Pallet 2x4 Turned Into Electric Upright Bass

by timsway

9.0K6614

Intro: Pallet 2x4 Turned Into Electric Upright Bass

for my entry into the second annual summer's wooodworking creative 2x4 contest, i made an electric double bass out of a 2x4 pulled from a large pallet. i didn't win the contest but made a fully functioning instrument that i gave to a friend who has been using it since. here's how i did it!

the only tools you really need are an angle grinder, router, drill and some type of jigsaw/scrollsaw to shape the bridge. plus lots of sandpaper and patience.

thanks for watching -tim

10 Comments

fabian guerrero 8 years ago

hello, i like your project so much, i just wanted to tell u the hardest woods offers a depper sound, another helpfull tip is tryng an active preamp

Gretings from Mexico!

timsway 8 years ago

i only choose the finest trash to make my instruments. ha ha ha!

gracias, amigo,
tim

Arx 9 years ago

This is pretty cool. I have a 2x4 guitar entered in the diy music contest right now. I've been interested in building a stand up bass too. How's the fingerboard holding up over time?

timsway 9 years ago

i honestly don't know. i really gave it to a buddy and haven't seen it since. i'll have to ask. i predict it's fine. i do know that my snow ski double bass is fine, and i build that 3 years ago!

your 2x4 guitar looks great! i just built 2 gtrs and 2 basses out of scrap wood (mostly of the 2x4 ilk) and am publishing a vid series on it on youtube. nothing for you to see (obviously, ha!) but here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9-JGqOmsWcpUaXIgQfm9FNU0hGcbMGys

cheers,
tim

chris_e6 9 years ago

I would LOVE to have a write up of this build. Dimensions and such would be awesome! I've got a lot of pallets at my shop including the 8+ footers and have built various things out of them including(my favorite) a wooden ice chest with a beer bottle opener screwed to the side! This build is awesome and I've got to make it happen!

bassdale 9 years ago

Trees are trembling and crates are a shaking!!!!

timsway 9 years ago

cheers! i started in woodworking because i wanted to make basses. i made a couple real nice ones out of mahogany, ebony, etc. etc. but i've digressed to this type of stuff. it's way more fun, way less time, sounds and plays ALMOST as good as fancier models and you can use it guilt-free to mend the chicken coop ;-) let's see you do THAT with an alembic or warwick ;-)

timsway 9 years ago

thanks danger! i made a similar one out of snow skis and a summer bass-guitar version out of a water ski. they are available to view on youtube as well. cheers! -tim