Hughes Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 im marking the slots and i have alot of extra wood near the heel, and i was wondering if i could like make a shorter style bass neck, or if i might as well remark my wood...any advice would be good thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Dude, You lost me..... I see length of neck in the title. Are you asking if you should use a neck blank (fairly long one) for a bass instead of a guitar? If so make whatever you want to build given you have enough material. Peace, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted April 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 sorry for not being clear enough but what i meant was, i have quite a bit well enought for a bass and i was wondering if i could make a shorter bass neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Do you want a short scale bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimRayden Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Ah, you mean, you're making a neck and the wood is longer than needed? Well, firstly, do you want a bass? Secondly, yes, I've seen a short-scale bass neck somewhere. I think it was on a guitar/bass doubleneck. Can't remember where I saw it though. Wouldn't the strings get too slobbery (I don't know the word for it) when decreasing scale length? I had a thread about making a small travel guitar but the tuning would be higher then too. And especially for a bass, wich has a really massive and already quite slobbery low E string. On the other hand, it might not react to tension loss that much, also because of it's mass. I dunno. Anyone that owns a bass can answer that one. ---------- Jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 (edited) I am lost. What is "a lot of extra wood near the heel"? Do you mean you have a length of fretboard material left over? Edited April 22, 2005 by thedoctor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdevoe Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 You can make a short-scale bass if you want (30" is considered short-scale). I wouldn't go much shorter than that. I don't really understand the question though. What are you making (guitar or bass)? Since you're marking the fret slots, I assume that you've cut the shape of the neck out already. If so, this really isn't the point in the project that you should be changing your mind about what you're making. That said, you can really have any length neck you want, as long as you keep the fret slots spaced within the parameters of the selected scale length. Just remember that regardless of the length of the neck, there has to be between 30" and 34" (or more) inches between the nut and the bridge. So the shorter the neck, the longer the body has to be to compensate. Good luck, -Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimRayden Posted April 22, 2005 Report Share Posted April 22, 2005 Yea, actually I didn't get it either. If you can't express it in words, a picture or a drawing would help alot. ----------- Jimbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted April 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 hmmm didnt think "have more then enough wood, but was wondering about a shorter scale" could get any clearer but yes i do want a bass neck and i was just wondering about shorter scales (sorry i didnt use the word short scale, my mistake) and i am making a 22 fret bass with the normal size, just a little curious thats all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdevoe Posted April 23, 2005 Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 hmmm didnt think "have more then enough wood, but was wondering about a shorter scale" could get any clearer but yes i do want a bass neck and i was just wondering about shorter scales (sorry i didnt use the word short scale, my mistake) and i am making a 22 fret bass with the normal size, just a little curious thats all ← I think what confused me, and I'm sure most everyone else, is why, given that you had more than enough wood, you would want to change it to a shorter scale, which would use less wood. I understand what you mean now, I just didn't really get how having too much wood was related to wanting a shorter scale neck. Not that it really matters, as you've cleared it up. With regards to shorter scales, there are a few differences. 30" basses tend to sound a little thinner than a 34", but they can be quite fun to play. I've found that they feel much more like a guitar, since the 30" scale is roughly half way between a guitar's scale and a full scale 34" bass. I have an old Fender Musicmaster short-scale that I love, though it wouldn't replace my Precision. I guess it really depends on what you're going for, but it's definitely something to consider. -Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted April 23, 2005 Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 I personally prefer 34-1/2" scale 4 string, and 35" scale on 5 string. It feels more responsive to me, then again I probably play harder than I should. Shorter scales have always felt a little loose and slow to me ( so just my opinion though). I have a couple of friends that rarely play bass (mainly guitar) and they feel more comfortable with shorter scale bass. It's all about what you prefer. Some people think a 24.75" scale feels too loose because they are used to 25.5". Its just a thang. Peace, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted April 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 oh haha yeah i dont WANT to i was just wondering, but yeah thanks for replying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted April 23, 2005 Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 "have more then enough wood, but was wondering about a shorter scale" That still makes very little sense to me Oh well, you seem to have gotten what you were looking for, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fryovanni Posted April 23, 2005 Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 Hughes, I just ran through some of your other posts. I think I get a better picture of what you have been talking about. If you are still working on a Tele style bass. Sounds like a VERY cool project, and I can see how scale length is an issue. I would really like to see some pic's as you make progress. Peace, and good luck with the bass. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted April 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 (sorry for not posting it, forgot i guess) but i decided to make a mockingbird bass first then a telestyle, but i am gonna see how the first one turns out before i start the second of course...i will possibly post some pictures but not guaranteeing anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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