Laguna burger build

[RichterScale]

I also glued 2 pieces of the flashing together, about the size of half of a tongue depressor. I watched a setup vid about nut slots and the guy said string height at the first fret should be .022.
This little gauge I made is .022 and I dunno, that seems like some reeeeally low action.

 

[ctmullins]

You definitely want the string to be just barely above that first fret. That’s critical for intonation in the money frets. 0.022 doesn’t sound unreasonable to me.

 

[RichterScale]

I'm sure it's right. Now that I'm getting into the building side of things, I'm learning about tons of stuff I never knew or never paid attention to.
I've been playing a bass on/off for,.....32 yrs? And I've learned more about the instrument on here in the last few months than in the last 32 yrs.
Granted, I haven't played regularly for the last 32 yrs. Added all up, maybe 10 yrs, broken up into little blocks and spaces across that time.

 

[dwizum]

Here's a good test to help you put that measurement in perspective.

Take a bass that's properly set up, and put a capo at the 2nd or 3rd fret. Now, use feeler gauges to measure the clearance at the next fret up the fretboard.

That'll give you a reference point for string clearance needed at the lower frets in order to sound and play nicely.

 

[RichterScale]

Kinda an out of order procedure for where you're at.
I personally would not want to attempt that type of inlay, on a board that's already radiused and glued on the neck.... AND the wings are glued on and sorta in the way.

Why can't you just love me for who I am

I vote for pic number 2 on the last page. Knee cut a touch more and the treble cutaway being deepened.

I think shortening the upper horn is wrong, foolish, stupid, ignorant and possibly even criminal. I've chosen to use light gentle wording here instead of how I really feel.

Seriousment though... a longer upper horn reduces the feel of the reach to the nut. This may be a non-issue depending on how yuge you are, but I really, really like it when the horn reaches to the 10th fret. The comfort increases a lot for my personal ergonomics (blueberry shaped).

I'm definitely going to trim up the lower horn area.
In these 2 pics, it looks like the upper horn is currently a hair ahead of the 12th fret. In the pic with it trimmed down a smidge, it looks like it's just a hair behind the 12th. Seems like what, 1/2"-ish?
I'm really only messing with it for aesthetics at this point. Not sure if these changes would effect weight or playing position all that much. Do you think 1/2" would be noticeable?

 

[Rôckhewer]

Do you think 1/2" would be noticeable?

As I click back and forth between the current picture and the digitally more carved away one....
... I imagine the bass asking you this very same question:

Why can't you just love me for who I am?

They both look cool.

 

[RichterScale]

HA!
Do you think I'm making the bass feel bad by talking about how it needs to lose weight?
I'm trying really hard not to fall into that mode where I start questioning and redesigning everything.
I'm definitely trimming up the lower horn, but I'll leave the top one for now. I need to get this done and playable, so I can start working on a real scratch bass.

 

[RichterScale]

So, I started a little research on strings today, since I need to grab a set for when the bass is done. I'm just gonna bring this up in this thread and see what type of feedback I get.
I've had several basses over the years and probably never knew what the strings were made of or what the gauges were. At this point, I'm paying a little more attention, so, I'm mostly taking 2 things into account. Not destroying the nickel frets and tension.
So, no SS strings and I'd like to have a relatively balanced tension across the neck. I've read through some of the string section threads and honestly, I don't want to post in there and go through all the jargan about perceived tonal differences, yada yada. I'm sure that there are subtle differences between manufactures that make the exact same style string from the same materials, but I don't want to get into the hex vs round, vs whatever.
My guess is even the keenest of musical ears can't listen to a song and tell you EXACTLY what brand and model strings the bass player is using, without already knowing. Round wound bass strings sound crisp and clear when new,.....and dull when beat up and gummed up.
So, is balanced tension something you guys think about when picking a set of strings? And does that determine gauge for you? Do you mix/match strings from different sets? Buy individuals? Buy 4 string sets and individual B string for 5ers?
Do you pick based on tone and go by brand/style? Do you factor in fret wear when picking? Or, do you basically decide flat/round, gauge and pretty much go with whatever brand is available?
I'm thinking of buying 2 sets of D'Addario NS rounds and mixing from both sets to get a relatively balanced tension in standard tuning. Figure new strings are new strings and I can get my tone with EQ, pups and fingers.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Do you think I'm making the bass feel bad by talking about how it needs to lose weight?

Well I wasn't going to mention it but... that haircut ?
...(horn trim)... does make her butt look a little bigger.

 

[ctmullins]

Re strings: Start with your normal garden variety strings. For me that’s the ubiquitous D’Addario XLs, available at finer fuel stations and tapas bars near you. Let that be your baseline, and adjust from there. There is a certain symbiosis between an individual bass and the set of strings that it hosts. No two pairings are exactly the same.

 

[ardgedee]

My suggestion was going to be to start with strings you already like and then adjust as necessary.

You can also hit up FretNation and ask what they have for balanced sets.

 

[Reedt2000]

Re strings: Start with your normal garden variety strings. For me that’s the ubiquitous D’Addario XLs, available at finer fuel stations and tapas bars near you. Let that be your baseline, and adjust from there. There is a certain symbiosis between an individual bass and the set of strings that it hosts. No two pairings are exactly the same.

+1 ^

If you have no preference start with something like GHS Boomers, or even Basics (cheaper, pretty much Boomers without silk wrapping). They're pretty average tone and tension wise. If they're too dull or too bright it will at least give you a baseline (and bass line ) to start trying other sets and figure out what you like best.

 

[RichterScale]

Oh, yeah, I have no preference as far as tone or anything like that. I was just curious, from a builder's perspective, if you guys have different criteria for picking strings than the average player.
As in, do you factor in things like balanced tension, etc? Or is it basically: I stick with this brand and just pick length and gauge according to the bass and that's about it?
I don't want you guys to think I'm asking what strings to get or what you think sounds good, etc.

 

[BBassBassington]

As @ctmullins said there's a certain symbiosis between bass and strings. They've always made the biggest tonal difference compared to any other upgrades. And I do like the idea of starting with the tried and true D'Addarios. Fender is my other go-to for a baseline round if they can be had cheaper. Those two brands sound pretty similar and give the standard bass string noises one expects. Not on flats though, totally different experience IMO.

I don't buy individual strings but I do keep my gauges down and avoid high tension strings. I like how you can get lower action and less noise with the higher tension but I'm also not entirely convinced that's not what broke one of my bass necks so those are out. SS sounds best by far IMO but fret wear so I skip those now too.

In general my process goes something like this:
Comfort or sound? > General sound? > Flat or round? > Any interesting strings to try out? > Are there any good deals on strings right now? > Purchase some strings > use until dead and replace a month or two later for good measure.

I'm really happy with my current pairings: BTB: DR, Dimension: Apex, Jazz: Fender, fretless: Fender flats, PJ + Jackson: EB cobalt flats What's really nice is 3 of the sets never need replacing and the DRs are coated. Really cuts down on string maintenance and cost.

 

[RichterScale]

So, looking at D'Addario's tension chart, there doesn't seem to be consistent tensions in their prepacked sets.
That makes me wonder if they are going for more of a tonal consistency than tension(?)
EXL170-5 Regular light gauge
45 - 42.8
65 - 51.2
80 - 42
100- 36.5
130- 35.5

EXL220-5 super light gauge
40 - 33.7
60 - 42.9
75 - 38
95 - 34.4
125- 31.4

If I order both sets and an individual .055, I can get the following (standard B,E,A,D,G)
40 - 33.7
55 - 36.2
75 - 38
100- 36.5
130- 34.5

I'll give that a try and see what the results are. If it sounds odd, I have 2 sets to go back to.
I don't know what brand was on the bass before. It has black silk and had an odd size arrangement
45, 65, 85, 105, 125. Kinda medium/light-ish with a light B string.

 

[Rôckhewer]

I'm not super versed in multiscale string tension technology.
For my 7 string build "Astaroth"... I just ordered a couple "balanced" or whatever....sets from Kalium. (Client requested)
They seem to know what's up.
Check out these sets....
5 String | Kalium Music

 

[RichterScale]

I was just checking out GHS's PDF tension chart for an hour and finally scrolled down a page just to realize they make a "balanced" line
Similar in gauge to the set of D'Addario I would put together,....but roughly 10 lbs per string higher tension.
The tensions are pretty consistent until they get to the B string, which is 13 lbs less than the other strings.
So, not really balanced for a 5 string set.
I'm gonna stick with my mix&match plan with 2 sets of D'addario for now. I've already spent a few hours and 3 pages of notebook paper on it and I can see this easily getting out of control if I let it.

 

[RichterScale]

D'Addario XL
40 -33.7
55 -36.2
75 -38
100 -36.5
130T -34.5

cool, I was able to find a place that had the 055 single in stock and just went ahead and ordered the whole set in individual strings.
$31 shipped from strings by mail.

 

[RichterScale]

Should I make a new nut, or will I be ok dropping string size down by 0.005?

 

[ctmullins]

Should I make a new nut, or will I be ok dropping string size down by 0.005?

It’ll be fine.