Build a Half-Size Travel Bass Guitar

I wanted to build this bass for as little cost as possible. I got these solid wood table top blanks at Home Depot for $4.99.

This wood was pretty thick, so I used a router to cut the outline.

Use a small-scale guitar neck. I had this neck from an old guitar. Plug the six holes (5/16") with maple plugs (used for plugging holes in furniture) and sand smooth. I also added an extra piece of maple and reshaped the headstock (optional).

Layout four holes in the headstock. Space them evenly to fit the bass tuners.

Get tuners with the smallest gear box to fit on a small headstock. These tuners were only $10.

You will need a neck plate and screws to attach the neck.

It's a good idea to test the bass, and make sure everything plays right. I used a standard Fender P Bass bridge. When installing the bridge, center it to the neck. Just make sure the distance from the nut to the 12th fret is equal to the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge saddles. Then cut new grooves in the nut for four bass strings. You will also need a string retainer on the headstock. The action and tuning on this one was perfect.

I had and old pickguard from another bass. Since this bass is only half the size, I just designed a new shape around the full-size pickguard.

After trimming the pickguard, the knobs and jack can be attached to the pickguard and wired to the pickups. I included the wiring diagram.

I added knobs and changed to a tortoise shell pickguard.

Set this up with the JamUp app from the App Store, and you'll have the most portable bass setup to go anywhere.