Aaron Noguer's Electric Upright Bass [Pictures] - created 06-06-2004

Noguer, Aaron - 06/06/2004.03:36:05
imagination is the peanut butter that holds together the universe

The reason I didn't post this before is because I built it before I joined, and didn't think of it.

Last week I inadvertently mentioned on talk bass the I made my own EUB, and I was asked how long it took me, how much it cost, did I use pre-made parts [grumble] and would I start a tread on how to build a EUB: I said sure. So I posted my story a picks. And Marcus Johnson thought You'd all get a kick out of it so............ Here's my little EUB essay.

Chainsaws, Duct tape and the Double bass or How to build an EUB!

Well you asked for it, now here it is:

Last week I was asked to explain how I 'built' a EUB for $188.37 [minus the pickup and strings] in three weeks. The bass actually took over three months of planning, re-planning, designing and gathering all the information about upright basses I could on the net.

I had a lot of fun building my bass, and for the price and my time it was a success.

I don't think just explaining step by step how I built mine is the best idea, because even though the EUB (Idea) is older than the bass guitar it still is an experimental instrument, and there are too many variations on the theme for one person to say 'this is the way.'

This bass was the 10th electric instrument I have built, I have also built five bass guitars, two guitars, one baritone guitar and a lapsteel. I have a degree in marine carpentry [wooden boat building] so the actual building and woodworking wasn't that much of a challenge compared to getting the design right.

If you are undaunted and still want to give it a try I'd recommend getting some woodworking training and/or experience [if you donÕt already] and some books on solid body guitar building as well as violin and bass violin building. I'll be happy to answer specific questions if I can. Also the best place to start looking for info is of course Bob Gollihur's Double Bass Links Page [ALL HAIL Bob Gollihur], it's all on his site, you just have to find it.

I could have gone the easy way and just bought a DB neck and cut down the heel, got a pre-carved FB and tailpiece, and attached them to a hardwood 2x6; but what is the fun in that. I like what I built and I am planning to improve the design as well as the existing bass.

The look and the type of EUB [solid body full size double bass] that I made is based on two basses: David Gage's stick bass and one of the first A-Basses Solid Body Upright. One of the ideas behind the design came from one of the luthiers at Hammond Ashley Violins when he was explaining to me how much of a difference changes to the bass bridge can affect the sound of a DB, and that put the idea of basing the design around a traditional upright bass bridge, to transfer the sound to the pickup.

I had no interest in making a cheap imitation of a double bass, I already own a nice cheap double bass. The sound I was after and actually did [shrugs] achieve was a cross between a double bass, a P-bass and an Ampeg baby bass.

Except the tuners, bridge blank, neck plate and strings, I fabricated every part of my EUB.

The bass has a 43 1/8" scale, the top of the solid padauk body is carved so the bridge fits the same way as it would on a double bass; the neck is laminated out of three pieces of Padauk, the Finger board is maple with a 67 mm radius, the tailpiece is rosewood, the endpin is made out of an old cymbal stand and a small pulley wheel, and the tuner plates are koa.

Body: $65.00

Neck: $15.00

Fingerboard: $38.00

Bridge: $15.00

Tuners: $36.27 + $9.10 = $45.37

Other hardware: $10.00

total: $188.37

The pickup [which I already had] is a barcus berry. I figured that if I could make the bass sound good through one of the most economical double bass pickups, then it was the bass and NOT the pickup making the sound.

There are a few things that didn't go as well as I would have liked, considering that this is the first EUB that I have built. Here is a list of my grips.

#1 I made the neck a little too thin for a five string, so arco is a challenge; I am at a crossroads right now - what is the best fix for this. My options are: tighten the fingerboard radius, make a new wider FB that over hangs the neck [I am planning to make a new FB any way], or convert it to a four string tuned BEAD [I'm leaning towards this right now].

#2 the tailpiece needs to have a tighter radius to match the FB better.

#3 the neck pocket needs to change - right now I am trying to come up with an easily removable system. Also on the next one the head stock will be bigger.

#4 The bass is heavy, not unmanageable but the next one will be lighter.

Tools used:

Power: bandsaw, router, drill press, hand drill and a jigsaw.

Hand: chisels of various sizes, spokeshave, blockplane, cut-down blockplane, jack plane, bull nose-plane, scrapers, files & rasps and a screwdriver.

Time:

Keep in mind that this was two years[to the month actually] ago. The bass was built and finished over the course of three weeks, but I didn't work on it every day. I'd say majority of time was spent on sanding, finishing [true oil] and setup.

The neck took me two to three days, I didn't have a jointer or planer at the time so I had to make the blank by hand and then carve it to shape. The fingerboard took me around three hours.

The body took me a while; it was just a lot of little things that added up. I had to add nubs to the sides for the points because the blank wasn't wide enough. It took me a few hours to cut, rout and sand down the sides, and it took around four hours to carve and sand the top to shape.

The headstock took around a day. The neck pocket was not fun to get it to fit right and be at the right angle [5]; lesson, don't try to put a fender neck pocket on a EUB, it was a real pain in the *** to get it to work. The endpin was fun, It was an old cymbal stand of my Dads [who is a drummer] and the wheel off a cheap pulley; I smashed apart the pulley and drilled the center out of the wheel with a spade bit finishing it up with a rattail file to fit it on to the piece of cymbal stand, then I epoxied [thickened] it in the bass.

Aaron N

More building picts

That sure looks like a lot of work! Such a big piece of wood, whew!

Very nice solid design, I like the maple with the paduk, something really stands out with that combination, and really like the "real" bridge.

Aaron, that is one of the nicest looking EUB's I have seen! Good work.

Thanks guys! It was a lot of work, the thing gave my poor little bandsaw a run for it's money.

Aaron, I was admiring your electric base. Very cool!

I was thinking, though, of how you said it was very heavy. Have you thought about making an electric base that is semi-solid. Maybe route out the body you started with and attach a front plate?

I'm just starting to learn about instrument construction, so maybe that is a silly idea, but I just wanted to hear everybody's comments on a semi-solid electric upright base, or any of the violin family in electric form.

I'm thinking of going semi hollow on the next EUB , but IÕm still undecided; the reason will be more sonically driven the weight driven.

Routing out the top would be near impossible in less I had a overhead router, the top is fully carved already; plus, it would change the sound and I like the sound, the heavy padauk body gives the bass almost marimba-like overtones [which was the point of the padauk body, I just lucked out in that my idea worked]. Also, the amount of work involved to hollow out the existing bass wound be almost the same as making a new bass.

Here's a size perspective picture with my upright. I am sorry about the pictures, IÕm having to use the still function in my video camera, the real camera is out for repairs.

Aaron N

Hello, first message here after years lurking.

I'm building my own EUB and i'm experiencing some problems with the fretboard, i just cann't do a straight well radiused fingerboard with the small edgesander i've got...i've tryed in several ways but i do always fail :(

in your post you just told that the FB has been done in three hours, can you please tell me how you've done it? and is it a dual compound radius? (how much millimeters is the radius, i'm tryng with 80mm for the wider part)

Thank you for the very interesting topic and also for your help :)

Flavio.

Flavio, don't worry I'm not ignoring you. IÕll try and get this together later in the week.

This isnÕt the easiest thing in the world to explain.

Aaron N

Hey thank you guys for the welcome! :-)

Aaron that's OK, i'm not pretending you work for me ;-) if you have time and you wish to i'm here!

In the meanwhile i've decided to correct my last error :-( and make a constant radiused fretboard, cause the fretboard i was machining is already glued to the neck, so the compound one will be done for my next Eub, and i've also found a friend of a friend of a friend that has a looong 3metres edgesander.

Ah in the previous post i forgot to say i really like your eub, it's wonderfull!

Cheers Flavio :-)

well done Aaron!

I'll wait for the details about the fingerboard before starting to carve my own out of a piece of iroko.

Hi Flavio, it seems you are Italian like me. Just one question: where did you find the neck for your instrument? I think I'll buy one from a German guy, but you know, if I could find a cheap one in Italy it would be far better!

thank you

matteo

Hey Matteo, yessss i'm from Milan, and like you i'm using Iroko for the fingerboard! :-) (i used to think i was the only one using this wood!)

The neck: I don't think you'll find something cheaper here in italy, i mean here you can find the best necks available, but quality costs... and DIY is really funny!

I've carved it out from three pieces glued toghether, Mohogany-Wallnut-mohogany, here's a pic i did this winter:

http://ayferri.altervista.org/html/personal/plastic/ctbss.jpg

It's really easy, like the body... so consider to carve your own neck ;-)

now the fingerboard is glued to the neck but i'm experiencing some problems with the radius, i did it but it has some irregularity in the middle of the FB, maybe this weekend i'll fix it, by hand :-( hope to have time, but i'm determined to finish it, dead line is the end of september, so i can start a new one during winter ;-)

Lets Keep in touch! Flavio