New Online Course - Electric bass

[Robbie O'Brien]

I am pleased to announce the launch of a brand new course at the Lutherie Academy - Neck Through Electric Bass with Scott Surine of Surine Basses.

Complete course available at https://lutherieacademy.com/courses/bass

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkk4_CC96F4

Online Neck Through Bass Course with Scott Surine - Intro www.youtube.com

Learn About:

• Neck-Through Bass design
• Tools needed
• Materials and how to select them
• Hardware – Tuners and bridges
• Neck layout and truss rods
• Neck design and lamination
• Fretting
• Wing design, lamination and shaping
• Pickups and electronics
• Routing pickup and electronic cavities

Enjoy!

Robbie

Lutherie Academy by O'Brien Guitars lutherieacademy.com Keep track of the changes going on now at O'Brien Guitars by signing up for my newsletter

[Chris Baer]

Hi, Robbie!  I'm working through this course and have a question.

In the "Neck Layout" chapter at around the 18 minute mark, Scott starts talking about the body angle measurements.  

He suggests "almost maxing out" the saddles and then measuring the bridge height.
Then he says to calculate: 1)The thickness of the fretboard, 2) The height of a fret, and 3) the height of a string above that.

When he goes through the calculations, however, he never addresses string height!  He only subtracts the thickness of the fretboard and the fret height from the height of the bridge.

I worry that the combination of "almost maxed out" saddles and not accounting for string height will leave people with a bass with action far too low.

That said, it seems to have worked out for his build!

Am I mistaken?

Thanks!

[Robbie O'Brien]

Chris,

I have sent your question to Scott and am awaiting his reply.

Robbie

On Aug 5, 2025, at 10:13 AM, Chris Baer <chris...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi, Robbie!  I'm working through this course and have a question.

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[Robbie O'Brien]

Chris,

Here is Scott’s answer. Also when in doubt just draw everything out on some paper.

This is tricky because some people like low action and others like higher action. So, for that reason I didn’t specify exact the height of the string above the fret crowns. You could however mention 2mm or 3mm is a standard measurement (at the 12th fret) for string height above the fret itself. 

I had also mentioned that .18” is my personal preference from the edge of the fingerboard, regardless of scale length. Again, it’s going to also be determined on the adjustability of the bridge. So, this is also why I suggest the Hipshot bridge. And strongly suggest to get the hardware in BEFORE one calculates the body angle. 

Hope this helps. 

Scott

On Aug 5, 2025, at 10:13 AM, Chris Baer <chris...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi, Robbie!  I'm working through this course and have a question.

[Robbie O'Brien]

Here is some more follow up info.

Robbie

Here’s a couple screenshots of the side view. The dimension circled in red is the measurement to determine when planing the body angle. (On my basses, I use .18” assuming it’s a .30” fingerboard, and a .50”-.55" bridge saddle height.) 

Lutherie Academy by O'Brien Guitars lutherieacademy.com Keep track of the changes going on now at O'Brien Guitars by signing up for my newsletter

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From: obrien...@googlegroups.com <obrien...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Robbie O'Brien <robi...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 5, 2025 19:24
To: obrien...@googlegroups.com <obrien...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: New Online Course - Electric bass

 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/obrien-forum/MW5PR10MB5825E7DBB40F1F1787FF3689DA2DA%40MW5PR10MB5825.namprd10.prod.outlook.com.

[Chris Baer]

Thanks, Robbie (and Scott)!  

I appreciate the detailed response!

Chris