TWO SHORT SCALE BASSES

GSPBASSES

 When I was at Chickenshed* a while ago I was asked if I had any short scale basses, as they had several youngsters who wanted to learn how to play the bass, as they did not have any short scale basses in the music department. I did not have any at the time, but I would look into it and see what I could do. I did have a couple of short scale Jazz basses in stock part built but 32” scale that I thought might be too long for children under 10.

 I look around the workshop to see if I had any necks bodies that I could use to make a couple of 30” scale basses. I had 2 reject bodies, nothing really wrong with them apart from they had some mineral stains and a couple of knots that will be seen with a clear finish. I also had a lot of necks in stock to go with these bodies. The way I built these necks is over quite a long time, I think I've mentioned it in other post so I won't go into great details on how they made. Quick explanation though, I buy wide planks of rock maple, draw the profile of the neck onto the board then cut them up , these sit on the shelf for a minimum of 3 months before be for they are glued up, then they sit on the shelf for another few months before they used.

The two necks.

The bodies are only 36mm thick so they needed a cap to bring them up to 40mm. I had a Yew cap that I was going to be use on a drop top Strat, but when I bend the cap over the body it cracked. Repaired it with some thin super glue, I do not think it will open up again on a flat body, I think it would split open if I tried it on a drop top again. 

I also had a couple of one piece  Maple caps in stock, I decided to use one of these on the other body. I had just purchased quite a few body size black dyed Sycamore veneers to use between caps and bodies, I decided to use these as they should look nice.

I had a couple of Ebony 30” ready slotted finger boards in stock so these were used.

As these were likely to be the only short scale basses of this style I'm ever likely to make, I did not want to spend time and money, making special jigs.

 I did not want the necks to be too wide, so I used a Jazz bass neck jig to make these necks.

The Jazz bass neck on the short scale neck.

 By using the Jazz bass neck Jig to make these necks I could then use the Jazz bass neck pocket jig on the new bodies.

 I done a deal with Dave at Eternal Guitars (Hot Rod pickups) for 2 pairs of Mustang type bass pickups, these are standard Strat size, I traded a T/C body for the pickups.

The photo was taken be for the pickup routs were done, also be for the neck and bridge holes were drilled.

The necks and bodies are now ready for finishing, I'm almost certainly going to use some kind of oil finish, most likely vintage pine Dinesh oil, this gives that really nice vintage look too a Maple neck. Most likely use the same on the bodies, but I will stain the Flame Maple cap. 

 

*https://www.chickenshed.org.uk/

 

 

  

 

 

  

paulnb57

Nice!

TTony

Nice work Graham.

Lucky kids too - getting their hands on a decent instrument while they’re still young could make all the difference to them persevering with learning and playing.

Where do you get your dyed sycamore veneer - DDs?

GSPBASSES

TTony said:

Nice work Graham.

Lucky kids too - getting their hands on a decent instrument while they’re still young could make all the difference to them persevering with learning and playing.

Where do you get your dyed sycamore veneer - DDs?

YES

GSPBASSES

   Still got a bit of a dodgy wrist, so I can't do much in the workshop, decided to go back to these short scale basses and put some finish on them. I used the red dye from Crimson guitars, then a few coats of antique pine Danish oil. I will use the same Danish oil for the necks, the body with the Yew cap has the same Danish oil on it.

MLten80

Wow, the bright red one is stunning. Lucky whippersnappers 
 The blackmachine esque headstock is a cool modern twist 

Look forward to seeing more progress  

Winny_Pooh

Nice results from the dye there

sawyer

Grahame ,I'm assuming you've a nice collection of guitars you've built for yourself? It would make an awesome thread to see what's in your own personal collection? 

GSPBASSES

sawyer said:

Grahame ,I'm assuming you've a nice collection of guitars you've built for yourself? It would make an awesome thread to see what's in your own personal collection? 

 

That will be a yes and a no, I'll have built a lot a guitars and basses for myself over the years, most of which I have now given away to good causes, mainly Chickenshed or friends and family.

I suffer with repetitive strain syndrome in my left hand, that unfortunately stops me from playing the guitar or bass for more than a few minutes at a time (just too painful).

I have only two guitar’s and one bass, one of the guitars is a 7 string fan fret that's permanently out on loan to various bands, although I think at the moment it's actually living at my friend's company Eternal Guitars. The other guitar is a fairly standard Telecaster, the bass guitar is a 5 string fan fret, that again is out on loan most of the time, although at the moment it’s in my music room.

I doubt if I will build any guitars for myself again. I’m now trying to run down GSPBASSES ready to retire Christmas 2020, or before if I use up all my wood stock before then.

I still have this Tele and the 7 string fan fret below.

 

I built the 2 Tele’s initially for myself, but eventually gave them to Chickenshed where they are now used in the youth band and for youngsters to learn how to play.

The P bass I built for myself quite a few years ago now, it's a replica of the 62 P bass that I used to own about 50 years ago, although this bass it's powered by a Seymour Duncan quarter pounder and a EMG 3 band EQ. I did post a photo of this being used at the Hard Rock cafe a year or so ago.

 

This is a 5 string fan fret  bass, scale length low B 36” D 34.5” powered by a pair of EMG soap bars, with an EMG 3 band EQ.

I did build myself a couple of laps steel hoping to learn how to play, never did. These are now owned by a member of the tfb.

I was still at school when I built my first bass, it was made from mahogany had a flat fingerboard 34 inch scale, I gigged this for a couple of years alongside another bass I built, second photo.

sawyer

Thanks for posting pics Grahame. I knew you'd have some cool stuff! Sorry to hear your injury stops you playing. Some beautiful builds there. 7 string fan fret and 60's P-Bass look awesome!