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Ergonomic bass build "Twisted Sister"

#21
TFM94 said:
To be honest, a CNC is probably the best way to do this. I don't have one and I'm not gonna buy one just for this project, therefore I'm going to use router jigs. If you want to figure this out for CNC, more power to you!
Click to expand...

OK, that sounded like a challenge, so then I had to go figure it out. Since I already had a script to make fretboards, how hard could it be to make it do twisted boards?

Turned out to be relatively easy, actually. A couple of hours later the script can now generate twisted, compound radius, multiscale, curved bottom blind fret slot boards:
twist-fretboard.png


And yes, all of the surfacing is done using linear interpolation (G01) moves that run the full length of the board, so it is a ruled surface:
twist-fretboard-toolpaths.png


:D

The next problem is worse: since I already have the G-code, and the CNC, I really don't have an excuse not to build another bass. Gaaah! :rollno:
 
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#24
micguy said:
Whenever I see a Torzal or a Fanned fret instrument, I think "kind of a good idea, but maybe overdone? My mind things maybe 1 degrees of twist and an inch of fanning might be nice, and les disorienting. Just my gut speaking.....
Click to expand...
It depends on what your priorities are. If you want a bass with twist and fan that feels like a bass without twist and fan, then maybe you're on the right path. However, the benefits of this are also diminishingly small. I think that 1 degree of twist is hardly noticable at all, and I guess there is plenty of straight neck basses that have developed more than that over time, and the owners don't even know about it.

Since this bass is all about these special features, I decided to go all in with a 2" fan and 35 degree twist. Of course it will be noticable, but that's what I build it for.
 
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#26
Gilmourisgod said:
Im building an Alembic Balance K clone right now, so I love the body shape, obviously. I had noticed years ago that the "Omega" cutout made this body shape a natural for headless tuners, but never did anything about it. I like headless (Steinberger Owner here), but that sculptural body needs a counterbalance. Would you even consider a faux headstock of sorts with string through retainers instead of headstock tuners?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've seen that, nice build btw. I dislike the cutouts in most headless designs, and most of the modern designs kinda look like a Strandberg anyway. I wanted to go a more traditional route, hence the alembic-inspired shape.

About the "headstock". I know what you guys are getting at. It's too small in the graphic in the first post. My neck blank is not long enough for a full faux headstock, but I can give it a bit more of a shape behind the nut. For the headpieces, I need something that can hold the strings at tension, because the ball end goes to the bridge tuners. A simple string ferrule wouldn't work on the headstock. Of course, I can arrange the headpieces a bit more freely. It doesn't have to be in a straight line like in the picture.
 
#28
TFM94 said:
Hello Luthier's Corner,

some of you might have already seen my attempts at routing a twisted neck blank here: Planning a twisted neck

Now it's time to build a bass out of this. As the title suggests, it's a twisted neck bass, similar to the ones made by Torzal. I should point out that there is a patent on twisted bass necks, and I am building this for myself only, without selling or exporting it. The thread linked above also has some info on twisted necks in general and on the jig that I'll be using.

I first thought about throwing this one into the winter build off 2022, but I decided not to. The twisted neck design is new to me and there might be many unexpected challenges. I don't want to rush it.

Now let's talk about the main parameters:
-5-string, probably tuned C-F-Bb-Eb-G or C-F-Bb-Eb-G#
-twisted neck, -20 degrees at the nut and +15 at the bridge
-fanned fret, 36"-34" scale
-24 frets
-17mm string spacing (bridge)
-headless
-one Nordstrand BigRig humbucker somewhere around the P-position
-one volume knob, that's all!

For my "woodpile" I have:
-maple neck blank
-wenge fretboard
-Swamp ash body wings
-wenge top

For the design I have made a mockup using a Strandberg neck and an Alembic Balance K body to give you an impression. This graphic does not show the twist, so it might look a bit different in 3D.
View attachment 4550796
What do you think? Design ideas are always welcome. I'm not sure about the headpiece shape yet, I will be using ABM single headpieces, so I can get a little creative here. Any suggestions?

I have already routed the twist into the neck blank, but apart from that it's still a square piece of wood. I routed the twist in an MDF router jig with two opposite inclined rails. The plan is to do as much routing in this jig as possible, including:
-routing the twist
-routing the sides of the neck with a pattern bit (square to the fretboard)
-routing the back of the neck to the desired thickness (if possible)
-routing the fretboard radius

Here's the jig with the neck blank in it:
View attachment 4550801
I know it's a bit crazy, but let's get started! Ideas and suggestions always welcome.
Click to expand...
That looks gorgeous. I am a big headless fan. One thing I would worry about in this design is that the tuners could be hard to manipulate nestled in that way, between the pointy bits.
 
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#30
TFM94 said:
The tuning is not that weird, it basically corresponds to C-standard, more specifically C1-F1-Bb1-Eb2-Ab2. I play in a stoner metal band and the guitar is tuned in C standard as well. If needed, I can tune down all strings a half step down and end up with 5-string standard tuning B0-E1-A1-D2-G2.
Click to expand...

I use the same tuning with my two main 5 strings. It comes out of playing heavy music for me as well, but I've found that I enjoy playing anything and everything on these basses regardless of a song's original tuning. Low C is generally more than low enough for me too.

I think the build concept looks awesome!
 
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#32
Very nice. My two cents:
- Jerome Little’s patent expired in 2017, so there’s even less reason to worry about that.https://patents.google.com/patent/US6034308A
- I like your original headstock (headstump?) sketch better than the revision. Maybe a straight stump like a Kubicki Factor?
- Having the short end of the pickup at an angle to the strings always looks a bit odd to me. If you wanted to get fancy, you could make a cover with a parallelogram shape or rounded ends.

Jeff Siddall said:
The next problem is worse: since I already have the G-code, and the CNC, I really don't have an excuse not to build another bass. Gaaah! :rollno:
Click to expand...
Even worse, I might be tempted to have you machine a neck for me too since you’re just up the road and I really need yet another unfinished project.
 
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#33
Max Bogosity said:
- Jerome Little’s patent expired in 2017, so there’s even less reason to worry about that.
Click to expand...
Even better, I didn't know that. I still want to give him credit for coming up with this non-trivial design. I'll put a footnote in my original post to correct that.
Max Bogosity said:
Having the short end of the pickup at an angle to the strings always looks a bit odd to me. If you wanted to get fancy, you could make a cover with a parallelogram shape or rounded ends.
Click to expand...
Oh, I love me some custom PU covers. Wenge maybe? Can you explain a little more what you mean with "having the short end of the pickup at an angle", where exactly is the short end on a rectangular pickup?
This could also make routing the cavity easier. It will be at an awkward angle, and I hate routing the tight corners of the EMG40 shape:vomit:.
 
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#35
TFM94 said:
I have 4.5cm of "real estate" on the bass side and 7cm on the treble side. Rounded shapes at the end of the neck are a bit of an issue. I don't want to make it a cutoff like Strandberg either, but maybe I can find a compromise.

The single pickup design is less based on the body shape, but rather on myself fiddling with the control knobs and pickup selector all the time. I built myself a LP Junior DC with a single P90 pickup, and I am very much enjoying the simplicity of that. According to Nordstrand the BigRig is "a dual 51P hum-cancelling pickup", that's why I thought it might work well as a single pickup in the P-position. For more tonal variety I could make it splittable.
Click to expand...
The big rig is a great pickup. You'll love it.
 
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#39
TFM94 said:
"Headstock" design update. There isn't too much wood left behind the nut, but I could it make something like this. I photoshopped the end of a Mark king model headstock onto the end of the neck, removed the tuning pegs and put the headpieces there. Please ignore the burl pattern on the headstock, It'll get a veneer matching the fretboard (wenge).
View attachment 4551698
Click to expand...

I really like the look of this little "headstock" rather than just ending the neck right at the nut.
 
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#40
Preparing the fretboard while I'm waiting for the trussrod to arrive. I just couldn't miss the wenge shavings glamour shot :smug:. It's still slightly oversize. The next step is to resaw it into two thinner pieces, which I can then bend and laminate around the neck blank to form the twist. If I lose too much thickness during the resaw, I can still add some veneers in between. I think my 0.3mm japanese saw should be able to prevent that, though.
20220121_192825.jpg
 
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