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2 String Bass build - pickup and string advice, please...

Posted by John Sawyer on November 13, 2016 at 8:22pm in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Looking to build a 2 string license plate bass for a friend... plays country/americana...

Need suggestions on strings.

Since the license plate has limited real estate, would a Single coil P-Bass work OK, or would I be better off with another pickup?

I have a humbucker for a violin style bass pickup (Artec Soap Bar 4 String Bass Pickup Black )  but it's bigger than I expected...  

For those of you that PLAY, what would you put in the bridge position?  Which strings, and why?

Thanks!

John

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Replies

  • JL December 2, 2016 at 5:55am

    That Bass looks awesome.

  • John Sawyer December 2, 2016 at 1:40am

    Well, after much ado... some teeth gnashing, and some hair pulling... it's done:

    306600050?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024

    306601165?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024

    306601538?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024

    #73...  Solid body 2 String Bass... 30" scale, Black abalone inlay, bone nut, Wishbringer pickup.

    Took me 3 days to figure out the nut broke loose and that's why it was buzzing!  But it's fixed now, and sounds great!

    Thanks for all who provided input! (And the Wishy one for making the pup!)

  • jeff weins November 15, 2016 at 5:57pm

    just finished this one over the weekend-Bassitone#3

    top of the page http://bscbg.com/for-sale

  • JL November 15, 2016 at 10:57am

    As a Bass Player my thoughts.....

    Use the E & A strings, 80% of what I play for an American style band can be done with those 2 and very little relearning, another 10% can be done with some time/practice working new bass lines.

    30" minimum for the scale length, shorter gets the strings too floppy and too far out of what muscle memory tells me where to expect the fret I'm looking for.  My stage bass guitars are all 34" scale, I have a 30" for occasional travel, but I have to watch my left hand more, and the strings feel a little floppy.  I also rebuilt a 1/2 scale (25.5") student bass I found at a yard sale for $10, its fun to goof around with but it is really for lessons to younglings.

    Bass String tension is about 2x guitar string tension, so make the neck the same strength you would if you were building a 4 string baritone (29.5" scale) git. 

    • John Sawyer > JL November 15, 2016 at 1:55pm
      Exactly what I needed, thanks!
  • John Sawyer November 14, 2016 at 12:11pm
    Here she is... work in progress...

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  • Cause the Blue rat November 14, 2016 at 6:56am

    I like the lighter gage strings. Punchier and brighter in sound.

    As far as a single P bass pickup. Yes they work alone. But be carful of what you buy. I got a set that was cheap. So cheap that only two of the four polls were wired up in each pickup. 

    Remember to keep you neck a bit thicker. Even two bass strings will put a lot of pressure on it. 

    • John Sawyer > Cause the Blue rat November 14, 2016 at 10:43am
      I bought light gauge strings, which two would you use, and what tuning?

      EA? AD? DG? ED? EG? AG?
  • Fomhorach November 13, 2016 at 8:56pm

    I've built a 28" scale before. It complicates things when you get over 26". The thing to think about is this.. Adding inches to a build.. Every inch adds more complications but only 1.. 2.. 3.. Notes deeper than a 26" scale.

    Going from a 25&1/2" scale to a 28" scale adds 2 notes. It also lengthens the neck creating more neck dip. You do need this as bass strings have a wider string.. 'Wobble circumference'.

    Talk to the guy you are building it for and ask him which notes he wants to realistically go down to. Have a look at the notes on a bass guitar fretboard and see which strings and at which length the notes on a bass guitar sit at. Jiggle with it for your scale length.

    There's also the fact of intonation with thick strings. Thick strings tend to go out of intonation as they get shorter and at a point no real bridge compensation makes up for it. Bass players work up near nut to fret 6 for the fat strings, if you really want good intonation on fat strings you are better going fretless and have a good ear.

    You want great sustain.. Fix the bridge (heavy and metal) to a through neck and forget about acoustic. It takes great skill to build a bass acoustic without a big box and lots of experience and still produce sustain.

    To get your strings.. Ask the player what range they want and check out a bass guitar fretboard. Your going to be able to find the strings you need from there. Amongst other things.

    As for the bridge.. Make it solid, heavy, deliberate and bolted into the wood of the neck if possible.

    Bass pickups are different from normal pickups ( I'm not sure about the electrics). If I were to use a bass pickup for thin strings the sound volume and quality would-be terrible. For proper bass strings you will get a better result from a cheap bass pickup than an expensive normal guitar pickup. I've only tried this once and I could be wrong so take advice from a pickup builder about this, ask wayfinder, he's very knowledgeable and helpful.

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