Good morning folks:
I found this whole cigar box instrument phenomenon the other day and I'm fascinated by it.
I went and bought some boxes yesterday, and I've always wanted a U-Bass, so that is my current plan.
My question is, what would a parts list be for this build? I just don't want to leave anything out.
So far I have:
- Cigar Box
- Wood for Neck
- Wood for Fret Board
- Material for Frets (what would ya'll recommend)?
- Nut (where should I get this?)
- Tuners (I've heard that most people use the Ashbory Bass tuners, but I can't find those anywhere! What would be an economical but functional alternative?)
- Strings (http://www.bassuke.com/string_store.html. I was going to go with the standard colored "Dreads" set)
I think these are all the questions I have thus far. Please feel free to give me any recommendations for the build or any parts (listed or unlisted). I'd like to do the best job that I can!
Replies
A bit late but I've managed to find some decent, economical tuners. The make is "Der Jung" from Taiwan, they look like clones of the Hip-Shots but considerably cheaper. My set has just arrived and they seem good quality to me. They are ideal for Aquila Thundergut strings, the bass side have thicker slots and the treble side are a bit thinner. Here are some black ones but the same company do chrome or gold too. http://www.magic-guitar-parts.com/epages/es337930.sf/en_GB/?ObjectP...
Another thought on this. I've seen that the main problem with making a bass like this is that there is a lot of tension on the neck and subsequently the cigar box. My thinking is that the smart thing to do would be to carry the neck all of the way through the box and anchor to it at both ends so that there is minimal tension on the box. Is this common practice? I've seen CBGs made both ways, both with the neck ending at the box and the neck being the anchor point as well, but I'm not sure what the positives and negatives of each are.
Any help on this front? Also, sound holes for an electric U-Bass? Would it be detrimental to the sound of the instrument if I wanted one just for show or would it not make much difference?
I would definitely do a neck through. Did you decide what scale length you were going to use?
I'm planning on using the scale of the Kala U-Bass, which is 21" I believe.
You can get your fret wire from CB Gitty:
https://www.cbgitty.com/
I would make the nut out of bone or hardwood.
Not sure on the tuners, but for the bridge, I use those ones from Bezez, and they work great. Just make sure that the strings you intend to use are not too big around to fit in that bridge.
Thanks. The CB Gitty site is very useful.
So, fretting wire down. The tuners are the tough part now. The Kala U-Bass uses tuners that cost like $90 which isn't economical enough for this build. I guess I need bass tuners rather than uke tuners so that they accept the thicker strings? The only issue there would be fitting them on the headstock, but I guess since I'm building it I could make that work. Does that sound reasonable? Any recommendations on which ones to go with?
Oh, and I don't see a gauge size on that bridge...how would I check to see if the strings would fit?
Other than that, do I have all the parts accounted for?
Look for 'mini' bass tuners. I don't know if Gitty carries those but if he does I'd suggest using them. I've used the big bass tuners Gitty has for diddly bows but they are BIG. If you're making a uke bass the huge ones might make the the build too headstock heavy.
I only used three of those big tuners on a build, and the headstock was massive, and the tuners took up a LOT of real estate as well. I think 4 would be way too much.
The mini bass tuners can be had on the ebays for cheap.
Sweet, I'll check those out.
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