3 String bass conversion Ibanez Gio Soundgear

This bass is part of an ongoing one-off conversion project built around a simple idea:

What happens if you strip the electric bass down to only what you actually need?

Every instrument in this series started life as a used 4-string bass that already had some miles on it — bumps, bruises, scratches, wear, and character from years of being played. I intentionally chose affordable used instruments that still had good bones because part of this project was about giving overlooked basses a second life instead of letting them disappear into closets, pawn shops, or landfills.

Each bass was then professionally converted into a fully playable 3-string instrument by a professional luthier. The goal was never to create a novelty item or wall decoration — these are real instruments meant to be played hard, recorded with, gigged with, and experimented on.

The inspiration comes from punk, grunge, metal, DIY culture, minimalist design, and the anti-virtuoso philosophy that sometimes fewer options create more creativity. A 3-string bass changes the way you approach the instrument in a surprisingly fun and inspiring way while still covering a huge amount of musical ground.

Every conversion involved:

• selecting basses with neck dimensions that work naturally as 3-string instruments
• replacing the original bridge with individual single-string bridges
• cutting and fitting a new nut
• testing electronics
• performing a full professional setup for tuning stability and playability

These basses ship in standard EAD tuning, though BEA is also a great option with different strings if you want a heavier setup.

These are not factory-perfect collector pieces — and that is completely intentional. The cosmetic wear is part of the personality and history of each instrument. Please check the photos carefully so you know exactly what you’re getting.

Every bass in this project is a unique one-off. No two are exactly alike.

I’m also including a full pricing breakdown in the listing because I wanted this project to stay true to its DIY roots. I’m not trying to create artificial boutique pricing or pretend these are luxury collector instruments. I just genuinely think this is a cool idea, a fun instrument, and a creative alternative for players who connect with the concept.

Buyer pays actual shipping costs only. I’m not building handling fees into the price, charging for packing materials, or trying to make money on shipping. I have plenty of proper packing materials and these basses will be packed carefully and securely.

Some basses in the project include a gig bag and some do not — that will always be clearly stated in the individual listing.

Whether you want:

• a stripped-down punk machine
• a heavy riff weapon
• a lightweight stage bass
• a recording experiment
• or simply one of the coolest conversation pieces in your collection

…this thing absolutely delivers.

Model: Ibanez Gio Soundgear
Color: Black
Original cost: $159.75
Conversion: $150
Parts cost: $23 (bridge and nut)
Gig Bag included

Total price before shipping: $332.75

Reverb charges:

Selling fee - $16.64

Payment processing fee - $11.10

Grand total before shipping: $360.49