I want to put a bass string on my guitar

[BowerR64]

I thought about buying a double neck bass/guitar but i will only really use one or 2 strings.

How can i put a bass string on my guitar with a seperate output so that i can play a clean bass string and then play the other strings with a dirty sound? Has anyone ever tried this?

I thought maybe i could take the neck pickup and use some metal or somthing and cover the pickup leaving the section under the bass string open to pickup just that string. The the bridge pickup i would cover just the corner that the bass string is under.

I wanted to play some clean open E notes on the bass string while playing some chords or solos dirty around the ringing bass string.

 

[Kac]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

I think the problem you might run into with putting bass strings on a guitar neck is the neck warping/bowing on ya...
-Kac

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

you're talking about a lot of work and a lot of $$$...

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

+1 to both of these guys. If it were in fact possible, it would be quite costly, but an interesting concept.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

As much as I love outlandish ideas, I can't see this happening.

Now Kac's Casio keyboard in a guitar ... gold!

 

[BowerR64]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

What if i used a kent smith slap master E string? they are 90-45, the G is the same guage as a standard 009 low E string.

The problem is to get the clean and dirty sound seperation.

 

[Guest]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

Just some thoughts of the top of my head. This means they're worthless as I never tried anything remotly near this. Also bear in mind I may not have an accurate image of what you're trying to accomplish.

I'd be prepared prepared for some serious work and I wouldn't do it to a valuable guitar (finantially or emotionally).

Will you be keeping the rest of your strings? If so you might have to replace the neck with something a bit wider and you could take the chance to make it pretty strong.

I think you might need some custom pup, and I'm not sure how a basss srting will sound with a guitar pup. Making your own neck would allow you to have the right scale length and you could even consider leaving the bass string part fretless.

If you want to replace one string, can't see that really happening, you might have to reinforce the neck with carbon fiber, hard woods... Not too sure the scale length and the fret positions will give a good result.

If the idea is just one or two strings why don't you just add a thin but strong (CF or multi laminated from hard woods), set it as deep as you can into the body, as in having a really large neck tenon and wind your own pup. You could use a short scale to and leave it fretless but with markings. That way you would save some and leave out the chance for screw ups. A single string would be simple from the hardware poin as the bridge wouldn't have to be too complex but I can imagine two strings without a lot of hardware

As for the pups.
As I said I don't know if you can get a guitar pup to work with a bass string and I don't know i you want to shell out for a regular bass pup (and if it would look any good) or if you want to talk to te custom shop. Getting a small magnet that would allow you to make a single string pup or even a blade for two strings doesn't seem to hard, in theory.

Again, these are just some considerations, don't take them too seriouslly. I'm sure others will point out some flaws in my reasoning.

But please, don't mess up a good instrument doing this. What guitar are you planing on sacrificing? Do you have any wood working skils?

The idea actually sounds cool and I'll love seing it done if you can.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

putting a huge string on a guitar is no big deal at all...the issue that is gonna drive you nuts and cost a mint is trying to have a different pickup for the low stings and a different amp and all the other things involved with doing something like this...

 

[Zerberus]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

putting a huge string on a guitar is no big deal at all...the issue that is gonna drive you nuts and cost a mint is trying to have a different pickup for the low stings and a different amp and all the other things involved with doing something like this...

+1

 

[gripweed]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

There are large guitar strings out there. I think you can get an .80 gauge string. It would give you some serious bottom end. I think the best bet would be to buy a baritone or a Chapman Stick if you want to play in the range of both guitar and bass.

Why do you want to do this though? There are a lot of very good bass player looking for bands.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

If you really want to do this, get in touch with Novax and ask for the Hunter sig model.

It's a fanned fret axe with 3 bass strings and 5 guitar strings with Bartolini 'buckers for the guitar strings and a Bartolini P pickup for the 3 bass strings. It also allows you to have seperate outputs.

 

[BowerR64]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

Here is what i got, i have 2 of these little pocket amps called the "Zoom 9003" they are headphone amps but have a line in. So my plan is to have a seperate output for the bass string so i can run it into the first amp on a bass patch that is clean with compression chorus all the typical bass settings they are already programmed in and sound sweet with the bass i already have. Ill use the "headphone out" and go to the #2 zoom "line in" this will send the sound into the second zoom "pocket amp modeler" and on the second ill have the regular output with a dirty distortion sound. So this will give me 2 seperate amp/sounds i just need 2 seperate outputs.

I already do it now when i jam with my friend we hook both pocket amps together and we jam in his apartment. I play bass he plays guitar it sounds great. Im just looking to try some different things with open E or drop D bass notes to chord or solo over. Somthing different.

Im pretty good with setting up a guitar so im not going to put a huge string on the guitar and it tweak the neck or break it or what ever. I know how much tension a neck can handle so ide keep an eye on that.

What i thought is to remove just the high E string, or maybe the low E string and then replace it with a bigger string that will sound really bassy open.

WHat i wanted help with is seperating the pickup signals. This seems like the best place to get some tips or ideas on how to shield or block the signal. I figured i could just cover part of the pickup so the magnetic field is only focused in a small area so it only pickups up one string.

What could i use to block the pickup? metal?

 

[flank]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

maybe find one of the bigger guitar string guages out there, put that in.....and use some kind of octave pedal to lower the octave?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

the guitar player from Local H did this years ago...he had all his stuff custom made and/or modded all to hell...there is NO easy to do what you are talking about and once it's done it's gonna be just as hard to put it all back...

 

[BowerR64]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

Thats the fun though.

What if i take a double coil and put 2 seperate outputs on each coil and then run it to 2 seperate amps? what will happen there? If its like "coil split" and each coil goes to its own volume then to its own output? One amp could be clean, one could be dirty. How would that sound? The pickup will still be in the bridge in the humbucking setup.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

Thats the fun though.

What if i take a double coil and put 2 seperate outputs on each coil and then run it to 2 seperate amps? what will happen there? If its like "coil split" and each coil goes to its own volume then to its own output? One amp could be clean, one could be dirty. How would that sound? The pickup will still be in the bridge in the humbucking setup.

even split the pickup is gonna "pick up" all 6 strings...

The easiest way to do this would be to get a synth pickup and a guitar synth...with a synth set up you can seperate all 6 strings and do seperate things with them...you could lower the pitch of one or 2 strings down an octave add compression and whatever then take the 4 or 5 other strings and set them up with a crunch tone and do it that way but even that will cost a good bit of cheese plus you will have to have a full range set up to play through which is even more money and to be 100% honest I don't think you' be happy with it...short of that you are gonna have to mod a pickup to onlu work on 1 or 2 strings, then wire the guitar fopr stereo then have 2 pedal set ups and 2 amps...FWIW I think that for the "bass' side of this you should just use an octave box...

 

[flank]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

i remember once seeing a guitar that had 6 "1 string" pickups in it......looked pretty cool, each one was just a little square with one polepiece and only picked up the string it was under

 

[BowerR64]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

I think i may have an idea. Get a strat with a "swimming pool routing" and lay a single coil long way under the low string, then put the bridge pickup under the rest but slide it over so its not under the low string. That may work!

 

[BowerR64]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

how would this sound by the way?

 

[mind_transplant]

Re: I want to put a bass string on my guitar

As Benjy mentioned, check out Charlie Hunter's gear, the Novak and the 7-string he used before. Even if you're not interested in it, it will show you of a few issues (scale length, string tension, playability, electronics) and ways to approach them.

As for laying a single coil alng the length of the string, I can't see that working. Even disregarding the tremendous magnetic pull, I think there could potentially be phase cancellation issues as you're picking up a large number of points on the string, some of which are quite far apart.

The only thing I can think of short of the Novak instrument is an old Kramer Ripley. They had standard magnetic pickups, but stereo output and each string could be panned to the left or right. In your case perhaps low E and A on one side with an octave pedal, and guitar out on the other side. However Ripleys are very tough to find...