Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Winter Build Off 2022 - Get Ready
- Thread starter Beej
- Start date
Cool, fishnets and suspenders in all my BO pics. If I set up an OnlyFans I might even be able to pay for some of the parts. Woot!
Ugh sums it up. Apart from onions I eat nothing that grows below ground, and if I put tort on something people might think I like FSOs. For shame...
I usually aim for exactly middle in these things. It's a very honorable achievement.
?
Like, mid-way between a bass and not a bass?
Like, mid-way between a bass and not a bass?
Still mulling this over a bit. 
Current thoughts:
Separate category for non-bass specific instruments seems reasonable enough on it's face, but the ones proposed are still instruments that are either conceptually a bass or would produce sound that falls into the bass register, so hence still mulling.
If we do the separate category, the comparisons in the outcomes* will obviously be held separately. Should an extended range guitar or piccolo bass be compared separately? I guess I come here for the community, the sharing of building techniques and the fun. It seems a bit incongruent to throw all that out just because it's not technically an instrument in the traditional "bass" realm. Since this is mostly about bragging rights and fun rather than a $20k cash prize and distribution deal, it seems less important to be so extremely stringent in this.
So I'm sort of leaning to opening the door a little to include other instruments by making the lowest string thickness a guideline rather than a rule, but tie it directly to the scratch and partial build categories only. In other words, if you want to assemble a Telecaster guitar out of off-the-shelf pieces, you'd be welcome to do it in a build thread, but just not enter it in our build-off. If we ended up having a whole bunch of entries that pushed the limits, we could regroup and sort it out at that point, however right now that does not look to be the case.
Thoughts?
*(It appears to be relatively common based on previous voting, that the standards we are judged upon by the masses consist primarily of the evaluation of the final aesthetic beauty of the piece, and also evaluation of the craftspersonship.)
Current thoughts:Separate category for non-bass specific instruments seems reasonable enough on it's face, but the ones proposed are still instruments that are either conceptually a bass or would produce sound that falls into the bass register, so hence still mulling.
If we do the separate category, the comparisons in the outcomes* will obviously be held separately. Should an extended range guitar or piccolo bass be compared separately? I guess I come here for the community, the sharing of building techniques and the fun. It seems a bit incongruent to throw all that out just because it's not technically an instrument in the traditional "bass" realm. Since this is mostly about bragging rights and fun rather than a $20k cash prize and distribution deal, it seems less important to be so extremely stringent in this.
So I'm sort of leaning to opening the door a little to include other instruments by making the lowest string thickness a guideline rather than a rule, but tie it directly to the scratch and partial build categories only. In other words, if you want to assemble a Telecaster guitar out of off-the-shelf pieces, you'd be welcome to do it in a build thread, but just not enter it in our build-off. If we ended up having a whole bunch of entries that pushed the limits, we could regroup and sort it out at that point, however right now that does not look to be the case.
Thoughts?
*(It appears to be relatively common based on previous voting, that the standards we are judged upon by the masses consist primarily of the evaluation of the final aesthetic beauty of the piece, and also evaluation of the craftspersonship.)
So, if I get your drift....
Scratch build: must be a bass or a bass-ish instrument.
Partial build: must be a bass or a bass-ish instrument.
Assembly build: must have a string of thickness 84 or over.
Scratch build: must be a bass or a bass-ish instrument.
Partial build: must be a bass or a bass-ish instrument.
Assembly build: must have a string of thickness 84 or over.
Rôckhewer
Commercial User
- Feb 28, 2015
- 2,922
- 9,029
- Disclosures
- Owner/Builder- RockHewer Custom Guitars LLC
I love this statement
... that's all I want to say.
I agree what Beej says. If the was glory and huge amount of cash waiting for the winner then yes, bass should be bass, nothing else. I've always thought we like to watch how we make instruments, no matter what it is. I think I'm withdrawing my entry so that purists can have their competition just how they like. I can build the Parker style guitar without any rules, that's fine with me. If it's not ok to make a thread about it here that's fine too. I hope we are not that narrow minded anyway.
I agree. As a newb, all I've done so far is learn from the rest of you, something I appreciate a great deal.
Please don't. Build the Parker. You have a very innovative way of approaching design and build and I would love to see what you come up with. And remember, I want to build a Stick type instrument so not exactly a bass. There is no way I'd have the confidence to even attempt it if it weren't for watching all the experienced people here like yourself and Bruce et al.
I'm building the Parker for sure. I may even make a thread about the build unless I'm crucified for heresy. I just have no time or interest for arguing whether it's ok or not to participate and under what limitations.
The majority of my build threads here have been guitars, not basses. They just go largely ignored, so it's not likely that you will be crucified.
Yes, this is a bass forum, but as I've said many times, the techniques and methods that I share in my guitar building threads apply to bass as well. They're general building methods, nothing that strictly applies to one or the other.
I've been commissioned to build a 7 string (aka a baritone for people who have trouble counting) I plan to share the build here, just not in the contest.
I have no skin in the game on the build off I just wanted to say Parker build thread please, build off or not.
I have no idea what things were like in the olden days, before I joined last Feb, but I've never seen anyone catch grief for posting a guitar build in here.
I also didn't notice anything even remotely resembling an argument in this thread. Not sure where either of those vibes came from.
I see the pickle Beej is in. There's no way to make everyone happy. Seems like a great idea to just have an all comers welcome,.....but,....when I think about it,.....that's just any other day in the LC. So, why have a bass BO thread? For simplicity's sake, maybe just do a more confined bass build-off, with more traditional rules. As mentioned, it's for fun and I can see this heading down the path of not being fun if we get to another fork in the road. People can still start build threads for their non bass instruments and everyone will love seeing the work, regardless. And for those not doing a bass right now, there can always be a summer BO. I think having a summer BO is key to providing the best chance for max participation.
I guess the biggest issue is determining classification? What's a bass and what isn't? Is it nomenclature? Low freq range?
I dunno, someone has to be the jerk to walk out on stage and make the announcement, and get booed and stuff thrown at them.
@Beej, if I were you, I'd delegate that to a nominated judge.
(Not it).
I also didn't notice anything even remotely resembling an argument in this thread. Not sure where either of those vibes came from.
I see the pickle Beej is in. There's no way to make everyone happy. Seems like a great idea to just have an all comers welcome,.....but,....when I think about it,.....that's just any other day in the LC. So, why have a bass BO thread? For simplicity's sake, maybe just do a more confined bass build-off, with more traditional rules. As mentioned, it's for fun and I can see this heading down the path of not being fun if we get to another fork in the road. People can still start build threads for their non bass instruments and everyone will love seeing the work, regardless. And for those not doing a bass right now, there can always be a summer BO. I think having a summer BO is key to providing the best chance for max participation.
I guess the biggest issue is determining classification? What's a bass and what isn't? Is it nomenclature? Low freq range?
I dunno, someone has to be the jerk to walk out on stage and make the announcement, and get booed and stuff thrown at them.
@Beej, if I were you, I'd delegate that to a nominated judge.
(Not it).
so my vote is bass only which includes anything with EADG in the bass register. That would be 4, 5, 6 string and beyond. Bass ukes, piccolo( they can be restrung with regular bass strings and be a bass. Micro, short, regular or long scale again as long as it is a bass. Adding guitars and their variants would just clutter things up. I build guitars myself but keep them elsewhere as I am here for the bass.I have no idea what things were like in the olden days, before I joined last Feb, but I've never seen anyone catch grief for posting a guitar build in here.
I also didn't notice anything even remotely resembling an argument in this thread. Not sure where either of those vibes came from.
I see the pickle Beej is in. There's no way to make everyone happy. Seems like a great idea to just have an all comers welcome,.....but,....when I think about it,.....that's just any other day in the LC. So, why have a bass BO thread? For simplicity's sake, maybe just do a more confined bass build-off, with more traditional rules. As mentioned, it's for fun and I can see this heading down the path of not being fun if we get to another fork in the road. People can still start build threads for their non bass instruments and everyone will love seeing the work, regardless. And for those not doing a bass right now, there can always be a summer BO. I think having a summer BO is key to providing the best chance for max participation.
I guess the biggest issue is determining classification? What's a bass and what isn't? Is it nomenclature? Low freq range?
I dunno, someone has to be the jerk to walk out on stage and make the announcement, and get booed and stuff thrown at them.
@Beej, if I were you, I'd delegate that to a nominated judge.
(Not it).
My thoughts were originally to not really have rules and just let people build whatever, in the name of having fun (except pan flutes).
Then I thought it would be better to have categories.
Then I realized that trying to figure out how to categorize everything and sort out voting, etc, just started killing all the fun.
If someone can figure out how to have it be a stringed instrument BO and not bass specific, without it becoming overly complicated, go for it.
Another thought: If you have a separate category for piccolo bass and one person builds one,... They win?
What if only 2 people build guitars and one is a baritone and one is a 7 string?
How do you pick who wins the guitar category?
Am I helping? Probably not.
I'll just hang out in the other room and wait to see what the verdict is.
Then I thought it would be better to have categories.
Then I realized that trying to figure out how to categorize everything and sort out voting, etc, just started killing all the fun.
If someone can figure out how to have it be a stringed instrument BO and not bass specific, without it becoming overly complicated, go for it.
Another thought: If you have a separate category for piccolo bass and one person builds one,... They win?
What if only 2 people build guitars and one is a baritone and one is a 7 string?
How do you pick who wins the guitar category?
Am I helping? Probably not.
I'll just hang out in the other room and wait to see what the verdict is.
At the end of the day, I don't really care, I'm not even entering anything. So seriously, don't listen to me.
