Big bass uke.

Hello,

As i wrote in my presentation post, i'm prototyping bass ukes.
I try to make alternative concept & design in comparison with
those existing on the market.

It's been more than one year now i'm on this idea:
"Make my own little bass i've never found in a shop".

But, it's really became a work in progress and i can't stop it

So, for the moment, it look like a 17" bolt-on solid-body.
- two monobloc pinewood pieces for the neck & body.
- three pieces oak (or other hard wood) for the saddle,
the nut & the string guide.
- the strings are Aquila Thunderguts.
- the piezo is a K&K Bassmax.
- the bass tuners are...the cheapest i can find
Just have to file it and it's work very well.
- the finish is oiled.
- and i takes about twelve hours of hand woodworking.



That's an enthusiastic project i like to share.
If some folks here are interested by making there own,
Feel free to ask questions here.

Nice day.

Tim.

Cool. I just built a more "Traditional" uke-bass. I have a couple questions:
I'm concerned, on mine, about the neck. There's no trussrod and when I string it up, there is some bowing of the neck. Not a ton, but some, and over time, it may get worse. Are you seeing this and do you have plans to address it? Especially with pine.
The tuners.. I'm using Silver Rumblers, and there's no way I could have fit strings into the tuners it looks like you used. I couldn't even file out the slots because there would be no post left. Did you have issues?

I really like your bass ukes Tim. I've been subscribed to you on YouTube for awhile now. Keep up the good work.

You really need something like maple at a minimum where there's going to be any serious tension. Using a heavily laminated neck can help with limiting flex. However you may need an adjustable truss rod unless it's guaranteed the same type and brand of strings are always used. Fixing a bent neck requires extended clamping with heat and that's not considered a long term solution. I'm just speaking from the perspective of using steel strings which are very high tension. I'll find out more how it works when I get my ubass here soon.

Hi,

Daniel:
Thank you !

bnolsen:
I work with recycled wood, and badly, i've never found maple.
Pine wood works very well at this scale and got a lot of sustain.
Considering the steel strings, IMHO, i think the magic deep sound
of the bass uke comes from the plastic strings.

Mrbell321:
I don't have any "bowing" issue with Thunderguts on 17".
What is the scale of your instrument ?

Considering the tuners, i don't see the problem..
Here's a standart bass tuner set after file.
Maybe it could help you :

Hi,

Here's my last upgrade...wooden pegs!
The instrument's more balanced and the sound's boosted.
And it's very less expensive.

I'll try to drop images on this thread,
but waiting, there's some on my blog.