Octave Bass Cinquecento

This is our latest build, an octave bass in cedar and mahogany. The body shape is somewhat reminiscent of a Weissenborn guitar, but it was actually inspired by a number of historical viols from the 16th and 17th century.



Details:
Scale length: 529 mm
Top: Western red cedar, custom X-W-A bracing pattern, 18 ft. radius,
Back and sides: African mahogany (Sipo), back with 18 ft. radius
Peghead: Slotted with Macassar ebony veneer
Tuners: Schaller ST6 Vintage
Nut: Ebony
Fretboard: Macassar ebony, 12 in. radius, MOP side dots
Neck: Spanish cedar, custom bolted dovetail neck joint
Bridge: Indian rosewood
Saddle: Ebony
Pins: Ebony with MOP dots
Finish: Oil-based mahogany stain, shellac (French polished)
Pickup: Mi-Si acoustic trio

The tuning is the same pitch as the E6-A5-D4-G3 strings on the guitar, which is an octave above acoustic bass tuning, thus the name “octave bass”. Just to start with, we put LaBella classical (wound nylon) strings on it and they sound pretty good – we’ll try out new strings over time to find out what sounds best, perhaps Savarez 520s and maybe also Silk&Steels.

No sound samples available yet - Robin is busy preparing for final exams.

That's a great design Erich. I've built a few Weissenborn style guitars, and just love how much sound you get out of that thin body. Looks like you have managed to find a case to fit too. Is that a custom, or just really lucky?

Allen said:

That's a great design Erich. I've built a few Weissenborn style guitars, and just love how much sound you get out of that thin body. Looks like you have managed to find a case to fit too. Is that a custom, or just really lucky?

Click to expand...

Thanks Allen, the case is an Ortega bass/baritone uke case. A propos thin body and custom fit... When the case arrived, we assembled all the pieces and discovered it (the case) was a little too short and too shallow, so we had to shorten the peghead by about 15 mm and.....

Hi, I am looking for a hand so as to build a Bass Ukulele. I have not found a set of plans, nor much in the way of what to beef up for the tention. Any help would be welcomed

Jim Williamson , jlsa690@sbcglobal.net thanks boatboy