spinynorman Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 The plan was, I bought an SX bass as a temporary backup while I sold my 51 RI P and found something else. The SX had a bright orange maple neck which I didn't get on with at all, so I tried to strip and refinish it. That didn't work out at all well, and meanwhile I found this Vintage brand maple/rosewood neck on eBay. So, it's a bit of a mixture. The body with the original black finish is from the SX bass, with a new 3-ply tort pickguard. The pickups, knobs, bridge and jack socket are all from the original SX bass. The original 500K pots have been replaced with new 250k versions and an orange drop cap, and the control cavity has been shielded with copper tape. Vintage brand neck is maple with rosewood fretboard and skunk stripe. Headstock and back of neck has been sanded and refinished. Tuners and string tree are SX. Strings are roundwound and look like they're probably Fender. Cosmetically the body has a number of bumps and scratches, some of which have been retouched. The wonderful thing about black is you can't really see any of this unless you look closely. There is a visible thin scratch on the back and some other visible marks. There's also some dents in the face of the headstock. The pickguard is cut a little wide around the neck. Respraying the front of the headstock didn't come out as smooth as I would have liked, but it looks ok. Back of the neck is smooth, which I guess is where it matters. To play, it is loud and bassy, the action is good, the trussrod works and the frets are fine. Electrics work well - having rewired and replaced the pots and cap has really opened up the tone and gives a good range of options from dark thump to brighter clank. The electrics are very quiet, helped by the shielding. It's actually turned out to be a nice bass, but I just don't need it any more. How about £120 shipped in the UK, including a Fender-branded gig bag and the original white pickguard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted November 28, 2010 Author Share Posted November 28, 2010 I guess it doesn't sound much in the description, but I pick it up from time to time and it plays rather well. So bump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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