oh, and like pick's links say, a bass is a different animal, don't plug it into a guitar amp, shred city. way too low. i made a really nice amp out of an old rifle case. then i made a one string bass using a square piece of extruded aluminum. some friends came over, plugged the one string into the nice new amp, had a jam, some beers, and the amp was garbage.
i agree. truss rod, smush schrod. just use hard wood. Martin guitars used static reinforcement till the 80's and still today. they used a piece of T shaped steel. see my "deadly diddly", named by Uncle John. 1x3 turned sideways like Kigar recommends. one, two, or three strings, just laminate or use wood not affected easily by humidity. Or use the "Martin" method. I like carbon fiber rods, inexpensive, and effective. It's a CBG, you can make it work and play. the 3 string pictured above hasn't moved for years. rock hard maple..... a truss rod, contrary to popular belief, is not to make the neck straight, but to provide some "relief" so the strings don't buzz against the frets. what do i know, just trying to share in the discussion.
For me at least 3 strings, EAD preferred . If you only do two strings you are really going to miss out on a lot of easy and iconic bass lines, as well as easy walking bass.
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If you are math nerds, D'Addario has this pdf on their site.
http://www.daddario.com/upload/tension_chart_13934.pdf
It includes all the data for all of their strings and the formula to determine the "weight" of the pull of a string based on tuning and length.
These are even easier...
String Diameter Calculator
String Tension Calculator
: )
You can do a 32-34" two string without a truss rod, just use a 1x2 turned sideways. It is four times as stiff this way.
oh, and like pick's links say, a bass is a different animal, don't plug it into a guitar amp, shred city. way too low. i made a really nice amp out of an old rifle case. then i made a one string bass using a square piece of extruded aluminum. some friends came over, plugged the one string into the nice new amp, had a jam, some beers, and the amp was garbage.
i agree. truss rod, smush schrod. just use hard wood. Martin guitars used static reinforcement till the 80's and still today. they used a piece of T shaped steel. see my "deadly diddly", named by Uncle John. 1x3 turned sideways like Kigar recommends. one, two, or three strings, just laminate or use wood not affected easily by humidity. Or use the "Martin" method. I like carbon fiber rods, inexpensive, and effective. It's a CBG, you can make it work and play. the 3 string pictured above hasn't moved for years. rock hard maple..... a truss rod, contrary to popular belief, is not to make the neck straight, but to provide some "relief" so the strings don't buzz against the frets. what do i know, just trying to share in the discussion.
For me at least 3 strings, EAD preferred . If you only do two strings you are really going to miss out on a lot of easy and iconic bass lines, as well as easy walking bass.
me too, thats what i am making. EAD 3 string 30" short scale bass. just waiting on the truss rod to turn up.
hate to add my 2 cents, check out my photo of short scale bass. use E, A, D, or E and G for two string. i was surprised how good the short scale sounded, but as pick says, make the neck strong. hard wood and a thick neck will work and feel good, rock oak on bottom......the suggestion to use the two fat strings for a drop d is great......i sing bass and love bass gits....
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