ilovefuzz.com

ok.. so.. this has been on my mind a while and since I am getting close to wrapping up a few of my long term projects the planning will start for this thing… and I am going to use this thread as a way to make sense of whatever the hell I am doing and what the hell this is and will turn into

so.. I am going to make a 8 string bass.. a "extended range" one vs the double course kind, which I have already done. I will be making my own neck and the body to start with will most likely be off a old build so I can mod the shit out of it and see where the pickups and shit will be and what they will be and how I want the bridges and spacing and stuff to end up.

Thoughts part one: the string spacing I am thinking on will be a little tighter them what is on a Ibanez SR, so somewhere between a "normal" bass and a bass VI or.. bass spacing on the low strings and guitar spacing on the high strings, this would making finding a bridge easy..

pickups: thinking about using tele bass pickups set up in a dual Pbass [the spit kind smartasses] but have where the the high and low strings could go to different outputs in some kind of rid-o-sound type of wiring.

The neck: I have a pau ferro fingerboard that is wide enough that I have been sitting on for over 7 years

and I have ordered a "baked" maple neck blank, it will have dual truss rods and be 24 frets, and it will be a bolt on because of the not set on the body thing.

Sonic endgame: I want a extended range bass that is NOT make for tapping or fusion, I want to be able to play guitar things and bass things on the same neck really… Tuning will be L-H F#BEADGBE and some time tuning the two high strings to c and F

Sounds rad as hell. IMO putting the strings closer together wont be that much of a problem. Look at the Ric 5 string conversions, those are pretty tight. perhaps having them incrementally closer as the strings go higher? I've found I actually prefer the narrower necks on basses.

That sounds awesome, what scale length will it be? Also, tele bass pickups like a '51 p bass? Or mudbuckers?

BoatRich wrote:That sounds awesome, what scale length will it be? Also, tele bass pickups like a '51 p bass? Or mudbuckers?

51 style, if I was to go with a fender mudbucker I'd put it in a different bass I have.. and I don't believe the new fender ones are the same as the 70s ones so that means $300ith for vintage of having Curtis Novak make me one… although.. I have thoughts about getting him to make me something one day… anyway nothing is set in stone pickup wise… there a lot of ways I would like to go… like ric pickups and or buckers...

scale… 34, I could have gotten a 35 be to me to warrant a longer scale I'd want a fanned board and that would mean having to buy more tools which at this time I would rather not… at least for what is basically a one off or prototype..

Mudfuzz wrote:

BoatRich wrote:That sounds awesome, what scale length will it be? Also, tele bass pickups like a '51 p bass? Or mudbuckers?

51 style, if I was to go with a fender mudbucker I'd put it in a different bass I have.. and I don't believe the new fender ones are the same as the 70s ones so that means $300ith for vintage of having Curtis Novak make me one… although.. I have thoughts about getting him to make me something one day… anyway nothing is set in stone pickup wise… there a lot of ways I would like to go… like ric pickups and or buckers...

scale… 34, I could have gotten a 35 be to me to warrant a longer scale I'd want a fanned board and that would mean having to buy more tools which at this time I would rather not… at least for what is basically a one off or prototype..

Buckers could be rad, I went with lace alumitone singles in my bass vi, and those could also be pretty cool in a staggered set up. They're ridiculously clean/clear and get crushingly heavy with gain

You guys are a bad example

I am really thinking about making the very first body I ever made work for this project

I might cut the center out to make it more sturdy

edit… ok.. really thinking Rickenbacker humbuckers

Update and thoughts..
neck blank came, it is really nice, need another truss as the one I had on hand is different than the one I just got..
I am unsure if I will be using the body in the pict above because even though it is cool it is a 4 string body and the time to mod it.. no prob I have over bodies that are only blanked out without routs and stuff… we shall see…

Also I put in a message at LMI to see if they will/can cut me a 36" scale board…

the biggest issue I am running into is bridges, there is no selection and monorails are cute and shit but they will not do what I want without being modded.. so.. it's looking like I am going to have to make my own bridge meaning this thing is going to get a lot more Carl Thompson

such as

Dude, I support the wooden bridge idea. My friend works at Veillette and they have some amazing instruments with wooden bridges. Also, I borrowed another friend's old Hagstrom bass some years ago and became enchanted by it, and a big part of its cool sound was the wooden bridge. Do it to it!

Put in a order for a 36" scale board
pickup ideas are going the other way… I'm thinking one pickup and a stacked V/T control.. less things to distract from the too many strings I feel, also every dual pickup config I've looked into seems wonky. Right now looking at Nordstrand... I'm going with Koa for the body, I've had it cut out forever… will post pict tomorrow of the "rough" shape

body

Fantastically nice.

more picts

the "perspective shot" [the bridge is just there to show where it goes]

close up of the neck grain

I vote you devise and create an adjustable for intonation wooden bridge.

AxAxSxS wrote:I vote you devise and create an adjustable for intonation wooden bridge.

Like this?


I don't know.. the more I think about no moving parts and how much buzzing and shit you get with six string bass bridges... and once you intonate the bridge you shouldn't have to do it again unless you change the tuning
plus it looks more cool…

but we will see… I expect to be making more than one bridge for this