Took up CB Gitty on their sale and have .056" guitar strings, jumbo piezos, and a psycho distortion knob board (among other doodads) coming in the mail soon..

already had a 1 ft tall, ~3" diameter tin laying around and some music wire, as well parts to build out a 100 watt stereo amp...

So I'm thinking put the tin on a 4' dowel and wire it all up with a spring reverb inside the can... but feel its missing something. I'm just not sure what though.

So just figured I'd put this out there, see what anyone might want to chime in as far increasing the crazy on this build or things I might need to watch out for.

BTW - I am blaming Shane for the psycho distortion purchase. Seen it in 2 of his videos and really it just sounds too good to not try one. OK, so maybe blame isn't the right word, I just hope its as good in the flesh as it sounds in those videos.

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  • Just an update here. This has suffered severe project creep and trade quest... I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the month... 

    • It's not like like your on a clock, it'll get done when your good and ready, I haven't done much as of late either, got several builds I have to get started on, just haven't felt well as of late, so lack of motivation has been my thorn. Plus, I haven't decided which way I want to go with my 3 string build I plan on keeping and playing, standard box maybe with a piezo, go all out electric with surface pups, or a nice res. So, I've got all the parts I need and then some, just have see the doctor about removing my "lazy bone" lol.

      • The thing about it is, although I'm not on a clock, especially as far as deadlines go with this - it is for myself after all, and learning and all that - I have had a major problem with focus and sticking to stuff, especially the past several years.. 

        So its more about self-discipline/regulation for me.. At the very least, as long as I am putting the time in and I'm only leaving it alone to let glue dry and such (and go to work and sleep and all that) I am not too worried about it.

        Part of the hold up on this bass has been putting together an amplifier to use with it- my little 4.5v preamp into blue tooth speaker just doesn't seem up to the sonic challenge I have in mind with this..


        The bass itself has suffered project / feature creep. The Gitty Gang Show on Friday was hilariously on time for me there.. What started as a simple idea for sticking a tall tin and a string onto a dowel with some electronics has turned into a much more complex and technical beast.

        For starters.. I found I had ~2" of dowel left above the tuners and decided I'd carve a squirrel into that part... Never having carved woodland critters out of wood before... 
        The carving isn't the worse but I think I'll have to go all 40K minis master-paint on it to really make it shine, the carving is a lil too crude to read on its own. 

        I have settled on the features though, so the scope of this project is known.. Just dealing with hurdles along the way, the minor mistakes, accidents, oops, workarounds, etc.

  • Update - 

    Parts came in yesterday. Can't wait for days off coming up... Plotting out the wiring and some other details.. I'm hoping to get this thing done before Sunday but ... Squirrel.

    • Have fun with it... on the spring, longer is better... if down the length is longer, use it... I have seen builds with multiple springs...

      If you are going 30", the .056 should be great, but why not go with a bass string?
      • things I currently have in my possession -

        Piano wire in varying lengths up to 17' and .046" thickness 

        12x CB Gitty .056" guitar strings ( which btw are over a yard in length )

        74 Zither Pins

        4 foot dowel 1" diameter

        various tuners, wiring kits, and misc guitar string sets, random wood, screws, glues..

        Things I don't have at the moment-

        bass strings

        money ( went broke at cbgitty.com ... well worth it though... )

        This whole thing sorta popped into my head AFTER I had ordered stuff and was kinda looking around at what I had. So planning based on what I have on hand.

  • Hmmm. 4' long neck piece...place 1' tin in center of neck...two strings, shorty dulcimer to the right, shorty chromatic on the other end...belt spinner in the middle... and fuzzy dice on the ends...
    • OK. wow. I was thinking my plan was crazy.. and I was asking for crazier.. And this is too crazy for me right now.. I might have to come back to this.

      • I'm often described as an out of the box thinker...
        • I am still thinking about that belt spinner canjo thing... Not for this build but I will have to stash that notion in my noggin somewhere for another time..

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