Trampling on some "Sacred Cows"... (Scroll Bass, Tele Bass)

[Dark Horse]

I like chocolate. I like peanut butter. But what I "really" like is chocolate and peanut butter together !

With that in mind....


I like Ampeg Scroll Basses. I like Telecaster Basses. Logically (or perhaps "illogically"!) I decided I'd see what it looks like if I did a "mash up" of the two ! Yeah, I know, both of these basses are held in extreme high regard, especially the scroll basses.... but I don't care ! I wanted to blend the two so that it looks like a classic bass, paying tribute to BOTH the Tele and the Scroll, but not being a duplicate of either.

It all started with a rough sketch I made.....

And that sketch turned into templates...here's one of the templates along with a roughly bandsawed body....

Beginning to get the body routed to the proper shape ....

And here's the body, routed to shape ...

Next up, I need to route the F-Holes. These have to go all the way through the body in order to give the "Scroll Bass" feel....

That's where it stands after the first day. LOTS of work to go. The plan is to use a bass Filtertron as the pickup. These are great sounding pickups, and should be a nice classic sound with flats to compliment the styling of the bass. I'm still working on a headstock design. I want to utilize elements of the Tele and the Scroll, though I'm not sure how that will work...I'm leaning toward a Tele-ish shape with a pickguard overlay that suggests the Scroll Basses pickguard.

I've been trying to figure out what to call this mash up. I'm not sure yet, but the one that makes me laugh the most is "Scro-Tel" !



Anyway, I might not be able to work tomorrow ...gig and a rehearsal.... but I'll keep this updated as things progress.

I hope you dig the idea, and don't hate me for trampling on sacred cows !








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EDIT: HERE ARE PHOTOS OF THE FINISHED BASS FOR THOSE WHO DON'T WANT TO READ THROUGH THE WHOLE THREAD !

 

[Rip Topaz]

Ok then I'm in here. Lol.

 

[Dark Horse]

Ok then I'm in here. Lol.

 

[ctmullins]

"Sacred cows make the best hamburgers", as they say. Love it! I hate Teles, but this is cool enough to overcome that. I'm particularly interested in hearing the Filtertron, too!

 

[Dark Horse]

While I'm at it, I want to say "thank you" to jumbodbassman ...he provided me with some info that has been really helpful regarding the scrolls. I don't think he quite envisioned this mash up though !

 

[Dark Horse]

"Sacred cows make the best hamburgers", as they say. Love it! I hate Teles, but this is cool enough to overcome that. I'm particularly interested in hearing the Filtertron, too!

this is gonna have the full face pickguard like the Ampegs...I think it'll look really cool when it's done.

I'll do a video or soundclips when I get it finished up. I love Filtertrons...

 

[colcifer]

Two threads? That'll be a pain.

 

[Dark Horse]

Two threads? That'll be a pain.

The one in "Basses"won't get updated like this one...just "major" stuff. This one will have more progress pics, thoughts, ideas, etc.

 

[colcifer]

Yeah, but my obsessive side will make me read both anyway.

 

[Dark Horse]

Yeah, but my obsessive side will make me read both anyway.

 

[ubnomnar]

Can't wait to see this one "on the fence!"

 

[Dark Horse]

Here's what the pickguard is gonna look like. What a PITA it's gonna be to cut out, shape, and smooth ....but it'll totally be worth it !

 

[Dark Horse]

Can't wait to see this one "on the fence!"

I think it's gonna look great up there !

 

[bassingeorge]

subbed!

 

[Darkstrike]

Always liked the idea of basses with carrying handles....

 

[TatankaWilly]

"Sacred cows make the best hamburgers", as they say. Love it! I hate Teles, but this is cool enough to overcome that. I'm particularly interested in hearing the Filtertron, too!

+1 but this intrigues me anyway. Subbed!

 

[Stealth]

Darkhorse, every build you make is amazing. I hope we'll get to hear this by the time it's fully built.

 

[HaMMerHeD]

Here's what the pickguard is gonna look like. What a PITA it's gonna be to cut out, shape, and smooth ....but it'll totally be worth it !

Would look awesome with a 3-5 layer pickguard and bound F-hole edges.

 

[Dark Horse]

Would look awesome with a 3-5 layer pickguard and bound F-hole edges.

It'll definitely be a 3 layer, but I won't be binding the edges...at least on this one.

 

[Dark Horse]

Shaping the pickguard template -

I cut the basic shape on a scroll saw, then used a drum sander attachment in my drill press to smooth out the outside lines. After that was done, I attached the template to the body and used a pattern tracer bit (with bearing on the bottom) to route the sections that touch the f-holes... this way the pickguard will match the f-holes exactly.

I still have to cut out the pickup hole, and locate the control and output jack holes, as well as a bit of final sanding...but this should show you what it will look like "shape-wise".