Bass Guitar Build in 30 Minutes (Time-lapse of complete build)

: : : ABOUT THE VIDEO : : :
The video above is footage from the last bass that I (Brian Ristola of Ristola Instruments) built in my New Hampshire workshop before selling the property (house and workshop).

This bass was built for me…and is a prototype model….very much a one-off and not a production build. While it is Fender® inspired….the body, neck, and other aspects are of my own design.

At the time of this instrument’s construction, I was in the process of selling-off most of my machinery, and occasionally was having to accomplish certain tasks in a way that was a bit unconventional. At the very end, during assembly, I was working in a family member’s basement, which is not a workshop, but it worked fine to complete the tasks that remained.

The video is not meant to be instructional, and not even a great representation of how I like to build my production basses, but merely capturing my last build in the New Hampshire shop as my wife and I were selling our home…..and everything in it :). There are a couple small bits that I did not capture (pickup hole routing and neck shape dimensioning). Regardless, I hope you enjoy the video.

[bassor]

That beard survived all these rotating tools…. Respect! 😉

[josephbania]

From a fellow luthier and bass player: nice build, nice tone and great attention to detail.

[ralphy]

I’ve watched a lot of bass builds, and the extra time you take to make the bass super comfortable and playable is why this is one of my favorites. The time others take to put a ‘special Pac-Man inlay’ or make some wild shape that takes 3 extra hours; you instead take that time to extra sand/conform the neck and body for playability. And also the extra care of shielding the cavity and the back of the pick guard. All the extra work put in to make a stellar ‘player bass’ as opposed to some others trying to make a spaceship out of their bass, but then it probably ends up feeling horrible in the hands and against the body. Love this video man!!!

[billycjustice]

You took the time to put this video together; I took the time to watch it in its entirety. Outstanding! Thanks!

[carloko]

very good job, dude, amazing, hey but what about with the painting work? you dont show us that part odf the process

[weskaminski]

I like that you glued in the frets. Don't see that quite often enough

[davidethridge]

First time I've ever slowed a video down to half speed! Nice

[andrewmundenandcadfellmast]

Good idea on the off centre cut😊. This looks like another interesting and cool build mate👍🏼😁

[ianinfinity]

Awesome build.. Saludos from Puerto Rico

[derwinmoss]

Brian, I really enjoyed the video. Thank you for posting it!

[johnglynhughes]

Excellent build and top notch video. Thank you for sharing with us!

[woodzmusik]

Very nice build!! Love all you guys do from scratch from start to finish....Thanks Brian...! Thinking You guys can build a custom bass for me!!!

[alexguitarlessons]

Thanks for a great video: the editing must have been murder! Seriously, that's a beautiful, subtle twist on classic design. Incredible amount of detail to do a one- off like that, without CNC! Very clean. Time lapse of such pro work really shows how much goes into this. I only want to hear you play a bit more now!

[alanvelazquez]

Well done !!
Could you tell the dimentions of the neck pocket on this bass

[mikeknowlden]

When you rout out the body for the neck pocket do you rout in an angle to aid in lowering the string height? Approximately 1or 2 degrees im guessing

[japhtanfor]

Hi there sir
I love to know how I can buil a bass guitar from scratch but I found it difficult from Cameroon to get the accessories

[TheChrist]

How much would you charge for this exact bass

[jeremywalker]

Very few things stress me out as much as woodworkers with long beards. It's to nice of a beard to cut though so what ya gonna do! Stay safe my friend

[vlsmitt]

Very chaotic approach. The neck mounted and demounted several times (headstock even not started), stings mounted to unfinished neck several times, no template used...uff

[TheChrist]

God: you can be a master carpenter or a bassist
This guy: yes