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P-bass for my son

A

Al Heeley

Dec 2, 2007
635
20
West Yorks., UK
#1
I want to build my son a scaled-down P-bass, he's only seven but showing a great interest in music now. I have some questions for others who have built mini basses.
1) Can you source a suitable bridge with closer string spacing to suit the scaled down size of the bass?
2) Pickups & string spacing - same as above
3) 1/2 size would give a 17" scale, 3/4 size would be 25.5", ideally I reckon a 2/3 size would be cool, 22.6".
Can you get an EADG tuning to fit with this small scale? Or do people go for something like an ADGC?
 
#2
You can get a bridge for a Fender musicmaster which I believe has about a 2" string spread. Otherwise similar to other Fender bridges in setup. I've been looking at them on ebay cause I have a few pickups with narrow spacing.
If you get a pickup with a solid bar, rather than polepieces, you can use any spacing you like.
 
#3
Unless you really want to build the bass, you might want to consider the Samick MCR1 Corsair bass. I believe it's a 26" scale bass. I tried it at my local guitar store and was surprised that it played and sounded pretty good considering the size. Here's an online store that sells it: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#5
i suggest getting a 19mm string spacing bridge, so if your son does continue playing bass, he'll be already adjusted to a full (34") size bass with little problems, plus it makes pickup compatability much much easier.

and you can tune any size instrument to anything (sorta), eadg works fine on a short scale bass
 
#6
Al Heeley said:
1) Can you source a suitable bridge with closer string spacing to suit the scaled down size of the bass?
Click to expand...
Single bridges can go down to 15mm spacing, that's fairly tight (my preference for basses) and would suit this project well.
Al Heeley said:
2) Pickups & string spacing - same as above
Click to expand...
String spacing is entirely up to you. I'm pretty sure EMG's / Bartolini's use a wide magnet, so it wont matter if you use tight spacing or regular spacing. You should e-mail EMG and see, I know people have used their 6-string bass pickups for 8-string guitars without any issues.
Al Heeley said:
3) 1/2 size would give a 17" scale, 3/4 size would be 25.5", ideally I reckon a 2/3 size would be cool, 22.6".
Can you get an EADG tuning to fit with this small scale? Or do people go for something like an ADGC?
Click to expand...
25.5" - 28" shouldn't be too hard on his hands. Although you'd probably be using standard B-E-A-D strings to get the right tension for standard tuning on a much shorter scale. Try a string calculator to figure the right tension for your scale of choice.
 
#7
yea i wouldnt go any lower than 25.5, since thats guitar-scale and perfect for BEAD strings

buuuuut i'd think a short scale with BEAD would be somewhat harder to play, just from a strength standpoint (bigger strings, and a shorter scale means u must pluck harder to get the same amount of oscillation).

on the flip side, you could probly go down to about 30" with EADG standard tuning. definitely a few choices to make here.
 
#8
A while ago, I did build my 3 1/2 year old son a 2/3 scale bass. He likes it but never playes it :crying: It fits his size perfectly though.
The scale length is a true 2/3 of 34", so 22.666". I had to use guitar strings because of the guitar tuners that I used. Needless to say, it sounds far from a true bass. Fun to play,and it feels absolutely tiny, but getting the right string tension for a desired tuning is hard.
If anything, make it a short scale of 30". A seven year old can easily play in that range ( 22" scale is like a toy, I really mean it ), and you will a get a much better sound.
 

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#10
Hi.

Al Heeley said:
I want to build my son a scaled-down P-bass, he's only seven but showing a great interest in music now. I have some questions for others who have built mini basses.
1) Can you source a suitable bridge with closer string spacing to suit the scaled down size of the bass?
2) Pickups & string spacing - same as above
Click to expand...

When drawing the plans for the P, just for the fun of it, draw a set for a scaled down Ric also ;).

The Ric You made simply looks awesome and I'd imagine that Your son would like a bass "just like Dads".

As for the bridge, the cheap individual pieces should work well and as said earlier, almost any blade type pickup as well, wether it's meant for a bass or a guitar.

Regards
Sam
 
#12
I like the idea of a mini ricky! Maybe next time when I have some more maple. OK, here's the start of the mini P-bass for my lad: Some mahogany offcuts from the garage jigsawed to the rough shape, jointed and clamped.
This is a scaled down 3/4 size P-bass body shape and will have a 25" scale, bolt-on mahogany neck.
I need to find some 1/4" wood cap for the body to build the thickness up a little.
hogny.jpg
 
#16
radii said:
A while ago, I did build my 3 1/2 year old son a 2/3 scale bass. He likes it but never playes it :crying: It fits his size perfectly though.
The scale length is a true 2/3 of 34", so 22.666". I had to use guitar strings because of the guitar tuners that I used. Needless to say, it sounds far from a true bass. Fun to play,and it feels absolutely tiny, but getting the right string tension for a desired tuning is hard.
If anything, make it a short scale of 30". A seven year old can easily play in that range ( 22" scale is like a toy, I really mean it ), and you will a get a much better sound.
Click to expand...

That bass/pic is ridiculously awesome. :)
 

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