Odd Idea

[avengers63]

This is a Westone Rail bass. It's an obscure, cheap asian knockoff of a Steinberger. Oddly, it's a GREAT bass! The controls are simple - one volume knob for the one pickup, and one position knob. The pickup is mounted in a wood block, which is in turn mounted on a pair of rails. The knob locks the block in place. You can slode the block along the rails and have the pickup wherever you like.

Has anyone ever tried making a guitar like this? I'm heavily considering trying this next year, but I'd love to see someone elses results first.

[Mickguard]

Has anyone ever tried making a guitar like this? I'm heavily considering trying this next year, but I'd love to see someone elses results first.

Well, yeah, Westone did. Since you already know it's a great bass, what's the problem?

[avengers63]

Has anyone ever tried making a guitar like this? I'm heavily considering trying this next year, but I'd love to see someone elses results first.

Well, yeah, Westone did. Since you already know it's a great bass, what's the problem?

Good one.

There isn't a problem. I was thinking of making a guitar like this - one p/u on rails - and I was wondering if anyone here had tried it yet.

[Geo]

It's definitely a cool idea. I wonder how nice it would sound, having so little wood?

[mastertone007]

yeah looks like a supa cool idea. might make one myself.

Cheers

[jmrentis]

Actually when I first started thinking about building and started researching, I spent a decent amount of time thinking about different things and one was pickup placement and how cool it would be to be able to vary it. I eventually came up with an idea of how to do this and it was quite similar to that bass, but slightly different. It involved more of a giant swimming pool route and smaller bars inside that two hums would move on and could be tightened from the back. So it would look more like a regular guitar with a square hole cut out of the middle with smaller bars for the pups. I never finalized the idea as I lost interest in it, especially after seeing that bass as the concept had been done as nearly all cool ideas have. Anyhow, I would definitely be interested in seeing someone do the same concept in a different design. Best of luck. J

[TemjinStrife]

Some other guy had modified a Tele to have a sort of "swimming pool with rails" allowing him to move his single humbucker from neck to bridge position and in between... he sent it in to Guitarist magazine but also noted that Bill Lawrence or Ken Laurence or Kent Armstrong or somebody (I'm bad with names) had already patented a similar design.

[avengers63]

I'd imagine it'd have almost no resonance and a fairly sterile tone. For sustain, you'd need to use a super dense wood like jatoba. You wouldn't need to worry about weight with a dense wood since there's really nothing there. You could use whatever type of metal you want for the rails - the stronger the better.

I can testify that the bass weighs less than any guitar I've ever played, except for my Steinberger. Go figure.

If anyone has any serious plans in the future to make a guitar like this, I'll gladly take some pictures of it. You can see from the back how the construction is. I'd imagine it'd be pretty straight-forward. The most difficult thing would be measuring everything. With a normal body, you can measure everything and drill for the bridge where you need it. This would take a bit more planning.

[Xanthus]

There was a pic/thread about a "windshield washer" bass pickup that worked on basically the same principle, except it had a pivot point. I hope it used a blade instead of polepieces

[mastertone007]

I was thinking dual humbucker or 3 single coils and a six string guitar format would be cool.

time to go and plan!

[fookgub]

There was a pic/thread about a "windshield washer" bass pickup that worked on basically the same principle, except it had a pivot point.

That would be the Spalt Vviper: http://www.spaltinstruments.com/. I've always liked the look of their guitars... really "out there." The bass doesn't really do it for me, though... go figure.

Anyway, I think a rail bass would be a neat project. Couple of challenges to overcome, but it doesn't seem like it would be too difficult. I say go for it.

[Mickguard]

Good one.

Anyway, I think Gibson made a bass with a slideable pickup, and some of the early Danelectros had moveable pickups too. And it seems to me Ampeg or Dan Armstrong played with this too.

This was an idea that interested me a lot when I first started building. Ultimately I abandoned it, because I decided it just was more trouble than it's worth --there aren't a hell of a lot of positions for pickups on a guitar, so if I really want multiple tonal characteristics, the standard pickup arrangements work fine. On my tele, I only ever use the bridge pickup (so that guitar is now an Esquire). And most of the time I just play my strat anyway.

Now, if you can work out a way to slide the pickup while you're playing, that could be interesting...

[dh7892]

You could do it with three single-coils with a phase switch for the middle one so that when you put the middle next to one of the end ones, you can get it to act like a humbucker.

[avengers63]

You could do it with three single-coils with a phase switch for the middle one so that when you put the middle next to one of the end ones, you can get it to act like a humbucker.

Look a little closer a the picture. The input jack is in the same block as the puckup. If you have multiple pickups on multiple pieces, all sliding along the rails, how would you wire it? Perhaps each p/u has it's own jack, all connected with some kind of long Y cord to a main jack.

[TemjinStrife]

The Tesla Birdfish has three individually positionable and rotatable pickups.

http://www.teuffel.com/instrumente/birdfish/birdfish_e.html

Check out the back view to see how they fit.

[avengers63]

Good one.

Anyway, I think Gibson made a bass with a slideable pickup.....

I found it.

I'll give Gibson credit. Every once in a while, they went out on a limb. Sometimes we got the flying-V. Sometimes we got this thing. But at least they were trying.