Going to build a bass with not a lot of money

Hook up with some mates that have tools. You'll be wanting stuff like a Plane, router, spokeshaves, drillpress, and saws. These tool are commonly found in many workshops, what you may not find is stuff like fret-sawing jigs, which need to be made or bought separately.

I honestly think that you should save up a little before attempting this, as if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.

my 2c

 

that wood in the backyard will need to be dried for a year or two before you can use it. Then you'll need some very expensive tools to get it into a shape that is usable to build a bass. It's actually much cheaper to buy a body and neck blank

 

What kind of wood do you have in your backyard? You're not going to make a bass out of fence material are you lol? Do you have a hardwood supplier in your area? It's best to buy some dried wood that been inside. HogieWan has a good point.

 

Body and neck blanks may be cheaper, but I applaud you for wanting to give it a shot from scratch yourself. Good luck!!!

 

Check out this thread from Reranch. Chucker builds some very cool guitars from plywood, using very basic tools. I plan on building a precision style bass using these materials just for the fun of it. He goes from start to finish in this thread and ends up with a very cool guitar in the end.

http://www.reranch.com/reranch/viewtopic.php?t=27881&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

 

You can grab some decent wood for a bass (ash body and maple neck) for around $50 if you look locally. It's important to have good wood to work from.

If you are worried about money, all the costs will come from hardware. I've spent almost half of what I spent on wood on hardware, and I don't even have tuners or pickups yet. The hardware is what will burn a hole in your wallet.

 

This was a cool low-budget project that never got finished:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=414097

 

Hi.

Thanks for posting. A great read about an innovative method of making instruments.

I'd do a few things (mainly the neck pocket) differently though.

Regards
Sam

 

Was the wood out in the rain?! If so maybe not a great idea to use it... As far as money goes though, I have a very generous girlfriend who fronted me the money to get started, and she paid to have it finished because I'm building it for her now! Women I tell ya... But asking for money and parts from strangers on the net is a long shot, ask relatives and such. Most will probably be excited about your project and willing to help you out.

 

i find this really interesting, cant wait to see what comes out of it. also i think that having no money or top notch parts is really the point- when i was 17 i had no money (still skint haha) so a homemade bass made with whatevers at hand is really cool, ill donate a part or two! where do you live?

 

I am impressed with your love for the bass Eddie. Did I miss it? - is it an electric or upright that you want to build. It's quite an undertaking to build a bass. You will need tools that you never knew existed, it will take you a long time, and the logistics of it all will take up more time than(I assume tht you are stillin HS) you will have. I would suggest that you consider finding a bass that is restorable, or a used one that is playable; the latter being the more sensible. If there are special circumstances that prevent you from coming up with the money to buy a restorable or a playable bass, I, and I'm sure others, will help you.

 

check my first build thread,

I've spent around $46 on wood, and around $150 on hardware and maybe $150 on hand tools sandpaper, and glue. and that kind of scratch should be attainable if you put together some odd jobs.

my only regret now that I have built my first bass at the age of 45 is that I did not start at 17 when I first had the desire.

go for it, oh and do some studying about wood, the backyard wood may (or more likey not) be just the ticket for a kick butt bass... like said before, it will take enough effort, that you do want it to be worth doing.