Questions before first build.

[BassCactus]

Well, I'm just about to start my first bass build. A few of my friends who have tools and machines at their houses (their parents are engineers etc.) are willing to help me with this one, so it'll be a fun experience.

So there's two ideas being tossed up at the moment.
1. Build a really, REALLY short scale bass that you could use for traveling, maybe around 20-22" scale length. The obvious problem here would be finding strings - would it even be possible to find strings that would work for this?

or 2. Build a short scale bass (30-32" scale length).

Obviously, I'll be using cheap(er) wood, since I don't want to dive in with some expensive wood and end up with nothing.

Is there anything I should be aware of before I start making giant mistakes?

 

[PasdaBeer]

measure 5 times, cut once.

Where to start? Theres a lot involved, and the first build is most likely to be a disaster. Just fair warning

I know one little thing i do now, everyday when I start working, I double check the measurments of EVERY peice, just to be sure I wasnt crazy the day before.

I actually just caught a HUGE mistake ( accidently made the tapper of my neck over 3/8 to large ) by doing that.

 

[Mikey R]

measure 5 times, cut once.

Where to start? Theres a lot involved, and the first build is most likely to be a disaster. Just fair warning

+1 - the first one will be a prototype, no matter what!

i'd like to add, whenever youre routing with a template, double check the clamps to make sure they wont slip. and double check the grub screw holding the bearing on the router bit isnt loose

 

[renniw]

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=225608

This is a great place to start.

Also, read all you can on instrument making.

This forum is a great place.

Also, look for build in progress threads. There are some great ideas on how to do things among these.

 

[Gone]

On the really short scale front you could build an ashbory bass.
This was my first build:
Link Removed

 

[Arx]

Yeah, your super-short scale idea probably won't work too well with regular strings. Length isn't a big deal. You should be able to cut them down. You'll want very thick strings to help bring up the tension.

I'd say that if you want something small, build a headless 30". That's what I'm working on right now, and it'll end up a few inches shorter than a regular guitar.