Samuel McBrian-Brian Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 (edited) Late last year the music department at my school gave me a free nylon string acoustic guitar... http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010747.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010748.JPG The person who correctly guesses why wins a prize. So I set out on a journey with my dremel clone, sander, drill and jigsaw, a journey to fulfill my dream to have a fretless short scale acoustic-electric bass. http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010749.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010790.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010796.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010797.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010801.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010805.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010818.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010841.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010848.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010824.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010829.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010838.JPG First I ripped off the top, I mean, who needs that anyway. I bought a huge piece of some kind of board from Mitre 10 for about five dollars. It was some kind of pretend wood. It has great tonal qualities, I'm sure. I unfretted it and sanded it all down too. I knew this thing wasn't going to take normal bass strings unaided, so I beefed it up with some bracing (especially around the neck). The hole in the back is for restringing and access to the electronics (a twenty dollar staggered bass pickup, a volume control and a rotary switch with various different capacitors going to ground for tone). Due to the nature of that hole, I was forced to leave the pickups in during painting. I also cut a slice out of the headstock and glued it back on, and I cut the ends off the tuning peg holder thing, cause I only need four strings. I filled in the frets and the writing with epoxy. Damn that epoxy, it caused me so much grief. I was fixing up the second 'a' in Madonna and I mustn't have mixed the epoxy properly and it wouldn't cure and all other problems. I ended up having a fairly uneven fretboard (third fret dead) from sanding. I also lost most of the two n's in Madonna from trying to fix the third fret. I took it in to a fancy Spanish luthier and they said they'd fix it for 200-450$, I laughed at them and went to a music shop near my house where I know the guys and now it's getting flattened properly for free. And I also scored another nylon string acoustic guitar, this one was only kind of broken though. I wonder what I'll do with that... I applied the primer with a roller, and airbrushed the blue. And here is the (almost) finished product, all that needs to be done now is get it back from the guy who was flattening the fretboard. I'll probably have to redo the 'El Madonna III' in it. http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010854.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em3/P1010850.JPG The finish was looking good 'til I airbrushed the clear coat on. In those pictures the volume and tone controls aren't pushed through, and I haven't decided what kind of knobs I want. The input jack is on the side. Due to the bubble sound holes, it isn't acoustically amplified that much. Well, a bit but not enough to compete with a normal acoustic guitar. If you're still having your doubts, yes it does work, just not the third fret. And if you're slightly confused by the pictures in the pictures, go to www.sublimarine.com. And that's my story. Edit: one picture per post Edited January 23, 2007 by Samuel McBrian-Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carousel182 Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 whered you get that muffin with a face Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel McBrian-Brian Posted January 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 whered you get that muffin with a face I made it. If you like that muffin with a face you'll like the song. Talking Muffins found on Sublimarine X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel McBrian-Brian Posted January 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 If anyone is wondering about what happened to the first El Madonna http://www.sublimarine.com/em1/P1010058.JPG http://www.sublimarine.com/em1/P1010059.JPG And let's not speak of El Madonna II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 hey this is sick u could easly made the sound holes into grapes to stick with the food idea:P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel McBrian-Brian Posted January 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 hey this is sick u could easly made the sound holes into grapes to stick with the food idea:P Wow, I just realized there was a muffin, toast and a banana. And a turkey! It never occurred to me just how food orientated Sublimarine is. It wasn't really a food theme though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biliousfrog Posted January 23, 2007 Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 what strings are you putting on that "bass" & did you put a truss-rod in the neck?....because classical guitars generally don't require any reinforcement due to the very low string tension. ...& what do you mean by "yes it does work, just not the third fret"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel McBrian-Brian Posted January 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2007 (edited) what strings are you putting on that "bass" & did you put a truss-rod in the neck?....because classical guitars generally don't require any reinforcement due to the very low string tension. ...& what do you mean by "yes it does work, just not the third fret"? I'm using old strings off my Warwick bass. I do realize that the tension of bass strings is quite a bit more than nylon strings, but after extensive testing and then stringing it with the bass strings and playing it for a while, the neck was fine. It was quite lucky, I was expecting it to bow crazily or even snap. That is what I mean by "yes it does work". Now, what I meant by "just not the third fret" is a reference to what I was talking about with the uneven fretboard. Although it technically doesn't have frets, the third fret position on all strings hums because of the unevenness. It is the only fret position to do this. You refer to it as 'that "bass"'. I prefer to call it a 'fretless short scale acoustic-electric bass'. Edit: I neglected to capitalize an 'i' Edit 2: I found another one. Edited January 23, 2007 by Samuel McBrian-Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carousel182 Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 whered you get that muffin with a face I made it. If you like that muffin with a face you'll like the song. Talking Muffins found on Sublimarine X i dont like it thats the scariest muffin ive ever seen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel McBrian-Brian Posted January 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 whered you get that muffin with a face I made it. If you like that muffin with a face you'll like the song. Talking Muffins found on Sublimarine X i dont like it thats the scariest muffin ive ever seen I've got it on a shirt, it scares little kiddies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carousel182 Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 thank god i dont live in australia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 Well it looks like you have fun modifying them. Does this bass hold it's tune? Sounds like it plays, well short of the fretboard issue(or did this issue get fixed-"I took it in to a fancy Spanish luthier and they said they'd fix it for 200-450$, I laughed at them and went to a music shop near my house where I know the guys and now it's getting flattened properly for free."). How does it sound? How much acoustic volume do you get? A sound clip would be cool if you could swing it. Sounds like you plan to keep experimenting. On the future builds or in the future do you want to make well constructed lasting instruments? Or kinda wing it like you did on this one? It seems to me you have fun with them, and are bringing broken instruments back into action for a last run either way. So it's a good deal. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel McBrian-Brian Posted January 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 Well it looks like you have fun modifying them. Does this bass hold it's tune? Sounds like it plays, well short of the fretboard issue(or did this issue get fixed-"I took it in to a fancy Spanish luthier and they said they'd fix it for 200-450$, I laughed at them and went to a music shop near my house where I know the guys and now it's getting flattened properly for free."). How does it sound? How much acoustic volume do you get? A sound clip would be cool if you could swing it. Sounds like you plan to keep experimenting. On the future builds or in the future do you want to make well constructed lasting instruments? Or kinda wing it like you did on this one? It seems to me you have fun with them, and are bringing broken instruments back into action for a last run either way. So it's a good deal. Peace,Rich It holds its tune, except before I altered the cylinder the E string is wound around at the headstock it kind of cut into the string and it unwound itself, so now I have to use some new strings. That was mainly because of the temporary way I strung it though. The proper sanding of the fretboard with nice equipment fell through, so when it's not Australia Day I will buy a long piece of sandpaper and put it down on something flat, and rub my fretboard against it for a bit. It should work well enough, but I'm going to have to redo the "El Madonna III" in the fretboard. The acoustic amplification is somewhat higher than an unplugged electric bass but nowhere near an acoustic bass's volume. Through my amp, it doesn't sound bad but not wonderful. You can't really expect much from 20$ pickups. Once I do the fretboard I'll make a recording and put it up. I can't say that the El Madonna III is well constructed, but so far it is lasting and I think it will last. I have always wanted to construct a well constructed instrument though, but I have neither expertise or tools. I made a dodgey guitar body a year or two ago, it went with the neck that came with a guitar I bought for 50$ (it was missing a bridge). But it was not well constructed nor was it lasting. Thank you for taking the time to look into it and comment, and not say anything about the muffin with the face. Love From Samuel. P.S. Should I enter it into the guitar of the month thing? Teehee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 The proper sanding of the fretboard with nice equipment fell through, so when it's not Australia Day I will buy a long piece of sandpaper and put it down on something flat, and rub my fretboard against it for a bit. It should work well enough, but I'm going to have to redo the "El Madonna III" in the fretboard. ahh u resisted the temptation of not working on a guitar on australia day dont think i can say it for myself :D still waiting for the grapes over the sound holes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel McBrian-Brian Posted January 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 (edited) ahh u resisted the temptation of not working on a guitar on australia day dont think i can say it for myself :D still waiting for the grapes over the sound holes It was more because it's a public holiday and I just assumed that Bunnings and Mitre 10 would be shut and I need more sandpaper. And they're not grapes. They're obviously bubbles coming from the sublimarine. And they're outlined in black, you just cant see it properly because of the blackness inside the guitar. Edited January 26, 2007 by Samuel McBrian-Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 woops but u could easily paint one grapes up bunnings dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted January 26, 2007 Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 Well it looks like you have fun modifying them. Does this bass hold it's tune? Sounds like it plays, well short of the fretboard issue(or did this issue get fixed-"I took it in to a fancy Spanish luthier and they said they'd fix it for 200-450$, I laughed at them and went to a music shop near my house where I know the guys and now it's getting flattened properly for free."). How does it sound? How much acoustic volume do you get? A sound clip would be cool if you could swing it. Sounds like you plan to keep experimenting. On the future builds or in the future do you want to make well constructed lasting instruments? Or kinda wing it like you did on this one? It seems to me you have fun with them, and are bringing broken instruments back into action for a last run either way. So it's a good deal. Peace,Rich It holds its tune, except before I altered the cylinder the E string is wound around at the headstock it kind of cut into the string and it unwound itself, so now I have to use some new strings. That was mainly because of the temporary way I strung it though. The proper sanding of the fretboard with nice equipment fell through, so when it's not Australia Day I will buy a long piece of sandpaper and put it down on something flat, and rub my fretboard against it for a bit. It should work well enough, but I'm going to have to redo the "El Madonna III" in the fretboard. The acoustic amplification is somewhat higher than an unplugged electric bass but nowhere near an acoustic bass's volume. Through my amp, it doesn't sound bad but not wonderful. You can't really expect much from 20$ pickups. Once I do the fretboard I'll make a recording and put it up. I can't say that the El Madonna III is well constructed, but so far it is lasting and I think it will last. I have always wanted to construct a well constructed instrument though, but I have neither expertise or tools. I made a dodgey guitar body a year or two ago, it went with the neck that came with a guitar I bought for 50$ (it was missing a bridge). But it was not well constructed nor was it lasting. Thank you for taking the time to look into it and comment, and not say anything about the muffin with the face. Love From Samuel. P.S. Should I enter it into the guitar of the month thing? Teehee. Heck yes, Go ahead and enter it in GOTM. Why not. As far as the acoustic volume. I suspect the soundboard is pretty much frozen(because of the braces), but it is pretty tuff to get a lot of bass out of a smallish bass anywho. You really have an oportunity to give one of these acoustics a new functional soundboard(without much in the way of tools, and going to a lot of expense). If you want to play with some bracing patterns and get a feel for some of the traditional approches to bracing. Post up your next project and we can chat about placement/size/ shaping and such. Bounce some ideas around if you will. Peace,Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel McBrian-Brian Posted January 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 Sample The first bit is me busting out some Lenny Kravitz on the El Madonna III. For comparison, the second bit is me busting out some Lenny Kravitz on my Gibson Thunderbird Studio I bought recently. Please, be kind to me lack of groove and timing, my knuckles are swollen from the work I did to afford the Gibson. I'm using a Fender Bassman 400, and sadly, it is going through a mixer before it gets to my computer. I feel as if the mixer and the computer soundcard suck some tone out. The distorted parts are not problems with the bass but are problems with the recording. I think its not bad for a fretless shortscale electric bass which used to be a classical guitar. Love From Samuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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