Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Birth of a Barker Bass Prototype






As a manufacturer/craftsman, I like what I have designed and think, in my own selfish, unwindowed world that what you need you will find in my product line.

That is stinkin' thinkin', of course. In similar foolishness, I thought the mental construct was impenetrable.

But somewhere there was a micro fissure in my narrow world, and this Poco idea broached the gap. Two days of work and we have what you see.

Bass on a mic stand.

But wait, there's more!

Already Brent commented the "body needs work." Agreed. It also needs some drastic weight loss surgery. Too much mass, even when I changed the balance point from where you see to right under the end of the fingerboard.

And maybe it would benefit from a stand with a slightly wider footprint; perhaps a three-point stance would be better.

And the 360 degree mounting is good in concept but inadequate in position-holding.

And if we want it to go three ways--vertical on the stand, horizontal on the stand, and strap-slingable to boot, then there's a keen need for a smooth back unencumbered by attachment protrusions. As Bill Cosby's Noah says back to God, "RIGHT!"

Hmmm.

This is the kind of list that makes an innovator wring his hands in poorly-disguised excitement! Clear that bench! Bring in the boxes of metal thingies that have no other label than "metal thingies"! Leave me an amp of modest but adequate horsepower! Slide pizza under the door at appropriate intervals!

And then there's the stand. The mic stand shaftresonates like crazy when this bass is played!

What are we going to do with that factoid?

The patient has ailments. The doctor is in the house. The immediate prescription is Elixir of Time.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Ooo00! This is what I have been looking for! Something to fucyion as a Barker stand up and also be used as a 45 degree bass. I think the shape of the body could use some fine tuning. That's just my opinion.

Artsnark said...

I know nothing about your field but love wood & am really enjoying your blog. Looks cool to me