Bass build ideas

[TBurst Std]

I am thinking of building a bass. I am mainly a guitar player though I started off on bass 30+ years ago.

Anyways, I am looking at a Gecko build

So as mainly a guitar player, which should I consider? 5 or 6? If 5, which 5?
Hand size probably shouldn't be a consideration as on guitar I prefer at least a 1 11/16 nut and close to 1 inch of neck depth.

When I played bass regularly before, I was more into pop and slap sounds, (but those were the sounds of that time). I am not a 1/4 note plunker LOL.

Soundwise I am going active most likely with Barts. I prefer a Strong treblely low note than a boomer.

From a playing perspective within the confines of Fender, I always liked the sound of a J more than a P. But the J strings seemed to be to close at times. So a J pups and a P neck?

Back in the day I liked some of the Rick sounds (Chris Squire, etc)., but those never seemed to work for me playability wise. Neither did their guitars LOL.

 

[tubby.twins]

Unless you really dig narrow string spacing (e.g. Ibanez Soundgear 5-string basses) I would go with a Gecko 5 medium.  The string spacing at the nut is similar to a Fender Jazz, and the string spacing at the bridge is 19mm, which gives you enough room for fingerstyle and pop/slap if you need to.

For pickups, I recommend you go with soapbar shapes.  There are a wealth of options out there, and you can get them in just about any tone with every kind of armature inside.  Plus they're easier to replace.  Bartolini P2 (ASB-5) shape is probably easier to find than EMG40 (ASB2-5) shape.  The standard locations for neck and bridge pickups are a good idea.  These are roughly based on the 1960's Fender Jazz locations, but scaled up a bit to account for the 35" scale.

I would start with Carvin pickups because they are cheap, easily replaceable, and very high quality.  I think you'll like these better than the Bartolini soapbars.  If you like the Jazz sound, consider going with a stacked-coil humbucker.  Carvin makes their "H50AS" soapbars which are effectively the same armature as the Jazz-shaped pickups, but for a slightly wider string spacing.  They come in the Bartolini P2 shape and sound warmer, brighter and crisper than most other Bartolini pickups out there.  You can get a pair of these for a nice Jazz tone, or put their "SPN" neck humbucker in the bridge position if you want a more modern dual-coil humbucker here for a fat midrange.  (The "SPB" bridge humbucker is far too overwound in any position, IMO.  The "SPN" works better at the bridge position and pairs nicely with the "H50AS".)

For a pre-amp, unless you absolutely know that you need active tone controls, I would start with a passive tone control (treble cut) and see where that takes you.  You can always upgrade to an onboard pre-amp later, if you find that you're missing the ability to boost frequencies.

 

[line6man]

I would start with Carvin pickups because they are cheap, easily replaceable, and very high quality. 

+1.

I've tried Carvin's H50A J bridge pickup, and it's a damn nice pickup!  :icon_biggrin:
My only complaint is that it's quite sensitive if you brush your fingers across it.

 

[TBurst Std]

Thoughts between 5 or 6 string?

 

[incabass]

if you feel the need to go lower than a standard 4, then perhaps a 5 is for you. if you feel the need to make some kind lead twangy chordal bass statement, then a six may be for you. i played fretted and fretless six for years but i went back to the 4 string as i think it is harder to play than a six and because it has less options, it forces you to think more creatively. but i had to find my own way back to the 4 string. so i say go with the 6. as i also play guitar i can say it will make your geetar feel like a toy! hehehehe

 

[hachikid]

well, if you liked the Ric sounds, buy Rickenbacker bass pickups. that's what I'd do, personally. another option you might not have thought of is build a Bass 6. I've been wanting to do that for a while, but I just don't have the money.

 

[drewfx]

General rules of bass PU's:

1. There are many different tonal options for soapbar-style PU's, including P and J styles in soapbar format.
2. Bart's sound like Bart's.
3. EMG's sound like EMG's.
4. Other than those 2, most other brands of J-sized PU's are voiced for some kind of vintage J tone, with few exceptions.

 

[Strat Avenger]

I like the 5-string for the lower notes that can be achieved. I don't care for 6-string basses because the neck is too wide, and I really don't see the point of playing notes that high on a bass. 'Might as well just play guitar if you're gonna do that.

 

[hachikid]

I like the 5-string for the lower notes that can be achieved. I don't care for 6-string basses because the neck is too wide, and I really don't see the point of playing notes that high on a bass. 'Might as well just play guitar if you're gonna do that.

MAN, I FREAKING HATE THAT SORT OF ATTITUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[line6man]

I like the 5-string for the lower notes that can be achieved. I don't care for 6-string basses because the neck is too wide, and I really don't see the point of playing notes that high on a bass. 'Might as well just play guitar if you're gonna do that.

MAN, I FREAKING HATE THAT SORT OF ATTITUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Same.
Why the ridiculous closed mindedness? A bass can do a lot more than just thump out root notes. :tard:

 

[Disco Scottie]

My personal preference is 4 string bass. I own a bunch of basses and they're all 4s. I had a fiver some years ago, never could get comfortable with it. Guess I'm just old-fashioned... I like 4 on bass and 6 on guitar. Anything else is more than I need. But there are plenty of players who think otherwise, so if you like it, then do it.

 

[drewfx]

I like the 5-string for the lower notes that can be achieved. I don't care for 6-string basses because the neck is too wide, and I really don't see the point of playing notes that high on a bass. 'Might as well just play guitar if you're gonna do that.

Tell that to all them down-tuning, 7-stringing, baritoning bassist wannabe's!

But in all seriousness, if ya ain't gonna play the high C string, I wouldn't want to have to reach over it all the time. I always say, "A bass isn't really the same instrument as a guitar at all. So don't try and make bass into a low frequency guitar - if you're going to play bass, play bass. It's different"

 

[JimBeed]

Tell that to all them down-tuning, 7-stringing, baritoning bassist wannabe's!

But in all seriousness, if ya ain't gonna play the high C string, I wouldn't want to have to reach over it all the time. I always say, "A bass isn't really the same instrument as a guitar at all. So don't try and make bass into a low frequency guitar - if you're going to play bass, play bass. It's different"

Amen brotha  :headbang1:

I like the 5-string for the lower notes that can be achieved. I don't care for 6-string basses because the neck is too wide, and I really don't see the point of playing notes that high on a bass. 'Might as well just play guitar if you're gonna do that.

ooooooh..... not cool  :tard:
Tell it to these guys

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn4yo6zENRU[/youtube]

Of course there are others, these are just the first four i came across, but seriously, stop with the narrow minded bull*** of bassists cant play high notes,
only guitarists can, lived with jerks like that since i started, however now im better than half of them , so jokes on them  :doh:
One of the best lines ive come up with to a backing track on my micro br involves some 12th and up work, love the tone of it up there for one bit  :guitarplayer2:

 

[AutoBat]

Good call JimBreed.  I was gonna post a Victor Wooten clip, but yours is better.

 

[Damon]

I like the 5-string for the lower notes that can be achieved. I don't care for 6-string basses because the neck is too wide, and I really don't see the point of playing notes that high on a bass. 'Might as well just play guitar if you're gonna do that.

That 5th string takes up a lot of space and costs a fair bit of money if you're only using it for 5 extra notes. Just set up a 4-string tuned BEAD if you're opposed to higher notes on a bass. I did that with one of my basses when I was considering buying my first 5-string just to see if I would actually miss the G string. I did, so I went on and bought the 5-string. Where a 5-er really shines (and anything with 6+ strings, for that matter) is in being able to do multi-octave runs with minimal hand monvement up and down the neck, not for the extra few notes you get out of them below and above those available on a 4-string. For my style, the 5-string has been sufficient and I've never felt the urge to move to a 6-string, but I definitly see the appeal for certain styles.

 

[JimBeed]

I like the 5-string for the lower notes that can be achieved. I don't care for 6-string basses because the neck is too wide, and I really don't see the point of playing notes that high on a bass. 'Might as well just play guitar if you're gonna do that.

That 5th string takes up a lot of space and costs a fair bit of money if you're only using it for 5 extra notes. Just set up a 4-string tuned BEAD if you're opposed to higher notes on a bass. I did that with one of my basses when I was considering buying my first 5-string just to see if I would actually miss the G string. I did, so I went on and bought the 5-string. Where a 5-er really shines (and anything with 6+ strings, for that matter) is in being able to do multi-octave runs with minimal hand monvement up and down the neck, not for the extra few notes you get out of them below and above those available on a 4-string. For my style, the 5-string has been sufficient and I've never felt the urge to move to a 6-string, but I definitly see the appeal for certain styles.

+1000000000000000000000
Love my five string for the extra space i can get playing scales and such further than i could with my 4 string p bass, i got the more compact deluxe five nut installed, and im very happy with it, cause after 6 months of playing that bass, my accuracy on the p bass had improved dramatically, but it certainly was a challenge with the more compact space for a start, but it pays off

Good call JimBreed.  I was gonna post a Victor Wooten clip, but yours is better.

Haha cheers, was looking for a stu hamm one originally but saw that with both i thought, even better haha.
But whats with everyone putting the second part of my name as Breed not Beed?  :icon_scratch:

 

[AutoBat]

Sorry mate. That's how it looks if you're not paying attention and have seen it misspelled before.

 

[JimBeed]

Haha no problem, this isn't the first place its been said like that.
Sad thing is my secondary school always spelt my name as beedon not beeden,
and they were adamant on keepin it that way , then we remembered they did that to my sister before me aswell, stupid dummys  :doh:

 

[hachikid]

ooooooh..... not cool  :tard:
Tell it to these guys

you forgot this guy:

 

[JimBeed]

Yup granted hachi, as i said that was by no means complete hehe, who is he by the way? i either dont know or forgot  :doh: