make a headless bass

[ialma]

Problem : I'm travelling pretty much these times, and I'd love to bring with me an headless not-so-heavy bass.
I own a hohner b2b but I don't like the sound, that's quite dead when played acoustically (No chance to bring an amp with me)
I was considering the idea of removing the HW from my hohner, buying something like an old aria/ibanez/yamaha and making it headless (maybe after slimming somehow the body)
I've been looking through the forum without finding many results.
I remember having seen a rickenbacker beheaded and transformed in a weird rickenberger but haven't found much more on the subject.
has anybody ever tried anything like this ?

p.s. : I am not interested in traveller bass or miniamps. I also know almost all the headless basses available commercially.
I was just wondering about the headstock operation

to give you an idea, this genius modified (at least virtually) a thumb bass to make it headless. I like it so much, and I imagine such operation with ABM hardware or a steinberger bridge. It should smoke!

 

[KramerBassFan]

So, you want a Headless Acoustic Bass?

That is just bound for trouble... It wont be loud enough.... and has nothing to do with it being headless.

 

[Tedstor]

BY the time you trim down an Ibanez/Yamaha body and chop off the head, won't you pretty much be back to square one?
I'm thinking a short scale bass might suit you better.

 

[nella]

Why not buy something like a Korg Pandora PX5D to carry along with your current headless so you do not have to play it acoustically?

 

[yellofury]

includes built in headphone amp

 

[ialma]

1) I need an electric, not an acoustic
2) I cannot bring with me an amp for many reasons.

Do you think that removing the headstock would deafen a bass acoustically speaking ?

My hohner plays dead when played over the 12th fret, it does not resonate at all, that's why I was considering the beheading process

 

[ialma]

any idea anyone else ?

 

[David1234]

Hohner Jack bass. They are headless but have a body. The sound is quite a lot better than the broom basses even though materials seem about the same (still slightly mid-shy though).

You can't get these new any more but they pop up on ebay from time to time.

 

[Never_grew_up]

+1 on the Traveler:
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Or a Steinberger with a headphone amp
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or:
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[yellofury]

still think you should check out the traveller
everything you want is built in
all you do is plug in headphones into the bass
and youre good to go
played on at a GC and it sounded pretty good through an ampeg

I see
about that there are just piezos on this particular bass which is a drag in your case
hmmmm

 

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Didn't click all the links, but a stethoscope "amp" could be the esiest route for You to liven up the higher end.

Obviously almost any instrument can be converted into a headless, but with quite a bit of work and expense. The end result may not be as You imagined either.

Regards
Sam

 

[Subscript]

your best bet is definitely to pair up your bass with headphones
so you'll need to either use something like that traveler, or a korg pandora which is slightly bigger than a tuner.

 

[Zoidberg523]

The Kramer Duke may be a good choice; Steinberger-like, but on the cheap. I've played a couple and liked them; beware though. Like a lot of 80's Kramer basses, they have aluminum necks; some like them, some don't. It never bothered me.

 

[ialma]

ok, looks like the main focus of this post has been lost
I do need a bass suitable for travelling, but I was wondering if anybody here had modified a bass to make it headless and the results of this operation.
Thanks

 

[bassplace]

I think you risk the integrity of the neck if you cut off the head and would consider this a high risk mod. You may very well destroy the bass in the process. I think everyone is suggesting you look for bass that was designed for the purpose you have in mind. Could be an interesting project if you go for it though.

 

[Lizooki]

All you have to do is get the correct hardware.
Just lopping the head off the bass shouldn't hurt it or change the sound.
But it won't make it any louder either.

All the options offered seem to cover your problem better than hacking a bass would.

Matt

 

[Thunderitter]

Watch out if buying hardware!

Through experience there's a lot of crap out there. I bought a unit from eBay describing itself as like a Steinberger unit and it was most definitely not. In the end I went with ABMs and a David King end piece (www.kingbass.com). This was not the cheap option, but it was definitely the best, particularly for my needs.

I'm in the middle of the project so I'll post some pics when it's done.

 

[Rickett Customs]

Watch out if buying hardware!

Through experience there's a lot of crap out there. I bought a unit from eBay describing itself as like a Steinberger unit and it was most definitely not. In the end I went with ABMs and a David King end piece (www.kingbass.com). This was not the cheap option, but it was definitely the best, particularly for my needs.

I'm in the middle of the project so I'll post some pics when it's done.

^^ This is true, however, www.dguitarparts.com had the best prices that I could find for a headless set, ABM at that.

 

[Thunderitter]

^^ This is true, however, www.dguitarparts.com had the best prices that I could find for a headless set, ABM at that.

For my project I went with the individual ABM tuner bridges and it was appropriate to have a custom end piece made from plaster cast of the end of the broken neck, but dguitarparts.com was somewhere I had looked. If you don't need a custom option then that's where to shop!

 

[Rickett Customs]

For my project I went with the individual ABM tuner bridges and it was appropriate to have a custom end piece made from plaster cast of the end of the broken neck, but dguitarparts.com was somewhere I had looked. If you don't need a custom option then that's where to shop!

Yeah, I had looked into the "mono rails", whoo, they were not cheap, by any stretch of the imagination.... The cheapest I had found was $60 each. I drew up some similar ones, to try making them, i'll be trying this in the near future.