If you're going to build your own, do what I did to my el-cheapo bass...
Get a nice sharp chisel, and prise the frets off, one by one. One or two were glued (soldering iron needed to loosen), and the neck needed a little sanding afterwards, but I've got a fretless! I happen to think it's brilliant: the lines were the frets were are still there, so the intonation is rarely out. And such smooth slides!
Just watch out for trying slap bass with no frets on a relatively soft neck - ordinary strings can put marks on it. Got myself some flatwounds
Pictures later
Chris
Get a nice sharp chisel, and prise the frets off, one by one. One or two were glued (soldering iron needed to loosen), and the neck needed a little sanding afterwards, but I've got a fretless! I happen to think it's brilliant: the lines were the frets were are still there, so the intonation is rarely out. And such smooth slides!
Just watch out for trying slap bass with no frets on a relatively soft neck - ordinary strings can put marks on it. Got myself some flatwounds
Pictures later
Chris
nice cheap trick to make a lined fretless hmm, Im sometimes trying to play without looking, and fretless might be the next step in that direction
might be worth to think about
but fretless takes a bit more 'courage'
I've done the same thing with an old Framus bass. In the meantime I regret having done so because 1.) this would have been a good candidate for baritone tuning and fast playing and 2) I have enough other fretless basses including an ERB.
Refretting might be quite some work until they are really even.
Regards
Charles
Refretting might be quite some work until they are really even.
Regards
Charles
This was my only bass, so I got the gig out of the way (was helping out a friend) then took a chisel to it.
I actually did it during a music lesson/practice session in college, so I got some odd looks when I calmly took out a chisel and a soldering iron and got to work. Asked teacher's permission first, of course.
It was a cheap "Encore" P-bass copy, so nothing major lost if I knackered it.
I'm saving up for a "proper" bass next, maybe a Fender Jazz or Precision.
Back to speakers, how does it sound, tinitus?
Chris
I actually did it during a music lesson/practice session in college, so I got some odd looks when I calmly took out a chisel and a soldering iron and got to work. Asked teacher's permission first, of course.
It was a cheap "Encore" P-bass copy, so nothing major lost if I knackered it.
I'm saving up for a "proper" bass next, maybe a Fender Jazz or Precision.
Back to speakers, how does it sound, tinitus?
Chris
tremendous
after I spent some time tuning my bass bridge, its a low end tonal monster
top end could be a little better
but Im working on that
but stay tuned
a few bits and pieces coming up
I know I have shown this photo before
but it still shows a very remarkable thing
notice the empty holes in the acoustic material
I did that to loosen it up
I said I lacked top end, but liked the low end, which was very smooth with nicely prolonges sustain
loosening it up gave me back some of the top end, but the low end became more 'spunky', and less smooth
now I have filled in the holes with very loose acoustic material, like the other used
I now have much better top end
and I got the tighter and smooth low end sustain back
its really remarkable how little it takes to make a difference
but it still shows a very remarkable thing
notice the empty holes in the acoustic material
I did that to loosen it up
I said I lacked top end, but liked the low end, which was very smooth with nicely prolonges sustain
loosening it up gave me back some of the top end, but the low end became more 'spunky', and less smooth
now I have filled in the holes with very loose acoustic material, like the other used
I now have much better top end
and I got the tighter and smooth low end sustain back
its really remarkable how little it takes to make a difference
Attachments
Looks good so far.
If you want a nice, smooth transition, here's an idea...
Fill the space with cardboard, layered up so it completely fills the front of the horn.
Take a sharp knife, and cut away until you have the correct horn profile, then cover it with wood (or other) filler. You know, the stuff that sets hard but you can still sand down to a nice matte finish.
Chris
If you want a nice, smooth transition, here's an idea...
Fill the space with cardboard, layered up so it completely fills the front of the horn.
Take a sharp knife, and cut away until you have the correct horn profile, then cover it with wood (or other) filler. You know, the stuff that sets hard but you can still sand down to a nice matte finish.
Chris
Which MESA? The 400+ all-tube power amp? That thing is great, and plenty of power IMHO.
I just sold my travis guitar and travis bass. Sigh.
I liked the bass a LOT, though it is extremely neck-heavy. They're not unreasonably priced, whereas the guitars are 2 to 3 times more.
If you don't want to blow speakers, just have enough to handle the amp's power.
This thread started with saying he liked the sound of the aluminum-coned Hartke 10. It is incredible with the travis, but then you need a rig like when I saw Jacko Pastorius (RIP). He had a single SVT head with two 8-10 bottoms. So that's 16 10" speakers for less than half the power you have. So if you're serious, start thinking in multiples of SVT 8-10 type bottoms and as you add more they start to make more lower bass too.
Things I don't like for bass guitar: 2-way crossovers, treble horns, tweeters, open-back cabinets, bass-reflex, ports of any kind. YMMV.
I thought so too
heavy closed box rules, absolutely
and tweeters ?
most commercially used tweeters seems to be super tweeter that wont work well below 5khz
anyway, my choise of woofer demands the use of additional drivers
well, this cheap compression driver really makes the Palmer Pocket amp sing
some the special guitarist effect seettings now works much much better
and it sounds much better in tune
btw, I should mention that its an old model CD
but it was really cheap
actually half the cost was shipping
so yeah, I feel 100% confident that my design will sing
and I guess it won't hurt that it will be a fullfunctional PA or party speaker
with another top section you would have a full stereo with sub
but that will be another project, some other time
for now, I'm really glad that I only need to build one of each
I am a bit excited to hear it with the 8" midwoofer
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