WBO 23 - Creating Surreal Kaos!

[AbnormalForms]

How do you do, fellow ki... nerds.... TBers!
Nailed it
I'm am a fantastical wood wiza... mmm, no, that's not right...
I do magical things with woo.... shouldn't finish that either...
OK, you caught me. I have virtually no experience with working with wood to fashion a functioning and well playing instrument. I do, however, know how to jam some plastic in a machine and program it to spit out an instrument looking object. Will it work? I guess that's what here to find out!
THE STORY:
Before I explain what I want this instrument, this monster, this.... thing to be, I'll give a bit of back story. Early last year I stumbled upon a randomly recommended Youtube video called ENA - Temptation Stairway. It's about this... girl? racing her friend to get a wish from a powerful being. What? Yeah, of course it's much deeper than that. It's set in a surreal, colorful, 90's style adventure game world full of bizarre characters that interact in 16-bit cutscenes. You know what, why not just experience it for yourself:

Head done spinning? Left with more questions than answers? Didn't bother to watch it? Good.
Anyways, I absolutely adored the music in this quite strange piece of media and started listening to contributing artists throughout the rest of the year, my personal favorite being Graham Kartna, an artist who uses concrete drum beats and funky basslines topped off with almost overwhelming drunken synths:

Ah, truly a masterpiece of an abstract mind. So, this then leads me here, to the point of this post. I wanted to make my first build-off here a tribute to my most listened to genre throughout 2022 that I hope to contribute to some day: ENAwave!
THE BUILD:
So, for core of this build, I wanted something that I didn't have in a bass yet: a short scale and an Alumitone. Still debating between 32" or 30", but that's future me's problem. But of course, just that isn't nearly chaotic enough, so on top of that, we're gonna take the bones of an Ibanez SRKP4 (the one where they jammed a Korg Kaos pad on the bottom of it) and toss 'em into the pot as well. Good, goooood... but we can do more than that, right? Of course we can, just look at all that wasted space waiting to be filled with random non-sense... electronic dohickies... overloading clutter.... buttons... Yes! Let's jam a synthesizer/sequencer combo in there as well! Who needs more nerds to make a band when one can do it all by themselves, alone, in their paren.... er, their basement! Being a fantastic artist who don't need no rulers or straight lines, I quickly and masterfully sketched out the idea:

Yes, I know, my handwriting is great, I am a programmer after all. Anyways, this is the general gist of the project, already having changed it by only having 1 pickup instead of 2.
THE NITTY-GRITTY:
Finally, we get to the part that yall've been waiting for, the specs:
- It's a bass. The end.


What? You're still here? Fine.
This will be a from scratch build.
I've acquired for this build: a Lace 3.5 bar Alumitone, a wiring harness from an Ibanez SRKP4, a Korg Mini Kaoss S2, an ALP travel style headless bridge, 2 rolls of R3D PLA (not my go-to, but supply on that is running low at the moment), a Raspberry Pi 4 to run Zynthian + 5" screen (not gonna lie, never used it before), an Adafruit Grand Central to run a custom MIDI controller, several pots, switches, and wires. Lots of wires. The bass's body will be styled to mimic ENA, being polygonal on the bass wing and smooth and cartoony on the treble wing. Colors TBD.
Planning on making the synth removable to be easier to program and a cover for it and the Kaoss pad holder when not connected to the bass, this way, the bass can still be played without all the fancy wing-dings. I wasn't a fan of where Ibanez had put the pad on their bass, so I moved it to a spot where I could control the touch pad with my thumb and still be playing at the same time. The MIDI controller is in a spot such that I can still strum the strings with my thumb if need be. Here's the general layout of my pile of interesting objects (the full wiring harness hasn't come in yet)(the neck analog won't be used, it's just for visual):

...
TURRON!

 

[Matt Liebenau]

That definitely has all the makings of a thing. Should be interesting.

 

[Jon Clegg]

Remember to post a link to your thread in here: Winter Build Off 2023 - Let Your Nerd Flag Fly | TalkBass.com
so that @Beej can find it.

 

[Crawforde]

Dang
I thought I was good at chaos.
you got this.

 

[AbnormalForms]

Remember to post a link to your thread in here: Winter Build Off 2023 - Let Your Nerd Flag Fly | TalkBass.com
so that @Beej can find it.

Ah, yes, whoops. My "N00b" is showing....
BTW, I hope I don't give off too many "copying your homework" vibes with this project. This is something I had floating around in my head ever since I watched a video by Look Mum No Computer where he mashed a MIDI converter and a synth into a Hondo bass a few years ago, but never could really justify the funds (or the know-how for that matter) into creating.

(link to that if you wanted to see, it's pretty great)
I've actually been collecting the parts for this for a while (and they've been collecting dust, heh) and saw this build-off as the opportunity to finally get myself in gear to get this gear assembled. Anyways, enough excuses on stealing other people's property... er, intellectual property, I'm just hoping working on this project will actually motivate me to learn how to play the bloated thing!

 

[Reedt2000]

So cool, I'm in

Sub'd

 

[AbnormalForms]

The wiring harness for the bass/Kaoss pad came in today. I temporarily hooked up the Alumitone to it and tested it by hovering it near the strings of one of my other basses:

Works pretty well, in fact, maybe too well in certain areas. The harness has a built-in distortion circuit (as if Ibanez thought that the Kaoss pad wasn't enough) and Hoo-wee is that circuit HOT! Will have to look into a bit more once I have it anchored to a more stable surface than my lap... Anyways, with the harness in hand, I went to my analog to see how well it would fit into the overall design. Looks like it's gonna have a longer, single-cut look to the bass horn to jam all these wires 'n boards up in there. I think I also settled on making the bass 30" scale, that way it won't take my left hand as long to travel to the MIDI controls that I plan on putting near the treble horn if need be.

I know the pickup probably isn't in the "sweet" spot here, it was mostly just to see how everything laid out at that scale (the fingerboard I'm using here is for a 34" scale).

In addition to the wiring harness, a few more electronic stuff came in as well: wires and a USB charging hub that I'll be using to power the devices. Was unsure if all of this stuff plugged in would draw too many amps for the charging hub to handle, but to my relief, everything turned on!

From here, I can finally start on the design of the 3d model that I'll be uploading to the printer. It's kinda the reason I don't have any fancy, well drawn schematics, as the schematics that I make in the computer will eventually become the bass itself. Just needed to make sure I had all of the parts on hand first so I can measure 'em twice and cut onc. I'll upload intermittent pics of the model being designed, as it's kinda like the virtual clamps and glue I use to bring this whole thing together, just a whole lot less physically demanding. Seriously, I applaud you folks for being able to sand a bass for more than 5 minutes at a time.

 

[Crawforde]

This thing is like 1980a arcade cool, if that makes any sense. Early 80s feeding quarters into games, lights and sounds and smoke everywhere. Ahhhh better living through chemistry and electronics. At least I think I almost remember something like that.
Sanding can sometimes be tedious even though it's often relaxing and rewarding.
Judiciously scraping and filing can minimize the need, but it seems that most projects, not just noise makers, require enough to be uncomfortable. It's even worse when I am enjoying the process, hit the zone and loose track of the time. Then the next day I can't type or write any better than a six-year old, and I'm normally like a 9 or 10.

 

[Jon Clegg]

Ah, yes, whoops. My "N00b" is showing....
BTW, I hope I don't give off too many "copying your homework" vibes with this project. This is something I had floating around in my head ever since I watched a video by Look Mum No Computer where he mashed a MIDI converter and a synth into a Hondo bass a few years ago, but never could really justify the funds (or the know-how for that matter) into creating.

No worries; warped minds think alike

 

[Flamingo21]

1. I like your writing style.

2. Will the charging hub be built into the instrument as well?

3. Do you have a clue as to the final weight?

 

[Bruce Johnson]

This looks like a fun and very nerd-like project! It's time for you to summon up some woodworking and Luthier skills and build a bass guitar frame to hold all this stuff together. It doesn't have to be fancy, just functional. Dig around in all the current and past project threads here on Luthier's Corner for ideas.

My classic favorite of this type of "instrument" is the SynthAxeDrumitar, built and played by Future Man of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

By the way, if I remember correctly, that "fingerboard" is pieces of circuit boards epoxied on. He connected wires to individual components on the boards, so they operate as capacitive touch sensors. He touches different parts of the board as triggers for the electronics. This instrument is an electronic drum kit. He does all the percussion in the Flektones.

And, remember, this was in the '80's. Vintage Nerd Tech!

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Mmmm. K.A.O.S. But will it attract Agent 99? Or the Cone of Silence?

 

[AbnormalForms]

1. I like your writing style.

2. Will the charging hub be built into the instrument as well?

3. Do you have a clue as to the final weight?

1. Thanks! Glad that's at least one person that is entertained my my brain fluid leaking out onto the keyboard.... Actually, on second thought, maybe I should be worried...

2. Yes. I first planned on using that massive phone-charging battery that's sitting under the bridge in the first pile picture posted on the OP, but I have since replaced that with the hub. I'll show what I mean in a picture in a later post.

3. Not entirely sure, but I have a feeling it'll be around the same weight as my 3d printed steampunk bass I have in my avatar:

(7lbs 2ounces in Americaneze, about 3.3 kg elsewhere)

 

[Flamingo21]

(7lbs 2ounces in Americaneze, about 3.3 kg elsewhere)

Well, that sounds very acceptable!

 

[AbnormalForms]

This looks like a fun and very nerd-like project! It's time for you to summon up some woodworking and Luthier skills and build a bass guitar frame to hold all this stuff together. It doesn't have to be fancy, just functional. Dig around in all the current and past project threads here on Luthier's Corner for ideas.

I wouldn't mind looking into woodworking for making instruments, I've just got a few things that are hanging me up on that at this present time. One: Money and space. I've got a fairly large garage out back that would make a very nice workshop, it's just about ~60 feet away from the house and has no power to it with the junction box in the house full. Still trying to figure out if I wanna bother dragging power out there or starting over closer to the house. Either one eats funds that are feeding other addictions at the moment (the biggest being trying to convince myself that I don't need to buy yet more basses...). Two: Attention. Vying for control over my free time is a tall order to get over the big three: Video games, playing bass, and watching cartoons (who said I was pretending to be a nerd?). Three: My personality. I've always had a knack for trying to go against the status quoue. Maybe it's so that I can see myself standing out from others if I do things differently than everyone else? Some kind of attention grabbing? Dunno, not a psychiatrist. Anyways, I can see the push for a more traditional style of instrument crafting, it makes sense, has a lot of trial and error already thrown into it with 100+ years of the industry (at least in an electric guitar sense), etc. But that would be the sane route. I'm not here to slander the fine art of luthery(?) (I'm absolutely amazed by what you guys accomplish here), I'm mostly just here to show off the silly experiments I make for myself. If my methods do offend, just write me off and call me a mad scientist for trying to take a plastic extruding rapid prototyping machine and create "acceptable" "products" out of it for the entire reason of it being different than what most people are doing because it's not really practical.

Sorry for the wall of text, here's a TL;DR: Some day it would be nice to be able to actually build a wooden bass, but I don't see that day being in the near future.

My classic favorite of this type of "instrument" is the SynthAxeDrumitar, built and played by Future Man of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

By the way, if I remember correctly, that "fingerboard" is pieces of circuit boards epoxied on. He connected wires to individual components on the boards, so they operate as capacitive touch sensors. He touches different parts of the board as triggers for the electronics. This instrument is an electronic drum kit. He does all the percussion in the Flektones.

And, remember, this was in the '80's. Vintage Nerd Tech!

I've seen this picture around here a few times, but I had no idea the guy played for Flek! Really the only thing I've heard from Bela Flek is the Outbound album, but man have I listened to it into the ground. It is absolutely fantastic and I would hope to someday be good enough to play bass along with at least one of those tracks.

 

[AbnormalForms]

The CAD designing has begun!

Got most of all of the little knobs and dohickies here that I want to add. With the wiring harness, I labeled what each one is (although I'm not entirely sure that the tone knob is actually a tone knob...), with C being a bypass for the input to the Kaos pad, D being the distortion circuit, and G being a gain knob. The Z pots are for controlling the Zynthian synth, which could also be controlled from the touch screen, but having the knobs there would make it easier to control. The unlabeled ones are for the midi controller which will include pitch bend, velocity, modulation, and an octave selector. The colors and overall design aren't exactly final, still got a lot of work to do.

The insides of the beast. Anything that is clear will be hollowed out for space for wires and connections. The charging hub is thin, but the USB cables plugged into it will stick out quite high. Space elsewhere is being reduced with the use of angled cables.

Quite the chunky thing, but it's slowly growing on me.

 

[Crawforde]

You would be surprised how much work can be done with a few hand tools and a small amount of space.
A good rasp, decent plane, a sharp chisel and a gouge and a Japanese saw can take you a long way. Part of my nerdness is to try and use as few tools as possible, and as much potato power as possible to get a nice result and still enjoy the process.

 

[Crawforde]

The CAD designing has begun!
View attachment 4944512
Quite the chunky thing, but it's slowly growing on me.

This is shaping up to be a retro shoegazer dream machine

 

[T_Bone_TL]

You would be surprised how much work can be done with a few hand tools and a small amount of space.

Yeah, I spent too long not doing any woodwork because I was taught the "pushing sticks through machines" method. Neanderthal wooddorking takes up much less space and electrical power is optional. For non-factory output it can compete on speed, too.

I'd say the mockup cries out for a top-handle. Which I've also seen referred to as a "monkey grip?"

 

[Crawforde]

Yeah, I spent too long not doing any woodwork because I was taught the "pushing sticks through machines" method. Neanderthal wooddorking takes up much less space and electrical power is optional. For non-factory output it can compete on speed, too.

I'd say the mockup cries out for a top-handle. Which I've also seen referred to as a "monkey grip?"

Yea. A grip would balance that out nicely. And make it easier to cary.
Could you have the grip be part of it, and print a removable part to cover the strings/ buttons/ fragile bits. It could be its own built in case.
Add a couple charged up capacitors attached to a couple of plates that say don't touch.