Beer of the Bass Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 (edited) I'm about to embark on building a five string bass, using a swamp ash body blank and a maple neck which came from an OLP. I also have a pair of Jazz pickups from a Lakland Joe Osborn, and a set of Schaller tuners on the way. The bridge will be a generic Gotoh 201 lookalike from an eBay seller. In a couple of weeks, I'll drop in on my brother, who has a nice workshop with bandsaw and router etc. and cut out the body. I'm planning to finish it in Tru-oil, to keep the blonde look. I have built one instrument before, about 12 years ago, which I enjoy playing but it's somewhat crudely built and the weight (12 1/2 lbs) is starting to make my back ache after gigs and rehearsals. So the intention is to build something lighter - anywhere under 10 pounds will be fine. I've decided on my body shape, which will be based on my old four string but with rounded, jaguar style horns. I'm toying with the idea of using a little teardrop shaped control plate like my four string has, or a more fenderish pickguard and back routed controls. I've mocked up both configurations, and included a picture of my old four string for comparison. I'd be curious to see which people like better, the pickguard or control plate. Edited August 11, 2011 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 Do you ever play with a pick? Or are you a strictly finger-style player? If you are likely to play this bass with a pick then IMO layout 2 is right out since it leaves the controls open to being hit and moved accidently. Personally I wouldn't be very happy with layout one either, but it's not as open to accidental changes as layout 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 [quote name='BigRedX' post='1242793' date='May 24 2011, 12:02 PM']Do you ever play with a pick? Or are you a strictly finger-style player? If you are likely to play this bass with a pick then IMO layout 2 is right out since it leaves the controls open to being hit and moved accidently. Personally I wouldn't be very happy with layout one either, but it's not as open to accidental changes as layout 2.[/quote] Personal taste but i think it would look cool with a plain front and maybe different knobs on. good luck with it ;-) ps...im just up the road (grangemouth) ...... IanM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted May 24, 2011 Author Share Posted May 24, 2011 I do play with a pick some of the time, but my pick style involves more wrist than elbow movement (i.e moving in a relatively small arc), so the position of the controls on my four string has never bothered me. I would probably have the contols slightly further back on the second option - the picture is just a rough mock-up. I'm thinking more of the aesthetic aspects of the two. The second option looks a bit less fender derivative, which could be a good thing. I tend not to like basses with plain wood fronts, as I feel like a pickguard or control plate of some sort can compliment the lines of the body and break up the coffee table look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scojack Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 In that case .... i like option2 best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 [quote name='Beer of the Bass' post='1242863' date='May 24 2011, 12:55 PM']I do play with a pick some of the time, but my pick style involves more wrist than elbow movement (i.e moving in a relatively small arc), so the position of the controls on my four string has never bothered me. I would probably have the contols slightly further back on the second option - the picture is just a rough mock-up. I'm thinking more of the aesthetic aspects of the two. The second option looks a bit less fender derivative, which could be a good thing. I tend not to like basses with plain wood fronts, as I feel like a pickguard or control plate of some sort can compliment the lines of the body and break up the coffee table look.[/quote] On your 4-string only the first knob is in danger from an energetic pick wielder, whereas at least 2 of the knobs on your first design and probably all 3 on the second design are. However if you're sure that your playing style won't be affected by the knob placement then go for either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilmour Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I really like layout 1. Just looks right, with a good balance of retro and modern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 I'm thinking that the first one would look good with a really garish pickguard material like this: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260786670319&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/url] A bit like the colour scheme on Prince's Hohner guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucky Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 option 1, it will always look a little like a jazz to me bass because it has the appropriate pickups and curves, but it's different enough to never be mistken for one. plus i just prefer having a peice of plastic under where i pop the strings. personally i'd go with a black/grey coloured plate with with similar detail and let the emphasize the ash, but that's becuase i like monochrome where possible. it's you bass so if you fancy garish then surely if there was ever a time to play with such styles it's now. but looks like a great bass so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 (edited) I'll be cutting out and routing the body over the weekend - pictures to follow. I've decided to go with the second approach, but i've rethought the body shape a little - it's now slighty elongated compared to the picture above, which gives a little more space behind the bridge and improves the control spacing. The control plate will be single ply tortoiseshell acrylic, backed with copper foil to make the swirl stand out. I'm going to experiment with finishing on scrap, but I'm thinking of some kind of oil finish, maybe with some grain filling if it needs it. Edited July 7, 2011 by Beer of the Bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 I've been down to my brother's workshop, where we set about it using a bandsaw and a router, plus assorted hand tools. Now it needs the contours rounding in with sandpaper, finish sanding and finishing. The control cavity was drilled and chiselled (rather than routed) as I felt that neatness was less important there and it was quicker than making another template. There are some scorch marks from the router which I'm hoping will sand out, but on the whole I feel it's going well so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted August 11, 2011 Author Share Posted August 11, 2011 Having finished it about a fortnight ago, i've just got around to taking some pictures. I opted for a black control plate in the end, as it goes with the dots and pickup covers. It's wired in typical Jazz fashion, except for a push/pull series/parallel switch. The finish is Tru-oil, using their sealer but no grain filler. I'm well pleased with the results. It weighs about 9 1/2 lbs and sounds pretty much like a good passive jazz, with no troublesome dead spots and a decent sounding B string. This is my first 5-string, and I'm finding I hardly use the low notes but love the lack of shifting when playing higher up the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Very nice and its good to see something original to boot. Top horn reminds me of the Washburn Taurus bass. Congrats, hope you have many happy years together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Looks nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.