Wanting to build an electric bass

[Eric Schatz]

Does anyone have any resources for building electric basses from scratch? I need to know about wood tones and construction standards as well as finishing. I'm a competent furniture builder.

[Sean Benz]

Here ya go! http://www.talkbass.com/forums/luthiers-corner.57/

This is what started it all for me. From just beginning wood working, to making solid body electric ukuleles, and finally starting a business making drums for professional and touring musicians. Most people on this site will show you every step of their process. And, everybody does it differently. You'll spend a few weeks just going through the pages of projects. Have fun and post a lot!

[roger wiegand]

The wood part is easy, the electronics can make your head explode. For a first instrument copying one you like is a reasonable starting point. You can make your life easier by buying a pre-slotted fretboard from someone like Luthier's Mercantile or Stewart MacDonald (or by going fretless). I'd stick to a standard scale length unless you have good reason to change it; that's about the only fixed dimension you need to worry about in a solid body instrument. The rest is just fitting the instrument to suit the player. I made one together with my son a couple years ago, we took the basic shape and size of an Alembic model he liked, customized the peghead to a shape he picked, and just kept working on the neck profile until it felt good to him. We went with passive electronics to start, he didn't have a strong desire to go active and I decided I'd need to go back to school for an EE degree to comprehend what I was reading about it. It sounds pretty good to me!

[Mark Greenbaum]

TDPRI.com (Telecaster Discuaaion Page Re-Issue) has several bass guitar build threads on it. Lots of great info to find there.