Fantastic looking result, it has a super elegant simplicity that masks a subtle yet complex ability. The acrylic looks like ice, and the sound is thick and warm. Wondrous.
One the wood one, I might suggest delrin for the contact points of the slide. Would be low wear but smooth movement. On the 'hole' thing... Maybe move the point were cables leave the pickup to as far to one side as possible, so you can hide the route and cable under the pickguard. If you thicken the baseplate of the pickup so you can put the wires through it (Or sandwich the wires between two layers), you can give them a straight shot to under the pickguard, and still have a lip to slide against. Would tidy it up and make it so you don't have to think about how the hole looks.
This masterpiece bass is genus! Bravo to Tim for creating another "One of a Kind" handmade instrument from materials that would otherwise be discarded.
Hey Tim. I've been very sick so I've missed so much. Whenever I "tune" in (see what I did there? Bass... tune?) I always get a big smile. Thx for what you do.
If the lower fingerplate concealed a metal strip (where the pickup slides against it) couldn't the need for moving wires be negated. Then a large cavity wouldn't be needed, all the static wiring would be concealed behind the fingerplate.
yes, a plate along the top and bottom, negative and positive. I was thinking about that, to, but trying to keep it super simple for now. Did you ever see my detachable double neck guitar/mandolin? I did snap metal connectors on that so when the mando was put on it automatically connected to the guitar's wiring.
You could also compensate for the positional output difference by putting it on a slanted angle so the pickup is closer to the strings by the bridge than by the neck. That would probably be the easiest solution. It might even look really cool too!
Ah, I thought I recognised that Grabber you showed at around the 7:17 mark (I recognised the floor planks too). That was the Grabber that I briefly owned a couple of years ago. It wasn't actually a Gibson, but was a fairly good copy with the "Melody" branding. It weighed an absolute ton as I remember and I didn't think the sliding pickup concept worked too well on it because it didn't have enough travel. Really love your sliding pickup bass, by the way, simple and versatile at the same time and looks great.
I’m glad you kept working on the idea, this one really looks great and sounds cool. The wood pickup ties together the design sort of like a bridge between the thumb rest and pick guard.
More fun experiments! Honestly, that pickup sounds good in all positions, so it's fun to see the different sounds you can get just by moving it around. And I really like the vapor polished finish. Leaves it at just the right level of diffusion. Thanks for sharing!
Cool idea. Just couple of mods, 1. Put a longer thumb rest above the pickup on the wooden part. Then you can easily play anywhere not just by the pickup. 2. Add a lock for the pickup incase it moves when you don't want it too.
Maybe if you'll add a mechanics to change the height of the pickup, i.e. pop it up closer to the strings, or push down to get it away, you can get rid off the tone and volume knobs, and call it fully mechnanical control over the gain and tone.
You can also try flame polishing the acrylic with a propane torch set to a low to medium flame. It takes a gentle touch to get the surface hot enough to just melt and not start to bubble but when done correctly the results are very nice.
I like it. That's a cool semi-wah effect when you slide the pickup while the notes are sustaining. Maybe place two sliding pickups in the center channel/cavity? Maybe, a stationary bridge pickup with one sliding pickup?
Being close to the bridge requires more output to retain the same volume as being close to the neck. I feel like there would be a way to rig some sort of potentiometer to it so that it gradually rolls off volume as you slide closer to the neck, which would maintain volume output. Or other cool things instead of volume/output, like rolling the tone off the close to the bridge it gets, or maybe some sort of gain circuit... You could get so wild with this, Tim. Truly innovate.
I love this body shape, particularly the angle between and shapes of the lower and upper horns. I've always considered a 90-degree angle between horns to be the most aesthetically pleasing, with the upper being more parallel to the neck and the lower being more perpendicular so that good hand clearance can be had. *EDIT:* Oh yeah, I've thought for a while now that one pickup is better than two, and especially better than three on basically anything. Especially if you can move the pickup and you can make a good pickup design. Cleaner signal chain = clearer tone, and there are other ways to change the dynamic sound of an instrument than just switching pickup positions with a 3/5 way selector or whatever. You can just play the darn instrument differently, which is the most easily evidenced on the bass with slap vs pick vs fingers. But on both bass and guitar it goes further. For one, you can ACTUALLY use your tone and volume knobs to change the sound, and you can also pick/play with your right hand in different positions. Picking at the bridge makes a brighter, cutting sound, and picking at the neck (or even further up on the fretboard if you're fretting down around the 1-9th fret position) will make a warmer, smoother sound. Basically, the fewer pickups and simpler your controls, the more it will make you as a player creative with getting YOUR tone out of the instrument.
The Bass is absolutely gorgeous - What an elegant shape and design! The body shape is perfect. I hope you'll be able to do a tone/volume demonstration to show how those change in relation to pickup position vs string length. There are probably some optimal positions for the open strings, but I'm not sure how close they are to the Nodes and Antinodes. Thanks 😎
An aquarium body would fill out people's interesting build bingo cards if this hasn't already. Cnc joints wouldn't need too much goop to keep a clean look, eh? Dyed offcut acrylic fishies, hide a water pump behind the knobs to blow them around a body length channel with blacklights & glitter. Could be dope, or that's just my dope talking. Haha, cheers man.
If you got enough acrylic left, the next one you can try flame polishing! I like the slider pickups idea, the output difference depending on position might cause issues if you wanna mess with it mid-song. Maybe you can compensate for that with a slide potentiometer somehow? Another wacky idea I've had is installing a wah-wah pedal inside the guitar and control it with a whammy bar.
There's a guitar called the B-Bender that has a spring mechanism in the neck side strap nut so when you push or pull on the neck it shifts the B string tuning(for reasons), But the weight of the guitar and just strumming isn't enough to actuate it. Pretty neat. Anyway, that might be cool wired to your onboard wah-wah!
Unless you move it into quite a dead point along the strings it’s less of an issue than you’d expect. Especially with single coils that don’t filter out the frequencies picked up between their coils like humbuckers do. A lot of vintage Rickenbackers actually have bridge pick ups wound colder than the neck ones without any issue, despite the usual convention being to wind bridge pu’s hotter because the string travels less and all that jazz.
Beautiful work! Love how you've embraced the simplicity of the design and moved away from trying to make the acrylic finish perfect. I do wonder if the pickup lead might start experiencing some stress from being moved back and forth, so maybe some shrink wrapping and ensuring that the lead is long enough to avoid it getting tugged at the pickup and pot terminals?
I have to agree with the idea of the single sliding pickup working better on bass. I couldn't say why, maybe it's just the nature of the beast. Since the advent of electronic amplification some of the most noteworthy bass guitars have had a single pickup--off the top of my head the P-bass, the Gibson EB-0, Music Man Stingray, Les Claypool's original Carl Thompson. And for the role that the bass fulfills in a musical setting, it just works.
It really sounds really good and the whole range of the pickup movement sounds very usable. If someone really wants a locking mechanism for the pickup, I think a smallish thumb screw at the opposite side of the thumbscrew could work as long as you make shure the tip of the screw is not sharp. It would just push against the body and push the pickup frame a bit more to the pickguard to create just a bit of extra friction. It could be a bit on the way for playing with a pick, but for fingerstyle it would probably be just fine.
*The addition of a second identical sliding pickup, (physically at least, you can wind it however you want), and either a four position 2P4T slider switch, (as used on some custom Fender Teles and some MusicMans), for Neck/Parallel/Series/Bridge standard mono pickup selection..., (or a four position rotary switch to keep things compact...), OR..., a stereo setup, ala' the Rickenbacker Ric-O-Sound..., or some Gibson ES 345/355 circuits..., so you can send each pickup to its own amp or channel... I thought the same thing about the oldschool Westone Rail basses back in the mid 80's when they came out... Super cool idea brother..., but as the whole purpose behind the cool idea of having a sliding pickup is to have a vast array of tonality, and precise control over the overall ratio of harmonics to fundamentals..., but even with that great variety..., when limited to only one pickup..., at only one physical location along the string length..., at any given time..., your tonal possibilities are limited... Many classic bass tonalities..., both studio and live..., we're performed on a bass with two pickups on together..., not only electrically interacting with each other..., but sampling the string at two different points along the string length..., reinforcing certain frequencies, and canceling others..., giving the bass a very distinct sound, and a very classic one, as heard on many Fenders, Rics, Gibsons, Guilds, Alembics, Steinbergers, and just about everybody in the business... So I would first congratulate you on crafting such an incredible and versatile instrument..., and then say that with the addition of a physically identical pickup..., and either a mono Neck/Parallel/Series/Bridge pickup selector..., OR... a stereo setup ala' Ric or certain Gibsons..., then it would be PERFECT!* 🤘🏻👍
Looking cool ! Wouldn't it be great if you design a thumb grip (mechanism) over the pickup so, you can change the pickup position / thumb rest (in both directions) with one finger only? Eventually the pickup sound / playing position matches, thumb rest travels everywhere and makes it more ergonomic. Sounds like a more versatile way of interacting with the guitar, in terms of playing / sounding and ergonomics :)
I think I could "shape" the thumb rest with a little divot so the thumb sort of "sinks in" to it, then it could be more easily pushed both directions when the thumb is "engaged"
@@timsway that would be awesome. Besides, would it make sense if you place a strip of rubber inside of the bottom part of the rail, that doesn't touch the pickup when moving. But when you place your thumb over the pickup and pull the string upwards, that momentum locks the mechanism by creating an extra friction between the wood and the rubber strip, so that it will act like a solid thumb rest when you push it down, but move back and forth when you release the pressure?
@@timsway It’s still a good idea if you ever plan on using the bass for live performances. One stray neon Coors Light sign and game over! It doesn’t have to be two separate pieces like a P bass pickup. Two coils with opposing poles on the same plane/baseplate work perfectly fine and would look nearly identical to your current design.
maybe one where the channel for the pickup goes all the way through to the back, then you could have a clip on the back of the pickup that could clip on to a belt loop sort of like a B bender
lol My original idea (like the squid guitar which has a slot all the way through) was to have a spring loaded rod and a knob on the back, so you'd be able to move it from back there. With the right belt buckle... :)
Really great series. Not that it is really necessary, but is there any reason one couldn't add a second pickup for some phasing effects? Also, how do you like the tone? I couldn't really hear much on my computer speakers via You Tube.
I almost said hey that's my idea😜 but now I've got to use this idea as well, most cool and 😊 fun. Excellent 👍 keep up the good work my friend. @ 3:30 you really made me laugh out loud.🤣
I think the idea has been around too long for any of us to claim it nowadays, lol. But that's how innovation works, not in a vacuum but off the backs of all who innovated before us.
My question would be how to compensate for the change in output throughout the range of travel. The same pickup at the same distance from the strings would have more output in the neck position, no?
make the channel go "uphill" but it gets slightly more complicated keeping it in place. As is, I see the volume differences as being relatively insignificant and potentially useful to give you minor volume adjustments
With a guitar version would it be worth making three pickup guitar, where the neck and bridge pickups are fixed and the middle pickup allowed to move between them, with switching on the middle to add it in, and to switch it into humbucker mode when combined with one of the other pickups
Very very cool and glad it did not need to be a super complex design. I think George Lynch has a story of a sliding pickup that was motorized and it was a terrible design. I think you nailed it Tim 🤘
@@timsway I believe that's exactly what happened. He said it needed to be moved One way for a solo and back once it was done and basically the solo was completely covered up and useless 😂
Really nice build. If I recall it right, for the guitar you went directly pick-up to jack 🤔 Btw I feel like you will come up with a unique pick-up design, one day or another.
yes, first one had no knobs this one does. I feel like I already have come up with some pretty unique designs already! But unique doesn;t always mean desirable. lol. Check my instagram for my latest (video coming soon :)
Nicely done Tim! Interesting concept for sure. What, in your opinion, would be the pros & cons related to this type of mechanism on a Bass or Guitar? Just curious.... 👍👍🎸🎸👏👏👏
Multi-pickup guitars have the pups wound to different rates to balance out volume between them, whereas this experiences slight volume change from position to position. But judiciously, if you keep the pickup just a little out of the "sweet spot" for most playing them push it in to the spot when things are really built up, it could be a cool little tool. However nothing that couldn't be done with a volume knob. lol
That's a damn cool bass. I think I'd prefer the thumb thingy below the strings rather than above, but I'd have to buy it first to test! Maybe your next iteration could have a removable piece that you could click into the top or bottom depending on preference of the player.
Tim, I would say you had this process nailed, but I bet you would say it's actually screwed. It really does look awesome, I like the frosted look too. I was wondering if you have tried flame polishing? I can't totally remember if you have. I was also wondering if you were planning on doing a live edge guitar. I see the block of wood in the back and think it would be a cool design.
I flame polished my first one with some mixed results/problems th-cam.com/video/MirwxiV7AWg/w-d-xo.html. Not planning anything "live edge" per se. That's a stack of wood and blanks to be processed in my next batch of instruments.
I know you probably know about this already, but have you tried flame polishing an acrylic body? Its very dangerous from what I am assuming and I've only seen other people do it so I am far from an expert
well, then, tim.. 5 string?? door-skin multi-lam/epoxy neck through with left over acrylic body wings?? i'm not saving i'd buy one.. i'm just saying... the sliding pickup sounds massive... challenge... : flat stacked vertical humbucker {or skinny side by side} sliding bass pickup... man... imagine that... for 'tone differences" due to moveable pickups... install a 'fish-ruler" with a witness point on the pick up frame... yes, we have met, tim... i'm in manchester ct
Simple good! Maybe putting too much electronics into a Bass creates more problems down the road. I love the frosted acrylic look. It reminds me of sea glass that I see on mud larking channels. Checkout Nicola White and Si-finds TH-cam channels for this. They mud lark the Thames River in London. Thanks! 😎✌️🌞🎻🪕🎸
This is awesome, if you had a second pickup mounted perhaps right next to the bridge I reckon you’d hear the harmonics canceling and boosting as you slide the free floater while playing. Also another cool thing would be to automate the pickup’s position. Maybe setup 2 rails on either side of the pickup cavity and solder the pickup’s output to 2 bearings, on the ends of the pickup, to act as wheels which can roll along the rails. Then you could have small servo oe even a lego motor push or pull the pickup into position…. Connect the pickup’s position control to say an expression pedal and you’ve got something.
this one is part of an art gallery exhibit in July but I can make you one. contact me via www.newperspectivesmusic.com to discuss custom builds, pricing, etc.
These instruments are awesome, but dont be afraid of using somthing new to make something new. Haha, btw acetone turns to b vitamins in the body and the rest come out in your breath in about 60 seconds and does not dissolve fats in you hands. No need for gloves unless dissolving something toxic.
oh. good to know! I often forget to wear gloves with a lot of that stuff (alcohol, epoxy, mineral spirits). I mean m,y hands are pretty leathery at this point but still...
I don't shop on Amazon, but point understood. Some people get real in to those high mass bridges and swap them out which one can always do with my basses, but I personally prefer the OG lighter simpler ones. I also put relatively inexpensive tuners on. This keeps the overall product cost lower for those who like or don't care about these things and those who do are gonna do their own upgrade anyways. That's for most of my off the shelf stuff. Custom builds get what the customer wants and all that is discussed and priced accordingly.
@@timsway You don't have to be "real into" better bridges to hear and feel the difference. Surprised to hear that quality is so low on your priorities. A Gotoh 201B is forty bucks. Not that hard of a sale.
@@richsackett3423 These are subjective terms. I've played many kinds of bridges. I like these.The look, the simplicity, the functionality, there's no quality issue at all... I had them made to my specs overseas and imported them in myself. Like strings, some people swear by brand X, others, brand Y. But at the end of the day it's the artist's taste and the way they want the instrument to feel and sound that is part of the artistry. All these little factors are why we all sound different and music is such a wonderful, rich tapestry. The thing they do lack is originality of look and a known eco-friendly footprint. I am in development of my own bridges which will hopefully start appearing on my instruments this year. I eventually want everything to be made in-house so my instruments continue to offer a truly unique and 100% local made experience to those who are looking for something different. If you peruse my other videos, you may see some of my wood bridges that I'm guessing you'll hate :) Check out the Aperion and Sway bass videos. IMO nothing beats a wood bridge as I'm primarily an uptight bass player, but I know a lot of slab players get real nervous around those. That's for chatting and sharing your thoughts!
@@timsway Good hardware is objectively better. That’s what makes it “good”. I don’t “hate” inferior pieces, but rather am aware of their deficiencies and feel their use to be unnecessary and pointless compromise. Again, you aren’t doing anyone any favors by cheaping out twenty bucks on a crap bridge. It’s simply false economy. Floating wooden bridges on EBGs are a ridiculous anachronism. No hate. A little derision maybe. The flex of “I’m so good, I can make this thing work” isn’t for everyone. Some players like a strong instrument.
@@timsway You seem unclear on the meaning of "subjective". The differences can be measured in objective, factual terms: the amount and shape of attack, the rate and duration of sustain, side-to-side deflection of saddles, etc. Physical facts are not subjective. You might have a look at www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm and www.youtube.com/@JohanSegeborn for testing methodologies since that seems to be an area of needed professional growth.
I'm really digging how smooth your "home rolled" pickups are sounding.
thanks!
Home rolled lmao
I like the new sliding mechanism a lot, feels much more deliberate with the thumb rest acting like an affordance for adjustment.
Fantastic looking result, it has a super elegant simplicity that masks a subtle yet complex ability. The acrylic looks like ice, and the sound is thick and warm. Wondrous.
I love this project, thanks for that idea with the sliding pickup, hope you don't mind me borrowing that in my own way later this year :)
absolutely not. It's an idea that's been around for a while. I just made it simple and effective :)
@@timsway Can't wait to have something to show you in that case! I'll be sure to let you know the name of my new channel when the time comes!
One the wood one, I might suggest delrin for the contact points of the slide. Would be low wear but smooth movement.
On the 'hole' thing... Maybe move the point were cables leave the pickup to as far to one side as possible, so you can hide the route and cable under the pickguard. If you thicken the baseplate of the pickup so you can put the wires through it (Or sandwich the wires between two layers), you can give them a straight shot to under the pickguard, and still have a lip to slide against. Would tidy it up and make it so you don't have to think about how the hole looks.
Great car! Love those big old Volvos ...
It’s actually pretty small, especially compared to American cars of the era, but has that “big” look
This experiment has given me a much better understanding of how the pickup placement on “normal” actually works!
Apologies if it's already been mentioned, but the 1986 Westone 'The Rail' Bass was a beautiful instrument with a sliding pickup
I'd like to put one of those pickups in a Westone tho. That was the weak point of the rail. And no body to speak of!
This masterpiece bass is genus! Bravo to Tim for creating another "One of a Kind" handmade instrument from materials that would otherwise be discarded.
Hey Tim. I've been very sick so I've missed so much. Whenever I "tune" in (see what I did there? Bass... tune?) I always get a big smile. Thx for what you do.
hope you're feeling better!
If the lower fingerplate concealed a metal strip (where the pickup slides against it) couldn't the need for moving wires be negated. Then a large cavity wouldn't be needed, all the static wiring would be concealed behind the fingerplate.
yes, a plate along the top and bottom, negative and positive. I was thinking about that, to, but trying to keep it super simple for now. Did you ever see my detachable double neck guitar/mandolin? I did snap metal connectors on that so when the mando was put on it automatically connected to the guitar's wiring.
You could also compensate for the positional output difference by putting it on a slanted angle so the pickup is closer to the strings by the bridge than by the neck. That would probably be the easiest solution. It might even look really cool too!
yea, I was talking about that with someone in a FB group. Make it go slightly "uphill" towards the bridge. I might try that.
Hey, that's an excellent yet simple idea!👍
Ah, I thought I recognised that Grabber you showed at around the 7:17 mark (I recognised the floor planks too). That was the Grabber that I briefly owned a couple of years ago. It wasn't actually a Gibson, but was a fairly good copy with the "Melody" branding. It weighed an absolute ton as I remember and I didn't think the sliding pickup concept worked too well on it because it didn't have enough travel. Really love your sliding pickup bass, by the way, simple and versatile at the same time and looks great.
Thinking about it for a while, it's the perfect gig bass. The grabber and the Westone Rail bass and Ampeg Armstrong bass had a love baby!
Love that tone knob.
Puts all the pickup position arguments to rest, in one song. :-)
Sliding pickup? That's a little bit of genius there, Tim.
I’m glad you kept working on the idea, this one really looks great and sounds cool. The wood pickup ties together the design sort of like a bridge between the thumb rest and pick guard.
What's not to love about this bass? Digging the sliding pickup and overall aesthetics of it. Well done!
It would be cool to have markers on the slide, illustrating the approx position of a jazz bridge, stingray, precision, and ebo. Nice bass!
Yes please! I would love one of these in a six string 30" scale.
I can do that :)
More fun experiments! Honestly, that pickup sounds good in all positions, so it's fun to see the different sounds you can get just by moving it around. And I really like the vapor polished finish. Leaves it at just the right level of diffusion. Thanks for sharing!
Cool idea. Just couple of mods,
1. Put a longer thumb rest above the pickup on the wooden part. Then you can easily play anywhere not just by the pickup.
2. Add a lock for the pickup incase it moves when you don't want it too.
To accompany with resounding electric bass bases is to move the pickup towards the neck and for slap and solos move the pickup towards the bridge...
Maybe if you'll add a mechanics to change the height of the pickup, i.e. pop it up closer to the strings, or push down to get it away, you can get rid off the tone and volume knobs, and call it fully mechnanical control over the gain and tone.
You can also try flame polishing the acrylic with a propane torch set to a low to medium flame. It takes a gentle touch to get the surface hot enough to just melt and not start to bubble but when done correctly the results are very nice.
I did that on my first acrylic bass with mixed results. It's real easy to overheat a spot and make more work for yourself
I like it. That's a cool semi-wah effect when you slide the pickup while the notes are sustaining. Maybe place two sliding pickups in the center channel/cavity? Maybe, a stationary bridge pickup with one sliding pickup?
Looks as good as it sounds and it sounds great!
Agree with you Charlie, but how have you got a three day old comment on a video released today? Is Tim a time traveller?
@@Bettys_Eldest Patreon...but I prefer your solution!
Great video. Bass is dope. Super clean. Mahalo for sharing! 🙂🐒
I like that very much! I'm gonna try to build something similar but all wood + no knobs (a la Joe Dart) + headless.
Love the simplicity Tim. Great stuff!
Cool idea! I wonder; what about a locking mechanism for the slide?
Impressively it actually sounds good too. Nice job on the pickup!
Being close to the bridge requires more output to retain the same volume as being close to the neck. I feel like there would be a way to rig some sort of potentiometer to it so that it gradually rolls off volume as you slide closer to the neck, which would maintain volume output. Or other cool things instead of volume/output, like rolling the tone off the close to the bridge it gets, or maybe some sort of gain circuit... You could get so wild with this, Tim. Truly innovate.
An acrylic Grabber. I love it.
That is one unique build. 👍👍👍
I love this body shape, particularly the angle between and shapes of the lower and upper horns. I've always considered a 90-degree angle between horns to be the most aesthetically pleasing, with the upper being more parallel to the neck and the lower being more perpendicular so that good hand clearance can be had.
*EDIT:* Oh yeah, I've thought for a while now that one pickup is better than two, and especially better than three on basically anything. Especially if you can move the pickup and you can make a good pickup design. Cleaner signal chain = clearer tone, and there are other ways to change the dynamic sound of an instrument than just switching pickup positions with a 3/5 way selector or whatever. You can just play the darn instrument differently, which is the most easily evidenced on the bass with slap vs pick vs fingers.
But on both bass and guitar it goes further. For one, you can ACTUALLY use your tone and volume knobs to change the sound, and you can also pick/play with your right hand in different positions. Picking at the bridge makes a brighter, cutting sound, and picking at the neck (or even further up on the fretboard if you're fretting down around the 1-9th fret position) will make a warmer, smoother sound. Basically, the fewer pickups and simpler your controls, the more it will make you as a player creative with getting YOUR tone out of the instrument.
"Do you want to have fun?" Yes please!
I'm gonna be blunt here; I like this a lot, good job :)
The Bass is absolutely gorgeous - What an elegant shape and design! The body shape is perfect.
I hope you'll be able to do a tone/volume demonstration to show how those change in relation to pickup position vs string length. There are probably some optimal positions for the open strings, but I'm not sure how close they are to the Nodes and Antinodes. Thanks 😎
there's definitely a "sweet spot" for open strings, but just a little past where the 24th fret would be seems to be the best overall position
I have a headless Westone Rail bass from the 1980s made in Japan that have a sliding pickup on 2 rails, look them up, it’s a great sounding bass
An aquarium body would fill out people's interesting build bingo cards if this hasn't already. Cnc joints wouldn't need too much goop to keep a clean look, eh? Dyed offcut acrylic fishies, hide a water pump behind the knobs to blow them around a body length channel with blacklights & glitter.
Could be dope, or that's just my dope talking. Haha, cheers man.
I want to make one full of booze that you can drink out of ;) some day
If you got enough acrylic left, the next one you can try flame polishing!
I like the slider pickups idea, the output difference depending on position might cause issues if you wanna mess with it mid-song. Maybe you can compensate for that with a slide potentiometer somehow?
Another wacky idea I've had is installing a wah-wah pedal inside the guitar and control it with a whammy bar.
There's a guitar called the B-Bender that has a spring mechanism in the neck side strap nut so when you push or pull on the neck it shifts the B string tuning(for reasons), But the weight of the guitar and just strumming isn't enough to actuate it. Pretty neat.
Anyway, that might be cool wired to your onboard wah-wah!
Unless you move it into quite a dead point along the strings it’s less of an issue than you’d expect. Especially with single coils that don’t filter out the frequencies picked up between their coils like humbuckers do.
A lot of vintage Rickenbackers actually have bridge pick ups wound colder than the neck ones without any issue, despite the usual convention being to wind bridge pu’s hotter because the string travels less and all that jazz.
I'm pretty happy to see how the vapor polishing came out. And BTW, nice Volvo you got there 😊
i was trying to set up the whole sound demo shot out there but the sound was crap. too windy
That Cloudy look is waaaaaaaaay better than clean and polished glass one. It looks like bass made out of ice and wood - crazy :)
Ice and wood guitar? Don't give him any ideas or we'll be seeing one sometime soon.
On second thought...
Beautiful work! Love how you've embraced the simplicity of the design and moved away from trying to make the acrylic finish perfect. I do wonder if the pickup lead might start experiencing some stress from being moved back and forth, so maybe some shrink wrapping and ensuring that the lead is long enough to avoid it getting tugged at the pickup and pot terminals?
time will tell but the way its set up there is no tugging happening at any solder or crucial points.
I have to agree with the idea of the single sliding pickup working better on bass. I couldn't say why, maybe it's just the nature of the beast. Since the advent of electronic amplification some of the most noteworthy bass guitars have had a single pickup--off the top of my head the P-bass, the Gibson EB-0, Music Man Stingray, Les Claypool's original Carl Thompson. And for the role that the bass fulfills in a musical setting, it just works.
I've always been pretty happy with a one-pickup bass and felt more than that was unnecessary. This just sort of gives it a little lift :)
It really sounds really good and the whole range of the pickup movement sounds very usable. If someone really wants a locking mechanism for the pickup, I think a smallish thumb screw at the opposite side of the thumbscrew could work as long as you make shure the tip of the screw is not sharp. It would just push against the body and push the pickup frame a bit more to the pickguard to create just a bit of extra friction. It could be a bit on the way for playing with a pick, but for fingerstyle it would probably be just fine.
I was planning something like that but it really isn't necessary
very cool man, ....I cant wait for the guitar version ive had this idea for awhile as well
the first guitar version is already out there, but I can do something classier
*The addition of a second identical sliding pickup, (physically at least, you can wind it however you want), and either a four position 2P4T slider switch, (as used on some custom Fender Teles and some MusicMans), for Neck/Parallel/Series/Bridge standard mono pickup selection..., (or a four position rotary switch to keep things compact...), OR..., a stereo setup, ala' the Rickenbacker Ric-O-Sound..., or some Gibson ES 345/355 circuits..., so you can send each pickup to its own amp or channel... I thought the same thing about the oldschool Westone Rail basses back in the mid 80's when they came out... Super cool idea brother..., but as the whole purpose behind the cool idea of having a sliding pickup is to have a vast array of tonality, and precise control over the overall ratio of harmonics to fundamentals..., but even with that great variety..., when limited to only one pickup..., at only one physical location along the string length..., at any given time..., your tonal possibilities are limited... Many classic bass tonalities..., both studio and live..., we're performed on a bass with two pickups on together..., not only electrically interacting with each other..., but sampling the string at two different points along the string length..., reinforcing certain frequencies, and canceling others..., giving the bass a very distinct sound, and a very classic one, as heard on many Fenders, Rics, Gibsons, Guilds, Alembics, Steinbergers, and just about everybody in the business... So I would first congratulate you on crafting such an incredible and versatile instrument..., and then say that with the addition of a physically identical pickup..., and either a mono Neck/Parallel/Series/Bridge pickup selector..., OR... a stereo setup ala' Ric or certain Gibsons..., then it would be PERFECT!* 🤘🏻👍
Looking cool ! Wouldn't it be great if you design a thumb grip (mechanism) over the pickup so, you can change the pickup position / thumb rest (in both directions) with one finger only? Eventually the pickup sound / playing position matches, thumb rest travels everywhere and makes it more ergonomic. Sounds like a more versatile way of interacting with the guitar, in terms of playing / sounding and ergonomics :)
I think I could "shape" the thumb rest with a little divot so the thumb sort of "sinks in" to it, then it could be more easily pushed both directions when the thumb is "engaged"
@@timsway that would be awesome. Besides, would it make sense if you place a strip of rubber inside of the bottom part of the rail, that doesn't touch the pickup when moving. But when you place your thumb over the pickup and pull the string upwards, that momentum locks the mechanism by creating an extra friction between the wood and the rubber strip, so that it will act like a solid thumb rest when you push it down, but move back and forth when you release the pressure?
That has a very nice tone,
Very interesting as always Tim.
The simplicity of the Precision Bass
Think about making a split coil pickup, similar to a P Bass. I bet that buzzes like a swarm of bees like it is now.
It’s surprisingly quiet (and not potted, so a little microphonic)
@@timsway It’s still a good idea if you ever plan on using the bass for live performances. One stray neon Coors Light sign and game over!
It doesn’t have to be two separate pieces like a P bass pickup. Two coils with opposing poles on the same plane/baseplate work perfectly fine and would look nearly identical to your current design.
@@matthewf1979 one band I was in the guy played a tele. they’re the worst with those neon signs
Sliding pick up is the new wah! 😀
maybe one where the channel for the pickup goes all the way through to the back, then you could have a clip on the back of the pickup that could clip on to a belt loop sort of like a B bender
lol My original idea (like the squid guitar which has a slot all the way through) was to have a spring loaded rod and a knob on the back, so you'd be able to move it from back there. With the right belt buckle... :)
Really great series. Not that it is really necessary, but is there any reason one couldn't add a second pickup for some phasing effects?
Also, how do you like the tone? I couldn't really hear much on my computer speakers via You Tube.
Sounds like a bass!
Ha! "Bassically" the same process! I like the concept on these for sure.
totally the same, just refined a bit :)
@@timsway Just had to throw the bass pun in there.
bad ass looking bass man.. Love that. Sounds good as well
I almost said hey that's my idea😜 but now I've got to use this idea as well, most cool and 😊 fun. Excellent 👍 keep up the good work my friend. @ 3:30 you really made me laugh out loud.🤣
I think the idea has been around too long for any of us to claim it nowadays, lol. But that's how innovation works, not in a vacuum but off the backs of all who innovated before us.
Pretty cool job
Pretty damn cool! I need that bass!
My question would be how to compensate for the change in output throughout the range of travel. The same pickup at the same distance from the strings would have more output in the neck position, no?
make the channel go "uphill" but it gets slightly more complicated keeping it in place. As is, I see the volume differences as being relatively insignificant and potentially useful to give you minor volume adjustments
They flame polish the Armstrong/Ampeg plexis
With a guitar version would it be worth making three pickup guitar, where the neck and bridge pickups are fixed and the middle pickup allowed to move between them, with switching on the middle to add it in, and to switch it into humbucker mode when combined with one of the other pickups
I was thinking something similar, with 2 sliding pickups and wiring them so they can be single coils or one humbucker with the flip of a switch.
Instead of having the loose cable to the pickup you could route out a channel beneath the pickup-"gantry" and add a drag chain like on a cnc machine.
I also think it would be cool to make the pickup slide on two metal tracks, one positive, and one negative.
@@timsway even better - that way you can really rule out a cable breaking on you after a few hundred slides
Very very cool and glad it did not need to be a super complex design. I think George Lynch has a story of a sliding pickup that was motorized and it was a terrible design. I think you nailed it Tim 🤘
I bet the motor gets picked up and amplified by the pickup :)
@@timsway I believe that's exactly what happened. He said it needed to be moved One way for a solo and back once it was done and basically the solo was completely covered up and useless 😂
Flame polishing is used in acrylic work a lot. Have you looked into it?
yes. My first acrylic bass video years ago
Really cool stuff.
I like version 2.0 even better! You ever tried flame polishing acrylic?
yea, my first acrylic build a few years ago. It's real easy to mess things up doing that! lol.
Really nice build.
If I recall it right, for the guitar you went directly pick-up to jack 🤔
Btw I feel like you will come up with a unique pick-up design, one day or another.
yes, first one had no knobs this one does. I feel like I already have come up with some pretty unique designs already! But unique doesn;t always mean desirable. lol. Check my instagram for my latest (video coming soon :)
Tim According to Wiki the acetone should be heated to 80*C for 10 minutes in the vapour chamber.
interesting. Y'know, last time I did it it was much warmer in the shop. Maybe I should do it on a hot, sunny day
@@timsway 80*C is close to boiling probably to vaporise it more effectively?
Nicely done Tim! Interesting concept for sure. What, in your opinion, would be the pros & cons related to this type of mechanism on a Bass or Guitar? Just curious.... 👍👍🎸🎸👏👏👏
Multi-pickup guitars have the pups wound to different rates to balance out volume between them, whereas this experiences slight volume change from position to position. But judiciously, if you keep the pickup just a little out of the "sweet spot" for most playing them push it in to the spot when things are really built up, it could be a cool little tool. However nothing that couldn't be done with a volume knob. lol
That's a damn cool bass. I think I'd prefer the thumb thingy below the strings rather than above, but I'd have to buy it first to test! Maybe your next iteration could have a removable piece that you could click into the top or bottom depending on preference of the player.
just take off the top pickguard to flip the pickup upside down :)
@@timsway but then the sounds will come out backwards.
@@ricos1497 lol. I wish!
Tim, I would say you had this process nailed, but I bet you would say it's actually screwed. It really does look awesome, I like the frosted look too. I was wondering if you have tried flame polishing? I can't totally remember if you have. I was also wondering if you were planning on doing a live edge guitar. I see the block of wood in the back and think it would be a cool design.
I flame polished my first one with some mixed results/problems th-cam.com/video/MirwxiV7AWg/w-d-xo.html. Not planning anything "live edge" per se. That's a stack of wood and blanks to be processed in my next batch of instruments.
Looks So cool 😍😎
I really like that body shape.
The grabber didn't have much range, the westone rail bass was more akin to this one in terms of slide range and simplicity.
I know you probably know about this already, but have you tried flame polishing an acrylic body? Its very dangerous from what I am assuming and I've only seen other people do it so I am far from an expert
I have, it's not extremely "dangerous" in a safety way more than anything else done with a torch, but real easy to mess up the acrylic.
Have you tried flame polishing?
yes. In the first video I made about an acrylic one-piece a couple years ago: th-cam.com/video/MirwxiV7AWg/w-d-xo.html
well, then, tim.. 5 string?? door-skin multi-lam/epoxy neck through with left over acrylic body wings?? i'm not saving i'd buy one.. i'm just saying... the sliding pickup sounds massive... challenge... : flat stacked vertical humbucker {or skinny side by side} sliding bass pickup... man... imagine that... for 'tone differences" due to moveable pickups... install a 'fish-ruler" with a witness point on the pick up frame... yes, we have met, tim... i'm in manchester ct
ManchVegas!!
Wonderful!😄
But...at the end...I'd prefer a humbucker...😆
Funky.
Simple good! Maybe putting too much electronics into a Bass creates more problems down the road. I love the frosted acrylic look. It reminds me of sea glass that I see on mud larking channels. Checkout Nicola White and Si-finds TH-cam channels for this. They mud lark the Thames River in London. Thanks! 😎✌️🌞🎻🪕🎸
This is awesome, if you had a second pickup mounted perhaps right next to the bridge I reckon you’d hear the harmonics canceling and boosting as you slide the free floater while playing.
Also another cool thing would be to automate the pickup’s position. Maybe setup 2 rails on either side of the pickup cavity and solder the pickup’s output to 2 bearings, on the ends of the pickup, to act as wheels which can roll along the rails. Then you could have small servo oe even a lego motor push or pull the pickup into position…. Connect the pickup’s position control to say an expression pedal and you’ve got something.
Using new acrylic would go against the grain cheers.
westone rail bass
Wooo! Nice ,reel nice neat and ezey. So, you did not give me your price.
this one is part of an art gallery exhibit in July but I can make you one. contact me via www.newperspectivesmusic.com to discuss custom builds, pricing, etc.
Aluminum body!!! ???? be so awesome.
First there was Leo Fender. Then there was Eco Fender.
lol
is this for sale?
It will be for sale July 14 as part of my exhibit at www.rpacgallery.com/
Be cool of the pick up was on a whammy bar
aceTONE is stored in the bucket
"this space for rent"
These instruments are awesome, but dont be afraid of using somthing new to make something new. Haha, btw acetone turns to b vitamins in the body and the rest come out in your breath in about 60 seconds and does not dissolve fats in you hands. No need for gloves unless dissolving something toxic.
They tested this by having people even goes as far as drink acetone with irradiating inks
oh. good to know! I often forget to wear gloves with a lot of that stuff (alcohol, epoxy, mineral spirits). I mean m,y hands are pretty leathery at this point but still...
Imagine if that was motorized...
I imagine the motor would get picked up by the amplifier
@@timsway You’re right. In that case, maybe make it a sound worth listening to, like a clock’s mechanical movement.
Your basses would sound better if you used a real bridge instead those ten buck Amazon specials you are fond of.
I don't shop on Amazon, but point understood. Some people get real in to those high mass bridges and swap them out which one can always do with my basses, but I personally prefer the OG lighter simpler ones. I also put relatively inexpensive tuners on. This keeps the overall product cost lower for those who like or don't care about these things and those who do are gonna do their own upgrade anyways. That's for most of my off the shelf stuff. Custom builds get what the customer wants and all that is discussed and priced accordingly.
@@timsway You don't have to be "real into" better bridges to hear and feel the difference. Surprised to hear that quality is so low on your priorities. A Gotoh 201B is forty bucks. Not that hard of a sale.
@@richsackett3423 These are subjective terms. I've played many kinds of bridges. I like these.The look, the simplicity, the functionality, there's no quality issue at all... I had them made to my specs overseas and imported them in myself.
Like strings, some people swear by brand X, others, brand Y. But at the end of the day it's the artist's taste and the way they want the instrument to feel and sound that is part of the artistry. All these little factors are why we all sound different and music is such a wonderful, rich tapestry.
The thing they do lack is originality of look and a known eco-friendly footprint. I am in development of my own bridges which will hopefully start appearing on my instruments this year. I eventually want everything to be made in-house so my instruments continue to offer a truly unique and 100% local made experience to those who are looking for something different.
If you peruse my other videos, you may see some of my wood bridges that I'm guessing you'll hate :) Check out the Aperion and Sway bass videos. IMO nothing beats a wood bridge as I'm primarily an uptight bass player, but I know a lot of slab players get real nervous around those.
That's for chatting and sharing your thoughts!
@@timsway Good hardware is objectively better. That’s what makes it “good”. I don’t “hate” inferior pieces, but rather am aware of their deficiencies and feel their use to be unnecessary and pointless compromise. Again, you aren’t doing anyone any favors by cheaping out twenty bucks on a crap bridge. It’s simply false economy.
Floating wooden bridges on EBGs are a ridiculous anachronism. No hate. A little derision maybe. The flex of “I’m so good, I can make this thing work” isn’t for everyone. Some players like a strong instrument.
@@timsway You seem unclear on the meaning of "subjective". The differences can be measured in objective, factual terms: the amount and shape of attack, the rate and duration of sustain, side-to-side deflection of saddles, etc. Physical facts are not subjective. You might have a look at www.youtube.com/@ProjectFarm and www.youtube.com/@JohanSegeborn for testing methodologies since that seems to be an area of needed professional growth.
Way too cool! 😎