Riffster Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Got this bass for free from a friend, nice neck profile and the body is solid wood (which is not always the case with imports), I decided to breath new life into it. The bass has been gigged for about 10 years. Issues: the electronics did not work, there was no capacitor :- , the sound was on "fully open" position, the volume pot fell apart as I removed the pickguard, a broken tuner, rusty frets, dry fretboard, warped pickguard. Intonation and setup were way off. - Upgraded wiring with CTS Pots, Mojo Oil Capacitor, Switchcraft input jack, aluminum shielding tape. - New pickguard, scuffed with 0000 steel wool to take shine away and match the level of distress of the body. - New tuner, replaced only the broken peg part so the tuners are the same. - New knobs. - New strap knobs. - Polished frets. - Oiled fretboard. - Setup and intonation. $50 total investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenKen Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Looks nice but I thought we liked beat up guitars. Maybe you shoulda relic'd it. :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 I like these kind of projects. I once put a Mighty-Mite maple J neck on a Squier II P-bass body - then threw in a pair of re-issue '62 pickups. It turned out so sweet that my buddy just had to have it... I had $200 in it, sold it for $600. I used the broke-truss-rod Squier II neck as a wall hanger. Put hooks in it, and use it to hang cables. It's not steampunk, but whatever. I kind wish I kept it, but, you know. I still have a bunch of leftover P-bass parts - but I couldn't say what they're from any more. If you need parts, shoot me a PM and I'll send you what I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenKen Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 my buddy just had to have it... I had $200 in it' date=' sold it for $600.[/quote'] Some buddy you are :- . Did you add a burg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Some buddy you are :- . Did you add a burg? Absolutely. The burg made it that much more attractive! But really, I didn't want to sell it - but he just kept upping the ante. When he insisted that he was serious, and didn't care about the difference between my cost and what he was willing to give, I caved. It was a great player, and he obviously wanted it more than I did. He's been after me to sell him my old Acoustic bass amp, too. I paid $85 for an old Acoustic combo (118? I don't remember). But I'm keeping that. Unless he gets all stupid again. What would you have done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenKen Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Explanation not required. I was just kidding. Thought the burg comment would give it away. :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Explanation not required. I was just kidding. Thought the burg comment would give it away. :- Well, those burgs are rare as hen's teeth, or the John the Conquerer Root, or eye boogers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 I still have a bunch of leftover P-bass parts - but I couldn't say what they're from any more. If you need parts' date=' shoot me a PM and I'll send you what I have.[/quote'] You know, I almost posted asking for parts as I know we all have something laying around that we'll never use. At this point this project is complete but I appreciate it. Although I really do not know if the pickup is any good, it works. The only thing that I would like to replace is the nut, I'll do that next time I do maintenance on it. This bass should be good enough to record clips with. Zenken the bass is still pretty beat up, the pics just don't show it. Like I said, I did lightly distress the new pickguard so it would match the level of wear of the body. Using 0000 steel wool takes the shine away without scratching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenKen Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 I really like the pickguard. Good choice. :- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 Thanks, and you know the only reason I bought a new pickguard is that my Stratocaster is black and white and I did not want another axe with the same color scheme. I am going to place the old white pickguard of this bass in a place where it can get flattened again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenKen Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 The only thing I would do now is go to some place like Warmoth and get a nice maple neck. Love :- that look on a black axe. (BTW, I have a black strat with a white pg and maple neck). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 My Strat has a maple neck, I do prefer them too. In the case of this bass, the neck profile is what I like the best, round C on the first frets and shallow C on the rest of the neck. So this neck is staying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Explanation not required. I was just kidding. Thought the burg comment would give it away. After playing my bass and inspecting it closely I have determined that it does not have a burg in it. Does that affect the tone on basses? EDIT: on a more serious note, I used 2 audio 250k pots on this bas after doing research, it looks like that is what is used on Fenders. The tone knob works real well but the volume has a quick taper between 10 and 7. For you guys that are familiar with basses, is that normal? I don't mind just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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