P-Bass Vintage pickup
Guyker tuners, originally started with Musiclily ones - but one of those broke when tensioning the D sting first time! Should have spent a little more at the outset (didn't want to go full-on cash for Gotoh ones).
Gotoh high-mass bridge (aesthetic reasons, nothing else). 19mm spacing.
D'Addario XL half-rounds 45-100
Nut - 42mm standard bass one, from amazon
Ash through-neck, a nice piece liberated from my brother's garage. Which he had, in turn, liberated from the woodyard where he works as a cabinet maker.
Limewood wings
Rosewood fretboard, treated with a little mineral oil after finishing
Paint - Halfords (yes, I'm in the UK) M220 metallic blue.

No neck-dive. it's really well-balanced on the shoulder.
And the weight, I hear you all ask.... a very manageable 2.7Kg. That's an ounce or two over 6lb for the non-metric people.
 
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#11
WaldoNova said:
I don't think anyone in their right mind could justify laughing at your 1st attempt.

As someone with zero woodworking skills I've always admired the skill and determination needed to undertake building anything from scratch.

Well done! I'm sure there will be future builds and posts.
Click to expand...
Thanks - it's taken just over a year of on-off work (around DIY in our own house, and both kids' houses - as well as a demanding day-job). And lots (and lots) of sawdust.

Like I said earlier, I've kept a photo diary of the bass through each stage, I'll put those together with some words of explanation over the next few weeks and add it to this post.

And yes. there will be another I'm sure. Although that's got to wait for this one to be played to death first!
This one will have its first official outing for this year's Scouts Gang Show at the beginning of May. And lots of rehearsals until then.
 
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#17
PiquetBass said:
Well, after lots of thinking about it and a chance find of a nicely seasoned piece of Ash big enough for a through-neck in my brother's garage (along with quite a lot of encouragement from him), I've finally had a go at making a bass guitar.
I didn't own a fretless... so thought it worth having a go at one of those.
Here are some pics of the finished article. While there are dozens of mistakes (many visible), and a heap of things I'd do differently if I make another, it actually plays and sounds far better than I could have hoped.
I plan to do a step by step pdf of the process, and note the errors and corrections in there too in the next few weeks.
Now don't laugh, it really is my first go:

View attachment 7418130View attachment 7418131View attachment 7418132View attachment 7418133View attachment 7418134View attachment 7418135
Click to expand...
I dig it! It reminds me of a 1980s Guild Pilot!
 
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#20
Looks like it is pretty nice to me. As a builder and refinisher, I will say that ash is one of the toughest woods to do a painted finish on. There are 2 ways that I've used to get a smooth painted finish on ash. One way is to use a filler to fill the grain. After trying many of them, I found that a skim coat of automotive body filler to be the best and easiest followed by sanding and a few coats of primer. The second is to heavily prime it with a catalyzed polyester primer and sand smooth. Both ways work great, but I prefer the first. Either way, you did a nice job for your first build. :thumbsup:
 
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