Question: am I starting my scale measurement, do I include the thickness of my nut in the measurement ?
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Gene Simmons LoBue Tribute Build
- Thread starter bassgod76
- Start date
Okay, here we go.
First, judging by my neck, my scale is not quite 30". This measurement was taken from the point where the nut ends and fingerboard begins.
Not quite 15", but more like 14 7/8. Is this a problem?
Is it safe to say that the measurement at e bridge should be 29 3/4"?
Here is the bridge with G saddle fully extended. Is this correct?
With G saddle fully extended. I estimate that the 29 3/4" scale ends here.
A quick mock up of the bass with bridge relocated.
It looks the same to me. I wonder if I should scoot the neck back an 1/8" into th body?
First, judging by my neck, my scale is not quite 30". This measurement was taken from the point where the nut ends and fingerboard begins.
Not quite 15", but more like 14 7/8. Is this a problem?
Is it safe to say that the measurement at e bridge should be 29 3/4"?
Here is the bridge with G saddle fully extended. Is this correct?
With G saddle fully extended. I estimate that the 29 3/4" scale ends here.
A quick mock up of the bass with bridge relocated.
It looks the same to me. I wonder if I should scoot the neck back an 1/8" into th body?
Hopkins
Commercial User
A few thoughts. First off, full disclosure, I think Simmons is a deplorable human being. 
That said, this is not about Kiss or personality disorders, but about building basses, so that's where the focus needs to stay.
The drawing you have, while great to work from, seems a bit out of scale, in particular, a little large. Not a criticism of THand's excellent work, just an observation. Just cutting and pasting pieces of the fretboards in several LoBue bass photos and then comparing those to cut/pastes of the danelectro neck on your diagram, I'd say the body could lose about 3/4" off the tail end, and the bouts need to come inboard by about 3/8" per side, overall making the body 3/4" less wide, in addition to losing a bit of dimension behind the bridge.
I think the fact that the LoBue bass went through so many incarnations is probably also factoring in here. The original was clearly a two piece bridge and the strings ran over the bridge, through the bridge cover to a tailpiece. At some point, this was changed to what appears to be a simple fender style bridge. This probably contributes to the odd looking dimension, especially when the extra pickup is added to the design.
I think the saddle location, as it is in the LoBue, is just a little forward of the alignment of the volume knob, so that may be one of the indicators for locating it.
The scale of that particular neck appears to be 14 13/16 to the 12th fret, rather than 14 7/8, so in effect, it's likely a 29 5/8" scale rather than 30. I've actually not fooled around much with Danelectro's so I'm not sure if this is accurate. It's possible your tape measure is off a little as well, I tend to use precision measuring devices myself for these kinds of things just to be sure. At any rate, if the G saddle is all the way forward (minus a couple of turns), then that should be in line with the measured witness point (in this case, apparently 29 5/8").
On a related note, I have actually not been able to find a reference to the actual scale length of the LoBue original, it's usually just referenced as "short scale" which is often 30" but might also have been 32" or shorter as well.
For what it's worth, this should be really cool...
That said, this is not about Kiss or personality disorders, but about building basses, so that's where the focus needs to stay. The drawing you have, while great to work from, seems a bit out of scale, in particular, a little large. Not a criticism of THand's excellent work, just an observation. Just cutting and pasting pieces of the fretboards in several LoBue bass photos and then comparing those to cut/pastes of the danelectro neck on your diagram, I'd say the body could lose about 3/4" off the tail end, and the bouts need to come inboard by about 3/8" per side, overall making the body 3/4" less wide, in addition to losing a bit of dimension behind the bridge.
I think the fact that the LoBue bass went through so many incarnations is probably also factoring in here. The original was clearly a two piece bridge and the strings ran over the bridge, through the bridge cover to a tailpiece. At some point, this was changed to what appears to be a simple fender style bridge. This probably contributes to the odd looking dimension, especially when the extra pickup is added to the design.
I think the saddle location, as it is in the LoBue, is just a little forward of the alignment of the volume knob, so that may be one of the indicators for locating it.
The scale of that particular neck appears to be 14 13/16 to the 12th fret, rather than 14 7/8, so in effect, it's likely a 29 5/8" scale rather than 30. I've actually not fooled around much with Danelectro's so I'm not sure if this is accurate. It's possible your tape measure is off a little as well, I tend to use precision measuring devices myself for these kinds of things just to be sure. At any rate, if the G saddle is all the way forward (minus a couple of turns), then that should be in line with the measured witness point (in this case, apparently 29 5/8").
On a related note, I have actually not been able to find a reference to the actual scale length of the LoBue original, it's usually just referenced as "short scale" which is often 30" but might also have been 32" or shorter as well.
For what it's worth, this should be really cool...
The pic may distort my view, but to me it looks closer to 14-13/16"...if that's the case then you are dealing with a 29-5/8" scale.
I appreciate the opinion. I'm going to make a foam template to compare. Could it be that the white paper is making it look bigger?
I talked to people on the inside. They all confirm it as a short scale. Whether its 30 or 32" is a mystery. I have a feeling with the way the neck heel hangs off the body and the paddle headstock, it won't appear "toy like".
I can just shrink the copy of the body down. I made several copies of varying sizes. This one matched the dimensions TH gave me.
I can just shrink the copy of the body down. I made several copies of varying sizes. This one matched the dimensions TH gave me.
Jaymi
Pink Bass Man
- Feb 11, 2008
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- Endorsing Artist: Ampeg , Jaydee, Kalium
I would recommend against using the end of the tape measure to go by. The tabby clippy ends jiggle and are notoriously imprecise. Better to use a yard/meter ruler than a tape measure. And again, don't start at the end. Start at 1" and add an inch to your measurements.
So if you are measuring a 15" span, put the 1" marker at the start and look for 16".
So if you are measuring a 15" span, put the 1" marker at the start and look for 16".
I will recheck the neck. I talked to my guitar repair guy, he says as long as I keep the same length from 12th to bridge the same as nut to 12th, I should be fine.
I pulled out my good tape measure and measured from the 1" mark. Looks like I have a 14 13/16" which means my scale is 29 5/8"
I found a scaled down copy. I laid it over the origial paper. You can kind of make out where the old body lines were.
I used the centerline of the diagram and the end where the Neck heel starts as my points.
Mockup with the smaller body.
Opinions?
I used the centerline of the diagram and the end where the Neck heel starts as my points.
Mockup with the smaller body.
Opinions?
It's a small difference, but I think that looks better.
Thinking about your plans to do a bolt on, that's going to result in a thick pocket bottom to attach the neck to. Certainly doable, but with that awesome neck access, and the necessarily thin pocket sides, you may want to consider setting the neck to allow for a thinner joint. Just a thought...
Thinking about your plans to do a bolt on, that's going to result in a thick pocket bottom to attach the neck to. Certainly doable, but with that awesome neck access, and the necessarily thin pocket sides, you may want to consider setting the neck to allow for a thinner joint. Just a thought...
