From Craigslist, I just spent $50 on this cute, tiny, 26 inch scale, Glarry brand bass guitar. Even new these miniature instruments sell for only around $90-100 USD, making them the cheapest new bass I’ve ever heard of.
My thought when buying it was to do another piccolo bass conversion, another even smaller ax up in the guitar octave again. But first I wanted to get a better bass sound out of it if I could without spending many semoleons on it, since I plan to pith and piccolo it right quick.
Not an awful sound now that I’ve worked on it for two four six days, so far, despite me being too lazy and cheap to buy new strings for it. The like-new mini Glarry was so out of intonation when I bought it all I could do was to make sure the all notes sounded and the neck looked good.
I suspect the CL seller ‘Phillip’ had discovered a big QC fault that made him dump it for half a C-note on Craigslist. He was very relieved when I handed over the cash without checking both pickups. Sharpish fret ends like you’d expect but no bloodshed.
The factory roundwounds were junk as always, like batteries on new cars, I discarded them. The worn old flats I next installed were bad in a different way, a muffled thump with no top end.
And the clanky roundwounds on it now – 3rd time was not the charm, more like three on a match – are not long for this world either.
I finally checked both pickups after a long intonation session, to find out the Glarry’s bridge pickup was non-operational. I laughed. Funny the seller never mentioned that. I tested all the notes but forgot to try out both the ‘pups’.
No matter, I seldom use the honky bridge pickup anyhow, and can probably fix it if I poke around the innards. [A loose wire, re-soldered in 10 minutes.]
I only noticed it was broken when I heard a weird warbling as the notes died out. I got rid of most of it by cutting the busted bridge pickup to zero, and diming the usually mellower neck pickup. I’ll see how it sounds with these old unknown flatwound strings. [Not very good. Quality strings once, but now in their dotage.]
I’ll open the hatch in back, see if the bridge pickup has a broken wire or something. [See above, fixed.] Not too worried in any case, I seldom use the rear PU because it sounds twangy, neck PU is smooth like my sound – ha, ha. [Using both pickups together tends to cancel the characteristic straight pickup hum. More power too.]
[Later that same day]: The D machine head is gritty but I probably have a spare small tuner when it croaks. [I did not find a spare machine head in my junk but I managed to smooth out the dicky D tuner by dripping oil down inside.]
[A week later:] I’m now playing the third set of strings on the Glarry mini bass. The stock set from the factory I threw away. The used mystery flatwound string set I could not coax any trace of treble out of, so they went in the trash too.
Now I’ve put on another recycled roundwound string set, from some bass or other in my past. They are maybe D’Addario brand and are too bright and clanky for my taste, showing up all my faults.
So for the next piccolo bass string experiment I’ll use the D and G strings presently on the bass. Only I’ll move them to the E and A position (strings 4 & 3) and tune them an octave up. Then I’ll open my cheapest new 6-string guitar string set [Alice!], and select the thickest strings, the low E and the A.
I’ll put them on the Glarry at the D and G string locations, then tune them to that pitch, in the same octave as the E and D string.
I believe I will never sound or look worse than here, fans. I promise improvements in every direction. With new strings someday, better quality axes, and for sure never shirtless or in PJs again. This time for sure. I believe I can do better.
I have no idea if this field expedient, hillbilly DIY piccolo bass string set will work or not. Might snap strings tuning it; string tension might be too floppy or too loose; might not intonate at the 12th fret. But the $5 price is right. With strings left over!
You can’t get many basses cheaper than $50, much less a fun to play, good sounding (OK sounding now, maybe good tone soon), mini bass perfect for summer travel. Maybe I will swap in aftermarket or used pickups to replace the Glarry’s tomato cans. I will change the tuners for sure, and maybe the bridge too, for better ones someday.
I’m stoked. And curious to hear how it sounds an octave up as a piccolo bass.
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