Baird Posted February 28, 2004 Report Posted February 28, 2004 Hi, Name is Baird and I live on the east coast of Canada. I have been playing bass for almost four years now and I have decided I want to make my own. I have all of the tools needed, and my father is a carpenter so hopefully he can help me along the way. I am planning on using one wood for the Whole thing except the fretboard. Juniper. For the fretboard I will probrally order in a piece of Ebony or Rosewood. It will be a 4 string 35". Maybe I will add a tremolo set-up, am still thinking about it. http://www.rotorsar.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5 You can view my concept for the Juniper bass there. Comments welcome...I will need a lot of starting tips to get this thing on the go! I plan on having a glue on neck and I don't have a clue where to start. The whole construction of attaching the neck to the body and what goes where, baffles me. The body is the only part that I have roughly a clue about. And yes, CT basses are a bit of an inspiration Cheers Quote
MKGBass Posted February 28, 2004 Report Posted February 28, 2004 Looks not too bad. I would be super afraid of snapping that lower horn on something though. Wander over to the tutorial section on the main www.projectguitar.com site. Theres loads of info about putting necks & bodies together. Quote
Baird Posted February 28, 2004 Author Report Posted February 28, 2004 Do you think this guy here eliminates the problem of the lower horn? As well If there are any woods that grow naturally in NL and are good for guitar building please let me know. Quote
erikbojerik Posted February 28, 2004 Report Posted February 28, 2004 Is juniper a hard-enough wood to use for the neck? Especially for a bass? I don't know what grows up there, but around here juniper is a really flexible kind of low bush. I think evergreen woods in general are fairly soft (think pine and spruce) and might not be the best neck material. Probably OK for the wings. Quote
darren wilson Posted February 28, 2004 Report Posted February 28, 2004 Great ideas, and congratulations for taking the initiative to dream and get started. I can't think of anything more rewarding than designing and building your own instrument, and making music with it. To my eye, the ideal placement of the lower horn would be between where you first had it and where you moved it to, with the lower tip of the horn coming down to almost the same line as where the lower rounded bout is. I'd also beef up that lower horn a bit or thin down the upper one so it looks a little more balanced. The upper horn is just a big heavy "blob" that doesn't look well-proportioned with the rest of the body. Maybe add a Carl Thompson-esque scroll to it. Quote
MKGBass Posted February 28, 2004 Report Posted February 28, 2004 I agree with Darren. The improvement you made is fantastic, though. If you really liked the lower horn, you could do some work with the upper curves of the body to make it match. Maybe drop the forearm curve back towards the tail of the bass a litte, but keep the upper horn curving out. I'm just spitting out ideas. Know that ultimately, whatever you do is your project. And if it's your bass, it doesn't really matter what we think on the forum as long as your happy with the outcome, and you've got something you can enjoy. 2 cents in your pocket from mine. ps. I like your photoediting skills, i wish i could do that.... Quote
Baird Posted February 28, 2004 Author Report Posted February 28, 2004 I love hearing comments on my bass designs. Thanks to all who gave me some feedback. The Juniper up north grows in two forms. The first, is a bush like tree which points to the east. The second is a very large tree. Similar to spruce or pine. I'll probrally build my first bass and call it El Cheapo. It will be made of the cheapest materials and most avaliable gear. So if you can point me in the right direction towards cheap hardware, pickups, tuning machines, and bridges that would be great. That way when I start my second bass I can buy EMG's and a bass tremolo, etc. Also I'd be able to afford more expensive wood then...Ebony, Madagascar Rosewood, Mexican Colobolo...Ahhhh Cheers to you all... Quote
GuitarMaestro Posted February 28, 2004 Report Posted February 28, 2004 Nice design, but the headstock shape does not really match the body shape in my eyes....I think it should have more curves like the body.... Quote
GuitarMaestro Posted February 28, 2004 Report Posted February 28, 2004 If you like Cocobolo then you could use it for the first bass as well....it is one of the cheaper woods as far as I know.... Quote
MKGBass Posted February 29, 2004 Report Posted February 29, 2004 why do you want a bass tremolo so much, just out of curiousity? Quote
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