Something I keep thinking about… proportions. A double bass is pretty much all body and an electric bass is pretty much all neck—so what if you change that?
You wouldn't want to strap an upright over your shoulder, but if you took into account scale wouldn't you end up with something like this:
In any case, that's what I'm trying for with my mockup (Karlov SB). I got into the sculpting this week and I gotta say the cigar box/Bo Diddley rectangle shape is pretty blunt. It reminds me of Brutalist architecture. It lacks a certain… I don't know what. The scale length will be 32" although there is room for it to be 34" and the total length is the same as your average acoustic guitar. So, in addition to providing more body for the low end the playable area is closer to the torso of the player.
The design will need some refinement. So, I think I'll keep them 2-string slide basses until I get the shape right, then I'll go on to 4-string fretless.
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