So this is just a hypothetical situation, but if someone came to you without a budget for a bass and gave you complete creative freedom to build a 4 string bass for them what would you build.
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What would you do if someone gave you total creative freedom?
- Thread starter Will_White
- Start date
a simple PJ-Bass for 400 bucks
no need to spend more money
no need to spend more money
- May 1, 2014
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- Owner Melodious Resonance Constructs
The first thing I would do would be to ask some questions about their playing style, FB radius and string preferences, and tonal desires. What kind of basses do they love, and why? What kinds of wood appeal to them? What kinds of pickups (e.g. J style, P style, MM, etc.) have they used and liked, and what did they hate?
Or, is he/she looking for you to make something completely unique? You definitely need more info. OR, if they don't know what they want, make them a bass that you would make for yourself.
This person is giving you complete creative freedom, but I guess some ergonomic information would be need, let's just say playing style is fingers or a pick, fretboard radius on the flatter side, and heavier gauge strings. Pickups, woods, finishing, scale length, fretted/fretless, electronics, body shape etc. Would all be your choice.
- May 1, 2014
- 2,494
- 2,341
- 56
- Disclosures
- Owner Melodious Resonance Constructs
OK. Based on that I would do one of the following two designs, both of which are on my future build list:
Option 1:
Option 1:
- Aleph body shape
- 30" Scale headless / fretless
- Custom machined minimalist headless tuners
- Shedua core and neck
- Macassar ebony finger board with a flat radius that extends all the way to the bottom of the body to create a finger ramp
- Raven skull inlay in the fingerboard/ramp near the middle of the body
- Pale Moon Ebony top with a black accent line between the top and core
- Fishman matrix infinity under saddle piezo system
- Ebony wooden bridge
- Aleph body shape
- 30" Scale headless / fretless
- Custom machined minimalist headless tuners
- Purple Heart core (ebonized with ferric acetate)
- Purple heart neck (ebonized with ferric acetate)
- Holly finger board with a flat radius that extends all the way to the bottom of the body to create a finger ramp
- Octopus inlay in the fingerboard/ramp near the bottom of the body
- Alabaster stone top
- Custom built low impedance pickup
- Purple heart wooden bridge
- May 1, 2014
- 2,494
- 2,341
- 56
- Disclosures
- Owner Melodious Resonance Constructs
- May 1, 2014
- 2,494
- 2,341
- 56
- Disclosures
- Owner Melodious Resonance Constructs
- May 1, 2014
- 2,494
- 2,341
- 56
- Disclosures
- Owner Melodious Resonance Constructs
You would have total creative freedom over the truss rod cover.I'd build another one of these:
- May 1, 2014
- 2,494
- 2,341
- 56
- Disclosures
- Owner Melodious Resonance Constructs
As long as we are dreaming I would love to design and build a bass with an intricately designed laser etched top and fingerboard.
I would attach 4 strings from the top of the Empire State bldg to the sidewalk
And make a bow
And make a bow
I just thought immediately about going into the classifieds and building a cheap Precision with a nice pick guard.
A 33 inch scale Jazz bass with P body, light (8 lbs), maple neck, maple fretboard, thin as the Geddy Lee neck. Natural, black or white. Humbucker J pickup.
A bass that can be setup with low action without much buzz.
5 strings with a tight strings spacing.
A bass that can be setup with low action without much buzz.
5 strings with a tight strings spacing.
If we're building something for someone else...
I'd be preparing myself to build something I might HATE, for their benefit. I'd want to know what they love in an instrument. Then I'd build something in that specification that was light, supple and effortless to play. Something that extends them as a player. That's the luthier's art.
It's easy to build spaceship looking basses that melt people's brains. Real creativity is a bass that looks like nothing but plays like it's out of this world.
I'd be preparing myself to build something I might HATE, for their benefit. I'd want to know what they love in an instrument. Then I'd build something in that specification that was light, supple and effortless to play. Something that extends them as a player. That's the luthier's art.
It's easy to build spaceship looking basses that melt people's brains. Real creativity is a bass that looks like nothing but plays like it's out of this world.
I would build a clone of a MIJ Fender Jaguar. It would be lake placid blue with a matching headstock and a matt black pickguard. It would also have an ebony fretboard with no dots or inlays. That's all.
Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
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- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
You can buy one for that, but it would be tough to build a good one at that price point.
