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Ashbory uses Silicone O-Ring material, yes.
But I should think the concept is much the same, the longer scale length that John has incorporated would make the pure Silicone strings a bit of a flaccid problem, but the weedwacker stuff solves that quite nicely.
And, both are nonmagnetic solutions.
Which is why my query regarding pickup on John's creation.
I'll reserve my reason for asking that for after he answers.
--Mac
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Going to be home brew piezo pups using buzzers from Radio Shack. Then into a Tech 21 VT Bass pre amp. The pre has an input impedance of 1 meg so will work fine. STRINGS
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Put the piezos on the bridge or better yet, between bridge and body.
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Put the piezos on the bridge or better yet, between bridge and body. I made toe RS piezo pups and double sided taped them to the bridge. They were OK. More boomy low end. The old guitar piezo is under the bridge and sounds a little better. I need to try the RS piezos under the bridge now.
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A bridge sliced in half horizontally, with piezo in between the two bridge pieces, works a treat and is more sensitive than the under-the-bridge method. Another tack would be to provide a single piezo immediately under each string, then mix the outputs together via preamp buffer amps into the preamp. This method allows for a bit of gain tailoring to suit each string. There is a flexible piezo film or tape available, I've gotten free samples by contacting mfrs and vendors. This stuff is great and does not suffer from the typical ~5K resonance of the brass backed disks. http://www.imagesco.com/catalog/sensors/film.html http://www.meas-spec.com/piezo-film-sensors.aspx Don't think that cost is an issue, this stuff is cheap, actually. Mouser Electronics lists this one fer under two bucks: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Meas...QgErPGXE%2fc%3d Output and hookup is virtually identical to what you need to do electrically with the disks. A piece of piezoelectric film between bridge and top has worked well for me in amplification of true acoustic bass fiddles, archtop guitars, violins and even on piano soundboards. piezo film can be used to measure vibration, g-forces in acceleration and even can work as temperature sensors, too. Near zero self resonance in pickup applications. --Mac
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A bridge sliced in half horizontally, with piezo in between the two bridge pieces, works a treat and is more sensitive than the under-the-bridge method. Another tack would be to provide a single piezo immediately under each string, then mix the outputs together via preamp buffer amps into the preamp. This method allows for a bit of gain tailoring to suit each string. There is a flexible piezo film or tape available, I've gotten free samples by contacting mfrs and vendors. This stuff is great and does not suffer from the typical ~5K resonance of the brass backed disks. http://www.imagesco.com/catalog/sensors/film.html http://www.meas-spec.com/piezo-film-sensors.aspx Don't think that cost is an issue, this stuff is cheap, actually. Mouser Electronics lists this one fer under two bucks: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Meas...QgErPGXE%2fc%3d Output and hookup is virtually identical to what you need to do electrically with the disks. A piece of piezoelectric film between bridge and top has worked well for me in amplification of true acoustic bass fiddles, archtop guitars, violins and even on piano soundboards. piezo film can be used to measure vibration, g-forces in acceleration and even can work as temperature sensors, too. Near zero self resonance in pickup applications. --Mac Gonna look into the film.Did not like the RS piezos. The bridge kicked out on me and ripped off the wires. LOL.
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So I cut off the under saddle piezo from it's electronics( an old guitar setup) and soldered it to an in line jack. Using the bass pre amp instead. Sounds great now.
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So I cut off the under saddle piezo from it's electronics( an old guitar setup) and soldered it to an in line jack. Using the bass pre amp instead. Sounds great now. John, I have to tip my hat to you to go dive in and do these projects. Way entirely cool! I'd love to hear some recordings. Not that it would mean anything to you, but I think you could get a huge following of the new 'maker' generation. These are the new generation of tinkerers and DIY folks. If you took pix during your design and build process and want to share it on any of the maker sites. One of the biggest ones is affiliated with Make magazine. http://makezine.com/forums/-Scott
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So I cut off the under saddle piezo from it's electronics( an old guitar setup) and soldered it to an in line jack. Using the bass pre amp instead. Sounds great now. There ya go, done like an old school Amateur Radio Operator thinks, "what' in my junk box that'll do this?" And you didn't have to reinvent any wheels by doing that. *smile* --Mac
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The only thing I need now is a new arm. MAN doesn't that use muscles on the left arm holding it up like that. DANG!!!!!
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The only thing I need now is a new arm. MAN doesn't that use muscles on the left arm holding it up like that. DANG!!!!! Experiment with weighting on the bottom, John. Get it so that it stands itself up again like a weebil toy... --Mac
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The only thing I need now is a new arm. MAN doesn't that use muscles on the left arm holding it up like that. DANG!!!!! Experiment with weighting on the bottom, John. Get it so that it stands itself up again like a weebil toy... --Mac It's not the holding up of the bass it's having my arm in that upright(no pun) position.
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This is very cool John
Thanks a lot for sharing this
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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since you are bucking tradition, is there anything that says you have to play it so the bass is upright?
What about strapping it on like an electric bass? I'm guessing the scale length is probably much longer, but I don't know for sure. I think some of the Ned Steinberger basses that have the curved fretboard like the uprights are designed for being worn.
Or how about hanging it horizontal, strings pointed out or even playing it like a big ol 4 string dulcimer?
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since you are bucking tradition, is there anything that says you have to play it so the bass is upright?
What about strapping it on like an electric bass? I'm guessing the scale length is probably much longer, but I don't know for sure. I think some of the Ned Steinberger basses that have the curved fretboard like the uprights are designed for being worn.
Or how about hanging it horizontal, strings pointed out or even playing it like a big ol 4 string dulcimer? I'm going to play it awhile on a peg but I think a stand is in my future.
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I think this is just a matter of the need for practice now that John has clarified the situation.
"New" muscles and all that.
And, likely, blood circulation.
John knows what to do about such.
--Mac
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So I cut off the under saddle piezo from it's electronics( an old guitar setup) and soldered it to an in line jack. Using the bass pre amp instead. Sounds great now. John, I have to tip my hat to you to go dive in and do these projects. Way entirely cool! I'd love to hear some recordings. Not that it would mean anything to you, but I think you could get a huge following of the new 'maker' generation. These are the new generation of tinkerers and DIY folks. If you took pix during your design and build process and want to share it on any of the maker sites. One of the biggest ones is affiliated with Make magazine. http://makezine.com/forums/-Scott Big +1 here as John is not only a thinker but a doer as well. John I admire your creativity and tenacity. Later,
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Well she's completely done, case and all. I test drove it the other day with a guy I know that plays bluegrass professionally.He told me, and he was sincere, that it sounds as good as any bass player he's played with.No bluegrass players are not necessarily cone-sours of upright bass however that's what I built it for. I needed to satisfy this guy so he'll invite me to play with some of the big boys.If I like it I will then get an acoustic one.For $250 I'll get a real good idea if I want to play upright.And it was a blast to build.
I'm planning in the near future to do a few songs on SJ playing this thing.
BTW with this thing in it's case and my BB75 electric in it's case, one in each hand they are equal weight wise.
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Way to go, John! I have no stake in this, yet for some reason I am inordinately proud of you. While this may look like a 'Frankenbass,' the proof is obviously in the playing, and you have equally obviously passed that test. I wish you all success going forward and hope to hear the results.
R.
P.S.: What is SJ?
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
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John:
Any chance you can post photo(s) of the bass since you've completed it? I'd like to see how the bridge and electronics look now.
I really like your design of the rounded headstock for the tuning keys.
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