In this video I talk about the strategies to reduce weight in a #customguitar #lightweight bass build.
Links to my music:
The songs specifically demoed:
Bridges: • Bridges
Kings: • Kings (2021 Remix)
Pistols at Dawn: • Pistols at Dawn (feat....
The Bots: • The Bots
Eye of the Storm: • Eye of the Storm (Clas...
My original music channel: / @jason.pilling
KZread Shorts Playlist of the build process:
• Lightweight Bass Build...
The pickup I used: www.toneemporium.com/product-...
Video Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:36 Why So Heavy?
1:33 Lightweight Tuners
1:53 Lightweight Truss Rod
2:14 Scale Length
2:41 Chambered Body
3:23 Neck Dive Concerns
4:05 One Pickup
4:19 Other Hardware
4:41 Bridge Choice
5:08 Wood Choice
5:25 Wrap Up
5:47 Tone Demos
Additional information:
About the Cost of Lumber
You can buy body and neck blanks from luthiery supply shops. I was initially concerned about the neck blank being specially selected for a guitar, but I’ve relaxed about that now. The neck blanks you buy are nicely milled, so consider it buying a service more than the wood itself. But if you can mill your own wood, it’s a pretty expensive service IMO. Anything with visually straight grain should be fine for a neck. Make a laminated neck if you want to add stability. The body blanks - “tonewood” - you can buy are snake oil as far as I’m concerned. If you wanted to make a laminated body of different species the way I did, you can creatively cobble together a body from offcuts (that’s what my cherry and mahogany was) if you have a woodshop. However, buying a single piece of rough cut wenge from the lumber supply shop might be $100 by itself (you could probably make 30 fretboards out of that). So there is very much a bulk discount here if you’re the kind of person who just wants to stock some lumber for general purpose and guitar making. Once I realized I was going to make even a handful of guitars it made sense to go buy bulk. The wood can be stored for years as you use it up.
About the “Other Hardware” judgements.
I went into this project with an “every gram matters” attitude. So, ya, I counted screws. Here’s a list of things you can shave grams on by selecting the lighter materials, or not having one at all. Coverplates and knobs: metal vs plastic. Tone pot: do you actually use it on a bass (fingers have more tone IMO)?. String tree: design a headstock that doesn’t need it. Mini vs full size pots. If you really need more than one pickup, choose the lightest switch. If you want a pickguard, aggressively route out underneath it. Use an output jack placement that doesn’t need another metal support plate. If you want a bolt on neck, use ferrules instead of a plate. Not really on the bass, but a leather strap is heavier than other materials. Finally the big one: choose a lightweight bridge.