Unskilled Idiot Makes Most Basic Bass Possible

[OllieVT]

Hello all. Looking at the creations here makes me a little embarrassed to be posting in this part of the forum, but I think it's the right spot, so here goes.

Despite a lack of knowledge, tools, skill, etc (I'm a beginner bassist and I've never even changed the strings on an instrument) I've decided it might be fun to make something that makes bassy sounds through an amp. My goal here is to do something as simple and cheap as possible. If it goes well, I'll take the next step up, but I don't want to crawl before I can roll over and gurgle, or whatever it is that happens before crawling.

The current master plan is to take some of the random bits of lumber I have in the basement plus some 34" bass strings I already have, buy a pick-up, tuning pegs and a saddle, and make a lap bass. I figure this is about as simple as it gets. I'm thinking 4-string, because I have four strings, and the other components (cheap ones at least) seem to expect that as a default. However, if the advice here is that two, or even one, will make things noticeably easier/cheaper for some reason, then I'm open to that.

Here are the pick-up, tuning pegs and saddle I'm looking at, chosen purely on what seems reasonable from a search on Amazon. It was the only pick-up I saw that looked like it came all attached with no soldering or anything needed.

I'm thinking that I can improvise a nut from a bit of wood. Bad plan? Should I get one of those too? As a lap bass, I'm going high action and no frets, two aspects that I thought would make it more forgiving. Right?

So, given that that is the entire plan so far, what advice do you have? What will be trickiest? What are the possible mistakes, especially the really obvious ones that you don't think are worth mentioning. They are!

Thanks!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

My advice: Buy a pre-made neck. Building a body is pretty straightforward, a neck… not so much, and if you eff it up the bass will be unplayable. You can get a decent Fender style fretted neck for something like $150. In theory you can build a bass body with a coping saw, some drills, and a chisel, but even a cheap Harbor Freight router will yield far better results. Watch as many YT videos as you can stand on building a bass body and then draw out your body design full size on construction paper. Don't wing it, draw it out so you know where everything goes, or it will end in tears. Save the neck build until you have some skills under your belt.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

If you end up buying a neck online, might want to jump on it before the price goes up by 25-50%. Most of the cheaper ones are Chinese manufacture. Allparts and Mightly Mite make some decent necks, but I suspect they are imported as well.

 

[OllieVT]

Thanks. This sounds like good advice for Project #2, but already more advanced (and more $$) than I'm shooting for with this one.

One of the reasons to choose a lap bass, in addition to the hoped-for ease and cheapness, is that it'll be different to anything I have. If I make a vaguely normal looking bass, there's 0% chance it'll be even half as good as the ones I already have. But if I make a lap bass, it's guaranteed to be the best lap bass I've ever played. How's that for smart thinking?

 

[MIMike]

If you already have a bass, or multiple basses, what is the motivation for this project? Do you just feel the need to build something?
Do you want to learn the process for how basses/guitars are made?
You won't need a pickup in a "lap bass" if you don't intend to plug it in. If you do intend to amplify it, then you will need more than just a pickup…a whole wiring harness (pots, knobs, caps wire and an ability to solder) will be required.
If playing around with an instrument to see how it all works is the goal, I would take one of the instruments you already have and look to make modifications on that. Or, go to a pawn shop and find a basket case instrument that you can get for $50 and play around with that to try and get it working. If you go that direction, I recommend making sure the neck is pretty straight with a working truss rod (turns in both directions with a little bit of resistance).
Good luck on your adventure.

 

[tpaul]

From your description, I gather you are not planning on a neck as part of this build. So, basically a board with four strings and no frets, correct?

Are you planning to play this instrument with a slide? Or do the strings need to be close enough to the board that you can press them down to the wood without hurting your fingers and making them go wildly out of tune?

And the plan is to play it flat in your lap, like a dulcimer?

 

[OllieVT]

Motivation is mostly just to see if I can make something like this work, without spending a fortune. Seems like it'd be fun to do and maybe fun to play with afterwards?

For the pick-up stuff, I was hoping the one I'd found had all that soldering and stuff done. From the pictures it looks like it's got things attached? I have no soldering experience or tools, so if that's unavoidable I need to do some rethinking. (The "unskilled idiot" part was not false modesty!)

Yes, a board with no frets played flat on my lap or on a table, using a slide. My theory is/was that this skips the need for some of the more difficult or precise work. And I do think it would be fun to play such an instrument, but I never have.

Edit. Something like this is what I had in mind:

 

[aprod]

Why try and reinvent the wheel when there are so many inexpensive basses available.

 

[OllieVT]

Inventing wheels is fun, I might learn something, while I'm doing this I won't be selling heroin to children,...

Why have hobbies at all?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I'm all for Gonzo Woodworking, as long the expectations match the skillset. If it's just a bass lap steel, a plank with tuners, strings, and electronics is all you need. If it plays, you may find yourself addicted to the building hobby, as I am. Welcome to the sickness!

 

[OllieVT]

OK, so it seems the biggest barrier to a workable idea at the moment is how to get the noise from the strings into people's ears. Three possible approaches, each of which I have questions about:

1. A pick-up, like on a regular electric bass. This one I found looks like it has the various doodads already attached. Are there additional non-cosmetic steps beyond getting this thing under the strings and putting a cable into the jack? If so, what's the easiest way for a current non-solderer to get a pick-up solution working? One of the bass kits I looked at said it had pluggable components so no soldering was required, do such things exist without having to buy the whole kit (if the linked one isn't that already)?

2. Acoustic. So now I need some sort of soundbox. In principle, this thing does not need to be mobile or be played while holding it, so size and weight are not immediate restrictions. But what makes a good soundbox? What makes a minimally viable one? Ideas for where I can go to read about this?

3. Both! Is a piezo pick up system like this one something that might bypass the need either to work with a regular pick-up or to build a /good/ soundbox? I know nothing about these, so again, links and advice very welcome.

 

[OllieVT]

I'm all for Gonzo Woodworking, as long the expectations match the skillset. If it's just a bass lap steel, a plank with tuners, strings, and electronics is all you need. If it plays, you may find yourself addicted to the building hobby, as I am. Welcome to the sickness!

Yep, expectations are down there with the skillset, but I hope they'll both gradually improve.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

OK, so it seems the biggest barrier to a workable idea at the moment is how to get the noise from the strings into people's ears. Three possible approaches, each of which I have questions about:

1. A pick-up, like on a regular electric bass. This one I found looks like it has the various doodads already attached. Are there additional non-cosmetic steps beyond getting this thing under the strings and putting a cable into the jack? If so, what's the easiest way for a current non-solderer to get a pick-up solution working? One of the bass kits I looked at said it had pluggable components so no soldering was required, do such things exist without having to buy the whole kit (if the linked one isn't that already)?

2. Acoustic. So now I need some sort of soundbox. In principle, this thing does not need to be mobile or be played while holding it, so size and weight are not immediate restrictions. But what makes a good soundbox? What makes a minimally viable one? Ideas for where I can go to read about this?

3. Both! Is a piezo pick up system like this one something that might bypass the need either to work with a regular pick-up or to build a /good/ soundbox? I know nothing about these, so again, links and advice very welcome.

The pickup you linked does look like it comes with the associated electronics. You'll need to create a cavity for the pickups, which can be a bit complex with Precision style pickups, more than a soapbar anyway, or have the strings far enough off of the top to just mount the pickups to the body. After that, the pots and output jack need to go somewhere. The easiest thing is probably to make a cavity for them and a pickguard type cover to mount them to. I suppose if you're all in on the gonzo you could put the electronics in some kind of box and mount that to the bass.

 

[trevcda]

I say go for it! The slinky and many other odd things were not created with their eventual uses in mind. Most of them by accident. Except the nut. At least get a piece (at least one) of nut material large enough to do the job and file it down to what you need. It may take a couple of tries and a little trial and error to get it right. Unless you find some very, very hard wood it probably won't take the pressure of four strings grinding on very well over time. But I'm no luthier, so what do I know? Have fun with it and be sure to post your progress!

 

[N4860]

OK, so it seems the biggest barrier to a workable idea at the moment is how to get the noise from the strings into people's ears. Three possible approaches, each of which I have questions about:

1. A pick-up, like on a regular electric bass. This one I found looks like it has the various doodads already attached. Are there additional non-cosmetic steps beyond getting this thing under the strings and putting a cable into the jack? If so, what's the easiest way for a current non-solderer to get a pick-up solution working? One of the bass kits I looked at said it had pluggable components so no soldering was required, do such things exist without having to buy the whole kit (if the linked one isn't that already)?

2. Acoustic. So now I need some sort of soundbox. In principle, this thing does not need to be mobile or be played while holding it, so size and weight are not immediate restrictions. But what makes a good soundbox? What makes a minimally viable one? Ideas for where I can go to read about this?

3. Both! Is a piezo pick up system like this one something that might bypass the need either to work with a regular pick-up or to build a /good/ soundbox? I know nothing about these, so again, links and advice very welcome.

Honestly, just get a soldering iron and learn how to use it. It'll probably take you an hour or 2 to learn to solder well enough to hook up a pickup to simple volume, tone, and output jack. Soldering irons can be found quite cheap.

 

[klyph]

I would mount the pickup in a cover that goes over the strings near the bridge, so you can rest your hand on it, like a traditional lap steel. You won't have to do any routing to the body, and you can easily move the pickup location. Just a thought.

 

[OllieVT]

The pickup you linked does look like it comes with the associated electronics. You'll need to create a cavity for the pickups, which can be a bit complex with Precision style pickups, more than a soapbar anyway, or have the strings far enough off of the top to just mount the pickups to the body. After that, the pots and output jack need to go somewhere. The easiest thing is probably to make a cavity for them and a pickguard type cover to mount them to. I suppose if you're all in on the gonzo you could put the electronics in some kind of box and mount that to the bass.

Yes to the gonzo: rather than making cavities I was imagining attaching different bits of wood together so that things came in at the right height for whatever it needed to do, with a bit of drilling for holes for wires and such. As you might be able to tell, I don't have detailed plans yet, but aesthetics are some way down the list.

... Except the nut. ... it probably won't take the pressure of four strings grinding on very well over time....

Noted. I'll add it to the shopping list. It looks like there are some cheap basic ones, so it's not going to double my costs or anything.

Honestly, just get a soldering iron and learn how to use it. It'll probably take you an hour or 2 to learn to solder well enough to hook up a pickup to simple volume, tone, and output jack. Soldering irons can be found quite cheap.

That might be a good idea. I think I'll order that pick-up and see if I can do without as Plan A, but soldering doesn't seem that scary.

I would mount the pickup in a cover that goes over the strings near the bridge, so you can rest your hand on it, like a traditional lap steel. You won't have to do any routing to the body, and you can easily move the pickup location. Just a thought.

That's a nice idea. I haven't thought through exactly how the pieces there are going to come together but this seems like a good option.


Does anyone have experience with or thoughts on those piezo pick-ups? It's seems on the face of it that it might be easier in lots of ways, but it might be much harder in a way I haven't grasped yet.

Thanks everyone! I'll keep you updated with progress and, no doubt, more questions.

 

[retslock]

Hello all. Looking at the creations here makes me a little embarrassed to be posting in this part of the forum, but I think it's the right spot, so here goes.

Despite a lack of knowledge, tools, skill, etc (I'm a beginner bassist and I've never even changed the strings on an instrument) I've decided it might be fun to make something that makes bassy sounds through an amp. My goal here is to do something as simple and cheap as possible. If it goes well, I'll take the next step up, but I don't want to crawl before I can roll over and gurgle, or whatever it is that happens before crawling.

The current master plan is to take some of the random bits of lumber I have in the basement plus some 34" bass strings I already have, buy a pick-up, tuning pegs and a saddle, and make a lap bass. I figure this is about as simple as it gets. I'm thinking 4-string, because I have four strings, and the other components (cheap ones at least) seem to expect that as a default. However, if the advice here is that two, or even one, will make things noticeably easier/cheaper for some reason, then I'm open to that.

Here are the pick-up, tuning pegs and saddle I'm looking at, chosen purely on what seems reasonable from a search on Amazon. It was the only pick-up I saw that looked like it came all attached with no soldering or anything needed.

I'm thinking that I can improvise a nut from a bit of wood. Bad plan? Should I get one of those too? As a lap bass, I'm going high action and no frets, two aspects that I thought would make it more forgiving. Right?

So, given that that is the entire plan so far, what advice do you have? What will be trickiest? What are the possible mistakes, especially the really obvious ones that you don't think are worth mentioning. They are!

Thanks!

I had no experience building basses at all so bought a neck first - I wasn't game to try to build one. Then I watched a zillion Youtube videos before I did anything else. It took a while - there are things you need to learn to do and not to do.
I had a fret saw and a used router that didn't cost much and they made the job so much easier. My first result turned out great and I play it at gigs. Do some learning before you cut anything. The resources are available.
Good luck with your project.

 

[retslock]

If you end up buying a neck online, might want to jump on it before the price goes up by 25-50%. Most of the cheaper ones are Chinese manufacture. Allparts and Mightly Mite make some decent necks, but I suspect they are imported as well.

Allparts necks are made in Asia but they're solid necks. I have two that are very stable after a few years in action on gigs.

 

[N4860]

That might be a good idea. I think I'll order that pick-up and see if I can do without as Plan A, but soldering doesn't seem that scary.

If you want something to practice your soldering with, grab some instrument cable and some 1/4" jacks and you can make some cables. That way you can get some practice, and end up with some useful cables that you can use in the future.