boonk Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 (edited) Hi, I am 16 years old and I would really like to build my own bass. I just love the thougt of someone asking me what kind of bass I have and me getting the chance to say "I build it myslef". I have read alot obout bass building and I think if I put enough time into it it would be possible. I have been building things out of wood since 6th grade, so about 5 years. I have built tables, shelves, a minerature bass, bench, and many other things. I also have a neighbor who is an experienced woodworker if I needed any help. So yea, back to the bass. I want to make a neck-through bass, fretted, with a quilted maple body. I will probably use one truss rod and 2 carbon fiber strips in the neck. I play most of my music in C tuning so my bass will be a 35" scale. I will probably use EMG pickups. So to the point, does anyone recomend anything that I should do in preparation for this project. I will be drawing lots of plans and making a template out of mdf before I buy any of the wood or hardware for it. Also, what would the cost be for a custom bass. Thanks for any help. I would love to hear any comments. Edited January 29, 2006 by boonk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 (edited) I'm sorry, you can't build a bass, Canadians aren't smart enough to build basses. Actually, I must say, you seem a lot more informed than 90% of the people that come on this board and ask the same question. If you have the patience to do everything the right way, and you have the tools to get it done, I see no reason why you can't build a perfectly playable bass. Granted, certain aspects may take a few tries before they're just the way you like it, but as long as you're tenacious about it, you can get it done. As far as the price of custom basses, that's a very hard question to answer. There's no set price, it could be anything from $1k to $100k. I hope you're not planning on selling your basses anytime soon, because I adimently discourage that at this point. Anyhow, you might benefit from reading Melvin Hiscock's "Make Your Own Electric Guitar." It covers many aspects of building including the considerations you should make when building both a neck thru and a guitar with a top. peace and good luck, russ Edit: I noticed you said you'd be drawing the plans before you got the hardware. That's perfectly fine, just make sure you get every dimension of the parts you're using so your plans are as accurate as possible. Decide what fingerboard width and string spacing you want at the nut, then figure out the string spacing of your bridge. This will help you determine your fretboard width. There are many options as far as truss rods go, so you should look for one with your ideal dimensions before drawing out the plan. Also, take into consideration whether or not your bridge is so high that it would dictate you either recess it or use a neck angle. Building instruments is much much easier when you get all of the thinking and brainstorming done before you even set foot in the shop. ps This is in the wrong section. You'll get a lot more views and responses if you put your new topics in the appropriate section. Edited January 29, 2006 by thegarehanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonk Posted January 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 thanks for the reply I am looking to spen about 800-1000 dollars, and this bass is for me, i might build them to sell in like 10 years, but the first one will be for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 Cool, cool. 800-1000 dollars should be plenty. My first build cost about that. Just shop around for your parts. You'll find that there can be huge price differences from supplier to supplier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 Go to amazon.com and get melvin hiscock's book Build your own electric guitar. He makes the exact kind of bass that you're making and does it using mostly hand tools. A must read for anyone that is a first time builder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 (edited) Anyhow, you might benefit from reading Melvin Hiscock's "Make Your Own Electric Guitar." ...I wonder how much money we generate for mr. hiscock anually. Edited January 29, 2006 by thegarehanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted January 29, 2006 Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 (edited) I found that my first guitar was around the $800-$1000 that people are saying but since then it's only around $350 per guitar. The guitar specific tools are what took a chunk out of my wallet. Edited January 29, 2006 by Godin SD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonk Posted January 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2006 thanks for the help guys, i think i will order most of my parts from http://www.stewmac.com/ and see if i can get wood locally, that is , after i'm done the planning and begging to use my mom's credit card so I can order online....then it will be a few more months work to get it all payed for... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarGuy Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Anyhow, you might benefit from reading Melvin Hiscock's "Make Your Own Electric Guitar." ...I wonder how much money we generate for mr. hiscock anually. A lot, ever notice that you don't see it much on ebay tho? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 There's a good reason for that ;-) Get the Hiscock book, as said, indispensable. One minor 'warning' when it comes to guitar building: what's considered 'good enough' in most carpentry/woodwork (not all, but most), is nowhere near good enough for guitars. Work to tight tolerances, as close to exact as you can get. Within .5mm wherever possible, closer than that for fret spacing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninoman123 Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Of course you can build a bass. Im 17 and building my own guitar right now. The guitar specific tools will hurt some but heres my suggestion. Call around where you live and try to find people that can help you with these specific things. For example, I went to a local website here in St Louis called Woodworkers association or something weird like that. That website had telephone numbers to people in the society. I called up one guy who said that he had built guitars before and he said that he could let me use his fretting tools. Im saving upwards up $150 there. So call around for help. Most people will be more than happy to help you. I found that being a high schooler infact helps more than it does hurt your reputation. People think its great that someone in high school has an interest in building with their hands...rather than smoking. My mom made a great line. "Id rather you be jointing wood than rolling joints." So enjoy! And keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonk Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 thanks for all the replys, my brother is a member at a local woodworking club and he tells me that there is a guy there who makes acoustic guitars. I will probably contact him and see if he can help with the fretts, when i get there, probably wont be for another few months i geuss this guy started making guitars in the shop at school and has been making them ever since, and he makes a living doing it. Sounds like an awesome job to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninoman123 Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Paul Reed Smith built his first guitar when he was a senior in high school. It wasnt the PRS that we know today. I think it was just a neck from an old guitar and he built the body but still. Thats how a lot of us start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 I was...um...15 when I built my first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonk Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 (edited) I made up a plan for what i want my bass to took like.... the drawing has no fretboard, the lines are just to show the different pieces of wood for the neck, and i forgot to continue them into the head, and forgot the shade the rest of them, oh well, you get the idea. This drawong is to scale, 35", and i got the dimensions for the bridge and nut online, tell me what you all thing the neck will be 3 pieces of maple, or some other light wood, havent decided yet, with 2 strips of mahagony or walnut. The body will be made from mahagony with quilted maple top and beck, i will probably stain the back of the neck green like the body but i'm not sure, it might ruin the look of the wood, I won't need to decide that wor quite a while. More drawings of neck and seperate body pieces to come! I got the shape for the head from my 5 string ESP B-55 which i have had for three years, I just love the look of it Edited January 30, 2006 by boonk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Very nice plan Boonk, good luck with the build. that should come out looking very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeiscosRock Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 I don't look at my first build costing more than $200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonk Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 thanks Phil, I am the person who e-mailed you for help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Mailloux Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 I know thats why I replied to your thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonk Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 (edited) ok, i am going to need some help, say i am ready to attach the body to the neck, how do i go about lining that up perfectly when I glue and clamp the 2 body pieces to the neck, the body will be stained and i am wondering if i should stain it before or after I attach it, I am going ot call my local wood supplier and get some prices today, hopefully i will finish my bass over march break , It might take longer though, thanks for everyone's help Edited January 31, 2006 by boonk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Cut out the shapes, and use a small brad or two (short nail) in areas that won't get routed into. Tap them into the harder of the two woods, nip off the ends, line it all up, push it in place (test clamp it). They should keep the pieces lined up when gluing. This is what I do for guitar tops, as well as for fingerboards (Although I tend to simply drill a tiny hole through a fret slot for those, so I can remove the brad once the clamps are on/its glued up). Re: staining, do it AFTER you glue on the wings. You'll want to glue the wings on once they're roughly shaped (outline is right), but likely before you do anything else to them (carving belly cutouts, transitions to the neck, roundovers, etc. There's a lot of work to do before moving on to finish sanding and staining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 When I need to line body pieces up, I do a little planning about where I'll be cutting before hand and then bisquit join the pieces together. It assures everything will be line up just right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joosh Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 If you have a woodshop at school, use it. I'm 17 building a guitar in woodshop and I have daily access to bandsaws, jointers, planers, table saws, routers, and and experienced woodshop teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted March 24, 2006 Report Share Posted March 24, 2006 If you are buying your hardware a little bit at a time (cash flow, don't you know....), the first piece to buy is the bridge. So many things depend on it (neck angle and fretboard taper to name just two) that you'll want to get it right at the beginning. There's nothing like sticking it on the body with double-stick tape and stringing up with fishing line to see how you're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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