Electric Upright Bass Database

Self Made^* - V-Bass (self-built)

• Vintage: 1993
• Number of Strings: 4
• Bowable: Yes
• Playable Seated: Yes
• Balance While Playing: (8/10)

Well it ain't pretty but it plays and sounds and records well. I knew what I wanted but at the time no one was making anything like it so I got my friends at Above Board (Thanks to Mica & Dad) to make one. We had thoughts of producing them but alas they lost the biz. The body is an ash block about 1 1/2" thick with a red cedar top.  The neck started as a jap jazz bass copy we knocked off the finger board and glued on a slab of curved Maple. That was the beginning and over the years I have added and refined the design. First up was a compound contour for the fingerboard.. For a bridge I used a cut down Cello Bridge with a metal string retainer.  For pickeps I used a DiMarzio P-Bass with passive P-style passive volume and tone. For a piezo I used a Barcus Berry pickuo and interface with the guts from a Passac Pre-Amp. For live playing I use a resistance mixer to blend the two sounds together.For recording whatever the situation calls for. With the right combination of EQ and reverb it sounds pretty convincing.

Scale Length: 35 in. (88.9 cm approx.)
Weight: 11 lbs. (4.99 kg approx.)