Basvarken

No, not really. During the making of this bass I've had several moments where I wanted to throw the entire project into the firepit! I shouldn't try to reinvent the wheel.

Well, I did tell some already. But to sum it up: My goal was to build an acoustic bass that would be loud enough to compete with an acoustic guitar without amplifying. So I gave it a very big body (wide and deep). I used a bass bar and a staple, just like a Cello. The sound holes are actually built as bass ports. In this pic you can see the construction. Body sides and back: Maple Top: Spruce Neck: maple-rosewood-maple Fretboard: ebony with mahogany fretlines Bridge: ebony Tailpiece brass and ebony Tuners: Gotoh lightweight Scale: 30" I also gave the bass an inspection hole. Initially meant to be able to (re)position the staple. But it also comes in handy as a sound port, because it reflects to the player while being played. Here's a shot of the back Like I said: The experiment failed. The bass is not loud enough. But it is pretty! ;-)

Thank you for the tip. But I really don't want to amplify this bass. I wonder why you say an archtop would not be able to be loud? What about a Cello then? This bass was built with a bass bar and staple, rather than the bracing you see with acoustic guitars and basses. I think the mistake is in the scale (should have made it 34"). Plus I made the bass bar too thick. It doesn't "sing" enough.

My acoustic short scale fretless bass. My goal was to build an acoustic that was as loud as possible without amplification. I failed. It isn't loud (enough). But I do enjoy playing it once in a while.

Congrats! Those are very good pickups. Can't see any pictures. Broken links. if it's a 1967 Gibson NR Thunderbird pickup, it should be chrome plated. The earlier ones (196301965) were nickel plated. It should have only two screw holes. The ones from the seventies have three screw holes (and the casing is taller).

Beautiful bass. Though that video does cure my gas a bit...

Nice stealth JCS! Maybe you could use shrink wrap foil that car painters use to make the pickup black?

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1510326426' post='3405648'] I'm still holding on to see whether they'll do a 20/20 reissue. [/quote] You're probably going to have to wait a good two more years for that... ;-)

Specs: Series Limited Run Basses Body Body Style: RD Back: Maple Top: N/a Weight relief: None Neck Neck: Maple Neck profile: Rounded Nut width: 1.60” Fingerboard: Rosewood Scale length: 34” Number of frets: 20 Nut: Tektoid Inlay: Acrylic Dots Hardware Bridge: 3-Point Full Contact BABICZ Tailpiece: N/a Knobs: Knurled Black Chrome & Flat Black EQ Knobs Tuners: Grover Shamrocks Plating: Chrome Electronics Neck pickup: Rhythm EB Bass Bridge pickup: Lead EB Bass Controls: Vol / Blend & High/Low/Parametric, w/ Mini Toggle (Active/Passive) Finish/Quantity Finishes available: Antique Natural, Ebony Case: Hardshell Quantity available: N/a Price: € 1700 (probably not the streetprice)

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1487798646' post='3243109'] Does anyone know if there's ever been a "wide neck" version of a Thunderbird? [/quote] The Greco Thunderbird has a wide neck. Comparable to a Stingray neck.

Relax, it's just a joke.

Just saw the new pics in you photobucket account. Congrats on getting the bass ready to rock. But why is that three point bridge placed under an angle?

Haha, looks like you're after a cheap dream then!

Haha, touché! Ah well, you know what I mean.

I switch between short scale basses and long scale basses all the time. They each have their own pros and cons. The balance between the neck pickup and the bridge pickup on the long scale antique red one is fine. I like to dial in just enough of the neck pickup to give the mini humbucker at the bridge some support in the deep end. But I guess that is a personal preference. She can definitely roar! https://youtu.be/ttj6KtY8_2U The short scale blonde was turned into a Gibson Les Paul hybrid within two hours when I received it. It was an impulsive act ;-) But I haven't regretted it for one second. This was my main axe throughout 2016.

BaCH has a small shop in Hodonin, Czech Republic. The wood work of all their instruments is done there. Except for the the [b]bodies[/b] of the semi acoustic guitars and basses, which I think come from South Korea. These are joined to a Czech made neck in Hodonin. And then finished etc. The hardware comes from South Korea as well. And so do most of the pickups, which are from the Artec company. Because their workshop is so small, they only make a small series of each instrument. About 25 is the max. Which is the reason why some of their instruments seem to be sold out forever. Working with them has been a nice experience. Sometimes a bit frustrating because of the language barrier. A lot goes lost in translation... But they're nice folks and they know how to build a good instrument. Just to remind you; the best violins were always built in Prague. They do have a long tradition of building stringed instruments.

Congrats. Hope you can get the bridge right. That could be a bit tricky. Here's my long scale BaCH semi acoustic And this is my short scale semi acoustic (with Gibson lo-z pickups)

About the Riverboat Bass. Those are great bass guitars. Nothing like a Rick though! Sounds more like an Epiphone Thunderbird.

Guess I'm late to the party. The semi-acoustic bass that BaCH built was actually the second project I did with them. The first project was the Non Reverse Thunderbird (aka BaCHbird). I initiated that project about ten years ago. The original NR Tbirds were fetching top dollar over at Ebay and Gibson was not making any moves to reïntroduce them to the market. As a Gibson fan I desperately wanted to have a Non Reverse Thunderbird. So I asked BaCH if they could make one for me. They said they could do it, but I'd have to order a small batch of 25. Now, as much as I love to buy basses, I don't need 25 of them. Let alone 25 the same ;-) So I asked around on a few bassist discussion boards if there were any other Gibson enthousiasts who would like to join in on this project. I gave BaCH all the information; drawings, measurements, specifications, photographs. The works. I even suggested they made the bridge a little wider than the original to allow for proper intonation. And after several months the first prototype was ready. BaCH had f•cked it up. They gave it an Ibanez headstock! So I rejected it. It took another few weeks till they finally got it right. And the result was stunning. The first batch went to all the friends that had signed up. And soon enough BaCH made a second series. Slightly changing the specs (thinner body, narrower neck). I didn't make a penny with all this by the way! But my email box kept flooding with requests for a BaCHbird, which I forwarded to BaCH. So after a while, I decided to start selling them. And there came a third, fourth and fifth series. After a couple of years the market for the BaCHbird seemed to be saturated and the sales came to a halt. BaCH quit the production. This was long before Gibson sent them a cease and desist letter. And long before Gibson decided to make a reissue. Shortly after I started my collaboration with BaCH, I asked them to do a semi acoustic bass. The EB-2 or Rivoli. Just like with the BaCHbird I gave them pictures, measurements, photographs and specifications. And [i]again[/i] BaCH managed to f•ck up! They accidentally made it long scale! And they just couldn't get the bridge right. The hardware manufacturer in Korea that was going to make the bridge went bankrupt. And the entire project came to a grinding halt. The rejected long scale prototype (without bridge) was put in a corner and it stayed there for about two years. One day I asked them to send the rejected prototype to my address in The Netherlands anyway. I had just completed my first self built bass and I was rather confident about giving it a go to complete the long scale semi acoustic. I installed a Duesenberg two point bridge with separate tailpiece. And I was impressed with the build quality of the bass. So I asked BaCH to pick up the project. And this time I asked them to not only make the short scale version (like the initial plan), but also to make a long scale version (like the prototype). BaCH did make a small series of both the short scale and the long scale. But the bridge just never saw the light of day. So this bass never showed up on their own website. They couldn't sell an incomplete product. But I did sell quite a few via my own website. And I installed the bridge myself on all of them. On the ones that I sold, I installed a regular three point bridge. And for most of them I cut extra tall nylon bridge saddles. I did this because the angle of the body and neck on some of the semi acoustic basses was rather big. With standard saddles the bridge would have to be raised too high on the bridge posts. They didn't quit these because Gibson told them to. They quit because they couldn't get the bridge right. All the semi acoustic basses were sold to me (except for the one that Graham bought apparently) (by the way the center block was a normal feature on the EB-2 and Rivoli). Another project that I initiated with BaCH was the Fenderbird. After the John Entwistle hybrid Thunderbird/Fender P. But again BaCH managed to ruin the opportunity. They gave it the wrong colour; Ferarri Red instead of the Salmon Pink / Fiesta Red that I asked for. And more important; they gave it the wrong pickguard. I refused to buy these basses off them because I was pissed off they had ignored the specs I sent them for the third time in a row. As a result they got stuck with those bases for years. ;-) Eventually I did sell a few, because people kept asking for them. When the Chinabuckers hit the market I even sold a few upgraded ones. Another project was the Telecaster bass. I suggested to do a bass with Telecaster body. They made it short scale. Which was rather nice. They still have them. The BaCHbirds are all sold out. The semi acoustics are almost sold out, The Fenderbirds are sold out. It was fun while it lasted. BaCH did quit to make Gibson (guitar) models about two years ago. After they had received a cease and desist letter. But all my projects with them had stopped way before that happened.

The Gibson Bass Book is featured in the January 2017 edition of Bass Guitar Magazine!

Thank you guys! [quote name='blackparkas' timestamp='1481980549' post='3196731'] Is it possible to buy this in any of the Musicstores in London or is it just via the website? [/quote] No, I'm afraid not (yet). As for now it is only available via my www.thegibsonbassbook.com and via the Dutch online bookstore Bol.com.

The first 100 books are sold. To celebrate this I'll share some gratuitous bassporn with y'all Sixties Thunderbird II As featured on page 42-43 of The Gibson Bass Book

DRRRRRRRRUMROLL... The books have arrived. Looking good! Get your copy before Santa does [url="http://www.thegibsonbassbook.com"]www.thegibsonbassbook.com[/url]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1478959467' post='3172977'] He dislikes chrome hardware with a passion and welcomed me to the dark side when I said I'd never go chrome. [/quote] Yep. That's Uwe.