orgmorg Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Well, I suppose it's about time I threw down, eh? This is a project for a friend of mine. Yes, he is a Cheap Trick fan. He bought a Galveston 12 string bass cause he really wanted a 12 stringer, and that's what he could afford. It turned out to be a very nice playing guitar, despite the price and being a mass produced import. The neck is quite nice, actually. He hated the body, though. So we got to talking about making a new one for it, and both liked the Idea of using the classic Rickenbacker 4001 shape. The wood is buckeye. Originally, he wanted it painted black, with white binding. I chose the buckeye because it has super fine grain, and would provide a nice smooth surface for the black. Plus, I have a bunch of it. However, when I showed him the wood, he went all goofy over it, and now we are doing it dead clear with tortoise binding. All the hardware and electronics will remain stock, manufacture unknown. Here'sanother pic with the neck in place, and the old body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 I'm a sucker for a Ric bass body. I own ONE bass and it's a Ric 4001 . Looks amazing so far! Not a huge fan of 12 strings... but whateva lol Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Is it a 2x6 or a 3x4 12 string bass? I'm trying to make the Ric upper horn work with the guitar I'm currently trying to get started on - I love the shape! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Is it a 2x6 or a 3x4 12 string bass? I'm trying to make the Ric upper horn work with the guitar I'm currently trying to get started on - I love the shape! You mean like the 620? Yeah, I love that look...think it looks awesome on a guitar. Of course, I'm a fan of most of the Ric designs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted April 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 It's a 3x4, four courses of 3 strings- A low and two highs. Overkill? Well, yes, but I believe thats the idea. Hey, it's rock-n-roll, right? I was never a big fan of the Ric guitars, but I've always loved the basses, and most of the people who play them- especially Lemmy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenhoneywell Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 I bet the string section at your guitar shop are going to love you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted April 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 Actually, we just had to sack the entire string section. They kept wanting to do that Mantovani " wall of sound " thing, which really pissed the woodwinds off. Except the bassoonists, of course- nothing seems to bother them cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 You mean like the 620? Yeah, I love that look...think it looks awesome on a guitar. Of course, I'm a fan of most of the Ric designs I think I'm going to try for a little longer/thinner shape... the 620 looks too round to me > It's a 3x4, four courses of 3 strings- A low and two highs. Overkill? Well, yes, but I believe thats the idea. I saw a guy playing a four courses of 3 PRS bass one time - it sounded FANTASTIC! I'm sure you'll be happy with how it sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screwdelulu Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 Does someone have sound samples of 3x4 bass?? sounds interesting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 I can't lead you to any clips, but I can lead you to another player that has done similar things on basses. Jauqo III-X did some work on a 15 string bass (5 string bass, triple course strings). I believe there is at least one other 15 string bassist out there. I love playing bass and guitar and had a hard time adjusting to a 12-string acoustic. I highly doubt I could handle the tension of the 12 bass strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted April 19, 2006 Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 Doug Pinnick of King's X used to play a Hamer 12-stringer. Talk about a massive overdriven sound! I sold my black Ric 4001 a long time ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted April 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2006 I can probably get a clip of the old bass, because he's recorded a pile of tunes with it. When I get this one done, I can do an "after" sound clip, as well. It will be interesting to see if there is much difference, since the only change will be the body wood. I can probably even get him to record it with the same settings and everything. But for now, jest get you a copy of "Live at Budokan" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted January 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Finally got around to finishing this one. Just got it strung and set up. I'll try to get some better pics soon, but this will have to do fer now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydrogeoman Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Very cool looking bass. So did you bolt the old neck to the new body or did you modify to a set neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNIT Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 wow i really like it ive always liked the ric bass shape but only the expensive fire glow one with the pickguard .. its like thie classic theme they try to achieve with thier bridge, the goofy looking pickups and knobs collide with the solid colours and lack of binding on the cheaper ones like a classic ric with the modern touch now its time to tackle a 15 string bass like the one ibanez made for fieldy of korn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telenator Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 What a great idea for that bass. Beautiful work. If it sounds half as good as it looks, you've got a real winner on your hands! orqmorq, your avatar is one of my favorite albums of all time. The guitar solo in "Theme for an Imaginery Western" is one of the all time greatest solos ever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 Nicely done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted January 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 (edited) Thanks!! The guitar solo in "Theme for an Imaginery Western" is one of the all time greatest solos ever!Yep, and the live version on Twin Peaks is even better, along with the 45 minute Nantucket Sleighride. Those were the days- when you had to get up and flip the album in the middle of a song. So did you bolt the old neck to the new body or did you modify to a set neck?No, I just bolted it on. I considered glueing it in, but was not confident that it would hold with all those strings. If I were to build one from scratch, I would probably make a neck thru. now its time to tackle a 15 string bass like the one ibanez made for fieldy of korn I've even seen pics of an 18 stringer! Would be interesting to build, but I don't know what the heck I'd do with it. I'm bad enough on four strings. I had fun playing this one last night, though. What a huge sound. It really sounds like it has a chorus pedal on it. Here's another pic showing the binding a little better. My first binding job. Edited January 16, 2007 by orgmorg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 I highly doubt I could handle the tension of the 12 bass strings. Funny thing, about a month after I posted this I got to play a 12-string bass while in the studio. I adjusted quickly, and man do they have a lot of sound! Here's a video of Garry Goodman playing a 12-string bass strung triple course, triple octave. I gotta build one of those. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-oO16rRtd8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurits Posted January 16, 2007 Report Share Posted January 16, 2007 That looks really great. Got any pics of the headstock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted January 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 You can kinda see it in the pic in the link at the bottom of my first post in this thread. It's just the stock Galveston head, nothing to write home about, not much more than a plank for holding a mess of tuners. If you go to 12stringbass.com or 12stringbass.net, you can see lots of pics of the Galveston and it's incestuous family, as well as almost any other 12 stringer made. They also have a bunch of sound clips from various basses and artists. I've changed my mind, I'm gonna have to make me one someday. It's just too much fun to play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telenator Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Has anyone from Rickenbacker questioned your choice of body shape? The people on the Ric forums can be a militant bunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_ado Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 this is cool at first i though the strings would be like 6x2 but its 4x3 that mad ive never seen a 3xstringer if that makes sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orgmorg Posted January 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 I'm not too worried about what Ric might think. If they built a 12 string bass, this guy would have gladly sold two or three of his guitars to buy one. But they don't, nor do they seem to have any intention of doing so. In fact, he inquired, and got a rather humorous response. Something to do with a fish suspended by a dozen monofilament lines. Also, the construction is almost entirely unlike that of a Ric, except for the fact that is made of wood. To top it all off, I recieved no money for it, just did it to build my chops, as it were. In fact I think I spent about 25 bucks on binding, glue and sandpaper, so if Ric really wants a piece of the action, they can send me a fiver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telenator Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 LOL! The guys on their forums got pretty heated about my 360 style guitar. I was in the same boat as you though. I called RIC too and they chuckled at the blasphemous thought of a 360 with an adult sized neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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