Just a few short days ago all I had was a pile of parts gathered from Lowes, the side of the road, and my "junk box". It was a sad looking pile of screws, bolts, nuts, and other assorted junk.
Well....having a plan and working hard pays off !
Now I have a cool "Bo Diddley Inspired" short scale bass, decked out in aged tin, aluminum, and steel !
It features :
....a tailpiece made from a bit of angle aluminum, a hinge, and some steel wire
....a bridge made from 2 acorn nuts and a threaded rod
... a control plate made from a plate that joins 2x4's in construction sites
...a pickup ring made from a light switch plate
...a shower drain strainer for the sound hole
.... strap buttons made from license plate screws and washers
Sounds pretty dang good, looks ultra cool, and because it is a hollowbody, doesn't weigh too horribly much, even with all the metal. Oh, and it is well shielded !
I hope you dig this bass as much as I do !
EDIT :
The tailpiece bugged me. It was serviceable, but I knew it could be improved, so....
I made a small, but in my mind, important upgrade.
I rethought the tailpiece. I got rid of the steel wires and attached a belt buckle between the hinge and the string guide that I had fabricated. This accomplished a few things :
1) It stabilized the bass. Better tuning stability, since the tailpiece won't shift at all
2) It exerts more downward pressure on the bridge, which helps tension and tone
3) It looks cooler IMO
Anyway, pics with the upgraded tailpiece -
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Well....having a plan and working hard pays off !
Now I have a cool "Bo Diddley Inspired" short scale bass, decked out in aged tin, aluminum, and steel !
It features :
....a tailpiece made from a bit of angle aluminum, a hinge, and some steel wire
....a bridge made from 2 acorn nuts and a threaded rod
... a control plate made from a plate that joins 2x4's in construction sites
...a pickup ring made from a light switch plate
...a shower drain strainer for the sound hole
.... strap buttons made from license plate screws and washers
Sounds pretty dang good, looks ultra cool, and because it is a hollowbody, doesn't weigh too horribly much, even with all the metal. Oh, and it is well shielded !
I hope you dig this bass as much as I do !
EDIT :
The tailpiece bugged me. It was serviceable, but I knew it could be improved, so....
I made a small, but in my mind, important upgrade.
I rethought the tailpiece. I got rid of the steel wires and attached a belt buckle between the hinge and the string guide that I had fabricated. This accomplished a few things :
1) It stabilized the bass. Better tuning stability, since the tailpiece won't shift at all
2) It exerts more downward pressure on the bridge, which helps tension and tone
3) It looks cooler IMO
Anyway, pics with the upgraded tailpiece -
[/CENTER]
