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Double Bass Lack of EUB plans: own design started

M

MARCOvdBoogert

Oct 23, 2010
399
3
Arnhem, Netherlands
#1
Hi Guys,

I'm new here but the last weeks I read a lot of topics.
I was looking for a EUB plan but I found out there aren't any, nice, ones available. In stead I started researching all the 3/4 dimensions and made my first rendering. Not really original yet but drawing 3D was hard enough at the moment. I made a few plywood fretless basses already so my intention again is to go birch plywood again and go for a Scandinavian, modern look.

This is what I came up with:
bassbody2-2.gif

bassbodytotal.gif
 
#3
I redesigned the whole bass today.
This one is a lot easier to build and looks more slick!

The idea is to use the bridgeblock as a controlunit. All the electronics and knobs will be there. I have planned a piezo element and a neck element. Thats why the neck is thick all the way so I can mount the pickup at the end. I don't know how to hide the wires but that's another story.

I plan to have a detachable neck but I don't know how to make that simply and sturdy enough. That's for the next week to think about!
bassbody3-2.gif

bassbody3.gif

bassbody3-3.gif
 
#8
I like the D shaped shoulder on the first drawings better than the round one in the second set. The round one would be good if it can pivot out from the body to about where the shoulder bout of a real DB would be and still fell fairly sturdy.

My favorite version of that from all the EUB's I've personally ever played (not enough, really) was just a bent piece of metal shaped kind of like the shoulder bout in your first drawing. The bass was just a squared slab body with two holes on the right side were the ends of the bout were inserted.

On the bridge block, I'd recommend a pretty solid piece, because that's where all the tension is going to be. For the piezo element I think you could just get an underbridge type element and have a flat piece for it to sit on, with the part of the bridge that the strings sit on being on top of that. Maybe a mostly solid block but put the preamp and controls into that block that goes up above the body toward the strings and then have the bridge sit on top of the block.

Man, that would be so much more coherent if I could draw it and post the image. Okay, put in a big square piece like in your first drawing. But have it be thicker most of the way from the body to the strings. Then say an inch or so down, it stops and has a flat part routed into the top of it. Then a smaller part comes out of that and is the actual bridge. The piezo element goes is that little slot under the bridge. Did that make more sense?
 
#10
Are you planning to put the bridge against something sitting on the front of the body frame?

In the picture that you linked to, he had an open frame body like yours. But it had a large round piece sitting against the front of that frame with a fairly conventional looking bridge sitting on that plate the same way it would on the face of a DB. Did you want to do something like that? Or something more like your drawing?

The reason I'm confused enough to ask is that in your drawing you have a good sized block under the bridge. It would have to take all the down-pressure of your string tension on the glue joints on either side of that block. I'd want some kind of mechanical assistance to that. Like maybe cut a slight stairstep into the sides and block so that there is more A.) surface area to glue, ad B.) a bit of a ridge to hold that tension.

I'm getting pretty interested in this design. I might do something like this some time.

Oh who am I kidding. I never do build these instruments in my head. I just like to think how I WOULD do it.
 
#12
I've seen piezo elements that set into parts of a standard bridge. I don't know how they sound. I've seen standard-looking bridges with piezos in them. I know that one sounded pretty good.

I still like the idea of the actual bridge for this being about an inch tall, with a flat bottom, siiting on a piezo element, on a flat notch in the top of a tall block that holds your preamp and controls and continues down to be the middle block in the frame.
 
#13
Been a while ago I posted in my own thread. After the digital design a lot of rethinking and researching was done. Also a few very much needed parts were bought after saving money. ...
At this moment the conceptbass is gettting there! After tackling all the construction and ergonomic problems a final concept is build from proper and nice looking wood.
Last week I took some time to balance the body. I tried different types of belly rests but nothing really worked for me. Luckily I ran into a few old chairs and that made me think of Jarrod Coombes idea of using a chair as a belly rest. I took that idea and made it into my version. I works great (OK, after messing up 3 chairs..........)
Next issue is mounting the neck onto the body in a way it is removable but still very sturdy. Any Ideas are welcome!
Link Removednot sure if pic is visible.
 
#14
Nice idea with the chairs.

Check if you need the lower one. It might be that you get the rotation of the bass better under control with it, but if not, only use the upper one.

The EUBs I know have screws from the back through the body block into the neck (block). But you might want to use threaded screws, not wood screws, if you want to remove the neck more often than a few times.
 
#15
Hi Marco!

There's quite a bit of Jarrod Coombes' in there, yet the central bridge block & curved shape in your design at first reminded me of Henk van Zalinge's work in the late '70s, early '80s (see http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4242938.pdf). Of course his' have a closed body.

Echo DoubleMIDI on the bottom bulge, don't think you need it. On the other hand, maybe when playing seated... For transport it might be useful to make these bulges removable though. (The chairs would probably not be my choice, but its your instrument.)

Best of luck & it'll be interesting to learn how this project works out!
 
#16
Thank you for that link! It sure is a look a like a little bit but what's not in life......
The bulges are removable indeed. I added the lower one because of the balance. It helps a lot and IMO it looks even a bit better. Still it is a design in progress. Maybe a lot will change during the build.
 
#19
About pickups: I'm not sure about piezo's for a DIY project. First I will try to build a magnetic fingerboard pickup schaller type off.
Here's the plan:
4 sowingmachine bobbins will be wired with 38 awg wire. The core will be 6x12mm neodynium magnets.
I will stick the element with velkro at the end of the fingerboard.
Here is pick of the rough idea
74B06123-8899-40A3-8245-E713291D48F8-750-0000002707A3B18D.jpg
 

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