convert classic to bass?!?!

Willum · #1 July 30th, 2007

hellooo ive been wanting a bass to mess around on for quite a while now but dont fancy splashing out. i hav an old cheapish classic guitar that i was wondering if i could put some bass strings on i kno it wont sound perfect and stuff but i just want it to mess about on was wondering if ne1 has anytips or has tried it or just heard nething bout doing nething like it?!

thanks

allthumbs · #2 July 30th, 2007

I don't think you will be happy with the results. Classicals aren't meant to take much tension which is why they don't have a truss rod. I am not sure you could even attach bass strings to a classical bridge. I doubt they would go through the tuners either. Assuming that the neck doesn't break, odds are the strings will be so high off the neck as to be unplayable.
You can find really cheap electric basses out there. I have Washburn I got for 100 bucks which is great for just fooling around. Acoustic basses are pricier.

Willum · #3 July 31st, 2007

lol but thats the problem if im gonna buy summint ile end up splashing out coz i like to have good stuff

oook well thx ile look into it i hav access to all kinds of tools so ile get some strings and see what customisations i might have to do and see whether its worth while or not

thanks

keep posting in this coz i still would like to know more

Tekker · #4 July 31st, 2007

I agree with allthumbs completely.

I can tell you right now, it's really not going to be worth looking into. If you're gonna put money into getting strings and trying to modify your guitar, just get a real bass.

I think even if you made it work (by some miracle) you wouldn't be happy with the results. The guitar neck is much shorter than bass guitar necks so the string pitch/tension wouldn't work out right either.

So before buying the strings (which are very spendy as far as strings go) and hacking up your guitar, it really (really, REALLY) ain't gonna be worth the trouble.

Quote:

if im gonna buy summint ile end up splashing out coz i like to have good stuff

How much is "splashing out"?

Check out Raven West Guitars (scroll down for basses). They make great guitars at very low prices. If I was in the market for a new guitar (or bass) it'd be a Raven West for sure.

-tkr

allthumbs · #5 July 31st, 2007

Yup Ravens are a great bang for the buck.