Please put your pickup/wiring discussions in the Electronics section; and put discussions about repair issues, including "disappearing" errors in new instruments, in the Repairs section.
There are two main sources for information and parts. Largemouth.com and Bassuke.com.
The tuners are from Largemouth. I had some of their silicone strings, and they did not last more than about 1 day.
I got the preamp from a Chinese source on Ebay.
I got the Polyurethane strings from Bassuke.com
As I was working on this, I set up a board to check for the "proper" intonation. I found that the strings really did not need any intonation.
The height of the strings above the first fret (as I set it up) was .030" for the G string and .045" for the E string.
The height of the strings above the 12th fret was 11/64".
The open appearance as opposed to placing a face on instrument-- I made one with a face (which I showed a few weeks ago), and made this one open. They both have some charm.
I made the bridge "adjustable" by having three threaded screws supporting the bridge. It can easily be lowered, and the intonation can be adjusted by using the third screw as a pivot. Intonation is not much of an issue with this kind of instrument.
However, I have spent a week or more getting the strings stretched so that they now stay in tune for a while.
One guitar has the Largesound.com pre-amp and piezo pickup. (I previously listed this as Largemouth.com incorrectly).
The other has the Uke 2000 pre-amp and piezo pickup.
The Uke 2000 has a much louder sound.
Both have a characteristic "squawk" type of sound as the sound is initiated. As I understand, this is characteristic of many piezo pickups. The piezo picks up a lot of finger on string sound.
I don't know if there is a real solution to this, or if it is a small enough issue that no one will notice or care.
Steve Senseney wrote:
As I was working on this, I set up a board to check for the "proper" intonation. I found that the strings really did not need any intonation.
The height of the strings above the first fret (as I set it up) was .030" for the G string and .045" for the E string.
The height of the strings above the 12th fret was 11/64".
I made the bridge "adjustable" by having three threaded screws supporting the bridge. It can easily be lowered, and the intonation can be adjusted by using the third screw as a pivot. Intonation is not much of an issue with this kind of instrument.
The fact that there is no need for any intonation sounds a bit counter-intuitive as it appears that the string diameters vary quite a bit. Do you have any possible way to account for this. Regarding the "action" of these instruments, have you noticed any whether or not the amplitude of the string motion is greater than standard bass strings. I imagine you can get a way with (maybe it's necessary) having higher string height as any contact with the fret board would certainly kill the energy in these less massive strings, but the material would also make them more comfortable to play so perhaps you have to re-define your perception of acceptable string heights. Also, I'd love to hear and see a bit more detail regarding your bridge design.
The first Ashbory type bass I built, I used the "Integrated pickup and bridge assembly for DeArmond and Fender Ashbory basses" that was sold on the Largesound.com website. It does not currently seem to be listed. I paid $72.00 for this piece.
I would recommend that you use something other than this item.
The pre amp and pickup combination was not very loud.
The second Ashbory type bass I built, I used a maple base, osage cap, with a piezo pickup under a bone saddle. I made the saddle the correct thickness to allow it to sit nicely on top of the piezo pickup.
Back view of bridge adjusting screws
The block of maple has 3 holes in the bottom of it.
Top view of bridge
The center of the guitar board has 3 matching machine thread screws. These can easily be raised or lowered to give different height adjustments.
Two of the screws are toward the front of the saddle. The third is at the back of the saddle. If you need to get a little more or less scale length, you can do this by moving the third screw.
The tuners from Largesound.com have the large spools on them. The heavy strings will not easily work on any regular guitar or bass guitar tuner that I could figure out.
They do not come as Right and Left, so you have to adjust your headstock to accommodate the winding direction.
The base plates for the tuners are of a relatively soft brass rather than steel. I don't know that they will hold up for long term.
Very nice Ashbory bass, Steve. I see you went with fretted this time. I'm surprised - and pleased - to hear that you didn't have intonation issues with it. I had to have a significant angle on the bridge on my fretless if I wanted the to hear an octave at the 12th fret line marker position for all strings.
I can't quite picture how the bridge adjustment on yours works - any more details on that?
I got to see all three of these this weekend and they are really really cool little instruments! The Baritone Uke one was obviously the loudest, but Steve only had a little battery powered amp with him and I, not knowing a thing about electrics had nothing to offer.
I was amazed at the strings in the pictures, but in person they are even more bizarre. They're soft and "squishy" and like Steve said, a kid could play one of these forever and not have sore fingers. Not the same material, but they are what I would picture Nerf making if they made strings instead of balls.
These are really fun instruments, and I couldn't stop grinning when he brought them out. I think the open one is my favorite but each has it's own special charm. And as usual Steve's craftmanship is outstanding even on a "little" instrument.
I've been smiling every time I think of them.
