Artics 8 string

[alex.d]

I’ve just acquired an 8 string bass guitar, it says Atrics on the head stock but it’s a name I’ve never heard of and can’t seem to find any references to one on the net. I’m assuming that this was a budget line by another maker. Has anyone heard of  the make  and can anyone enlighten me as to the makes origins.

many thanks

[BigRedX]

If you can post some photos that will help with getting some info on it.

[tauzero]

Not Atrics? I had an Atrics double neck, 5 and 4 string - originally both were fretted but I defretted the 4-string neck. Sold it in 2009 - my notes for the Ebay description at the time mentions that the same bass was also sold as an H&S.

[alex.d]

Hi I’ll have a go at posting a picture to see if this helps thanks to you both for taking the time to reply

[BetaFunk]

On 19/03/2023 at 10:04, alex.d said:

I’ve just acquired an 8 string bass guitar, it says Atrics on the head stock but it’s a name I’ve never heard of and can’t seem to find any references to one on the net. I’m assuming that this was a budget line by another maker. Has anyone heard of  the make  and can anyone enlighten me as to the makes origins.

many thanks

I remember seeing many cheap Atrics basses on eBay around 2005ish. They seemed to be anything from 4 and 5 strings to Hofner type Beatle bases. 

[alex.d]

Sorry not sure what you mean when you mentioned H&S. is this a warning from the health and safety executive to stay well clear? Joking apart thanks for responding

[Chienmortbb]

9 minutes ago, alex.d said:

Sorry not sure what you mean when you mentioned H&S. is this a warning from the health and safety executive to stay well clear? Joking apart thanks for responding

Hornby and Skewes. Now know as JHSor John Hornby Skewes.

 

Incidenty what does an 8 string bring to the table?

[alex.d]

Just awaiting a  truss rod cover and net nut to fettle this before I start to think about a setup. Can I ask and please excuse me for this, but never having played or previously heard one, are they tuned as standard EADG and are the second set  tuned an octave above?

[alex.d]

An interesting question indeed. Not sure what it brings to the table until I’ve properly fettled it, that said if it brings an interesting new dimension to some numbers in the same way that 12 string guitars embellish and in some cases enhance pieces, I’ll be looking forward to hearing how this pans out

[BigRedX]

Interesting looking bridge and not the one that you normally see on far-east made 8-string basses (Dean, Schecter etc.) any chance of some close-ups of that?

 

That octave E-string looks rather slack...

[alex.d]

Here you go, close up pictures as requested. Yes the strings are loose as it’s in the process of fettling. It’ll most likely benefit from some new strings, but I don’t want to go to the expense if it doesn’t fettle properly and play reasonably well , looks like becoming a wall decoration.

[BigRedX]

Thanks. That bridge looks the same as the one fitted to the recent Hagstrom 8-string. It looks good but has the disadvantage that you can't adjust the intonation of the octave strings separately, so you'll probably experience tuning issues as you play further up the neck.

[alex.d]

Not being an experienced bassist getting that far up the neck probably won’t happen anyway, but your absolutely correct, separate saddles would have been the way to go, but would have undoubtedly added to the manufacturing costs. I’m just waiting for a few bits and bobs before I start thinking about a set up. The truss rod cover was missing when I bought it (never a good sign), I’ve since noticed that the truss rod nut has been compromised so am awaiting a new one. Given the extra tension produced with the additional strings I’m guessing that I’ll need to introduce some significant back bow to the neck to compensate. Hopefully it’ll then be reasonably playable and deserving of a new set of quality strings. I’ll let you know how it goes and whether it remains  an instrument or a wall decoration.

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, alex.d said:

Not being an experienced bassist getting that far up the neck probably won’t happen anyway, but your absolutely correct, separate saddles would have been the way to go, but would have undoubtedly added to the manufacturing costs.

 

Although all the other far eastern-made 8-string basses I've seen from Dean, Schecter and even the ultra-cheap Carlo Robelli model that I used to own all use the same two part bridge and tail-piece which does have individual saddles for each string in the course. It's not as elegant looking as the one on your bass but it means you can stay in tune as you progress up the neck.

[tauzero]

On 20/03/2023 at 10:50, alex.d said:

Just awaiting a  truss rod cover and net nut to fettle this before I start to think about a setup. Can I ask and please excuse me for this, but never having played or previously heard one, are they tuned as standard EADG and are the second set  tuned an octave above?

 

Yes, that's the tuning - similar to the bottom 4 strings of a 12-string guitar (an octave down from that, of course).

[alex.d]

I’ll see how the fixes and subsequent setup  comes on before investing anymore cash into it. But good point about the bridge and saddles, Individual saddles for independent intonation adjustment to each of the strings would be the way to go. If it looks like it’s worth it I’ll definitely go down that route

[alex.d]

I dare say that tuning it is going to be interesting when the time comes around, no doubt the way to go will be to tune the thicker set first and then the octave set thereafter. Thanks everyone for taking the time and effort to help. In the meantime if anyone knows where I can get a pre cut (perhaps brass) 43mm nut for it I’d be very grateful to know.

thanks again

[crazycloud]

The bridge is an Il Sung BB208.

[BigRedX]

On 22/03/2023 at 15:24, alex.d said:

I’ll see how the fixes and subsequent setup  comes on before investing anymore cash into it. But good point about the bridge and saddles, Individual saddles for independent intonation adjustment to each of the strings would be the way to go. If it looks like it’s worth it I’ll definitely go down that route

 

As you'll find, 3rd party 8-string bridges are hard to come by. The two piece solution that Dean and Schecter use probably won't fit on this bass. Schaller used to make an 8-string version of their 3D Bridge which would IMO be the best replacement, but any still in in the retail chain are commanding ridiculously high prices.

[alex.d]

Thanks  to crazycloud for the info regarding the bridge, so it a Sung BB208. To be honest I’ve never heard of them but I’ll look them up. Big red X you’re absolutely right so I think I’ll remain with what i’ve got at the moment.

so here’s a progress report “ out with the old and in with the new” the truss rod nuts that I ordered arrived today, and they appear to be the right size too. So far things appear to be going well , thanks to a trick I learned from a guy on the net. I made a neck brace to relieve pressure on the neck whilst introducing the necessary amount of required back bow. I’m letting it rest overnight after some significant adjustments to see how it copes with them. If all keeps going well I’ll raise or lower the saddles tomorrow pre any final tweaks. Regarding the intonation and octave strings, so far it’s not that bad at all. I’ll keep you posted with anymore progress reports.

thanks to you all again

[alex.d]

So I’ve I’ve made the decision that it’s been worth the investment and ordered some new strings and a brass nut.  At the moment it’s now playable  for the first time in years and is  holding tune which gives me confidence that the neck adjustments are stable. When  the  new strings and nut are fitted and the final setup complete I’ll let you know if it was all worth it in the end.

[lidl e]

3 hours ago, alex.d said:

So I’ve I’ve made the decision that it’s been worth the investment and ordered some new strings and a brass nut.  At the moment it’s now playable  for the first time in years and is  holding tune which gives me confidence that the neck adjustments are stable. When  the  new strings and nut are fitted and the final setup complete I’ll let you know if it was all worth it in the end.

Where did you order the nut from? I've been looking for a precut 8 string nut as well. Is it a warwick one?

[alex.d]

I ended up with an uncut nut as I couldn’t find a pre cut one anywhere despite best efforts. Here’s a photo of what I ended up getting and the details of who I got it from. Hope this helps. Mines an Atrics bass but from what little information I can gather it seems that the majority are 43mm. To be honest it’s a little shallow but with the addition of a shim  it’ll be OK. I did see some precut brass nuts for a 12 string guitar. It’s possible that you could get one of these and adapt it by sawing off the top B and  E sections, that said you’ll most likely have to widen the notches to suit your string gauges. Hope this helps.

regards

 

[lidl e]

Yeah, im going to have to get one cut.

 

Warwick makes one but its very expensive and not quite big enough for my nut

[alex.d]

Everything it seems is expensive. Sets of strings start at nearly £40.00 for an 8 string set. I’ll  take a look at the Warwick nut, can you let me have the website details where you found that one please.

cheers