Pic of homemade ABS Bass, in Wired magazine, May 2010

[TonyW]

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/04/ff_radioshack/

Interesting article on the evolution of Radio Shack, with a cool picture of Steven Muscarelli and his electric bass made from ABS plastic. I did a search, but couldn't find more info on the bass.

[Arnold Kelly]

So how much does the Choob weight, with 1/4 of it filled with concrete?  I was also wondering what you thought of maybe using a cigar box as the resonance chamber? I was thinking that maybe you could "notch" the tube enough that  part, or all, of the box could slide through. Then you can put all your electrics and transducers in the box. :)

[Dave Keenan]

Hi Arnold. It weighs 1.3 kg. That's about 1/3rd the weight of a typical Strat and a little less than a typical acoustic guitar. Electric guitars don't want resonance chambers. They want stiffness and mass so the strings and the speakers live in different acoustic universes, and thereby avoid feedback, and so that the energy of the string stays in the string, for maximum sustain. Of course the cigar box could be filled with concrete. :-) But that wouldn't really fit the look I'm going for and would weaken the CF tube. But thanks for taking the time to make suggestions.

[Arnold Kelly]

Thanks for the info. The cigar box wasn't really so much a suggestion as it was me "thinking out loud".  I was pondering how to take the one Kip Kay made and "improve" upon it.  Been playing with the idea of making a Cigar Box Bass for a while now and I'm thinking about trying the PVC tube as the neck. Thanks again for the information. :)

[macaja white]

how much would it cost to make one of these?

 

[Dave Keenan]

Hi Macaja. I assume you mean the parts cost, to make one yourself.

The major parts cost is the carbon fibre tube which I buy from this German company.
http://www.online-shop.carbon-composite.com/index.php?cat=KAT11-10180&product=03985
And here is the carbon fibre plate I use for the ends
http://www.online-shop.carbon-composite.com/index.php?cat=KAT11-101...
But I recommend making your first one out of PVC or ABS drain/waste/vent pipe.

The remaining parts might come to $100 or so.

The improvements planned for the next version will increase the cost significantly, but improve the playability and appearance.

[legnahkra]

i just ordered some abs material to start working on my own... i just have to build one of those..!

[matthew]

where can i buy one of these

[legnahkra]

i got mine from grainger.com

[Dave Keenan]

Matthew,

I assume you mean where can you buy one already made, in carbon fibre. I'm working towards doing a small production run. The price looks like being around $1500 Australian (approx same US). Much of that is of course the cost of skilled labour (mine). I'll contact you, and others who have expressed a interest, when things are more definite.