Useless amateur Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 I have been thinking of building a bass lately but have no idea what to do. Should I just buy a kit and do it that way or would buying broken basses and making a Frankenstein monster bass be the way to go? I am pretty good at woodworking and have plenty of tools so that side of it wouldn’t be an issue. Money however is. If I buy a kit it is a one time outlay and I would just buy the best I can afford at the time but if I bought old basses and bits I would do it in stages. Basically I want to have fun doing the project but also get the bast bass I can for my money. I can’t work anymore as my body is falling apart quite spectacularly and any work would be done in short spells on days when I can manage it. I’m guessing it will take at least a year to do it but then it will be MY bass built by MY hands and that will be very satisfying and give me a much needed sense of achievement. if I were to go with a stock kit build where is a good place to shop if anyone knows please? Any help would really be appreciated. Many many thanks Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 I have yet to build my own, but I would start with a Harley Benton kit from Thomann simply because many others here have had success with them. However reading between the lines I suspect you'd be happier starting with a lump of wood and sourcing bits and pieces here and there. You have time tools and skills and want to feel its yours, unique. You won't get that buzz from a kit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 It depends how quickly you want to get started and finished? A kit gives you in the instant gratification and you will have a playable bass at the end. The best bass for the money...maybe not. Looking for parts is fun and gives you time to consider what you want and allows you to maybe build something less standard. Checking charity shops and Gumtree for cheap basses and broken basses which sometimes aren't broken at all and just need a little cleaning up. It really depends on the end goal and you can get some great bargains and plenty people on here have parts they might want rid of 😁 Enjoy the process, whichever route you take. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 (edited) By building, do you mean starting from scratch with raw materials, or assembling using pre-made components? Obviously, I'm talking about wooden parts - body, neck, etc - not metal - bridge, tuners and so on. Unless you have a lathe and milling machine, can wind pickups, of course... I agree with BassApprentice above. Rolling your own is not a cheap route to the bass of your dreams. It's fun and rewarding, but you can often get a better result for less money by buying used and tweaking/modifying. As an example, my Bitsa P bass cost me in the region of £300 to put together. It's probably not much better than a decent used Squier with an upgraded pickup, if I'm honest. The problem with kits is that you are stuck with the parts the manufacturer provides. Improving on them (which you will probably want/need to do unless the kit was very expensive and used the best available parts) will add to the cost. Instruments with bolt on necks - Fender et al - are the simpler proposition. What did you have in mind? Edited September 30, 2020 by Dan Dare 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Useless amateur Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 I won’t start with a lump of timber, though I do have a piece that would certainly do the job. I think what I really want to do is buy bits and pieces as I see them and can afford them. That way I can make a better quality instrument in the end. It will take a lot longer for financial reasons as it will have to be done when I have a few quid spare (not that I ever really have any “spare” cash) 🤣 If I do it that way maybe I could help out someone else by donating excess parts to another forum member doing something similar? Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 Have a look on the Warmoth website. They do a wide range of bodies and necks in various styles. eBay is a good source of stuff, too. Just search for bass necks, bass bodies, etc. If you want something of an established type (such as a P bass), you could buy a used one and fit improved pickups, bridge, tuners, etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Useless amateur Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 Thank you all for the advice and tips. The time it takes is not important as I have very little to do and a lot of time to do it and being virtually housebound time hangs heavy ☹️ it will be a pbass as that is my thing, just live the sound they make plus they look great 🤣 The only thing that does worry me is refinishing a body. I think my plan would be to give it a relic look to inject a bit of personality in to it Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 5 minutes ago, Useless amateur said: The only thing that does worry me is refinishing a body. I think my plan would be to give it a relic look to inject a bit of personality in to it Get a finished one and let the kids kick it around in the garden for a week or so 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Don't buy a cheap kit, even from Thomann, the quality is much lower. Thomann's own brand - Harley Benton basses are highly regarded for the low, low price. However, the kits (which costs about the same as a finished HB bass) is much lower quality all round, and definitely not made from the same parts as a fully finished HB bass. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 I have put together +15 basses. Parts have been everything from rubbish found from garbage to Status necks. Learn to be creative. You can take a project or two for trials: pickup placement, neck angle... Music shops may have parts like tuners and bridges or even pickups that have been forgotten to some dark corner and cost only a little. I hate the P pickup just because it looks so ugly. I use humbuckers. If I find a four wire pickup, I will put a series/parallel switch. I do not like pots so much, so one of my basses has no controls at all. Paint is a pain for me, oil is better, colour comes from the wood. It is your instrument, find your own design. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) Reading the above and the Build diaries... A kit is a kit... Making the neck from scratch is hard... Howzabout finding a neck ya likes, then build from their? Own Body Shape n Wood, neck pocket for your neck... pickups P, J, 'Buckers, one of each? Passive or Pre, Switch selection of the Enterpise, or simple VT, Lin/Log, No Load Tone? Knobs, Tuners and Bridge style of your choice... And a greater sense of achievment designing and making, seeing it come to life, than following the distructions on a kit of pre selected parts... Then the finish... natural stain paint or relic... 'expect to see it in the build diaries - enjoy! Edited October 1, 2020 by PaulThePlug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Useless amateur Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 After all the help and advice from everyone plus reading through the build diaries section I have made up my mind it will be built from scrap parts. Was talking it through with my Wife and her first reaction was were are all the donor bodies etc going to live? I made the usual non committal answer 🤣🤣🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 (edited) Sounds like having the bass feel like it is 'yours' is the most important thing to you. You might not get that feeling from a 'kit' bass. I have not built a proper guitar or bass, but have done a few cigar box guitar builds. I definately would not have had the same pleasure from it if I'd used kits of parts. Much of the fun (and sense of ownership) came from sourcing the parts. However in cigar box world you can use 'found' and re-purposed materials - which is probably not the case for a regular style bass bass. As others have said, try ebay or similar for bits of guitar. Or search ebay for 'project' guitars - a whole guitar which doesn't work but is good for spares, repairs and 'franken-bassing'. On Edit - I composed this before you decided to do it from scrap. then somehow took over 4 hours to press "Submit"! I reckon scrap is the right way for you. Edited October 1, 2020 by Nail Soup 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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