Fretless stick bass

[Pkomor]

Right,

I have decided to make one of these:



But mine will be made from ash.

I am collecting the wood tomorrow, and a pickup and a nut are hopefully on their way (thanks to escholl) and the wiring was kindly provided by bremen.

All i need now is to get hold of some tuners and a pot, jack-socket and flat wound strings. [i](hint hint)[/i]

Hopefully i should make a start tomorrow, so i'll make sure I get pics of all the progress!

Edited July 9, 2008 by Pkomor

[bnt]

Hmmm. Will there be any kind of truss rod, for stiffening? I doubt that a thin slab of Ash can handle the tension on its own.

[Pkomor]

[quote name='bnt' post='235924' date='Jul 9 2008, 05:44 PM']Hmmm. Will there be any kind of truss rod, for stiffening? I doubt that a thin slab of Ash can handle the tension on its own.[/quote]

i wasn't planning on putting a truss rod in, do you really think it will be a problem? i was planning on using light gague strings to minimise the stress,

do you think maple would cope with the stresses better? (i can change it if i ring the timber yard in the morning!)

[neepheid]

If you're using normal bass strings I don't think you'll get away without using a truss rod. I'm (hopefully) getting away without using one on my Doodle-bass because I'm using plastic strings.

[Pkomor]

[quote name='neepheid' post='235983' date='Jul 9 2008, 06:44 PM']If you're using normal bass strings I don't think you'll get away without using a truss rod. I'm (hopefully) getting away without using one on my Doodle-bass because I'm using plastic strings.[/quote]

don't wishbasses have no trussrod? or did i dream that from somewhere?

[BigRedX]

Wishbasses get away without having a truss rod by having a neck that's about twice as deep as a normal bass.

I've got an early 1960s Burns Sonic Bass that's truss-rod free and that has a neck profile like half a bassball bat.

The Phaedrus that you're using as you're starting point was at one time claiming to have the world's slimmest neck with it simply being a strip of stainless steel - the cross-section you can see at the end of the neck/body is actually the thickness of the material used!

I assume that you're going to be creating something with a more traditional neck profile? A truss rod would be a good, idea but if you want to live dangerously you could try getting away with non-adjustable carbon rod re-enforcement Vigier style.

Good luck with your build and keep us posted.

BTW. I'm more than flattered that someone has been inspired by the photos of some of the weirder basses I've been posting, but do I have to say it's not totally cool to hot link to another member's Photobucket account.... (I'll let you off this time)

[Pkomor]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='235999' date='Jul 9 2008, 07:13 PM']Wishbasses get away without having a truss rod by having a neck that's about twice as deep as a normal bass.

I've got an early 1960s Burns Sonic Bass that's truss-rod free and that has a neck profile like half a bassball bat.

The Phaedrus that you're using as you're starting point was at one time claiming to have the world's slimmest neck with it simply being a strip of stainless steel - the cross-section you can see at the end of the neck/body is actually the thickness of the material used!

I assume that you're going to be creating something with a more traditional neck profile? A truss rod would be a good, idea but if you want to live dangerously you could try getting away with non-adjustable carbon rod re-enforcement Vigier style.

Good luck with your build and keep us posted.

BTW. I'm more than flattered that someone has been inspired by the photos of some of the weirder basses I've been posting, but do I have to say it's not totally cool to hot link to another member's Photobucket account.... (I'll let you off this time)[/quote]

oops, sorry, it was the only place i knew the photo was, i didn't look at where it was hosted!

the neck profile will be much larger than the one in the picture!

I was thinking, what about stringing two heavy gauge strings down the back of the neck and tensioning them highly to negate the pull of the strings on the front?

oh, forgot to add, the reason for not having a truss rod is not owning a router, or having easy access to one, and the added cost of the actual rod (going for a mega cheap build!)

Edited July 9, 2008 by Pkomor

[BigRedX]

The current home of the Phaedrus basses is [url="http://www.skylabdigital.com/"]here[/url] - go to the instruments link - it's a Flash site so I can't give you a direct link.

If you're going to go with no re-enforcement for the neck you still have a couple of options. One would be the Wishbass method of a half round neck but you might still need to make it up from laminations of a couple of different woods to get the rigidity which may prove difficult if you're access to powertools is limited. Alternatively how about a stainless steel finger board? That would give a smooth fretless surface as well as adding some strength to the neck.

[Pkomor]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='236055' date='Jul 9 2008, 08:37 PM']The current home of the Phaedrus basses is [url="http://www.skylabdigital.com/"]here[/url] - go to the instruments link - it's a Flash site so I can't give you a direct link.

If you're going to go with no re-enforcement for the neck you still have a couple of options. One would be the Wishbass method of a half round neck but you might still need to make it up from laminations of a couple of different woods to get the rigidity which may prove difficult if you're access to powertools is limited. Alternatively how about a stainless steel finger board? That would give a smooth fretless surface as well as adding some strength to the neck.[/quote]

hmm, a steel finger board sounds good... but how do you think i could attach it to the neck? glue?

Edited July 9, 2008 by Pkomor

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='Pkomor' post='236062' date='Jul 9 2008, 08:49 PM']hmm, a steel finger board sounds good... but how do you think i could attach it to the neck? glue?[/quote]

Put screws as dot markers. Also, the machine heads I have are fake Fender types, bit big for that purpose.

[Pkomor]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='236650' date='Jul 10 2008, 04:05 PM']Put screws as dot markers. Also, the machine heads I have are fake Fender types, bit big for that purpose.[/quote]


hehe good plan, but I've decided to not go for a steel fingerboard now. I have ordered maple, instead of ash, and i'm planning on having a thick neck profile, and string two strings down the other side of the neck.
[i]
mr. foxen, forgive me if i misinterpret you but are you saying that you have spare tuners, but you think they will be too big?[/i]

EDIT: just read your post in the recycling items section, if you do have any of things spare (including the tuners) I would really appreciate them! [/cheeky]

Edited July 11, 2008 by Pkomor

[simwells]

I'm very tempted to have a look at making myself a stick bass myself, pretty similar to the phaedrus one. Think I know where I can get some large chunks of Duralumin so let's see if this goes anywhere...