Winter Build Off, Bassilet

[Crawforde]

This will be entered as a scratch build.
Hollow body, 5 strings, arched spruce top, laminated maple neck, short scale, single P style bass pickup, carved back of either maple or sycamore depending on how the grain looks after cutting.
It will be tuned in D standard instead of the Chusuk scale, in honor of the simple elegance of all fourths tuning. This tuning would also better compliment the chords of a Baliset played an octave or more higher when played together.
Aesthetically I’ll try to emulate a Dune universe instrument, the Bassilet, from the Scattering.

 

[Flamingo21]

Nice! Do we actually know the Chusuk scale? I couldn't find it in Dune Wiki.

 

[Crawforde]

I’m not sure.
But book analysis dot com has this:

The Baliset’s Tuning Process
Each string on the Baliset gets made so that its pitch compliments the ones it borders; this means that each one produces a pitch between the highest note of its lower neighbor and the lowest note of its upper neighbor. The pitch pattern on seven strings uses a quarter interval seven-tone scale starting from C and ending in C. The form evolves as so: C-F-B-E-A-D-C. The eighth and ninth strings are bass strings tuned to the melodic pitch of the chords produced by the remaining strings. The tuning of the Baliset makes it perfect for creating Semuta music.

 

[bholder]

That's "Baliset".

 

[Crawforde]

That is.
I am planning building a more evolved version I call the Bassilet.
My version has more bass than the baliset, so even though I have 4 fewer strings, it’s still better.

 

[bholder]

That is.
I am planning building a more evolved version I call the Bassilet.
My version has more bass than the baliset, so even though I have 4 fewer strings, it’s still better.

Ah, I get it now. Sorry, I'm a little slow. The Halflings' weed has fogged my mind again...

 

[Crawforde]

Understandable
It is Friday night
Happy weekend!

 

[Crawforde]

Nerds are allowed to enjoy the weekend right?
I mean my job is great and all, and Mondays I get to review data and graphs and attend Teams meetings so, yea I’m looking forward to it but the weekends are cool too.

 

[Crawforde]

Most of my free time has been spent on the Underhill Upright and associated bow building, but this is not forgotten, and it’s possible it may evolve to be bowable given my current geeking out on bowing bass.
Some concept sketches I just did up while settling down and getting ready to hit the sack. Sound hole design is still up in the air and so is the headstock/ scroll.
mum torn between a stylized hawk head, or the worm. The worm was my first thought, but I like the hawk idea, and it’s fitting because I was a falconer years ago. I did an apprenticeship in England.
At the time I was a military cop and didn’t want to lose my nerd cred and training/ caring for birds is an almost full time occupation itself so being a falconer/ austringer is not only specific enough to be nerdy, it provided an excuse to be an antisocial hermit type nerd.

 

[Flamingo21]

I was a falconer

Pics would be appreciated.

 

[Crawforde]

Hmm.
I could take some from an old photo album. that was in the days before digital photography and the internet and …

 

[Crawforde]

A bit of nostalgic time travel today.
These are from between 87 and 92

 

[Crawforde]

A little more thinking and a couple pieces of wood sparked some imagination and plans may change. I kind of want to give this a bit of a Renaissance meets space travel vibe like I get from the books.

All in all a lot will stay the same, but the top may become a piece of maple or sycamore, and it will likely have a maple fingerboard with a healthy radius to allow bowing. The top shape will also change to allow for bowing it. The P pickup may stay, or get hidden or get replaced with piezos. Or maybe I’ll include both and two jacks. I’m very decisive.
I can be flexible until the cutting starts.

 

[Crawforde]

Some decisions made.

One great thing about this build so far, is that it’s all native wood. And it’s all leftovers from other projects.
that pretty piece of wood that is going to be the fingerboard is light and soft. I may use it anyway, change my mind and use something else, or try a superglue finish on it.
I haven’t done that before, but if it’s absorbed well I should get a hard durable surface.

 

[Crawforde]

A little bit of work on this this weekend
It was nice to be making curly shavings again.
I’m going with the white oak fingerboard, I figured it was safer to just use the harder wood for the fretless neck. I arched it, marked the string paths and will facet it and flatten the paths, then smooth it out after glueing it all together.
Hopefully I can make some time this week to work on the body bits.

 

[Crawforde]

I decided to risk the ire of the Butlerians and put a truss rod in. I’m building this thing light and with 5 strings, the strength and adjustability may be needed, and I found it the garage while looking for something else.

This little router plane is pretty efficient. Finished the job in about half an hour.
the grey cart in the background hold all my power tools and the little wooden box on the ground holds 90% of my most used woodworking tools. It’s the box I take out to my work area by the pond.

 

[hawk400]

Sweet setup! Way too cold to do that in the frozen north.
My corner of the world...

 

[Crawforde]

I miss that sometimes. a lot actually.
but not enough to move back to it until I’m retired.
I worked on the Great Lakes for a lot of years and I miss Lake Superior and the east sides of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron a lot. Beautiful country.
I’m afraid that after 15 years in Florida my blood has probably thinned out enough that the things I used to enjoy would probably kill me.
watching hockey in Florida is still weird. The only other fans I know of are also transplants from the frozen north. Florida has 2 freakin teams though. And they beat my Red Wings. It’s not fair.

 

[hawk400]

I have a buddy who took retirement in Nipigon (north shore of Lake Superior). It's beautiful and kinda brutal.

 

[Crawforde]

Stretched a chalk line out to mark and check the string paths. Everything looks pretty good so far. I still haven’t decided if I should scoop it or just make all the paths flat along the cone and then adjust individually as needed after a nut is on and I can more accurately see the string clearance.
trial and error is my normal approach to things as I am very experienced with error.