Bass body thickness

[Jabba_the_gut]

I'm thinking of building a bass with a thin body maybe 35-37mm thick. This is a fair bit thinner than a standard bass. Is there any reason why this might be a bad idea?? Cheers

[tommorichards]

You would need shorter screws for the neck assuming it was bolt on, unless you like them screwing through the fretboard. [size=4]You would also need to maybe take a bit more care needed when routing for the control cavity, and careful choice of pots to ensure that they're shallow enough. A blade selector is out the window... maybe.[/size]

[size=4]Another "problem" might be with resonance, and how the bass sounds as there is less mass to vibrate. However, there are the hohner headless basses which sound good despite their small mass. Depending upon the headstock, you may have some problems with strap balance when playing as the body would be lighter. Thats about all i can think of.[/size]

I had a short scale bass, and it was quite thin compared to others, and everything was fine on it.

[Fionn]

Maybe keep it thick in the centre where the bridge and neck-joint are.

My '87 Streamer is thick in the centre this way, and tapers in thickness towards the upper and lower edges of the bass.

I must say that, acoustically, it is the best sounding electric bass that I've played, and still perfectly balanced. That's another consideration; how the reduced weight of a thin body may effect the balance of the whole. Nobody likes neck-dive.

[discreet]

You could avoid neck dive by making it out of heavier wood... Zebrawood? Ironwood? Bubinga?