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Bass guitar kit.


funky8884
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If you have the know-how to assemble and finish such a project, I see no reason for it not to be able to do the job you require. 'Sample' quantities (ie: 1 off...) are available, but there is no mention of pricing, so it's difficult to judge the 'value for money' aspect. It'll certainly not rival a 'boutique bass', but is not aimed at that market, anyway. Have you had a price quote from them..?

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[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1402564248' post='2474765']
MB1.
A second hand readymade will probably work out cheaper in the long run!
Will definately have a better resale value.
Check out a used...
Steinberger Spirit
Hohner jack
Hohner B2 or B2a
[/quote]

This

unless you specifically want to build it there is no point (and it will take much longer than you think to put it together)

I considered importing these about 6 years ago and the samples I received were nothing special.

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[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1402564248' post='2474765']
MB1.
A second hand readymade will probably work out cheaper in the long run!
Will definately have a better resale value.
Check out a used...
Steinberger Spirit
Hohner jack
Hohner B2 or B2a
[/quote]

... or one of these..?

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-HOFNER-SHORTY-BASS-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-BLACK-MODEL-HCT-HSB-BK-/390825935267?pt=Guitar&hash=item5aff0a81a3"]Hofner Shorty Bass on t'Bay...[/url]

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[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1402565428' post='2474777']
... or one of these..?

[url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-HOFNER-SHORTY-BASS-ELECTRIC-GUITAR-BLACK-MODEL-HCT-HSB-BK-/390825935267?pt=Guitar&hash=item5aff0a81a3"]Hofner Shorty Bass on t'Bay...[/url]
[/quote]

Much better idea, I have considered one of these, anyone got one? (I remember the originals)

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[quote name='funky8884' timestamp='1402553894' post='2474644']

I am looking for a bass to keep in the car so I can practice when I get the chance and thought this could be ok.

[/quote]

Given that you're not even allowed to use your mobile while driving ...

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<anal>The specs for the headless bass say that the neck is 'set in', but there are bolt holes and a neck plate.</anal>

On Amazon, they were selling Stellah branded headless bass kits that had a more novel body shape. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Unfinished-Headless-Guitar-Kit-Project/dp/B007OWQVZK But, they've run out. And Stellah is an inexpensive brand.

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[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1402594333' post='2475167']
Not worth the grief. I purchased a headless bass kit, like OP's, and the neck pocket was routed at a strange angle. They helpfully threw a bunch of hard wood veneer into the kit, because they clearly knew the routing was piss poor. Mine came from Canada, and I didn't fancy swallowing the cost of sending it back, for them to then send me another junker kit.

Lesson learned.

The hardware was utter sh*te as well, for good measure. Two no-name soapbars, tiny pots, cheap jack... junk. The bridge needed the tuning mechanism de-burred before two of the adjusters would even turn. Junk. The black paint on the bridge came off when you looked at it. Did I mention this was junk?

Basically, if I ever finish it, I will end up with one of those beyond cheap headless basses you see on Ebay under the 'Maestro' brand (and countless others). The body is wider and more V-shaped than a Steinberger.

It is ironic that Ned Steinberger came up with the design he wanted to use space-age materials, construction techniques and precision to make a better instrument. Remove these three elements and replace them with crap wood, a clunky neck joint, bad fretwork and no single bit of routing aligning with any other bit of routing and you have this bass kit.

Ok, I'm ranting, but check out some of the other junk they sell. Look at the pickups, then the pickup routes, then the pickups again in this creation. Also, admire the neck pocket dimensions and the heel dimensions. What the hell?


[/quote]
Thanks Meddle, you may have just saved a few of us from buying firewood.

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  • 3 years later...

Hi,

Just found this thread...just to show you could sort of do something useful with these Stellah etc headless kits, here's what we finally finished last weekend. Four years ago my son who was then 15 (and as well as being a much better bass player than me is into D&D and LARPing) saw a picture of a custom "sword" bass and asked if he could have one. As usual my answer was that he could, but he'd have to learn to make it himself! It's taken a while, but sort of got there in the end - and he certainly learnt a lot (like the fact that sanding and spraying is BORING).

The neck in the kit was awful, and in the end warped itself out of use, so I picked up a 24 fret Tanglewood that needed a bit of work and tweaked that neck. I junked all the electrics from the kit, and very heavily modified the nut clamp so that it would fit on the back of the neck. In fact, the only bit of the kit that I didn't change much was the tuners / bridge, even there I strategically cleaned off bits of paint so it now earths the strings properly.

It's the body from the kit (was a J type ), rather heavily modified :) We inlaid a hefty chunk of brass into the back to stop the body warping, as there's now no wood either side of the pups, and actually the sustain is really pretty good. Found a nice bit of real leather to fit around the middle.

Bizarrely it's actually turned out really rather nice to play. Thanks to the brass in the body it balances surprisingly well, and the "hilt" and thin body makes it more comfortable than you'd think to play sitting down.

Don't know how long the headstock will last, there's not a lot of wood left where I ran the strings go through it. If I get time before Ross goes back to uni I might fit a shiny metal plate to the front to reinforce it.

Anyway, does show you can some fun with these kits, I don't think I'd bother with them just to build "as is" though! And it was worth the cost of the kit...but only because I picked it up cheap on eBay because one of the pots was smashed.

Cheers,

Andy

[attachment=253656:IMG_0916-min.JPG]

Edited by amillar
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