Hi, I aint been on in a while. Ive made tackhead banjos etc.   But now I got my sights on building myself a small version upright bass.

I bought a  old foot locker to use for the box,, but realized its gonna be a booger to carry around.

So Im to the idea of building something like the one Charles Atkinson built, but a 4 stringer.

 I got a idea how to do it, but got questions.  If any of yall would be kind enough to help me out it would be appreciated.

1. I really want to make it so I can sit on a stool and play, Im old and lazy and don't want to stand up all the time.

2. Its gonna be fretless,  do you think 35-37 scale would be good?  I guess Im going to use weed eater strings.  I ordered some of the "Weed Whacker" string in light . But the E is too big to fit in a regular bass tuner,, and the upright tuners are very expensive.

3. Could I make the box out of decent plywood, and use tone wood for top, and expect a decent sound? Im guessing yes, and I have the  A spruce I bought for a guitar  I never built. Its about 3/16.

4. Im sure I have more questions ,, these are just the first to come to mind.

5. I figure Ill build the neck similar as I did my gourd and tackhead banjos , only longer.

thank you if you have read this far.  I know its lots of questions, I m just trying to get a good handle on this, and Im sure there are things Im not even thinking of,, inspite of the fact this is almost all I been thinking about for maybe 2 weeks :)

thanks

Steve Jeter

Views: 806

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I've been so tempted to try a 2 string bass, too. I'm curious about the weed whacker string, though. If you're wanting to tune just EA, for instance, what line weight works best? Also, will the tuners hold the line in tune? Or does it tend to slip and need to be re-tuned often? My knowledge base is only with regular guitar/bass strings, so I have no reference points with anything else. Thanks.

I want to build one of these too. I believe Charles built his neck out of a wheel barrow handle. What do you plan on using for strings?

I have weed wacker strings on my washtub bass and they go .105", .095", .080", and .065"  The .105" doesn't really get down to low E, so I don't use it much.  They say a clothes line will work - the coated metal kind - but I never tried it.  The ADG strings work great.

I just used regular guitar tuners thinking I'd replace them with bass tuners eventually, but never felt the need.  They hold and the strings stay in tune remarkably well all things considered.  I did have to drill a couple of them out to fit the strings.

I have a similar build on my "to do" list, and I've already decided to make things easy on myself and buy a set of bass tuners and strings.

 Im kinda with you on this. I bought so used fender bass type tuners. But to use them as I want Im going to have to make a wide slot headstock. Never made one before , but I guess Ill figure it out.

 I got my clotheslin,, and most of the parts cut and sanded , some glued. I will put pics up tomorrow, when a I ask for more advice. 

Not sure about a bass bar and the sound post , totally greek to me,, other than the pics Ive google of a regular upright soundboard underside.

https://youtu.be/LZDA_foHn-0?list=FL2AEMYpcWQlGyS1xlaKxzvA

 Nice box bass, cool headstock , kind I want to use.  I wonder why 3 strings. I see a lot of that why not 4 , cant be that much more work

RSS

The Essential Pages

New to Cigar Box Nation? How to Play Cigar Box GuitarsFree Plans & How to Build Cigar Box GuitarsCigar Box Guitar Building Basics

Site Sponsor

Recommended Links & Resources


Forum

crossover guitar.

Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Taffy Evans yesterday. 8 Replies

Tune up songs

Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies

Duel output jacks

Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies

How to Get Your Own Music on Spotify

Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 21. 2 Replies

CB Bass Guitar

Started by Mi Rankin in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Justin Stanchfield Jan 27. 5 Replies

Latest Activity

A.D.EKER commented on A.D.EKER's video
Thumbnail

The Old Way's BCB 2024

"Thank you Keith ! Glad you liked it ! much appreciated !!"
30 minutes ago
BrianQ. liked Gary O'slide's video
7 hours ago
Doug Thorsvik commented on Doug Thorsvik's photo
Thumbnail

Flathead Diddley Bow

"Thanks. Wow! That becomes a spendy box Alan. They are pretty distinctive though. I have a few on…"
11 hours ago
Nigel McTrustry posted a video

Nigel McTrustry & The Hound Dogs are Loose! - Yellow Dog - Live - Original - Cigar Box Guitar

Nigel McTrustry & The Hound Dogs are Loose! Yellow Dog (McTrustry)@ The Cave Inn Brisbane, Australia.The song is currently on Spotify.
11 hours ago
AGP # commented on Doug Thorsvik's photo
Thumbnail

Flathead Diddley Bow

""Sweet Doug" :-), have seen quite a few Flathead Builds over the years, great looking…"
13 hours ago
AGP # liked David Dodt's photo
13 hours ago
AGP # liked David Dodt's photo
13 hours ago
AGP # liked David Dodt's photo
13 hours ago
AGP # liked Doug Thorsvik's photo
13 hours ago
AGP # liked Doug Thorsvik's photo
13 hours ago
AGP # liked Doug Thorsvik's photo
13 hours ago
AGP # liked Aaron Green's photo
14 hours ago

Events

Music

© 2024   Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

\uastyle>\ud/** Scrollup **/\ud.scrollup {\ud background: url("https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/963882636?profile=original") no-repeat scroll 0 0 transparent;\ud bottom: 25px;\ud display: inline !important;\ud height: 40px;\ud opacity: 0.3 !important;\ud position: fixed;\ud right: 30px;\ud text-indent: -9999px;\ud width: 40px;\ud z-index: 999;\ud}\ud.scrollup:hover {\ud opacity:0.99!important;\ud}\ud \uascript type="text/javascript">\ud x$(document).ready(function(){\ud x$(window).scroll(function(){\ud if (x$(this).scrollTop() > 100) {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeIn();\ud } else {\ud x$('.scrollup').fadeOut();\ud }\ud });\ud x$('.scrollup').click(function(){\ud x$("html, body").animate({ scrollTop: 0 }, 600);\ud return false;\ud });\ud });\ud \ua!-- End Scroll Up -->