The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Bill's Shop: Projects, Mods & Repairs => Topic started by: wellREDman on February 08, 2018, 05:49:42 AM
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sooo, I have been inspired by the reception 999 got for his non traditional bass to share my project..
This has actually been ongoing for the whole time I've been on the outpost, alongside the baby bird, the flying Vii and the twin tele, but I didn't think this was the place for coffee table basses and was hesitant about the reaction I would get. I was also I thinking to wait for the finished piece before sharing, but certain lifechanging events mean I'm not going to have time for bass building for the next few years so its going to stay as it is for the foreseeable
TBH my own tastes usually run to the traditional, but .. I have a background in sculpture and always had a keen interest in the science of ergonomics so..
It all started when I was given a load of Jazz bass chromeware(pickup and bridge cover, weird curved control plate and tuners), I had the carcass of my old Maison (copy of a bass collection ) that I wanted to resurrect because the neck is still the nicest I have ever played so the original idea was to see what that would look like oldschool chromed up. Unfortunately the body was too small to fit it all on so I set out to carve my own body.
This was the project that sent me to the wood reclaim yard where I discovered the kerua wood that i used in the flying Vii
The build has taken me about 7 years so far, a gradual process of making it the most comfortable bass to wear. The process has been to glue wood on and carve, then put it all together and play it for a few terms to get an idea of the fit , then in the holidays strip it apart and add more wood, and carve again, rebuild rinse and repeat. Annoyingly I cant locate all of the early photos, so the pics start from about mark5, but you can get an idea from the last rework which was to adapt the head stock to accommodate a drop D tuner. all the wood used, both the kerua tonewood central spar and the random other bits I used for the rest of it is recycled junk wood.
She now sports a chinabucker and sounds like a bird but earlier on in the build I used the J pickup from the Maison and ppl said it sounded like a Ric. the controls should be tonemonster active preamp but I managed to kill it during the install so at the moment its just volume and 3 dummies. I'm now thinking that I might stay passive and put the J pickup back in in the bridge position instead.
Shapewise, I know it looks horrible, but is so comfortable, having the body shaped in all 3 dimensions means it wraps around me, and the playing position and neck are exactly where I want them to be, standing up the back curl sits on my hip and the top of it is perfectly contoured for my arm to lay on. Sitting down the lower bout is exactly where it needs to be to sit on my knee. And of course the balance is spot on. the old adage about not strapping it on but wearing it really holds true, and it being so comfortable to play really helps me to play, I feel like I play better with her than any other bass
Due to my work I often have to put my instruments down in a hurry to deal with stuff so to avoid detuning when I lay them down most of my instruments sport coathooks or drawer handles on the back of the headstocks, but for this I have the luxury of incorporating a 3d headstock design so that it lays on the floor without the tuners being disturbed.
At the moment its still primered but eventually I imagine a shiny fire engine red...
Mark 5
(https://i.imgur.com/ecey6aZ.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/QE3bqlB.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/yMJkfl5.jpg)
Mark 6 (thrown together and primered so that i could use it for my college performances)
(https://i.imgur.com/sAwBUx8.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/RML5Ixo.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/K00FFdV.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/W4Zzjew.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/8CTH8Ds.jpg)
Mark 7 (headstock rebuild for detuner, Chinabucker fitted and string through added)
(https://i.imgur.com/FUsPcuA.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/31N7ZTD.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/TotqIw4.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/3fZJK1q.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/dr6443A.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/RGJesjA.jpg)
sooo,
whatdya think ? (ducks)
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I'm smiling, reading and seeing this! :D
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That is just the awesomest bass I've seen in a while!
It's really intriguing to see that it's growing to fit your body. That's what I consider a "organic shape"!
Great work on this one!
Now we need to see a pic of her wrapped around your body... ;)
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I think it's awesome. Love to see builders doing their freak flag
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"Mad skills" doesn't even come close to describing this! Wow, simply wow, superb work. (Not to my taste, but the craftsmanship is impressive!)
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Well, it's, errm, unusual, all right. But as long as it fits you and you like it, it's all good.
I'm smiling, reading and seeing this! :D
Don't give your friends at Warwick any ideas! ;)
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They might do a lawsuit:)
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That is WAY WAY OUT! Talk about a bold statement. Pretty cool man. Quite organic. Happy it fits your needs.
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Weird and rad! In red it looks like some sort of odd internal organ you don't usually see!
I love the mixed use of tuners and the jack!
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Is that a strat jack mounted inside-out? :-o
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Fantastic! I love the idea of making a bass customized to your own body and is ergonomic and practical in all aspects.
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Haha! Well, it is different! :thumbsup:
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Now we need to see a pic of her wrapped around your body... ;)
The only pics I have of me playing her don't really show the wrap around or arm rest. maybe I'll stage some and get the wife to shoot them for me
(https://i.imgur.com/lpxJoLB.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/HLPJegd.jpg)
Is that a strat jack mounted inside-out? :-o
yes it is, I saw someone do it on a cigar box guitar and thought it looked cool,It actually makes plugging in even easier that the regular way boat jack. its become a bit of a signature for me, I've used it on the last 2 builds
(https://i.imgur.com/7QClAXc.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/58Xz92j.jpg)
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knarly, in every possible sense of the word.
Yeah, upside down strat jack is not a half bad idea at all.
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That upside down strat jack reminds me of the jack in Italia basses
(http://www.ifb.co.uk/~matthew/pics/italia1.jpg)
(https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--jF-amk-K--/a_exif,c_limit,e_unsharp_mask:80,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_south,h_620,q_90,w_620/v1494946055/lcpakivmxuqyhwahansf.jpg)
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British eccentricity at it's best... :D
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I really like it. Do you know those strange Burns and Strat? Let's google.
(http://www.brianeastwoodguitars.co.uk/burnt2.png)
"Burnt Marvel - Originally to be built as a tribute to The Shadows... complete with Jet-O-Matic pick-ups etc. The original idea was scrapped and the instrument was reborn as the Burnt Marvel - name supplied by Brian's son (who was 7 years old at the time).
The guitar finally ended up with Rez-O-Jimmy pick-ups and hardware supplied very kindly by the Burns Guitar Company. The guitar caused a sensation at the '98 'Mad About Guitars' show in Birmingham. Jet Harris was there to greet the guitar. Sadly, whilst people from the company were enjoying the guitar, Jim Burns had unbeknown to all, passed away.
This guitar has a very strange, but serene aura."
And:
http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/JTM45/media/bWVkaWFJZDoxMDY2NTc2Mzk=/?ref=
And what's the name of this bass and guitar brand with the huge upper horn? Musicvox:
(http://www.justguitars.com.au/vintage-guitars-for-sale-classic-collectable/000408/8760-03-musicvox-spaceranger-austin-powers-original-surf-gren-myers-goldmember.jpg)
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Nice.
That's a bass only a mother could love.
A mother of invention.
:mrgreen:
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It kind of reminds me of the creature in the John Carpenter movie The Thing :o & I mean that in a good way ;D
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Wow, just wow! That is amazing. As a woodworker and designer I love your approach. Carry on.
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Man that’s truly ugly, but somehow I like the experimentation. Like grafting a second head on an Axlotl or a Kahler on a bass.
https://youtu.be/EsCSwVx3GvA (https://youtu.be/EsCSwVx3GvA)
https://youtu.be/EsCSwVx3GvA
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So after a long series of medical woes I have regained use of my right arm I'm finally back to building (and playing) again
at this stage its only light pottering in the mancave so I'm starting with some gentle sculpting of the headstock
The ergonomic placement of the hardware is locked down now so its all about making the head fit the body aesthetically. so layering and then sanding back filler, rinse and repeat
Its all looking very Henry Moore at this stage, which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. I am having tremendous fun with it. Although I trained as a sculptor, back then my focus was on special effects and prop work so I never had the opportunity to do anything truly "abstract" so I'm making up for it now, I'm definitely being drawn in an organic direction, almost muscular
have created cut outs for where my thumb or knuckle likes to be when I'm playing which is adding to the physiological look. unfortunately the sticky out bit broke off(I think it was all filler) so I had to cut away and add some new wood, whilst looking in my offcuts bin I found a bit of the horn from my first bass so I used a bit of that which gave me a happy feeling, Ive managed to use parts from my ET280 in all my projects now
(https://i.imgur.com/PlFqrbx.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/5N1xSts.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/GvHpOIc.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/xHrBJmk.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/V7MxJDB.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/V6BVoDb.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/GeNI1sG.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/N1fB15b.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/qdXFfXC.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/0uXe9lg.jpg)
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Maybe you should start locating all those Wishbass things and put them right...? Someonie should... :D
:popcorn:
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Maybe you should start locating all those Wishbass things and put them right...? Someonie should... :D
:popcorn:
sounds good, anyone got a wishbass they want to send me ?
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A really interesting project, designed by function and ergonomics, adding in a touch of artistic intent.
I like it.
I built a funky bass about 12 years ago. It was inspired by a strange swap.
I finally had enough of the braking silicon G string on my Ashbory. I made a trade with a guy who didn’t like his FleaMarket “Flea” ukulele. So we swapped. The Flea didn’t work right, the saddle was missing from the bridge. I called FleaMarket Music and they sent me one at no charge. A great little uke that easily fit in the saddle bags of the Harley.
As usual I found a forum of uke players to learn more about the instrument and it’s culture. I ran into a guy named Owen Holt on this forum, he built ukes and had an instrument he called a bass ukulele, it was based on these Pahoehoe strings he developed using unbreakable polyurethane. If I had known I’d of kept the Ashbory. I contacted Owen, back channel, through his Road Toad Music web site. I decided to build my own 20” scale bass ukulele, I had a tenor uke I was going to use. Owen was extremely helpful so I ordered the strings, pickup and tuners from him. I eventually decided to build it on a cigarbox, I had plenty of decent wood for the neck, I used mahogany with a Purple Heart fingerboard and a darker wood headstock overlay. I cut out mother of pearl and inlaid the headstock with a pole dancer and put two mudfap girls on the upper bout of the cigarbox. It works great. I have Aquila strings on it now, the Pahoehoe’s are bit tacky, my fingers glide over the Aquila easier.
Kala Bass Ukulele are licensed by Owen to use his patents.
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That cigar box uke looks like fun to play. Cool vibe all around. :toast:
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Thanks, it actually sounds better than it should.
I had a doctor that wouldn’t leave me alone about building one for his son, who was playing with my good friend Albert Castiglia at the time. I gave him a “go away don’t bother me kid” price of $800.00, he still wanted it. I still tried to put him off, he wanted it by October, three months away, for his son’s birthday, I said I’d try. He came back from the bar with a bottle of water for me, I took it and a check for the 800 bucks was wrapped around it. He wouldn’t take it back.
Good friends of mine, she wanted me to build one for her husband for Christmas, He played mine when they were down for the Key West Poker run. I told her it was too expensive, I explained to her I had already charged a guy $800, I didn’t think it was appropriate to change the price, it would have been unfair to the doctor. She didn’t care, she wanted me to build it and the money was not an object. I included some cool custom MOP inlay on his to try and make up for the high cost.
Thank God no one else wanted one. I really don’t want to get into building stuff for others. I’m retired and I plan on staying that way.
I’ll still do custom leather work for others, now and then, I don’t encourage it but a lot of people know I do decent work. Back in the 90s Chopped Motorcycles became a thing, a lot of people wanted to pay big money for a hacked up custom motorcycle. I was part of the motorcycle culture. My close friend and mechanic got me doing some custom work. A friend had me make a leather cigar holder for Billy Lane of Choppers Inc. He had me go with him when he gave it to Billy, I had tooled Billy’s image on it. He had me do a custom tooled seat for a build he did for this guy in Miami, Paul Cox was swamped with work at the time, I guess. So I got into that for a short period of time. I’ll still rebuild/cover a seat but it will be for a friend and only for a vintage motorcycle.
I guess an example would be appropriate. A hand bag I did, tooled leather, kangaroo liner and lacing.
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Very nice!!
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Nice work!
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Thanks, just came in from working on a belt, a Christmas gives for my brother in law. Not fancy, no tooling, last a lifetime with a little leather oil occasionally.
If I can sell off some basses I don’t really use I’d like to get this 12 fret 00-18 custom vintage Martin, I would go overboard and make a hand tooled leather case for it. Actually a huge project.
I found a pic of a seat I did for Beaner years ago.