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A bass guitar to be proud of!

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2015 3:55 pm
by xbox650
Alright! My next long-term project is a bass guitar, but I need help from anyone who actually plays a bass.
I want to know your preferences,
4 or 5 strings?
What type of pickup setup?
What do you look for in a bass?
Anything you think could be helpful please post below.

Knowing these will help greatly in the planning and pricing process.
And if anyone haves hardware I could buy off em let me know!
Lastly, if you know of a good place to order hardwoods, I'm all ears.

P.S. spread the word.

Re: A bass guitar to be proud of!

Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 3:55 pm
by ArchAngel
If you're just starting to learn, a Fender Squier P Bass will probably do just fine. You can get one for under $200 and a pack with a stand, amp, cables, and case for around $300.
4 strings are just fine.

The most important thing if you're starting is practice and take some lessons. If you have experience in other instruments awesome, and if you know some music theory, even better. Playing the bass is more than thumping the root to each chord.



If you've already been playing, you gotta check out the Ned Steinberger Omni bass.
http://www.nedsteinberger.com/instruments/nxt_omni.php

Heard big praise over the NS WAV Radius bass and it being one of the most comfortable basses to play, but the omnibass just pulls me in. Specially I can tune it like a cello.

Re: A bass guitar to be proud of!

Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:48 pm
by Emwok
Re-posted to a place where my bass-playing friends will see it. I don't play the bass, but I've always wanted to learn.

Edit: Got some replies. Here's what they say:
Friend 1 wrote:Ok, here goes....

5 string for sure - but that is preference since I really like the deeper low-end of a 5-string
I play Music Man Sting-Ray and I look for good feel/weight, rich tone, strong/long sustain, over-all quality of the instrument.

Although pricey, I believe that you should build/buy the best you can afford. Like a woodworker/artist, you may be the best in your craft, but with crappy tools, you will get crappy results.

This are my opinions.
Friend 2 wrote:Building a bass is as personal as playing. That being said, a couple of pretty good resources are Talk Bass (they have a luthiers thread, I believe) and Warmoth.com. They have everything from blanks to finished bodies and necks. They have a lot of great parts as well, but I'd also look at Best Bass Gear.com and Hipshot products. Hipshot makes the best tuners out there, and make a lot of different bridges. A lot of builders right now seem to be going to a P/J pickup configuration, which uses a Precision bass type pickup in the neck position and a Jazz bass type pickup in the bridge position. Those will give you the most sonic possibilities and can be had at any price level. I personally like using a noisless Jazz pickups.

http://www.bestbassgear.com/ebass/category/article

Re: A bass guitar to be proud of!

Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2015 1:56 pm
by xbox650
Thank you guys, this is helpful.
I'll check out the sites your friend pointed out Emwok.
Please repost if they have more info to give. One of my biggest problems was finding hardwoods.

I was going for a 5 string at the start, but when looking at parts I find every time you add a string the price jumps. Maybe the next one I make, if this one sells successfully, will be a 5 string.

I want to hear what you guys think about the demo sketchs, see if it's too ridiculous. Hehe.
But.. I don't think I can post images on my tablet.. I'll see what I can do.

My inspiration- I'll see if I can put my sketchs up as well.
Spoiler:

Re: A bass guitar to be proud of!

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 2:49 pm
by xbox650
Here are some sketches of my main idea. obviously this can be improved upon, and it will change as i carve it out to fit the lap of the player better. Imagine the design carved out like a celtic knot. I want to try to get the wood a darker/older color to it. It will be a through-neck, fretless bass, with a passive setup. I might go with 4 strings just because its cheaper. (lame excuse I know)
Spoiler:

Re: A bass guitar to be proud of!

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2015 3:41 pm
by ccgr
should look pretty awesome when finished, great concept art!