Well howdy guys, Im Scott, from central SC and I bought a Squier from a buddy for little of nothing. Its just the body, neck and tuners, no electronics or pickguard.
Now, For fathers day, I want to put this guitar back to my dads older days, when he played in bands and entice him into playing more.
Back when in the early 90's he played in a little band that played local shows, and he had a yellow Ibanez I believe, with a black pick guard, and an airbrushed "Taz" smoking a cigarette, and Todd P below it.
So, my project is to make this Squier as close to that as possible. Some of my older buddies and his younger buddies have started a tuesday night, jam session at a local bar, and begging him to come play bass, which he used to back in the day as well.

If its not a CRAZY task, what would it take to convert this guitar to a bass?
I know the neck would have to be changed, and since i have to order the lower parts, could I just order bass stuff? or is it too much trouble to worry with ?

All else fails, i'll just paint it yellow, and throw guitar parts to it.
Thanks,
-Scott

Well howdy, DD. Welcome to the Forum. A pic will help. There are ways to do everything and a pic will help to pick the ways you might want to think about doing your project.

_________________
you can save the world with your guitar one love song at a time it's just better, more fun, easier with a fender solid body electric guitar or electric bass guitar.

It's probably not a crazy task but my first thought is the expense. There are some real nice basses out there for the cost of the new neck and parts you are considering purchasing. Or maybe start with a project bass and go that route so more of the "foundation" parts are there.

Either way I'm sure your dad will appreciate your efforts.

It is possible to do, a trim here and there and a new bridge and pickup.

here is something i found in a google search that may help

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/bass-place/3 ... oject.html

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f57/guita ... le-648793/

_________________

Just assuming that you could solve the shed load of problems it would cause adapting the guitar for heavier strings, including finding a way to stop it imploding from the power of them, then you would still end up with something unplayable.

The intonation would be all over the place. Guitar necks are designed for a particular pitch range and string size. Exceed that range and the results become increasingly unpredictable. Even changing from a 9 set to an 11 set requires you to reset the intonation. Imagine what it would be like trying to set it up for the trawler cables that bass players use? Just go and look at the difference in the length of guitar and bass frets. You can't buck physics on this one..

The whole idea is a folly waiting to happen. Leave the Squire be, and search Craigs List for a cheapo bass to play with.

_________________
Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

I think that it would be a much better cost effective option to buy an entry level bass rather than go buying parts for a guitar/bass conversion.You can pick up a very good quality bass from Squier or Epiphone for under $200 which would be much less than your conversion would set you back plus you'd have a warranty to fall back on if anything went wrong with it.In doing a conversion from guitar to bass you could run into all kinds of unforseen problems such as scale lengths,neck/neck pocket measurements etc.,so all in all buying a good,cheap bass would be the better way to go.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I agree with the 2 posts above. Save yourself time and trouble. Buy a new or used bass and be done.

_________________
...I for one, sure would appreciate the return of intelligent conversation, spirit of assistance and the simple yet effective ignoring of those who can't seem to hang with that...
Best regards,
rob

Howdy... I don't have anything to add... I just love saying Howdy...

_________________
In Reference to Blues Legend RL Burnside:
After a heart attack in 2001, Burnside's doctor advised him to stop drinking; Burnside did, but he reported that change left him unable to play.

You can carve a new nut, put on some heavy, heavy strings and use a multi-effects bass simulator for a quick solution and end up with a sweet six string bass with nice action and probably be able to navigate the neck with ease using good bass technique.

The bridge...hmmm. A baritone bridge?

Good luck, sounds fun to me!

You can throw a lot of time and money into this and the outcome will be less rewarding than going to a pawnshop and buying an old Ibanez or something similar for about the same money, or even less, than the project would cost. An experienced luthier would have a tough time pulling it off and I wouldn't try it myself as I know the outcome would not look, play or sound much like a real bass would. It is very thoughtful of you to consider it though. Maybe he would like to fool around with the 6 string as it is.