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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on February 25, 2013 at 8:33am

You may not need to use bass strings or tuners, but to be on the safe side, you want to avoid the possibility of any kind of damage caused by trying to tune it up with either the wrong strings or tuners on it.

I have seen people make them using weed whacker line for strings.

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Permalink Reply by t-belly johnson on February 25, 2013 at 8:52am

Make sure to use the best hardwood you can find,if you`re using 3 strings consider using a truss rod, the pressure from bass strings is immense!

I would also use a straight through neck for the same reason as above.

Any box will do the job but I would use something a little bigger for acoustic purposes.

I`d definitely use good machine heads and bass strings, for the same reasons as Dan gave,don`t underestimate the power your strings will put on the neck.

I personally would laminate the neck, use good machine heads and strings for any 3/4stringer.With a 2 stringer you can get away with using standard 3 string materials.

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Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on February 25, 2013 at 9:47am

I've  made a few with run of da mill Oak & Poplar necks ,3 stringers w/ regular tuners & bass strings(A,D,G) tuned E,A,D, with no signs of neck warping @ all? my first was made in 08' with hardware store variety White Oak, it's got a 24" scale but sounds like a regular Bass. it has a 7 3/4 X 6 X 2 3/4 Box, but I recommend a bigger box if U want a deep tone. A box about 8 inches wide & up & more than 2 inches deep is a good size that will give U good tone.make sure U do Neck Thru Box for good stability. hope this helps

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Permalink Reply by Matt scott on February 25, 2013 at 9:56am

Thanks guys. Useful tips. Thanks for taking time out to help.

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Permalink Reply by Matt scott on February 25, 2013 at 9:58am

So I guess some decent bass strings and tuners with a truss rod and thru neck will be the call. I want to go four string....

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on February 25, 2013 at 10:01am

You may want to consider making a laminated neck for extra strength. I took two 1x2s and turned them on edge and glued/clamped them together so I still have a 1.5 inch wide neck. Then I just cut off the back of the neck that I didn't want. If you plan in advance, you could route a slot for the truss rod piece before you glue the halves together.

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Permalink Reply by Matt scott on February 25, 2013 at 10:28am

Oops I just read that on another post. Thanks for sharing that Dan. That's how I'm going to go. And use bass strings and tuners. Any tip on what type ?

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Permalink Reply by Matt scott on February 25, 2013 at 10:00am

Maybe a dumb question. Just using low e strings and guitar tuners maybe?

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Permalink Reply by Matt scott on February 25, 2013 at 10:08am

Or dumb question # 2 can I use bottom four guitar strings. As u can tell I know nothing about basses

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on February 25, 2013 at 10:18am

I suppose you could, but now you are leaning more towards a baritone guitar as opposed to a bass.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baritone_guitar

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Permalink Reply by Matt scott on February 25, 2013 at 10:25am

Don't really want that Dan. I just read where you said you laminate two one by twos and flip them. I like that idea. Do you add a truss rod as well? I want the instrument to be as bass like as possible

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Permalink Reply by Dan Sleep on February 25, 2013 at 11:42am

I would route a channel in the edges of the 1x2, then glue them together. Add the truss rod, I don't think it necessarily needs to be an adjustable one, just a threaded rod or other metal reinforcement piece, then glue a fretboard on top. That should make it pretty strong.

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