Extremely slow bass build with a few questions

[chrapladm]

SO this will be my first bass build. I have plenty of tools for wood working and DIY most things. I am from USA but have been living in South Australia for the past 8 years. I am very slowly getting back to full time work(four kids and stay at home dad) so funds arent the greatest.

That being said there are roughly 3 bass guitars I would like to build. Mainly because I cant afford them. I will some day but for now I will build one of my own. My favorite basses are from Carl(CT) and Jens(Ritter).

One of my favorite basses from Jens is his Seal bass and his prototype models. The main thing I like about Jens prototype models are that they are tuner-less.

There arent any Seal protoypes but they can be made according to Jens. My question is do I have to have a locking clamp end like most headless bass guitars or can I just use a string design like Jens did here?

Obviously it can be done but I dont know exactly how.

SO with my two ideas I was looking at making a tuner-less fretless bass like above if I can. The other idea will be a rainbow sort of fretted bass. I wont go full crazy rainbow but it will look sort of like a CT bass. I will only be using Australian wood varieties for the build. Will build my own wooden bridge with the help of the tutorial also.

I have some more questions but most I can slowly figure out. I will have to decide on how big the body is because I will have to do this from scratch. The CT-like bass I will have to try and study the lines and hopefully have something similar. I will have a whale tail on the CT-like bass also. Will most likely try and build a body out of MDF and see how it feels on my body when sitting. Then go from there.

Someday I hope to buy a custom CT bass very similar to Zentner

Only things I would add is to make the string spacing 18mm. Other than that his bass is perfect for me. BUT until then I will ty and build my own.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

A number of companies sell the Steinberger style tuners now, in line or individual rail type, not cheap, that may be one of the more expensive hardware pieces. Do yo have access to some kind of drawing program? You will need accurate full size templates, which can be hand drawn if not. I'm about 3/4 through my first build and found template making a real challenge. That black Ritter bass is gorgeous, good luck.with your build.

 

[chrapladm]

I will end up drawing everything in the beginning. Hence why I will make it out of MDF. I have lots of mdf scrap laying around. I asked a few companies on the headless like bridges and they arent too bad. They are not as cheap as building my own but a necessity if I want that look like Ritters.

I might try and do the fretted version first. Only because I can make almost everything myself except the tuners. But those aren't cheap either.

 

[yoshi]

There's a chap on here that does a load of "semi headless" bass builds that look very similar to that concept. Can't remember username, but maybe someone else can tag him. Outstanding work and well worth a peep!

Headless tuner bridge would be cool, but you need some way of anchoring the string at the other end (head). Double ball strings wouldn't work as you couldn't thread them through. ABM does some great single tuner ones, but they're about £45ea.

FYI i never used a template for any build so maybe don't stress it too much. Whatever happens, start a build thread and post regular updates & questions. Good luck & have fun!

 

[yoshi]

Had a quick search and it could be @miziomix that I'm thinking of. EG The Über-M - fretless note the "string anchors". Research his builds, very cool stuff!

 

[Will_White]

SO this will be my first bass build. I have plenty of tools for wood working and DIY most things. I am from USA but have been living in South Australia for the past 8 years. I am very slowly getting back to full time work(four kids and stay at home dad) so funds arent the greatest.

That being said there are roughly 3 bass guitars I would like to build. Mainly because I cant afford them. I will some day but for now I will build one of my own. My favorite basses are from Carl(CT) and Jens(Ritter).

One of my favorite basses from Jens is his Seal bass and his prototype models. The main thing I like about Jens prototype models are that they are tuner-less.

There arent any Seal protoypes but they can be made according to Jens. My question is do I have to have a locking clamp end like most headless bass guitars or can I just use a string design like Jens did here?

Obviously it can be done but I dont know exactly how.

SO with my two ideas I was looking at making a tuner-less fretless bass like above if I can. The other idea will be a rainbow sort of fretted bass. I wont go full crazy rainbow but it will look sort of like a CT bass. I will only be using Australian wood varieties for the build. Will build my own wooden bridge with the help of the tutorial also.

I have some more questions but most I can slowly figure out. I will have to decide on how big the body is because I will have to do this from scratch. The CT-like bass I will have to try and study the lines and hopefully have something similar. I will have a whale tail on the CT-like bass also. Will most likely try and build a body out of MDF and see how it feels on my body when sitting. Then go from there.

Someday I hope to buy a custom CT bass very similar to Zentner

Only things I would add is to make the string spacing 18mm. Other than that his bass is perfect for me. BUT until then I will ty and build my own.

You could secure the ball ends at the head and use a clamping straight pull tuner like @michaelwayneharwood's design,

 

[chrapladm]

Had a quick search and it could be @miziomix that I'm thinking of. EG The Über-M - fretless note the "string anchors". Research his builds, very cool stuff!

Huge thanks for that. Will have to look at his builds more closely now. Also will look to try and make the string thru head design with slanted holes instead of 90 degree. I am sure fine string gauges can do a 90 degree bend but my .160-.180 gauge strings wont do it very well. So I definitely need to look at some basic prototyping for that.

You could secure the ball ends at the head and use a clamping straight pull tuner like @michaelwaynehardwood's design,

Not sure where I can find that design. Will have to search and see what I can come up with. Big thanks to everyone so far.

I will be going to a few recycled timber facilities over the next few weeks for materials. I have a few wood ideas in mind but nothing crazy. Most likely recycled Jarrah for the neck, some Red Ironbark and Sheoak or other for other parts. Have to see what is possible for the price. This bass wont be a complicated build by any means. Just a KISS principle bass for me. So no burls for me.

 

[yoshi]

I'd recommend making the neck with some quarter sawn hard maple. Buy a specific "neck blank" (search 'bass neck blank' on ebay). First build, so maybe keep as many variables out as pos - ie you don't want your build compromised by a warped neck.

 

[chrapladm]

I am not too worried about Jarrah warping at all. That being said if I was to use anything differently I would still use an Australian timber species for this build. Also for neck blanks I dont think anything would fit my build. I will be doing a 38" scale bass.

Also funny how I realised the builder who builds headless basses is also the guy I was following on his string development.

 

[TheJoshinator]

38" scale, .180 strings? A man after my own heart... You shooting for low F#? I'm in the planning stages for a 38" fanned fiver in that range, so I'm certainly intrigued. Not many builds out there with those sorts of specs.

 

[chrapladm]

Yes F#. I had a 6 a while back that had an E(.184) on it and that was fun but not for me. I like the lighter gauge strings AND the longer scale seems to make them really shine. PLUS I like being different. Dont want a 34" scale like most. Nothing against the masses but I do like being different. So 8 string bass and a 6 string bass will be my wants. Cant decide on which to do yet because I have a feeling once I build an 8 string I wont build the 6.

8 will happen first either way but its a matter if I want to do fretless or fretted. And I like bass guitars so for me I wont go up any higher in strings. Any higher and your using guitar strings. Like the nylon strings on a guitar for the higher registers is what I am talking about.

I also will be looking at buying a bass next year from Prometeus. He has some amazing looking instruments and is a bargain at his prices. I just have to try and focus and stop having all my funds going into five different directions.

 

[reverendrally]

A few things...

1. @michaelwayneharwood makes some AMAZING compact headless style tuners that you could probably buy from him at a reasonably cheap price.
2. Jarrah is a lovely timber I've used numerous times on basses for fingerboards. It's pretty stable. It is however, heavy, very hard and tends to have a wavy grain that likes to tear out. You could use it for a neck. Just make sure you laminate it in a few pieces. I've used Tassie Oak for my necks. Cheap, easily available, super stable. It can tear out too and tends to burn easily on power tools, but aside of that, it's pretty good. You don't need maple.
3. Draw a 1:1 drawing of you bass in detail before you start. Get most of the shape right, then transfere that to some heavy cardboard (something cheap). That's a great way to start.

Keen to see what you come up with. Nice to have another Aussie here.

 

[chrapladm]

Thanks for the above reply. I will be making my bass prototype out of mdf. mainly because I have some already laying around. In regards to the neck I am not fully decided on which I will use. I have a few ideas and all of them are dense. BUT it really is just a matter of how much it will cost. Tassy Oak has always been an option for the neck.

For me it will be more of a balancing act of availability of the fingerboard and then the neck. Also then what is available for the top. I have a few ideas but they are all over the place. With so many color options its a matter of seeing what I can afford and then going from there.

I have about 10 options for fingerboards, 20 for tops/wings and 4 for the body.

Waiting to hear back from a few timber mills and see what I can find locally. The few places I contacted said they will get back to me in about a week. Most are all out gathering new burls and what not. I will have to see what Michael has to offer also.

I also wish there were more luthiers around my area but I dont mind learning as I go. Thats what forums are for.

 

[michaelwayneharwood]

You had me at headless - sub'd.