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Is this doable? Mando/u-bass double neck.

There’s an instrument I’ve always wanted, but never seen. Wondering if it’s something that someone here may be able to create.

Basically, it’s a double necked instrument, with one neck being a 4 string fretless Kala u-bass and the other neck would be a standard mandolin.
I’m thinking a solid body would be far easier than an acoustic.

Does this seem doable, and would anyone be up for the challenge?

EK
 
Sounds doable, sure. Up for the challenge? Not me, but good luck, shouldn't be too tough to find someone.
 
I picked this up on ebay years back from user antoniotsai - he's still on there - mandolin / mandola doubleneck, no reason one of them couldn't be a Uke bass instead....

1150167622861_IMG_6949.jpg
 
I picked this up on ebay years back from user antoniotsai - he's still on there - mandolin / mandola doubleneck, no reason one of them couldn't be a Uke bass instead....

View attachment 3100812
I should add I love his inlay work, but I wouldn't particularly recommend him as a luthier, his acoustic instruments aren't all that well built in my experience. But anyway, there are people out there willing to build stuff...
 
Doesn't seem particularly difficult. Just...odd.
I picked this up on ebay years back from user antoniotsai - he's still on there - mandolin / mandola doubleneck, no reason one of them couldn't be a Uke bass instead....

View attachment 3100812
Looking for something a little higher quality than one of the Antonio Tsai pieces. Would love the same electronics as the American Kalas.
 
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Does this seem doable, and would anyone be up for the challenge?

Definitely doable, but not without the potential for some issues.

One thing to look out for is amplified sympathetic vibration, since you'll be using piezos for one or both necks.

Piezo pickup systems will pick up vibrations through in the body, some worse than others, and can amplify the sympathetic vibrations of strings on the neck you aren't using, even when the pickup on that neck is bypassed.

If you aren't familiar with sympathetic vibrations in double neck instruments, basically the energy of the strings you are plucking will vibrate the body and make (some of) the strings on the other neck vibrate, that vibration will in turn go back through the body and be amplified by the pickup on the neck you are using. Sometimes that sounds good, like a delightful ghostly sitar accompaniment; other times it sounds bad, like someone playing an out of tune ukulele in the next room. It can be more or less noticeable, depending on how hard you play and what kind of amplification you're using.

That's why John Paul Jones has those little flip-down nut mutes on his triple neck 6/12/mando in the picture below. They also prevent stray noise from your arm accidentally hitting the strings on the unused neck.

4757365d6e8d4f81085d75fc8cb4a827--john-paul-jones-led-zeppelin.jpg


Connected to that issue, what preamps and switching system will you be using? Big polyurethane U-bass strings and little metal mando strings will produce very different signal levels, and need very different EQ, so you'll likely need two different preamps and a way to quickly switch between them. Will you be playing both through one amp, or splitting them out into two separate ones?
 
Without going to the bother of photo-shipping it, I'm pretty sure you could, at the low end, glue an A body mando to a U-bass body and call it done, if you wanted to go there - or duct tape it for that je ne sais quoi
 
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Definitely doable, but not without the potential for some issues.

One thing to look out for is amplified sympathetic vibration, since you'll be using piezos for one or both necks.

Piezo pickup systems will pick up vibrations through in the body, some worse than others, and can amplify the sympathetic vibrations of strings on the neck you aren't using, even when the pickup on that neck is bypassed.

If you aren't familiar with sympathetic vibrations in double neck instruments, basically the energy of the strings you are plucking will vibrate the body and make (some of) the strings on the other neck vibrate, that vibration will in turn go back through the body and be amplified by the pickup on the neck you are using. Sometimes that sounds good, like a delightful ghostly sitar accompaniment; other times it sounds bad, like someone playing an out of tune ukulele in the next room. It can be more or less noticeable, depending on how hard you play and what kind of amplification you're using.

That's why John Paul Jones has those little flip-down nut mutes on his triple neck 6/12/mando in the picture below. They also prevent stray noise from your arm accidentally hitting the strings on the unused neck.

View attachment 3101030

Connected to that issue, what preamps and switching system will you be using? Big polyurethane U-bass strings and little metal mando strings will produce very different signal levels, and need very different EQ, so you'll likely need two different preamps and a way to quickly switch between them. Will you be playing both through one amp, or splitting them out into two separate ones?

Thanks for the detailed response, which is exactly why I asked the luthiers here... I hadn't even thought about sympathetic vibration. I imagine it might be easier to use a piezo for the bass and a standard pickup for the mando. Those flip down nut mutes seem essential as well. My guess is I'll also need two outputs/sets of electronics as well, as they would probably go to two different sources. Still figuring out the logistics and feasability of this.
 
Thanks for the detailed response, which is exactly why I asked the luthiers here... I hadn't even thought about sympathetic vibration. I imagine it might be easier to use a piezo for the bass and a standard pickup for the mando. Those flip down nut mutes seem essential as well. My guess is I'll also need two outputs/sets of electronics as well, as they would probably go to two different sources. Still figuring out the logistics and feasability of this.

It's good that you're thinking about those things now, so you can address them during the build instead of after. Designing a good double neck is a lot harder than most people realize.

Another thing to consider, though it might not be necessary considering the small sizes involved, is having the necks not parallel to each other. Ergonomically speaking, you get full access to both necks while keeping the body smaller and lighter by having the nuts farther apart than the bridges. Like with this Warwick.

d6816a1bbf88e4addadab17a7a3e6d93.jpg

It lets you put the shorter scale instrument on the bottom without worrying about the back of your hand hitting the tuners of the bottom neck while you're playing the top one. I've seen a number of double necks that didn't take that into consideration and were largely unplayable in first position on one side.