Bassfinger

Thanks team. I'll do another Precision first - I fancy a light ivory colour and dark tort pickguard - for the next one, and then after that might do them to spec for customers.

I've been chatting it over with Mrs Bassfinger. This project using used parts and spares has well exdeeded my expectations. Just imagine what I could do with virgin components, specifically sourced for each build? That being the case I am going to start making these for sale, not as a business but as a self financing hobby. I imagine I could do 3 or 4 a year and sell them at a price that would cover my costs and still significantly undercut certain other relic bass brands for a product of easily comparable quality. I'd detail each build on here and then post the finished product for sale, making the necessary donations to the forum for doing so. I think I'll stick with the Grimelight brand name, as it have several different meanings and describes the finished product to a T, but mwny thanksmto those that took the time to make naming suggestions. If I'm selling them for money I might not use Fender headstock decals, but seeing as I did some fencing (sword play, not erecting fences) as a teenager I may get some "Fencer" once made, perhaps Premium Bass and Jizz bass - similar enough that a casual glance won't spot the difference, but different enough my conscience will be clear. So watch this space...

Flight Basses? GrimeFlight Basses? I'll sleep on that, it's certainly a good suggestion.

Update. Survived a 2 hour rehearsal tonight. Dropped the EA side of the pickup as output was a touch high on that side, otherwise it plays nicely. It could do with the action dropping a touch but I'll wait another day or two for the truss rod to settle before making fi al tweaks. It sounds fantastic, very solid mid range but deep and full, not a bit thin sounding like some precision can be, so I'm extremely happy. One of our guitarists brought his Jagstang in Daphne blue with a pearl pickguard and I was very pleased at how close a match the paint turned out to be, a pleasant fluke. He in turn was impressed with how realistically worn the Grimelight looks.

Thank you! I might go into business making them. Lemonlight, or Limedark, and you could be damn sure my bridge saddles wouldn't be seized! Edit - Grimelight! I'm giving serious consideration to this. So long as I didn't make a loss I'm not interested in it as a business opportunity, could do 2 or 3 a years as a hobby.

I think that can be arranged.

I recall reading BITD that Beggs used to wash his hair in Lenor to get it all fluffy like that. Thankfully he's a better bassist than hair guru.

Yes, Painters Touch. Sounds a bit pervy...

I'm really impressed with it. I use it in gloss for my lawnmower restos and the coverage is really nice, bit this is the first time I'd used satin and was super pleased. The do a good range of colours too, many not that far off the classic Fender shades.

Thanks Rushbo. I must've looked at pictures hundreds of relics and real vintage planks in order to decide how and where to apply the 'wear and tear.' I hate nothing worse than seeing a top contour sanded back as it invariably looks like someone had simply sanded the top contour!p and nothing like wear or damage from use. I left it hanging in the kitchen over the Rayburn for about 24hrs (Mrs Bassfinger surprisingly said nothing!) and the paint had dried rock had faster than I had expected. The edge wear was done by carefully dragging it along the brickwork of the house! Smaller nicks and dents were the olde fashioned throwing of a bunch of keys method, with a sparing amount of scalpel action. I then rubbed these areas back with 800 grit wet and dry to soften the feel, and then rubbed in Black Bison wax to simulate dirt and grimes also rubbish g a little bit here and there on the paint. The biggest bit of damage was already there, so I rubbed it a bit so as not to feel rough on my forearm and then rubbed the wax into that too. The top contour I carefully rubbed down with the wet and dry until it had just gone through to the primer, to make it look like forearm wear...something a Black and Decker job never achieves! I then rubbed the whole thing with the 800 wet and dry, spending longer in areas that might be in contact with the player when in use to make them a little bit warmer and shinier. Bridge and tuners were already a bit corroded from storage, so left them as it. Knobs were cheap jobs I had knocking about, rubbed through the chrome finish, dipped in salty water and left outdoors for a few days. Ditto the neck plate and pickup cover. Pickguard and pickup covers had a light smoking from my Zippo (being a pipe smoker has its upsides) to make them look grimy. The pickgard had been in the sun and had already darkened unevenly so already looked fairly well used. The pictures are taken in my tablet and the camera isn't the best and it does kinda bleach the images bit. The neck is one I had aged previously with Danish oil and is a nice amber colour, the wear on the neck being down by scrubbing the finish with a brillio pad and rubbing in boot polish. I fancy maybe building a Jazz in this manner so I have a matching set, although I'll have to buy some parts to complete another.

I learned from their mistakes and all the screws got a dab of machine oil on a cotton bud.

Well, I've been a busy boy And it plays...luvveerrrlllyyy! I'm a big fan of Warman pickups and this one has been no exception. That lovely clear, thumping precision tone with just a lick of growl when digging in. Just how I like it. I've done a set up and will fine tune it in a day or two once the truss rod has settled down. I was a little worried how convincing I could get a poly finish to look on a relic, but it's turned out very well. Aside from the lack of nitro cracking it looks respectably tired and worn, and I'm guessing it being a satin finish paint has helped there. Incidentally, it dried very hard and tough so I can recommend Rustoleum for anyone considering a painted finish on a DIY project. So there it is, my very own Limelight clone, and I'd happily put it up against a real one for both sound, feel and finish, and for the 25 quid it cost me in pots and pickguard screws I think I did very well. I'll take it to rehearsal tonight and may even gig it next weekend.

Factor in the cost of the correct screws (Fender P/N 002-1422-049) and that's still only 30 quid. A bargain indeed.

Headstock relic'd, tuners fitted. Neck aged with wire wool and boot polish. Body paint and hung over the Rayburn to dry. Good things Mrs Bassfinger is at work because it stinks! Just about to start work ageing the pickguard. My Zippo,.patience and a dab of luck should do the trick. Fortunately it's already darkens quite a bit with age so it just needs a bit of 'wear' adding to it. Pics to follow.

I run very little. Tuner first, overdrive (used only for one song, I prefer to use other controls for a bit of grit), Drop Box (I'm not lugging my 5 as well for only one song) and then put the preamp last as that feeds into our mixer and the 2nd feed into my monitor. As suggested above, there isn't a 'proper' order, on,y what works best for your circumstances and equipment. I have a Zoom multi effects job as well but as great as it is its too easy to pink torpedo up on stage with it, even I can't go wrong with just a minimum of pedals in front of me.

The 1200 was slow although, bizarrely, when I had mine the 1200 was the fastest of all the air cooled Hardlys.

A story. Somewhat off topic, but I hope I can be forgiven. Back in my Hardly days I looked after a friends full dresser Harley whatever glide while he was on holiday. He had a garage but didn't want to leave it there with the house unattended, so he said I could keep it at mine an and use it so long as I cherished it. Fair enough. This one also had a stereo, and I was blasting along listening to Bruce Springsteen on the radio and feeling cool as you like when I decided to pull in for some fuel. At that exact moment, just as I rolled onto the forecourt, Bruce Springsteen made way for Spandau Ballet's True, leaving me panicking trying to quickly figure how to turn it down or off in my chunky Frank Thomas gloves. By the time I'd managed to shut down the infernal racket everyone on the forecourt had heard and must have thought I was a bit of a berk.

Here, drink this milk!

I fancy a Limelight. Reports are they sound great, feel nice in the hand, and you don't need to be precious with them as a few knocks and bangs only adds to the character. Problem is I've spent 3 grand on Ricky and Sire basses in the last few months and even the easy going Mrs Bassfinger might raise an eyebrow were I to spend more. So, it's time to see if I can make my own version of a Limelight, making it cheap while making it also good and convincing. A tall order. So, today I've been raiding Barn Of S***e looking for the parts I need. As is the case with many of you chaps, when one upgrades a bass one ends up with the original parts as leftovers, and in my case I have many basses worth of such spares. I also have a few bodies and necks from previous projects where I've chopped and changed or upgraded them over the years, and after rummaging came up with... A precision neck. Maple, rosewood fretboard. Not sure where this one came from but I suspect it was Chinese in origin. I do recall giving it a minor fret dress in its previous installation and it being a decent player. A jazz and a precision body. Both Ash I believe. The precision is unpainted, bar a thin poly clear coat, and that better suits my plans. Warman precision pickups in white. Several precision pickguards. A pearl one looks the best fit on this body. An assortment of neck plates, including an ebay "Fender" item. Squier Classic vibe tuners, string tree and bridge, all in nickel. Even better for my purposes they've corroded a little where the barn is a touch damp, and that suits my needs. Tired looking pup cover, that I may or may not use. And I'm sorted for strings, various control knobs, etc. Rummaging though my paint box I've found a can of Rustoleum blue spray which is a fairly close finish for daphne blue, originally intended for sprucing up the cast iron ends of a garden bench. Also some reds and greens from my lawn mower restoring, but the blue would go best with the pickguard methinks. Even better, it's a satin finish. Nitro would be better as the aged finish is easier to achieve, but that means more spending, so the Rustoleum. Fortunately I reckon I can age the satin finish quite convincingly. So that's everything I need, except for pickguard screws and pots. I've order a set of the former, in a slightly dull stainless rather than shiny chrome, and CTS are supplying the pots. So I shall start work this week and titillate you with pictures as it progresses.

Ours went well. Our singist is recovering from flu and his voice isn't quite there yet so I got to sing Common People. I quite enjoyed it. Playing was tight, no major clangers, and we got paid on our way out the door, so it went as smooth as they come. Singist, bassist, guitarist, guitarist, drumist.

Perhaps a good time to mention that 50 quid you owe me...? Seriously though, has the doc recommended anything useful medication wise that might help? I suffer with my hip and was jolly pleased to discover that it responds pretty well to good old fashioned ibuprofen. Very gratifying, as not on,y is it inexpensive there are no side effects for me in moderate doses of the sort I experience with the prescription cocodamol, naproxen etc.

I owned a Harley for a while, a 1200 Sportster. Every panel was beautifully finished, albeit in a slightly different shade from the next. It was not well bolted together. My 4003 is beautifully finished, although I understand that is not always the case. The Harley got up the road with all the aplomb of a 1 legged cat burying a turd on a frozen pond, whereas I think the Rick-O sounds great. I can see where the OP is coming from, and there is certainly some overlap in the idea, but having owned a Hardly Daybison I can confirm they are (or were, it was 18 years ago) so appalling in function that they stand head and shoulders above Rickenbacker for style v substance.

Bandocracy is the best I've personally experienced, but we're all now old enough to behave like grown ups and leave our egos at home.

I rather like it too.