Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
I built a bass wall.
- Thread starter jasonmatthews
- Start date
Really nice job, with the added benefit of the personal sense of accomplishment. I would be proud.
Very nice! I've been thinking of hanging my (much smaller) collection, so I really appreciate the details.
Thank you!
Thank you!
That is really nice! I did the same thing with the oak stringers, so I didn't have to worry about spacing or pull-out. Also - less holes in the wall! However I did not have your luxury of so much space, so I had to use the angle version of the hangers. Not nearly as elegant as yours.
Nice chops...but....since this is a BASS forum.... we'd rather hear ya work out one of the other beauties you have displayed!
I think my YouTube page is in my signature line if you want to stroll over there. Nothing amazing, but at least it's bass!Thank you! I am very proud, I've always wanted to do it.
You all should do it! Fun project. I always hated having to go in and out of the closet to find a case, wrestle it out, lay it down, get it out, play, put it back, yadayadayada for 20 years.
I'm happy to share as many details as you need. The problem I had when I started was that most "tutorials" (if you can call them that) were for guitar, or were only for one instrument, or didn't say what specific materials to use and why, etc. It's not a super difficult project (48 hours max, and that's including 24 hours for the oil to mostly dry), but when you're talking about putting so much money on the wall you really, really need it to be sturdy. So I just went in blind.
So things like... which wood is best? What kind of screws? How long should the screws be into the studs? How big should the pilot holes be? Do I need a drill press? Etc. Most critical step for me personally was planning... I measured the wall, found all the studs, determined what clearance I needed on top/bottom, how wide the oak should be to accommodate three screws (1x4 is perfect), so on and so forth.
If you don't have 6-string instruments most hooks will be fine. Home Depot has some for $1.89, but they're too narrow for either of my 6-strings. I ordered some off Amazon that were "extra wide," but quality control was garbage so I returned them. The ones from Harbor Freight are perfect, in my opinion. That reminds me, a major recommendation is to hand select the hooks yourself... they are not all alike. Some are bent, some have the screw like off to the side a bit, etc. You want to select the most perfect ones you can find.
Anyway, happy to help if you need it!
Thanks! I was actually on the fence about using angled hangers because I think they look cool, but ultimately I decided I wanted all the fronts to be visible when you came into the room. When I bought the house and chose the room for my office I purposely kept the largest wall blank all this time... it was reserved for basses. This particular wall is just over 13ft wide, so it's not huge, but with 9-foot boards I get a little over two feet of wall on both sides so it doesn't look cramped or anything.
O.P.,
Torx screws rock. I never use Phillips or slot heads anymore. Pilot holes are a great idea: especially in cured hardwood, without them a screw can act like a splitting wedge, even if the screw is a self-tapper, especially near the end of a board. All you need is a pilot undersized enough so that there's wood left to engage the screw threads.
Was going to mention about being careful with "unknown/untested" hangers and nitro, but you're already on top of that, too.
Nice job!
Torx screws rock. I never use Phillips or slot heads anymore. Pilot holes are a great idea: especially in cured hardwood, without them a screw can act like a splitting wedge, even if the screw is a self-tapper, especially near the end of a board. All you need is a pilot undersized enough so that there's wood left to engage the screw threads.
Was going to mention about being careful with "unknown/untested" hangers and nitro, but you're already on top of that, too.
Nice job!
Nice job with the construction - and a really nice collection, too. I love that Roscoe Beck! 
Congratulations on a dream well accomplished. I love the details and the help for others.
no walls of any kind for me and my gear. the op did a nice job but went beyond what I conceived long ago, instead, due to apt. size restrictions and too much concrete I utilized what I already had to mount my basses / guitars / steels and fit more into a smaller area. window frames, shelving, and cabinets all got faced and sided with them hanging imperceptibly via a single screw and nylon cordage at the headstock to impart a magical securement with nothing showing but the instrument. that's the visual I wanted and it was also as cheap as possible lol plus, it helped concentrate the masses to allow a virtual cockpit effect so it's all in a tidy area with my amps filling any spaces and everything within a close reach of my comfy chair, then backed with my vintage photo / poster / ephemera collection. so now there's no wall to be seen, it's all covered with stuff I like and enjoy the jaw-dropping looks of the few allowed to enter these hallowed grounds. it works for me as well as the op is stoked about his, but a much different look and utilization of space.
I like your wall man. Like that Banana Ibanez playing too. Great tone.
Now how can I get my wife to go along with this?
Now how can I get my wife to go along with this?
That’s impressive as heck! I’d post a picture pf my little wall, but unfortunately I’m away from home for another week. Maybe I’ll post a snapshot when I get home.
Again, impressive construction and instrument collection.
Cheers!
Again, impressive construction and instrument collection.
Cheers!
Ever since I was like 12 I dreamed of having a bass wall. It's been... several... years, but I finally did it.
At first I was just going to buy a bunch of String Swing hangers and put those up, but then I realized if I used studs the spacing wouldn't work for how many basses I wanted to hang up. At the same time my research suggested that they wouldn't even hold 6 string basses, so I wanted to come up with something different. Also the cost of 9 of them was over $100, and I'd have to use the backboards anyway putting the cost around $150.
So, much more research and some test equipment landed me on tool hangers. These were $1 from Harbor Freight (the ones at Home Depot weren't wide enough for 6 string neck either). The width is wide enough to fit 6-string basses, but not so wide that it *won't* fit a guitar (I have one!). These have a vinyl coating which is great. Obviously if you have nitro finishes on your stuff you should not trust anything other than things that are safe for nitro, but I don't have any nitro finished instruments.
So, then the wood. I spaced everything out on the floor and determined my necks would be 12" apart, so I needed 9' boards to get everything right. I chose oak because it's hard and looks nice. I spent a TON of time measuring things, but that's worth the time.
Anyway, so I bought two 10' oak 1x4s from Home Depot -- 9' each for the backs, then an extra 2' to make the base blocks for the tool hangers. I wanted to add the base blocks because the tool hangers have 1.5" of thread (3/8" diameter), and I didn't want to lose any of that. I'm hanging expensive stuff on these, after all, I want as much strength as I can get!
I chose Watco Danish Oil for the finish... I didn't want to stain it, I just wanted it to look like oak. Danish oil seals the wood but doesn't provide tons of protection; these would just be on the wall so it was a good choice. I did three coats, sanding to 220 beforehand, and sanding to 400 during the last coat.
I cut 9 pieces of oak for the base pieces for the hooks, I beveled the top+bottom edges for aesthetic reasons; I would've also beveled the sides but didn't have the appropriate tools. I measured everything out and drilled countersink/pilot holes for everything. I used Spax premium 1.25" screws for this... you don't want to go cheap on your screws, trust me! Especially not drywall screws... Drywall screws have very poor strength in shear (perpendicular to the screw), so they could easily snap with the load of all these instruments.
Once the base pieces were on, I drilled the pilot holes for the hooks... I did 1/4" then 5/16" pilot holes. This is oak so I had to go slow and make sure not to split the wood. Worked great. I coated the threads of the hooks with soap (per the instructions) and hand-screwed them in, there were no issues here.
Getting then on the wall wasn't terrible. I drilled more countersunk pilot holes and used two 2.5" premium screws for each stud. Each 9-foot board is double-screwed into 7 studs... It's solid!
And it's done. I'm pleased with it.
My total cost was...
Oak - 20 feet at $2.33/ft = $47
Hangers = $9
Screws = ~$0.07 each, so $3.20ish
Danish Oil = Negligible
So... $60?
Instruments for those who are curious (from top left-right to bottom left-right):
1995 Fender MIM P-Bass (my first bass)
2001 Fender MIA Jaco Tribute Fretless Bass
1998 Fender MIA Roscoe Beck Signature V
2016 Sire V7 Jazz Bass
1999 Spector NS-5CRFM
2008 Ken Smith Black Tiger BSR6TN
2007 Ibanez 20th Anniversary RG550
2018 Ibanez Adam Nitti Signature ANB306
2008 Jackson Custom Shop 5-String (Courtesy of Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
Looks really nice. Thanks for posting.
Yes - bought in the 60's! Stupidly, the Hofner is the only one I still have of those. I do have another Hagstrom but shoulda kept a coupla the others for sure.
Jason - the other benefit of spreading them out like you did is freedom from damage in earthquakes. Maybe you don't have to worry about that. but we sure do. I think about having some foam between them.
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
You didn't just build a wall you built a ladder .... to my heart.
