Hello all! Very cool group! I am new here as you have just figured out. I am learning the ins and outs of cbg building. I have a very brief bio on my home page. I was wondering if someone has some advise for me. I just finished my very first build and it came out pretty good. (See my photos) It plays very well with pretty decent action about like an acoustic 6 string. I'm just now starting to build a 3 string bass guitar. I'm going with a 30" scale neck. My question is and I'm sure you've heard this before but will I need any kind of a truss rod? I have seen some different ones from store bought to just a piece of flat stock steel. I want to try and stay away from store bought if possible. I am using maple for my neck with a laminated oak finger board.
Tags:
If you're not using a truss rod for a 30" bass, then the neck is the key. Particularly, the grain direction of the neck wood. If the wood is not quarter sawn, the best option to keep the neck from bowing over time is to laminate two pieces of 3/4" x 1.5" maple vertically, with a 1/4" strip of oak between them. In this fashion, the newly oriented grain of the maple, with the strong oak strip should do you well.
Not only will the neck be very strong, it will also have a decorative stripe along the bottom of the neck and through the headstock once all is shaped & sanded...will look very nice.
Here's a visual depiction of what I mean:
Here's an alternate view of what I mean, and how it may work in a cigar box:
The light blue area is removed to create rough shape of neck. The red parts are wood screws, to anchor the neck to box (or verse visa) so box doesn't collapse from string pressure. There is enough "meat" inside box to remove some of neck to allow for magnetic pickups if desired, or piezos can be used too.
If you mean you "stack" the 3/4 with the two 1/4" pcs on top, then you may be okay for a standard scale guitar, but it will be quite chunky and thick. It wont need a truss, but for medium to small hands, it could cause feelings of inadequacy.
For a longer scale like the 30" mentioned in the question, stacking the wood like pancakes would not be, in my humble opinion, enough to keep 3 bass strings from having their way with the neck...if the neck was shaped to a comfortable playable taper.
Ya! I like this idea! I have the neck already started on this bass, but I am definetely going to try this next time! It looks like from the replies I got here that I will need a truss rod in this neck to avoid problems down the road. I found one that is similar to the Martin guitar truss that looks pretty simple to install and it's pretty cheap.
Thanks for all of the great replies!
Started by Timothy Hunter in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray 13 hours ago. 1 Reply 2 Likes
Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 21. 11 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 10. 1 Reply 3 Likes
Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by BrianQ. Mar 9. 4 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Ghostbuttons in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Timothy Hunter Mar 9. 5 Replies 1 Like
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 8. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Ken I in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Brian partington Mar 8. 8 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Cool gear discussion - that's not cigar box related. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 6. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Taffy Evans in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Taffy Evans Mar 5. 4 Replies 2 Likes
Started by Nomad Jack in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Southern Ray Mar 2. 6 Replies 1 Like
Started by Justin Stanchfield in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Carl Floyd Mar 1. 15 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Joe in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Carl Floyd Feb 29. 13 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Chance in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 22. 12 Replies 1 Like
Started by Cigar Box Nation in Feature Articles. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 21. 2 Replies 4 Likes
Started by Brad in Cool gear discussion - that's not cigar box related. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 19. 6 Replies 3 Likes
Started by Jacob Shook in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 16. 10 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Southern Ray in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Southern Ray Feb 16. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Skeesix in Performances, How to Play, Lessons, Concerts. Last reply by Skeesix Feb 6. 2 Replies 1 Like
Started by Timothy Hunter in Other stuff - off topic, fun stuff, whatever. Last reply by Steve M Jan 31. 9 Replies 0 Likes
Started by Mi Rankin in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion. Last reply by Justin Stanchfield Jan 27. 5 Replies 0 Likes
Posted by Vlad on March 6, 2024 at 2:32am 5 Comments 2 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 28, 2024 at 2:09pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 17, 2024 at 11:00pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
Posted by Vlad on February 11, 2024 at 1:06am 1 Comment 1 Like
Posted by billy jones bluez on February 8, 2024 at 4:05pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
May 11, 2024 from 11am to 8pm – Speakeasy Grill
0 Comments 0 Likes© 2024 Created by Ben "C. B. Gitty" Baker. Powered by
Cigar Box Nation is presented by C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply, your one-stop-shop for Cigar Box Guitar parts and accessories!