6 string vs 4 string body size

Hunter Grant

Hunter Grant

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Feb 2, 2016
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#1
Hi, I'm building a 6 string bass, and I can't find any information about body size anywhere on the internet. I know the body is usually bigger, but I don't know by how much. the cardboard model I have feels enormous even though its proportions are similar to a 4.
 
#2
Hunter Grant said:
Hi, I'm building a 6 string bass, and I can't find any information about body size anywhere on the internet. I know the body is usually bigger, but I don't know by how much. the cardboard model I have feels enormous even though its proportions are similar to a 4.
Click to expand...
Make it as big or little as you want, it could be 18" wide or it could be 5" wide. It just needs to be big enough to fit the pickups, bridge and controls on. Anything bigger is just for aesthetics.
 
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#3
My bodies are same length, width and thickness for 4s, 5s and 6s. The width of the neck pocket changes, and so does the access cutaway to reach the upper frets, but otherwise, everything stays the same. :)
 
#8
Here's how mine shook out:
BassBOdies.jpg

The blue line is the 4-string version, and the black is the 6-string version.

So the 6-string is a little bigger, but it's not so significant a difference.

The 4-string body is about 20-3/4" long, and 13-3/16" wide, with a neck pocket that's ~2-3/8" wide at its widest. The bass body is 20-7/8" long, and 13-1/2" wide, with a neck pocket that is ~3-1/4" wide at its widest.

It's not much wider...only about 1/8" overall, but the inner curves are a bit wider, so it ends up looking proportional, even though the neck is 7/8" wider.

upload_2018-9-28_23-10-3.png




As for the body blanks, they started the same. I get an 8/4 slab of wood, 7" wide and and 41" long. Then cut it so that I have one 22" long second, and one 19" long section, then glue it together like this:
upload_2018-9-28_23-15-48.png

I usually plane it down to 1-1/2" thick (~38mm) before I glue it together, mostly because my planer is only 12.5" wide.
 
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#9
A 6 string body doesn't need to be bigger, and isn't on mainstream basses to save money. All that matters is that you design it to balance at a good angle on the leg and be reasonably balanced on a strap, that can be done without a larger body.
 
#10
In my opinion, if you care about good design, and not just making the bass as cheaply as possible, the body does need to be slightly bigger, to accommodate the larger neck.
 
#11
A six strings with 16mm spacing and a six strings with 19mm spacing have different bridge width, as you can guess. I think you should make it bigger than its 4 strings counterpart... in this way:

1) Take a copy of the plan for the 4 strings body with the neck on, if possible, and just make the fingerboard's edge lines longer 'til they meet the "butt" of the body.
2) Using a rule, cut the "wings" outside of these lines;
3) By knowing the nut width and spacing at bridge of the sixer you want to build, you can draw those lines and add the "wings" to trace the body with the right measurements.

Of course this is a very rough process and you'll probably have to adjust the lines a bit by hand, but at least you'll have the right width if you care about proportions.
 
#13
One other thing to consider is cases. If you keep the body to around 14" wide at the widest point, you can fit into almost any standard bass case. When you get to 15" or wider, it's much harder to find a case to fit.

I agree with what the other guys are saying. You generally want to make a 5 or 6 string body only a little bit wider than a 4 string. But pay extra attention to the length of the upper horn, to make sure it balances.
 
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