Official Luthiers Forum!

I have been seeing a lot of electric instruments on the forum lately, so I thought I would post some pictures of a bass I built about a year ago. I love to play dog house bass in our frequent Bluegrass jam sessions, but hauling around a dog house bass is a chore in itself. This one is a lot more portable, but then you have to haul around an amp. I had a thick chunk of curly maple lying around the shop, so I used it for the body. I tried to make it look somewhat traditional yet futuristic. It can be played either horizontally or upright, the peg threads into the bottom through the brass and ebony tailpiece. I had to build a case for it because you couldn't buy anything to fit it. It's made of plywood covered in black toilex and trimmed in cherry and oak.

Thanks for lookin'
Mark L.

That's pretty snazzy! The case looks custom made too.

Well, the question you always get these days: How does it sound?

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Wow! I love the look of your bass!! And the case looks great, too. I have a couple questions if you don't mind.

Is that a wing on the upper bass side to keep it from twisting when you play it standing up? it looks like it extends and retracts,

What's the scale length?

Did you think about setting it up so it could be played with a bow?

What's the pickup?

Thanks a lot Mark! Beautiful instrument!

long

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"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Wow, Mark, that is major Cool! What a great instrument. I bet that's fun to play. I know some folks that would love that thing. Outstanding design and work.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Thanks guys!!

The chrome knob that you see is actually a volume control, we sometimes play in tight quarters, so you kinda just hold it close and it doesn't really twist around to much, although some type of extension would help. The scale length is 34 inches, I now wish I had made it the same as a dog house scale because that's what I'm used to. I rarely play it anyway. You can get a pretty good acoustic sound depending on the amp settings, but I still prefer a doghouse. I never considered playing it with bow, we play hard drivin' Bluegrass. The pick up is an EMG from Stew-Mac, I covered it with really thin ebony, basically veneer, It looks like a block of ebony instead of black plastic.

Thanks again,

Mark L.

Awesome. Was it hard carving that volute headstock?

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.

Very cool bass.

How does the sound compare to a traditional fretless electric bass?

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Brad
Avon, OH

I love unique instruments. That is awesome Mark!

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice