Jump to content

13 String Bass Scandel


Recommended Posts

Recently i came across a guy on youtube that is making a 13 string bass and posting his progress. He recently finished it but all he has posted are slide shows and a video of his talking about how great it is. I think that it's just a big cover up. The 13 string bass is fretless and it's neck and body are made out of pine and it's fingerboard is oak laminate. The bridge is wood and it's string through. The body is very small and the neck is very big which leads me to think it would be incredibly unbalanced when playing. He says he built the pickup by himself but only has pics of him making the pickup cover. He has posted sound clips of the bass but the clips sounds like a bass with frets. He has no actual videos of him playing and he says he has no plans of putting one on. Me and my friend are trying to ask him questions about why the sound clips of the bass don't match up, why he isn't posting videos of him playing it, and various other technical questions but he keeps deleting them and not answering them. He says it plays like a dream and wants to sell it. I think it would be very hard to play the neck would bend 90 degrees before the end of the day. I think that the bass doesn't actually work at all and that it is poorly built and he's trying to cover it up and just sell it.

I don't know why, but this is making me VERY MAD!!! I'm never usually like this though lol.

Do you guys think that it actually works???

here's some links:

him talking about the bass, http://youtube.com/watch?v=BXAmumqQ_t4

sound clip and slide show, http://youtube.com/watch?v=V3y73rYHdnw

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 88
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I've seen the eleven string bass somewhere, and all that the guy could do on it was tapping. I agree, it sounds fretted- none of those smooth glissandos that fretlesses are known for- and the slap doesn't sound fretless. And it's ugly. And I agree, horribly unbalanced. It sounds too...controlled for a fretless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know of the guy - he's probably lying because you just don't wing a 13-string bass like he did. It takes a GREAT deal of planning to make an extended range bass. It is extremely possible to play them, but don't expect it to play if you're just tossing a bunch of wood together.

tubab0y - you're probably referring to Mike Flynn. I know of a few other bassists with 10-12 strings that can play them just fine without needing to tap.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah this does seem a little fishy! He said he'd customized all his guitars, and then says he doesn't have an amplifier? Hmmm. I thought that he might come to the conclusion that he'd need an amp to play an electric bass... Yeah I must say I don't like the look of the thing either. Honestly I'd rather have a Chapman Stick. Anyway, he's probably a good guy and just thought he'd give it a shot, but if it doesn't work he should say that it doesn't work. I don't mean to be an angry guy but that's my opinion.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've got no problem with anyone building anything and wanting to show it off. In fact, I think negative comments (bashing) on people's builds are in very poor taste, regardless of how bad the build looks. BUT, if the guy is trying to sell the thing (especially sight unseen over the internet), that's a whole 'nother ball game.

FWIW, it looks very questionable to me.

Also.... "scandal"

Edited by fookgub
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, how serious build can this be? He probably dit it so he could brag about having the first 13-string bass, and (as stated earlier) he lacks lots of planning for an extended bass! If he wanted the first 13-string bass, he could've at least make a serious build of it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He may have finished the first 13-string bass, but I really wouldn't consider it a bass considering the scale is 26". A chapman stick is more of a bass than this instrument is. This "instrument" just has a bunch of strings that aren't even tuned in perfect fourths, just a bunch of bass strings in no telling what tuning. There has been another 13-string bass in the works for a couple years for Jean Baudin. I'm not sure who is making it, but Nordstrand wound the pickups for it.

NJ13SE.jpg

Edited by Jon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would almost rather take a good kick to the jimmy than play a 13-string bass on which all 13 strings are discrete strings (rather than doubled). Not meaning to push buttons again, but even just looking at those pickups and you (well, "I" :D ) can just feel the utter pointlessness of it all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He may have finished the first 13-string bass, but I really wouldn't consider it a bass considering the scale is 26". A chapman stick is more of a bass than this instrument is. This "instrument" just has a bunch of strings that aren't even tuned in perfect fourths, just a bunch of bass strings in no telling what tuning. There has been another 13-string bass in the works for a couple years for Jean Baudin. I'm not sure who is making it, but Nordstrand wound the pickups for it.

NJ13SE.jpg

i'd love to see those on the pickup winder. could've stalled it out...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would almost rather take a good kick to the jimmy than play a 13-string bass on which all 13 strings are discrete strings (rather than doubled). Not meaning to push buttons again, but even just looking at those pickups and you (well, "I" :D ) can just feel the utter pointlessness of it all.

All instruments are custom. Your specs are pointless to me as mine are to you. I see no use in a 13-string instrument, although I find more range than 4-strings rather helpful. It's all relative. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, sure... within reason. I'm not convinced that 13 strings are UNreasonable (or in a less convoluted turn of the phrase: this time, you're probably right!) for all people. But just because somebody asks for something doesn't automatically make it reasonable. Think of "The Homer". :D And Rick Neilsen's 5-necked guitar... Michael Angelo's 2-neck-- reasonable! He uses them both! Michael Angelo's 4-neck-- unreasonable (well, in terms of practicality)... the other 2 are just for show.

13 strings... that's gray area. As I said, I think you're probably right this time that SOMEBODY out there could find it useful. It's definitely not a cut-and-dry case. I'm with the people that think a Stick is the right choice for somebody who thinks they need a 13-string bass.

But... I'm in danger of annoying the heck out of you again. <chuckle> I'll let it be after this post, I promise. <grin> Well, unless there's pure logic to be discussed. In terms of the actual concept of a 13-string bass, not much more to say out of this mouth. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm never annoyed, just here to explain some things that make no sense to you guys (no offense). I've talked about this with some individuals and they think I'm crazy. Then I explain and demonstrate in person and it makes complete sense. Why? It works for me. :D

Now I hear the "just play a stick" or "A stick is more practical" thing frequently. It's a silly comparison. It's no different from me saying "just go play a piano, the range is the same". The string spacing is completely different on a Chapman stick, not to mention the tuning, neck design, body design, and pickup config. It's a completely different instrument. A few ERB'ists have tried sticks and it doesn't work for them. Why? It's not a bass. It's strictly a tapping instrument. They're two worlds apart.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where I'm from, we call that a "butcher block".......

Scary sh*t!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lf9W8Cv4T2g&amp...ted&search=

:D

He didn't even clamp the "wings" ... just two pieces of duct tape! He is the aussie Litch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where I'm from, we call that a "butcher block".......

Scary sh*t!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=lf9W8Cv4T2g&amp...ted&search=

:D

He didn't even clamp the "wings" ... just two pieces of duct tape! He is the aussie Litch.

Dont class us Aussies with him, it will drag the rest of us down. He is from the UK. Let him drag Wez down with him B)

:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

so is there a vid where we can actualy see him play it, instead of hearing some funky bass stuff with no idea who is playing it on what...

he probaly made a fretless cuz he cant fret a neck.

reminds me of wishbass.com or sumtin like it, same lame stuff fretless cuz it takes no skills, and strings hanging on the edge of the fretboard...

kinda pathetic imo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He may have finished the first 13-string bass, but I really wouldn't consider it a bass considering the scale is 26". A chapman stick is more of a bass than this instrument is. This "instrument" just has a bunch of strings that aren't even tuned in perfect fourths, just a bunch of bass strings in no telling what tuning. There has been another 13-string bass in the works for a couple years for Jean Baudin. I'm not sure who is making it, but Nordstrand wound the pickups for it.

NJ13SE.jpg

Conklin is making the 13 string bass for Jean Baudin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd imagine it would be very difficult to play though b/c with that many frets and scale etc. wouldn't you need to fan the frets? He prolly didn't attempt it b/c he can't fret a neck, but wouldn't you still need to play a fretless in the same manner. I think it would be so different from a regular bass's b/c the "would be fret positions" would be so far out of expected place and also having absolutely no fret or position markers. I think it would serve better use as road sign then a bass.

And to answer Kiem's question: He said that he's not putting up any vids of him playing the bass.

I can see myself years from now on my deathbed, dying, my last words will be "that 13 string bass never worked!!!"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did anyone else notice the unevenness of the neck carve? :D I mean, I'm a beginner, make a lot of mistakes, etc. But I wouldn't put up a video of a build that had a neck with dips in the back/side. Or is that how it's s'posed to be?

The fact that he won't put up a video of the ACTUAL INSTRUMENT in use--that clinches it. Okay, I don't play bass, but I'm building myself a bass for the heck of it. I would put up a vid of myself at least TRYING to play... :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's probably just broken and hit him in the face while he was playing it, thus he doesn't want to show anyone because it's broken! Could you ever actually learn anything for a 13 string bass though?! And you'd never use half the frets. Seems pointless. I tink a 6 string bass, maybe a 7 really is the limit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...