Winter 2019 Build Off - the EUV

[ctmullins]

I think you will be ok with .25" because the distance under the bridge is short. Uprights have a bass bar for support under the E and a sound post that transfers vibration to the back under the G which also provides support.

Thanks - honestly this is straying outside of my comfort zone quite a bit, so it’s a “build it and see what happens” approach...

So are you going to use a piezo?

Piezo, yes. I have a couple of Artec undersaddle units. Not sure if i want to use one, or perhaps place the second one somewhere interesting and blend them..??

 

[Will_White]

Thanks - honestly this is straying outside of my comfort zone quite a bit, so it’s a “build it and see what happens” approach...



Piezo, yes. I have a couple of Artec undersaddle units. Not sure if i want to use one, or perhaps place the second one somewhere interesting and blend them..??

I've had good results on guitars using a disc peizo on the sound board and a rod under saddle and mixing them with a selector. I think @Christopher DBG does something similar too. That might not work for you though because your effective soundboard is fairly small.

 

[ctmullins]

I’ve been mulling over the best piezo placement for a while. At first I had planned on building it directly into the bridge, as many people do. But that would mean drilling through for wires, and I don’t like the idea of the bridge dangling when there is no string pressure. I’d like to make the neck easily detachable for transport, which means the strings have to be slackened, which means the bridge would then be loose.

So instead I decided to route a small ledge into the center block, just under the top plate, close to where the bridge will be placed.

The Artec fits perfectly in width. That wasn’t planned, just a happy accident. .

The depth of the ledge is just a smidge deeper than the Artec. That was planned, as I’ve read that using a small cork shim can improve the evenness of a piezo’s response. I’ve also discovered that response varies according to how much “preload” is on the piezo (this is perhaps not surprising), so varying the thickness of the cork shim will let me fine-tune that as well.

Then, because I have two piezos, and because it’s easy to do before I glue the top on, I put an identical ledge up next to the neck.

 

[ctmullins]

Top is glued - artsy clamp shot:

Also got the neck roughed out.

That’s all for this weekend!

 

[Passinwind]

Thanks! Yes, the Gollihurs are awesome. So far they’ve supplied me with a pre-shaped fingerboard, a pair of endpins, and a set of GHS Crossover strings.

I am completely unfamiliar with the world of upright strings, so I’m sure a bit of (expensive) experimentation will be needed. For now I’m going with the slightly shorter strings designed for the NS instruments, but I also plan on building some way of accommodating the extra length of normal DB strings. Probably something along the lines of what NS uses. That Ned is pretty smart!

Digging this thread a lot. A luthier friend has asked me to consult on a customer EUB build, and like you he is not an experienced upright player. Quite a few of us use an EUB as a surrogate for an AUB for practice, and beyond wanting the scale length to be identical or at least very close, and the ability to use various standard upright strings, the "shoulder" or upper bout would be nearly mandatory for many of us, and as you also mentioned, positional cues like the neck join would also be very helpful. But there are many ways to skin felis catus and I look forward to seeing how the rest of your build progresses.

 

[ctmullins]

Tailpiece out of Macassar ebony.

 

[dwizum]

Perfect, it looks like a mustache. Bonus points if you place the control knobs where the eyes should go.

 

[Haroldo]

Tailpiece out of Macassar ebony.

View attachment 3310350

View attachment 3310351

 

[bassingeorge]

Subbed, this looks incredible!

 

[Microbass]

Can't wait to see this finished! Epic build.

 

[ctmullins]

You guys are a hoot! Love the mustache pic. Who is that anyway? Couldn’t quite make out the signature...

Tonight I got the tailpiece drilled and notched, and the edges sanded a bit.

And corresponding recesses in the body.

Once this is glued down I can set the neck location and route the neck pocket.

 

[SLivinghouse]

One thing concerns me is that those holes don't look big enough to pass through upright string ball ends when changing strings if that is your intention. Could just be not seeing it to scale though on my laptop. Nice build!

Steve

 

[ctmullins]

One thing concerns me is that those holes don't look big enough to pass through upright string ball ends when changing strings if that is your intention. Could just be not seeing it to scale though on my laptop. Nice build!

Steve

Thank you Steve! It sounds like you have some upright experience, so I appreciate you sharing. And your eyes are sharp - this build is based on many of the NS EUB cues, including using the somewhat shorter NS-sized strings. The scale length will still be somewhere between 40” and 41”, but the NS instruments have a much shorter after length (distance from string anchor to bridge) than a normal 3/4 upright. And, as the Gollihurs have posted on their site, the ball ends are electric bass sized, and not traditional 3/4 DB sized. I’ve already purchased a set of GHS Crossover strings from them, so I drilled this tailpiece to fit those ball ends. But I also plan on drilling all the way through the body to accommodate full-length “real” DB strings too!

I sent a message to Gollihur asking how much longer the normal strings are, and they said about 7 inches. If I drill through the body, that will buy me about 3.5 inches, so I need to figure out if the remainder can be taken up on the tuner posts, or if I need more length on the back of the body...

 

[SLivinghouse]

Thank you Steve! It sounds like you have some upright experience, so I appreciate you sharing. And your eyes are sharp - this build is based on many of the NS EUB cues, including using the somewhat shorter NS-sized strings. The scale length will still be somewhere between 40” and 41”, but the NS instruments have a much shorter after length (distance from string anchor to bridge) than a normal 3/4 upright. And, as the Gollihurs have posted on their site, the ball ends are electric bass sized, and not traditional 3/4 DB sized. I’ve already purchased a set of GHS Crossover strings from them, so I drilled this tailpiece to fit those ball ends. But I also plan on drilling all the way through the body to accommodate full-length “real” DB strings too!

I sent a message to Gollihur asking how much longer the normal strings are, and they said about 7 inches. If I drill through the body, that will buy me about 3.5 inches, so I need to figure out if the remainder can be taken up on the tuner posts, or if I need more length on the back of the body...

So FYI I have two uprights and an NS NXT + electric basses. You are incorrect about a couple things. 1) NS Design EUB models are 41.73" (you can confirm on their website which has other specs that may be helpful), the "NS Omni bass" is 34" short scale. 2) You may be incorrect in assuming the GHS ball ends are typical. I don't have one to measure, but I don't think they are. If you drill for that you maybe stuck with only being able to use those strings. I would design for regular ball ends.
Regarding extra sting length.
The NS Design basses use up extra sting length behind the body.

 

[Haroldo]

You guys are a hoot! Love the mustache pic. Who is that anyway? Couldn’t quite make out the signature...

Tonight I got the tailpiece drilled and notched, and the edges sanded a bit.

View attachment 3312173

And corresponding recesses in the body.

View attachment 3312174

Once this is glued down I can set the neck location and route the neck pocket.

1) This is the build that is really catching my eye.
2) Jerry Colonna: Invalid Link Removed .

 

[Jon Clegg]

1) This is the build that is really catching my eye.
2) Jerry Colonna: Invalid Link Removed .

Maybe this build should be named Yehudi?

 

[ctmullins]

1) This is the build that is really catching my eye.
2) Jerry Colonna: Invalid Link Removed .

Thanks for that! An absurdist, a prankster, and a trombonist? My kind of guy!

It’s been a long while since I watched the “Road...” movies. Might be time to revisit them.

 

[ctmullins]

Yesterday I glued the tailpiece down.

Now that the tailpiece is located, today’s task is to definitively locate the neck. My goal is to try and get 41” of scale length without running out of enough string to wind around the A string tuner. Using a scrap of wood to approximate the bridge height,

This is what the string length at the headstock looks like currently.

I can compact my tuner spacing a bit, which will help, but which will also cause the strings to stray from the straight path I had originally laid out. Judging by the location of the silk, I can probably slide the neck up an inch or so, which would bring me to around 41” of scale length and still leave just enough string to wind...

 

[SLivinghouse]

You can often buy used upright bass strings pretty cheap on either the DB section classifieds here, Ebay or even craigslist if you are near a large city. If you intent to use regular upright strings on it, I would have one of those around for measuring too. Might even try an violin shop nearby to see if they've got something you could use.
Steve

 

[ctmullins]

After careful measuring, I settled on an exact (well, within 2mm) neck location. I think I’m going to be able to do 41” after all!

Cut the neck tenon,

And the body mortise, using my 2 degree rails.

And made a little pocket for my stash.

Checked alignment with my laser level (no pic), all good!