Andras Gipp came to New York from Hungary 14 years ago to build pianos for Klavierhouse. In his spare time, he also makes electric bass guitars.

Ball park figure for a custom-made bass guitar is $2,500. Gipp said it’s about a 40-hour investment in terms of labor, but doesn’t include the drying time for the lacquer. But it includes the wood working and installing the electronics – and the final product can last up to 30 years, said Gipp.

“My whole idea, the reason I did these instruments, [was] so I would have something to travel with,” said Gipp, who made his first one in 2001. Regular bass guitars are much larger, and Gipp wanted something compact he could travel with. “People saw it, liked the way it looked like, and they asked me to make one for them as well.” So far, he’s made about five.

“I’ve always really enjoyed to build things,” said the Long Island City resident. “You know, just kind of coming up with creative solutions for your needs, that’s all. This whole bass guitar probably was born from that.”

Take a look as Gipp walked me through the steps of creating one of his custom-made bass guitars in his workshop at Klavierhouse, in Midtown.