Ok, I've got a few months until I can get one, and now my mom's saying the only way I'll get a bass is if I get a 30 on my ACT. So I'm trying to figure out a way to get a 'bass' now. I've got a real old acoustic that only has 5 'peg' things to put strings in, so I don't even have it at my house or anything. This is probably a really stupid question, but if I were to spend a whole 5-8 dollars on bass strings and restring my acoustic, how would that work out? Would it just work, with the exception of string spacing (could I also pick up a new bridge/nut and change those?), or would there be like a few things I'd need to do first? And, uh, how would I go about changing them if I'm limited to a max of, I don't know, 40 bucks? This is pretty urgent since I might be going to Guitar Center Saturday and if I don't know then I will probably not get a bass for another year-ish. So if I can either get a 'no' or a list of parts that'd be real kickass.

I am sad to say, but you more than likely would not be able to retrofit bass strings onto the guitar you were talking about.  There are a few reasons for this:

- Tuners:  Must be large enough to accept and hold the bass strings.  If they are guitar tuners, they will not be compatible with bass strings so you would be looking at replacing those first which would probably come out to around $30 for a set that would stay in tune well.

- Nut:  The nut has to be cut for the gauge of strings that are to be used, so obviously a standard guitar nut will not compensate for the thicker bass strings.  Cutting your own nut isn't necessarily tough work, but it is easy to screw up.  Depending on what type of nut you would go for it would be about $10-60.

- Bridge:  This is the primary reason why I say it won't work.  Acoustic basses have specific bridges on them that are routed out for the larger sized bass strings.  I have owned a couple of acoustics and from dealing with them I highly doubt that you are going to be able to get a stock bridge to hold both the string and pin in order to secure it.  To replace the bridge on an acoustic you would be looking at a pretty good chunk of change and some time with a good tech or luthier.

I would suggest saving your money and waiting for a bass.  I know thats not what you want to hear, but it would be the best bet.  There are numerous options as far as basses go and there are always great deals lingering around on Craigslist, Ebay, and many other places.  Just wait and you will eventually get a bass.

By the way, good luck on your ACT.

Thanks. I got a 25 2 years ago, so I figure I have a shot at hitting it...

Aw... Well, it's at least POSSIBLE, right? I plan on getting a good bass in a few months, but I all I want's just a junk one now so I can play now. And I have absolutely no problem screwing up stuff on mine, since it's not really playable unless you don't like 1 of your strings. If I were to go as cheap and painfully crappy as I can, it could work, right? Eh, I might be going to a small, probably family owned place tonight (I've never been there before) and with luck someone there'll help me out with parts and all... All that country niceness out here...

Um, thank you so much for helping me out so far, I really appreciate it, and I'm sorry for being stubborn on this and ignoring your "it won't work" but let's say I can get everything tonight and risk screwing up my screwed up guitar some more. Any chance I could get an idiot's guide version to changing everything?

thenegativecreep:

Thanks. I got a 25 2 years ago, so I figure I have a shot at hitting it...

Seriously.

If you got a 25 when you were 12, then hellooooooooooooo new bass!

The problem with making a guitar into a bass is that they are two totally different instruments.  You would face numerous problems in getting the guitar to accept the bass strings and in trying to do so you would more than likely ruin the guitar.  You would need a brand new bridge custom built for the guitar so that would more than likely run the cost above that which you are looking to spend.  Another huge problem would be that even if you got the strings to get on there correctly, the action and intonation would be terrible.  Guitars and basses are different scale lengths (notice how guitar necks are much shorter than those of basses?) so the proper balance of tuning and action would be inachievable.

One thing you may think about doing is buying strings for the guitar and tuning to the same notes that are used on a 5-string bass (B-E-A-D-G) and begin learning songs.  It wouldn't be a bass by any means, but you would at least be able to start learning material to apply to a bass once you get one.

Punky- Yeah but I got totally pwned by the practice ogt in science today. Not so sure anymore.

And I kind of gave on it, thanks. I think I'm getting a real bass soon, now, anyways. See, last time, I had to pretty much fight my parents to the death to get just a cheap pos guitar. But we went to a guitar place today, and they had this insane (it was only entry level, but it was still awesome to me) Ibanez and my dad's thinking about getting it like now-ish I think so I'll just wait... Haha he's probably thinking the same as you, punky, because I failed to mention I got my ass handed to me earlier