Electric Stick Bass

Intro: Electric Stick Bass

UPDATE:012808 -Added audio file profiling the stick bass minus overdubbed guitars for clarity of tone.-
UPDATE:013108 - Added Piezo transducer close-up of back side.

An electric bass is created using 1 broken bass string, 1 piezo transducer, part of a cheap wooden easel leg, and 2 metal rods from a bookshelf. A video is included to demonstrate the sound of the stick bass.

STEP 1: The Materials Needed

Most DIYer's, I'm assuming, are pack rats like me. So having recently busted a string off my bass, I just couldn't let it go to waste. Also seeing as how I had some piezo's left over from wiring up a recent circuit bending project, the idea came to me to finally try it out.

In the corner of my workshop I spied the remnants of an old cheapy easel...the flimsy kind you can find in most department stores. It immediately looked interesting being that it had wing nuts and bolts and holes right where I needed them. Not to mention the trough on one side that I though might lend to some interesting playability aspects.

STEP 2: Cut, Drill and Notch

Using a section of the easel leg, cut a notch into the end using a coping saw. I cut far enough down to make sure the string being wound has room to turn.

To create the nut and the bridge, I used some spare bookshelf hardware pins. I wasn't worried so much about proper scale lengths than just a fast little project, so placement is up to you. I have a problem with getting caught up into details and never seeing things through, so let's not worry so much about technicalities of proper tuning and scale lengths just yet. You can either lay them on top or do as I did and drill (haphazardly mind you) through the walls of the easel leg to seat the pins.

On the other end of the stick, drill a hole, small enough to allow only the string through. Use a small washer to keep the ball end from pulling it's way through the wood.

STEP 3: Wire It Up

Attach the piezo how you'd like really. I opted for speed and just tied it on with fishing line since the notches in the piezo looked inviting to be taken advantage of. You'd think speed meant something more on the lines of hot glue or something. I thought it'd probably sound like crud anyway so I didn't want to make a permanent connection. It hasn't been changed since it burped it's first sounds of "gudginess".

I then soldered my piezo leads to a female 1/4" jack. I didn't want to be limited to two feet of cable and then have to add an extension anyway.

STEP 4: Fire It Up!

Whether you use an amp or software, the signal needs to be amplified. The piezo is very sensitive though and operates more by vibration than the electro-magnetic pickups do by their means. This means you have to learn how to play it differently.

I used a Line 6 Toneport UX2 to record everything into Ableton Live.

I've found the slightest grasp and the subtlest touch to the string gives the best tone. It can actually be fretted after a little practice. The improvements to it's playability can go a million directions, but this was just a fun project that yielded surprising results. Have fun!

Comments

[jexter]

This is a really sweet instructable -- a simple but fun and creative idea, using a level of construction appropriate for a proof-of-concept project, and very well described and illustrated. Thanks for taking the time to share this!

[dentsinger]

Not a problem, thank you!

[theredbryophyte]

Nice Instrucatable! Which way round do you connect the wires to the female 1/4" jack?

[dentsinger]

red wire from the piezo is tip. Black wire is barrel or shaft (ground).

[sconner1]

I love home made pickups made from cheap piezo elements!
Take them out of the plastic and tape them directly onto a surface of an instrument, wire it to a 1/4" jack and voila, instant plug-in acoustic instrument.
Play with the position of the piezo for the best sound and glue it down.

[paulm]

nice to see some bassists =)

what kinda music you into? to me, its all rush...

[dentsinger]

I'm actually a guitarist (22 yrs), but bass is a stringed instrument I can play as well. Mainly because I do a lot of recording, I'm doing everything. My musical tastes might show my age but I do like my metal. Geddy Lee is a very respectable bass player, not to mention the other guys in that phenomenal band. Pinning down my tastes though are hard. One moment I'll be recording something like Pink Floyd, the next I'm doing stuff like Mike Patton does. Many of my recorded assets stored away on my hard drives tend to be more metal oriented.

[xrobwx]

Cliff Burton FTW! Nice Instructable. Very well done!

[paulm]

very cool... 22 years is quite alot, Im into it 7 years.

[rollingstoner357]

yeah I played violin for 6 years then sorted playing bass...it was a easy transition

[dreath77]

Where the f$:! Is a transducer I can never find it at radio shack, I even asked the people at radio shack and they didn't know what it is. Where else can i get one.

[lewisb42]

It's Radio Shack part number 273-073. Hopefully their computer knows where things are located in-store if the salespeople don't.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062402

[LanceDrolet]

They're in the cabinet with the discrete components. Usually listed as piezo buzzers.

[kranoscorp]

A couple of questions What about the lack of truss rod? Is the rod strong enough to last through the bass string pressure, or will it eventually bend? How on earth do you play that thing? Is the string raised far enough from the rod for you to pluck it? Is the lower end higher up from the rod to give you plucking room? Do you play it as an upright, or sideways like an electric? How do you tie the non-ball end of the string to keep it from going out of tune? Speaking of tuning, what is it tuned to?

[dentsinger]

Just as a wood block is considered an instrument, this too was simply a venture into percussive texture. Just something else to explore, no big deal.

[the z0diak]

i bet you could also play it with some sort of slide to get a unique sound out of it

[kranoscorp]

Ok, I actually have a good idea for a trussrod I could use, but atleast can you tell me how you set it up. I have no idea how you are able to raise it to a usable level without adversely effecting the action.

[dentsinger]

Think of this more as a another novel idea for making a little noise. Lose all the worry for the other junk.

[rezent]

check out the band Motograter! they actually made an instrument very similar to this only using steel industrial cable instead of the bass string. they actually play their "motograter" with a massive drum stick! the "motograter" actually replaces the bass in the band.

[tudgeanator]

I finished mine!!!!! Although, i'm using the machine head method over at the altoids tin instructable,and i havn't found a bass string yet, so ive got a guitar string (the G-string -which i way too high).It's the only old string i could find because i binned my old guitar strings (i had about 20) a couple of days before i found this instructable-how annoying!