Guitar and Pear-Shaped

[Ken McKay]

I would be able to move the f down about an inch and have the string length be 42.25. A lot of players will feel pretty comfortable playing it at that mensure.

By the way, Nick Lloyd wrote about a way to get mensure from body stop and neck length. For a bass I have here, it works out if I use:

1) neck length = from nut to where the neck joins the body.
2) body stop = top of bass (where neck and rib meet) to f nick-line.

Are 1 and 2 correct? Anyone know? where's Nick?


Did you look at the next page http://www.upnorthstrings.com/cornerlessbasspage7 where I started carving the plate.

[Matthew Tucker]

Good to see it taking shape. I can see how you are getting the barrel arch. In fact, I started out trying to get the barrel shape on my bass because that's what the arching looked like in the photos. Then I thought that maybe the barrel was showing as a result of the top collapsing in the centre of the long arch over time. So then I modified it to a continuous long arch.

But the arching pattern on the plans Chandler drew up showed a long flat in the middle of the long arch, slightly higher on the lower bout than the upper bout.

I notice you're carving along the grain all the way around. I found it easier to carve in a radial pattern, meaning across the grain in the centre.

[Ken Smith]

As a rule most Makers and Restorers stay within the 41-42" range these days. 42.25" String length can make it harder to sell down the road.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

[quote=Ken McKay;2692]I would be able to move the f down about an inch and have the string length be 42.25. A lot of players will feel pretty comfortable playing it at that mensure.

By the way, Nick Lloyd wrote about a way to get mensure from body stop and neck length. For a bass I have here, it works out if I use:

1) neck length = from nut to where the neck joins the body.
2) body stop = top of bass (where neck and rib meet) to f nick-line.

Are 1 and 2 correct? Anyone know? where's Nick?


Neck length plus stop length plus 1" equals string length. This formula will get you very close, assuming typical bridge installation angle.

[Ken McKay]

I will try to stay less than 42 inches mensure.

Arnold, if I use +1 inch fudge factor, I get very close, thanks.

Matthew, Keep in mind that the long arch from top to bottom is almost perfect from the planer and since my wood started as pie shaped wedges, there is less roughing to be done compared to your 2 inch thick cedar. I get no tear out if I carve up, bottom to top, on the bass side and down on the treble, it is just the way this spruce wants to be carved, so I go with the grain to stay perfectly in control, and every gouge stroke leaves a shiny surface behind.

I will establish the flat perimeter next at a perfect thickness + 1/2 mm. Then my next tool is going to be a plane, to round the flat area into the generously arched barrel shape. Then a series of sharp gouges that match the recurve will be used to blend the two, then scraper.

As always, thanks for the comments and help.

[Ken McKay]

I carved some more today and got this far.

[Ken Smith]

I have noticed that in proportion, my Bass and some other Cornerless Basses have thicker edges which might be for protection. This may help it over time from having to be re-edged during Top repairs.

[Matthew Tucker]

How wide are those bottom ribs Ken? they look DEEEEP!



When I made my purfling I resolved to try a flexible glue like PVA next time as the hide glue was just too brittle.

[Ken McKay]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

How wide are those bottom ribs Ken? they look DEEEEP!



When I made my purfling I resolved to try a flexible glue like PVA next time as the hide glue was just too brittle.

They are almost 10 inches at the bottom block, but the ribs taper to 8.5 at the upper bout and then down to less than 6 at the neck. When I designed the bass, I was thinking full sized bottom with 3/4 string length and playablility. That was before Ken's comments about depth of ribs versus depth of sound. When I get the top glued on I may alter the width, maybe not though.


I am going to glue the strips in separately so the hide glue should not be an issue as that can slip around and conform the the shape.

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

I have notice that in proportion my Bass and some other Cornerless Basses have thicker edges for protection. This may help it over time from having to be re-edged during Top repairs.

But why would this be a feature of cornerless basses?

I would have thought regular basses would have the same if not more issues with edge repairs with all those corners to catch on things.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

But why would this be a feature of cornerless basses?

I would have thought regular basses would have the same if not more issues with edge repairs with all those corners to catch on things.

A Bass with 6 separate Ribs and 4 Corner Blocks (2 per side) is much stiffer and moves or twists less than a Bass with only two very long Ribs and NO Corner Blocks at all. A Cornerless Bass has the sound it has because it vibrates more freely and without restriction of the stiffened center Rib construction. I will assume from this that the thicker edges are to prevent edge splitting since the Bass can twist more within its form. The greatly distressed Ribs of my Bass are evidence of this movement as they took the blunt of the damages over time rather than the Top or Back. Both the Top and Back has their share of cracks and splits but the Top of this Bass pre-restoration is in better condition than my Hart/Fendt Bass was. The Hart needed a complete mold made to fix the Top whereas the 'Storioni' is estimated to need only a fraction or Arch correction and can be done without a mold at all.

Old Basses tell their own stories but the language they speak is not always easy to understand or even listened to at all sometimes. Learning from the past is a great thing but that effort must be made.

On the Rib depth of my Bass the maximum at the bottom is only 7 3/4" (Ribs only). My Dodd being the other 'loud'/deep sounding Bass I owned was only 7 1/2" deep. I put this Bass up against Homer's Gagliano and Biase's (ex Homers') Guadagnini and it was deeper and smoother than the both of them on all 4 strings. The person who bought my Dodd also went to Biase's on my recommendation and played those Basses as well but still liked my Dodd better.

Rib Depth alone does not make a Bass sound deeper or louder in my opinion. It's the whole Bass and its woods that do this I believe.