I used very very old files that my father in law gave me … not intended for nut carving ! very old like 100 year or so / also very very good quality ! these files were used by my grand-father in law who was a professionnal woodworker at the time.
by the way my nut is far from perfect, I made it a little bit too thin. it’s playable but I will very probably re-do another one from scratch but that’s how we learn and this little Jim Harley is a perfect case for this kind of experiment, so no problem !
ah, no. at the time of the picture, I just removed the nut to adjust the overall height (which I filed a bit too much) but I did the cuts for the strings prior to that.
This video came up in my feed, and I thought it may be interesting to some of you. It’s about acoustic guitar construction, but I though it was pretty cool.
I love what you’ve done with it @terb! Was interesting and informative watching it all come together! Thank you for sharing this experience! You should be proud my friend!!
Took my Yamaha TRBX174EW in Mango and converted it into my dedicated BEAD bass! So damn cool to play and hit those really low notes! The 174 was my original bass that I bought back in mid July before taking the B2B course, and it is the bass that I took all my lesson with. Since I now have two other bass’s that I typically use most of the time, I figured that the 174 would be the best candidate for the conversion.
Below is a photo of the 174 with the original strings and set up.
After removing the original strings and dressing up the fretboard, I began installing a set of Ernie Ball 130-65 strings for a 5 string that a friend gave me a while back (free is a good price to pay!)…
The full contact Babitz bridge that I installed a few months back needed no modifications to either the access hole or the saddle in order to accommodate the .130 B string, or any other string for that matter.
The only real modification that needed to be done was modifying the nut for each of the strings. Since I didn’t want to remove too much material - especially by filing too deep into the existing grooves, I used metal drill bits sized for each of the strings as makeshift files. I used a .132; .102; .083; .068 for each of the grooves, and to make sure that I didn’t remove any material from the bottom areas of the nut grooves, I use a Sharpie to color the grooves before I started. When I noticed that the color was starting to be removed from the base of the grooves, I stopped and made sure each string fit into its respective groove.
After cutting and installing the new strings, I stretched each one, gave a bit of a push down on each at both the bridge and nut ends and then gave it a quick tune using my KORG GA-1 Guitar/Bass tuner. Ooohhhh… the sound of the low B string!! Friggin’ AWSOME!!
Now that the bass has settled in for awhile getting use to its new strings and configuration, I’ll begin doing the process of adjustment to the truss rod and setting up action/intonation… tonite or tomorrow… too nice outside to be inside right now…
It’s SO great to have a nice workbench and proper tools to do things like that, too! (You should have seen me struggling just to install my chrome “vintage” bridge cover )
I can see the point of letting it all settle in a bit first . . . one thing at a time
Thanks for your post and good luck with the new setup!
Thanks @Jazzbass19 Joe! Was fun and by having a dedicated BEAD setup on the 174, my bass playing options should open up a bit. I’m now keeping my TRBX 304 (Big Red) set up in Drop D, so now I can just about grab any of my bass’s and use each one accordingly without having to do any setups or adjustments…
Oh, I have a huge workshop, but this workbench is inside in my gun/guitar room. Great for doing all the small stuff I like to dink with without going out to my workshop.
Wow @Lanny , I’m loving the drill-bit & sharpie technique!
I know from experience it’s possible to just throw your credit card at the Steward-MacDonald website for ‘special’ luthier supplies. Last time round I had to be frugal so did my fret level & dress with a couple of basic tools and bit of care and it turned out great.
I’m going to try your trick on my Jag short-scale as I haven’t fully bonded with it yet; the stock strings are way too light and flexy for my liking. Thought I might have to actually give it to a luthier or buy special files but I’ve always done my own work before.
My Quest bass was going to be BEAD but after playing the Jag I’ve realised I’m also going to need another standard scale bass before that happens.
The drill bits worked pretty good @infra - in fact, I’ve used them as make shift files many times on soft materials… Had to take my time and kind of twist and file back and forth a little bit at a time. Hardest and most time consuming one was the one for the B string, but it sure beat having to fork out any $$ for a tool that I’d never get my money’s worth out of… My main concern was to not remove any material from the bottoms of the existing grooves. Sharpie’s, ink pens, whatever you can use to make a mark that you can see will work…
@Lanny and all you other alternate tuning fellas, you’ve convinced me! My Schecter bass pretty much sits unplayed these days. I was thinking about selling or trading it. But when I played in the dropped tuning the other day, it just felt good to get such a low rumble. And, if I can get away with just having to carefully file the nut, and not too much else, well, this is so tempting now!!
I also like this idea of just getting a 5 string bass set of strings, and using that thick B string, and tuning BEAD, and just not using the lightest string. For some reason a 5 or 6 string bass doesn’t appeal to me, I’ve tried some 5 strings out, and didn’t feel right. So this is the best compromise, and, looks like a nice mod to make. Appreciate the pics and details from your post there!
Yeah, maybe a slight truss rod and action adjustment + intonation, but not a big deal. You’re all set, make a cover now using those low low notes - whole new level of thumpin’ there, haha!
Hahaha… Gotta get use to it a bit first I think - not to mention getting it set up really good first @Vik… Still got the truss, action, and intonation to mess with on it - too nice a day here in Middle Georgia to be inside and was aching to get my ass out on the property and check out how much damage I’ve suffered from the latest storms that passed through.
If you’ve got a spare 4 string, you might wanna do the same thing to yours. Not difficult at all and it really is nice to hit those really low notes (been doing a little noodling on mine already)…
Next cover… Gotta stick with standard tuning on this one… Just about ready to record, but still have some more practice to do on it before pulling the plug. Might throw a teaser out later with some notes and clues.
I’m about 90% sure I want to go BEAD. I’ve got my five-string up for sale, we’ll see. Personal pride makes me want to turn a profit on it (so I can say I turned a profit selling gear I bought new
Still, solid chance I’ll keep the 5-string. I got it for a steal and I like the brand, just not a huge fan of the larger neck and fretboard, or the string spacing. The instrument itself is fine and another Warwick 4-string would be a serious contender if I do go BEAD.
but that’s how we learn and this little Jim Harley is a perfect case for this kind of experiment, so no problem !
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that’s cool ! I love that you all want to try other things than the standard tuning ! 
