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[Bass of the week] ASAT-inspired custom bass

The feature bass this week as in “in work” project in an effort to build an ASAT-like bass that is perfectly balanced.

Builder Pete Ryan writes:

I’ve read and heard a lot of good thing about the G&L ASAT. A lot of the reviews I have read have been favorable with a notable exception. It neck dives.

I’ve designed the body so that it is actually an inch an a half longer than a ASAT. That will help a little. Using Ultralite tuners will help as well. If I were to keep the body at it’s current thickness, it will be a huge amount of mass to keep it from neck diving. Unfortunately, I’m projecting it to come in at @13lbs, which is way too heavy, so I’ll be making the body thinner to take off some of the weight.

Goal is to make a 5 string ASAT that doesn’t neck dive.

Well done!

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7 thoughts on “[Bass of the week] ASAT-inspired custom bass”

  1. Firstly, very nice bass, great and simple.

    On a separate thought, I don’t know why people don’t look more at the simple solution of moving (or adding an additional) button strap on the bridge side of the bass. If you draw a line between the two button you have a simple calculation of what portion of the body is below the strap line and what is above. If you are able to move that line up on the bridge side, more mass of the body is below the strap line by the bridge, and that counteracts the neck.

    I do realize the trade off is that the line of the base (the angle of the neck from bridge to nut) changes naturally, and if you overdo it the angle can be too sharp. You are also obviously change the aesthetics of having the bridge button in the middle of the body, and some folks express concern about the angle of the strap (easily fixed with straplocks).

    Recently did this with a FrankenMusicMan I built that had a basswood body and G&L neck, and ended up with a slight and annoying fatiguing neck dive. Added a second button two inches higher and the slight neck dive is gone.

    Reply
  2. If you look at current Asats you will notice that they have 2 strap pins on either side of where it would normaly be placed.

    Reply
  3. I have one of the Squire VM Tele Specials, medium scale with the Fender Tele bass humbucker and a Dimarzio ultra jazz, sounds and plays amazing but if I had to put it
    on a strap and fight the dive I would have to get rid of it or take a chance on putting it
    all on a P body, (still thinking about it) .

    Reply

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