10 String Extended Range Bass

[rlexington]

I haven't posted in a loooong while. We are sooo close to finishing the entire build. Here's the most current pictures:

This picture has my hideous maw in it!

The colours fit my style, right?

Edited April 13, 2010 by rlexington

[Reinhold]

When seeing that an evil laugh came to mind immediately.

[Ripthorn]

How many people will it take to play it? That sounds almost like a joke: "How many (insert demographic of choice here) does it take to play a 10 string bass?"

[Tim37]

ok you realize your gonna have to post a vid of this thing being played.

btw i have a buddy that car subs for his bass he says he likes them better. to each his own but then agian i have said it befor if it sounds good to you then go for it.

[low end fuzz]

oh good god.

[MuffinPunch]

That thing looks rediculous!! Super cool, but rediculous. BTW where did you get those Misfits pajamas?

[Bassisgreat]

That's...large (that's what she said)

I dig the stripes.

[rlexington]

That thing looks rediculous!! Super cool, but rediculous. BTW where did you get those Misfits pajamas?

Hahaha too many replies to reply to, funny how a dead thread comes alive with just a few pics!

But, this catches my attention.

No misfits pajamas! I'm wearing a misfits t-shirt over a long sleeve, and my skeleton pants that I made myself.

By the way, we installed the pickup today! I estimate that it'll be done in a week or two, sooo much work...

Edited April 20, 2010 by rlexington

[erikbojerik]

Getting a speaker cab to output anything near the 10Hz range is going to be a real challenge - to do it right you'll need a custom cab, ported properly and really deep, probably using "high excursion" speakers which displace a lot more air than the normal speaker. Eminence makes some neo versions that will lighten up the cabinet a bit, but you'll still need a monster cab.

[rlexington]

Getting a speaker cab to output anything near the 10Hz range is going to be a real challenge - to do it right you'll need a custom cab, ported properly and really deep, probably using "high excursion" speakers which displace a lot more air than the normal speaker. Eminence makes some neo versions that will lighten up the cabinet a bit, but you'll still need a monster cab.

Actually, I completely forgot to mention. The tuning changed due to extreme complications with the string company I was originally ordering from, now no one can make me my .240 gauges. So instead the strings are same except minus the .240 gauges C# and plus a .009 eb. So, no more needing to worry about the 10hz at the moment! Need to wait for some other companies to be able to make such a huge string, since I am NOT working with the original string company...

[rlexington]

Tried also getting the bridge on, but unfortunately our drill bit broke off into the body...we'll solve it next monday.

[Juntunen Guitars]

Cool project I like all the strings but think I would get lost on it The only thing I don't like about this is how small the body is compared to the huge cutaway and how big the neck is. I realize it would be like putting a truck on a guitar strap though if everything was proportional looking good though

[rlexington]

Cool project I like all the strings but think I would get lost on it The only thing I don't like about this is how small the body is compared to the huge cutaway and how big the neck is. I realize it would be like putting a truck on a guitar strap though if everything was proportional looking good though

Yeah, it does look a little odd, but remember it's the extended fret board causing that, it has 36 frets instead of 24. It would probably look normal with less

[Reinhold]

Cool project I like all the strings but think I would get lost on it The only thing I don't like about this is how small the body is compared to the huge cutaway and how big the neck is. I realize it would be like putting a truck on a guitar strap though if everything was proportional looking good though

Yeah, it does look a little odd, but remember it's the extended fret board causing that, it has 36 frets instead of 24. It would probably look normal with less

I don't think anything can make this look normal.

Edited April 25, 2010 by Reinhold

[Juntunen Guitars]

Cool project I like all the strings but think I would get lost on it The only thing I don't like about this is how small the body is compared to the huge cutaway and how big the neck is. I realize it would be like putting a truck on a guitar strap though if everything was proportional looking good though

Yeah, it does look a little odd, but remember it's the extended fret board causing that, it has 36 frets instead of 24. It would probably look normal with less

I don't think anything can make this look normal.

yeah true and yeah i bet it would look more normal without the extra frets

[rlexington]

Don't get too excited, it's no where near completion. The wires for the electronics snapped while trying to get the output jack through the body of the bass, the neck needs to be shaped and sanded badly, the bass side truss rod broke and needs to be replaced which involves removing the entire fretboard, the lowest sting is waaaay too small for the note that it needs to be tuned too, and the two highest strings can't be tightened more than a hair or they pop out of the tuners.

Need to solve all of that before it can even begin to be playable.

[Johnny Foreigner]

that's the most preposterous thing I've ever seen....

...the flock-of-seagulls haircut, not the bass

!

[rlexington]

that's the most preposterous thing I've ever seen....

...the flock-of-seagulls haircut, not the bass

!

it's not a flock of seagulls haircut, it's actually a horror punk haircut, just I tone down how I dress with my mentor.

[low end fuzz]

well..... good for you taking on such an extreme project; it would seem you need to think more out of the box to accomidate the strings and such;

for the truss rod; how did you place it? is it held in with just pressure; or glued?

ive replaced truss rods without removing the board (that are just held in by squeeze); as long as it has clear path straight out; then put the new one back in the same way; not optimal, but i always try that first;

i put dabs of silicone on the last bit of rod to go in to hold it; barely any, just enuff it doesnt fall out upside down

[rlexington]

well..... good for you taking on such an extreme project; it would seem you need to think more out of the box to accomidate the strings and such;

for the truss rod; how did you place it? is it held in with just pressure; or glued?

ive replaced truss rods without removing the board (that are just held in by squeeze); as long as it has clear path straight out; then put the new one back in the same way; not optimal, but i always try that first;

i put dabs of silicone on the last bit of rod to go in to hold it; barely any, just enuff it doesnt fall out upside down

Already tried removing it without removing the fretboard, it does not want to come out. It looks like removing the fretboard is the only option :/

[rlexington]

After "playing" the this monster for a few hours, I have come to a few conclusions.

I NEED fretboard markers, luckily those won't be hard to put in. I did not anticipate how lost I'd get without them haha.

I need to shape the neck asap! It's like an inch and a half thick right now, makes it neigh impossible to play.

It weighs as much as my house. Hello future back problems

Edited April 27, 2010 by rlexington

[rlexington]

I FINALLY found a way to get the plain steels to stay!! I tied them in a knot around the tuner, and they managed to stay in! Unfortunately though...my Eb broke! First time I have ever broken a string on any instrument. I tightened it way too much when tuning it, it was a hasty and dumb decision. But, my Bb is perfectly fine and tuned to pitch. May be a little tight, but I think it's fine. Luckily it was my highest string that broke, would make it more difficult to play if my Bb broke and my Eb stayed.

I am LOVING this! Despite the massive wrist pains haha. The neck has yet to be shaped so I'm playing with an inch and a half thick square neck. YOUCH! But, this is too amazing to not play!

I got the pickup working and man oh man, I am FLOORED by how this sounds through my bass rig! My 6 string has never sounded even half as good as this! How did I manage to go on with such horrible noises being emitted from my past instruments?

I have already written my first song! It feels so natural, I didn't even realize till after I was finished that I go through all 9 of my current strings in this piece! It's crazy how normal it feels to do such a thing. Can't wait till I have all 10, my Bb just isn't quite high enough for me!

Haven't used my extra frets yet, have only gone up to around the 20th practically. I'm sure I'll use all 36 in good time, no need to rush it.

It's crazy since I remember when I first picked up my 6 for MONTHS AND MONTHS I used 4 strings and only up to the 10th fret on it, yet I'm adjusting this quickly in less than a day on my 10. It makes me even more excited for the future of my musical experiences! Can't say this will fit into my horror punk band though haha

My god, I've never felt more alive than I have today! I feel as though the musician in me has woken up from a 17 year coma! I NEEDED an Extended Range Bass to really LIVE!

[rlexington]

I'll upload a video tonight.

[rlexington]

Well, here's the link to a video, excuse the quality, sound and playing-wise. Need to tweak settings in the future to get it to sound fine direct in, I was just sort of lazy...

I'll upload more, and better videos in the future

Edited April 28, 2010 by rlexington

[ArMelvin1]

Dude for something that you say sucks that was really cool, i loved the ambient but focused sound. really cool man i will say i thought you were crazy at first but thats really cool. please dont stand up and play though i would to see you fall off the stage and kill someone with that thing!