Short Scale 'Thing' (23" scale Headless 4 string)

[Frank Blank]

The tiny basses built by @Jabba_the_gut do put one into a terrible quandary, they are items of such beauty that once you are actually holding one you simply don’t want to give it back. This is a pic from the BFSW Bash and let me assure you I’m considering the distance to the exit, how many people I’ll have to knock out on the way and whether of not I can vault over two rows of collapsible tables after eating that many roast potatoes and falafel. I regret having seconds.

[TheGreek]

I feel your pain...I tried to buy one from Jezza...no joy. I think he feels he can't charge sensible money for a "home made" bass.

I think we need to bump him off and but them from his widow...😉😉

[Frank Blank]

20 hours ago, TheGreek said:

I think he feels he can't charge sensible money for a "home made" bass.

I think he is starting to realise. The response at both Bashes I've been to has been huge, when an entire room full of serious bass enthusiasts and experts are telling you they are top flight basses, well, they are top flight basses. I'm no great player nor a bass expert but I know good design when I see it and I have a good eye for a thing of beauty. My aim is to be playing Jabba basses exclusively as soon as that is possible, there is nothing on the market, not in any price range, that I'd rather play (and pay for).

Edited April 11, 2019 by Frank Blank

[Owen]

> I know good design when I see it and a good eye for a thing of beauty

This

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, TheGreek said:

I feel your pain...I tried to buy one from Jezza...no joy. I think he feels he can't charge sensible money for a "home made" bass.

He really can, those basses were at least the equal of any other small volume bespoke luthier bass.

If he had put a price tag on those basses at the show he wouldn't have been leaving with anything. That semi acoustic one with the tapewounds played fantastically. I don't play a 4 string and it isn't the sort of shape I would go for, but it was so easy to play, I would have ignored all that.

I understand pricing for the mini basses would be tricky, they are smaller but just as much effort to make,  but I think you would have to had put a really high price tag on them to get to the point where people weren't ripping your hand off to take them. I would.

 

1 hour ago, Frank Blank said:

My aim is to be playing Jabba basses exclusively as soon as that is possible, there is nothing on the market, not in any price range, that I'd rather play (and pay for).

That seems reasonable.

[Owen]

No pressure Jez.

[Jabba_the_gut]

Cheers chaps. I think you have pretty accurately summed me up!! I'm certainly no salesman, and I'm not the most confident person in my own ability - if I were ever on 'The Apprentice' I would lose!!

For those that don't know me, my day job is in quality assurance and involves reviewing paperwork and writing reports. I started doing some woodwork a few years back as an outlet to make something other than a bigger pile of paperwork, and to physically see something constructive that I'd made. I really enjoy the design, build and learning that I get from making a bass and the recent feedback I've got is genuinely much appreciated. I'm not a particularly good bassist (even though |'ve played for long enough!!) so I really enjoy the bass bashes to hear what my basses sound like in other hands and for the constructive feedback I get. Building basses is something I do as a hobby that fits around my family life which is probably why I struggle when anyone asks me how much I would sell something for!! That isn't the reason I build basses and I don't count the hours it takes to make (I've been asked a few time and I haven't a clue!!).

I've got a couple of builds in the pipeline that I'm going to do for a couple of people so we'll see how that goes!!

Cheers again for all the positive and constructive comments!

 

[Jabba_the_gut]

It was great to see the looks on peoples face when they tried these little basses - it was probably similar to when I tried Ped's Wingbass 18 months ago. You think they shouldn't sound like proper basses but they do!

This is the rough spec of the two basses:

The Buckeye topped one has a single active EMG jazz bass pickup with volume and tone controls. The strings on it are old roundwounds   .105 to .045 and tuned to standard EADG tuning.

The Maple topped one had an ENG 35DC fitted with an EMG BTC preamp with volume and stacked treble/bass controls. The strings on it are roundwounds .130 to .065 (roughly) also tuned to standard EADG

So, same scale length, same tuning but completely different gauges!! And they both feel fine to play to me!! Not to floppy and not too tight.

[Jabba_the_gut]

I will build another couple of these that will have a slight tweak to the lower horn, based on feedback from the last bash. I've also started looking at making a new neck to try on one of these to give a scale of around 27" rather than 23" just to see how that feels and balances - details will be posted on here as usual to how that goes!

I'll be taking these two mini basses to the Midlands Bass Bash next month for anyone that wants to give then a go.

Cheers

Jez

[Woodinblack]

18 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

So, same scale length, same tuning but completely different gauges!! And they both feel fine to play to me!! Not to floppy and not too tight.

I actually couldn't tell the difference in gauges, but the brown one just seemed a more solid sound, not sure if it was the heavier gauge or the pickup. Both were good, the brown was just the best (although the other one i think looked a bit better!)

[Jabba_the_gut]

4 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I actually couldn't tell the difference in gauges, but the brown one just seemed a more solid sound, not sure if it was the heavier gauge or the pickup. Both were good, the brown was just the best (although the other one i think looked a bit better!)

Originally, I was toying with the idea of fitting two passive jazz bass pickups on the buckeye topped one but ended up just fitting a single active jazz purely for aesthetic reason as it seemed to follow the wood grain. I think I'll try the two pickup design on the next one. I've also got another EMG BTC preamp that I could drop in to see how that changes things. As you say, I'm not sure if it is the pickup or strings so I'll have a bit of a play to see what happens.

Cheers for the feedback regarding the lower horn - I've drawn out a slightly modified design and will see how that goes.

[Woodinblack]

When I first picked the jazz one up, I looked at the controls and for some reason I was thinking that there were two pickups, so was wondering if there was a blend, then realised there wasn't. Normally I am not a fan of 1 pickup basses, but I quite liked it in those designs as it didn't look that fussy. Placement might be a bit hard with that much space!

[Owen]

1 hour ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

I'll be taking these two mini basses to the Midlands Bass Bash next month for anyone that wants to give then a go.

Yummy!

[Owen]

59 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

Originally, I was toying with the idea of fitting two passive jazz bass pickups on the buckeye topped one but ended up just fitting a single active jazz purely for aesthetic reason as it seemed to follow the wood grain.

It is this mindset that makes your stuff so attractive. 

[Jabba_the_gut]

Really enjoying this little basses!! I'm going to make a couple more of these but also have a couple of other ideas I'll try at some point. I'll make a slightly longer scale one (27.5") and I'm also looking at a headed version. I've done a couple of scribbles for this and I think it could look rather nice (same body shape as before but a change to the neck pocket shape). Just need to find the time, which is the hard bit!!

[Jabba_the_gut]

I'll be taking these to the Midlands bash for anyone to try.

[Jabba_the_gut]

I'm looking at making a headed version of the mini bass. I'm planning on keeping it at 23" scale and the same body shape as the headless one (with a very slight tweak to the lower horn). I wasn't sure what to do with the headstock so I just went for the same design I have used on my recent semi hollow basses. To my eye, it seems to flow which is nice as it keeps something in common.

This design would allow me plenty of options with regards to bridges which is always the difficult thing when going down the headless route. 

[Woodinblack]

Interesting idea. I think the headed version is less good from the point of view of the finished article, although understand what you mean about the bridges, it really does limit the choice, and you are right in that it flows well.

I do like the new bottom lip though!

Edited April 28, 2019 by Woodinblack

[Andyjr1515]

9 hours ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

I'm looking at making a headed version of the mini bass. I'm planning on keeping it at 23" scale and the same body shape as the headless one (with a very slight tweak to the lower horn). I wasn't sure what to do with the headstock so I just went for the same design I have used on my recent semi hollow basses. To my eye, it seems to flow which is nice as it keeps something in common.

This design would allow me plenty of options with regards to bridges which is always the difficult thing when going down the headless route. 

I like that. 

You could also stick with a headless bridge and just thread the other ends through the headstock with the clamp at the back like on Mick's Psilos.

[Jabba_the_gut]

On 28/04/2019 at 01:22, Woodinblack said:

Interesting idea. I think the headed version is less good from the point of view of the finished article, although understand what you mean about the bridges, it really does limit the choice, and you are right in that it flows well.

I do like the new bottom lip though!

Cheers Woody. Glad you like the bottom lip. I made another template with it slightly larger again but I prefer this one (I’ll post a picture later). Just thought I’d try a graded version - may or may not work but got to try these things!

On 28/04/2019 at 07:00, Andyjr1515 said:

I like that. 

You could also stick with a headless bridge and just thread the other ends through the headstock with the clamp at the back like on Mick's Psilos.

Cheers Andy. I’ve sourced some headless clamps which are really nice so that end isn’t an issue. It’s the other end where the choice is much more limited..  we’ll see how this goes!!

Edited April 29, 2019 by Jabba_the_gut

[Jabba_the_gut]

Just toying with a few ideas at the moment, but I have trimmed a piece of ash I had which wasn't quite big enough for a standard body but suits this. I used a piece of the same wood to make a solid body bass and it finished really nicely; very plain and simple but that was the beauty of it. Looking at a couple of ideas from a one piece bridge to another set up with individual string anchors.  (not planning on this one being five string - was just using the bridge to see how it looked).

I'm now thinking of using the set of Sperzel tuners on this as they are a little more compact. I'm going to see if I can get these with rounded buttons as that would suit the design a little better.

Edited April 29, 2019 by Jabba_the_gut

[Jabba_the_gut]

Here's a few more photos of the two finished headless mini beasts:

[SpondonBassed]

As I said on Saturday; You've definitely got a sharp eye for this craft.

May I ask?  When you set out your first sketches do you have a clear image in your mind of what you're aiming for?

[Jabba_the_gut]

Cheers. This did turn out pretty much as I was aiming for! I'll dig out the original scribbles for this (I think I still have them - old fashioned pen and paper me...) for comparison and post them on here.

[SpondonBassed]

2 minutes ago, Jabba_the_gut said:

Cheers. This did turn out pretty much as I was aiming for! I'll dig out the original scribbles for this (I think I still have them - old fashioned pen and paper me...) for comparison and post them on here.

Impressive.

I'll look forward to seeing those.  I'd still be using the backs of beer mats and fag packets had I not given up smoking and drinking frequently.

I still like to rough things out in hand sketches.  I might scan them for tweakage after but I'd be lost without physical drawing materials to start with.