The selected bass this week features a bass that Bastiaan Bargmann built himself. He says:
Story of his build:
This was the second scratch-built bass that I finished. It was actually a twin build, the firstborn was a double-cut fretted and this one, the second-born, was this single-cut fretless. Both had the same construction, neckthrough hippie sandwiches made of walnut, maple, and purpleheart with an ebony fret/fingerboard and 34″ scale length. The top and back are bookmatched walnut. This one got a glossy polyurethane finish. The electronics are Ghost piezo saddles into a Richter buffer with individual string inputs and straight out to the side-mounted jack, no volume or tone control knobs, for a clean look. The tuners are import Hipshot ultralights, the bridge was hand-fabricated out of ebony. I’m very pleased with the outcome, both the looks and the sound.
I’ve been messing with basses ever since I decided to refinish my Wishbass in 2011, that led me to the Talkbass forum and from there to the Luthier’s Corner. After many years of lurking and soaking up knowledge I eventually gathered the testicular fortitude to start my own scratch build(s). I documented the progress here: https://www.talkbass.com/threa
ds/winter-2017-build-off-first
-scratch-build-walnut-maple-
and-purpleheart-sandwich.1259618/ . I love the TB LC (TalkBass Luthier’s Corner), such an inspirational place, as well as being supportive and helpful! It ended up taking just under two years to finish both basses, with the most time spent on finishing (quite the learning curve there). Most of the work was done with hand-tools, with the exception of a drillpress and a dremel. I have now been fully infected by the bass building bug and am currently working on my third build, and hopefully many more in the future. I highly recommend getting into building your own, and to not be afraid to jump into the deep end of the pool, you learn by doing!
Well done!
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Now THIS is a great looking bass!
E.
I’m not sure I’d like the lack of controls, but it gives it a wonderfully clean look! It is a great looking bass
I had a possible idea for volume & tone controls for this bass:
How about thumb-wheel dials that would only protrude slightly out of the bottom side of the bass. Kind of near the front, bottom edge, so they still be hidden from view, and you’d just reach down and under to adjust them with your fingertips. But, it’s a beautiful bass! Personally though, the neck looks a little too fat for me. I prefer a J-bass type width. But, I love the style, the woods, and the beautiful, smooth curves! Nice job!!
I was wondering that, myself. I like the idea of thumbwheel controls, because it leaves the top looking so clean.
Great bass, congrats! So clean and sleek looking. I love that there are no controls. Anthony Jackson’s been doing that for a while. He’d love this!
Beautiful work, and inspiring!
very nice job. if you want more detail consider a tablesaw, jointer, thickness planer and a router. with those tools, you could bring your lumber cost down to $50 buck or so. it wouldn’t take long for those tools to pay for themselves. used tools are ok. a volume control is pretty much essential so that the bass can be plugged in without a lot of unwanted noise. there are better finishes than urethane. most manufacturers use dupont chroma clear (fast and high durability). the best finish for TONE is lacquer over lacquer sanding sealer. deft and minwax brands are available everywhere. no water based finishes, please. ghost bridge pickups are great as are emg active pickups for bass. again, nice job. gary stevens. gs custom guitars. florida usa.
I really want to hear what this sounds like. Can you post a link to that?
Beautiful job – do not mind the lack of controls as I would just setup from the amp – the only issue might be a need for more volume and instead of having to dash to the amp you could use a volume pedal. I love the clean lines – well done
Very interesting build, good work. Find it bizzare how so many people take it upon themselves to offer “improvements”. These are an extension of you, not someone else.
Keep building mate, you inspire me to build one as well.
Thanks, everyone! The bass is currently in storage due to a cross-country move, but I intend to put up a sound clip, will link it here and in the TBLC build thread.
Beautiful bass! I love the sleek look with no conrtols. Bold move that turned out great. I am wanting to build my own at some point as well. I worked at Ernie Ball for a bit and have a better understanding of the process.