Advice on making a Classic Vibe 50's P more comfortable

[cameltoe]

My main bass is a Road Worn Precision, and I can't express how much I love this bass. I have a gap in my life where I should normally be lusting after something! I think maybe a custom shop, Nash, or AV '57 may finally get on the gas list. It's weird feeling content with your gear.

Anyway, my back up bass is a Classic Vibe 50's precision. Great looking bass, sounds good with a new 51 RI pick up, and plays OK now I've set it up. The one thing that puts me off playing it though, is how damn new and sticky it feels. I really understand now why people relic their basses, and why off-the-shelf relic'ed basses are doing well at the moment- there's just something about a worn-in bass that makes it so much more comfy to play. Aesthetically, I've not been a fan, and was against the Road Worn idea until I played it! I guess I like the result but not the idea. If I had the money, I'd buy a genuine vintage instrument.

Is there anything I can do to the thick, sticky poly finish on this bass to make it more comfy to play? I'm not doing it so it looks cool, but in the same breath I'd rather not end up with a bass that looks badly relic'ed. I'd like it to look a bit convincing at the least, but really just get that worn in feeling, especially in the neck.

I've found a few websites, like Relic Deluxe, that claim you can get a decent relic finish on a poly, but seriously the lacquer is so damn thick on that neck! It also affects the sound, as it's such a hard, shiny surface for the strings to vibrate against. You really notice the difference playing the RW and the CV unplugged- the sharp, rattling, tinny sound fron the CV is unreal, compared to the warm, woody, dampened tone from the RW. I don't think a quick wet-and-dry would suffice, I reckon it may need bringing back to almost bare wood.

Any Ideas?

[Grand Wazoo]

Can I ask, is the neck that you want more "lived in" or is it to do with the body paintwork?

if it's the neck, just get yourself a pack of "0000" wire wool, remove the neck and start working on the neck (prepare yourself for a lot of elbow grease) up / down in from the top to the bottom, not in any circular or slanted motion, just up and down following the grain pattern of the neck, first the back then the front and go easy around the frets. After a good half hour you should have taken a thin layer of the shiny lacquer off the neck, polish the neck with wax, and if you are not yet happy, start again until you see that it feels more comfortable and natural to you.

If it is the body paint that bothers you I wouldn't recommend rubbing the Lake Placid Blue paint as you never know what lurks underneath, these are after all cheap basses so don't expect a highly figured veneer to come out. For all you know you might find unsightly glue joints, dove tailed parts even... so I wouldn't if I were you.

Good luck

[Grand Wazoo]

Also I need to warn you of a possible sinister result, the more you rub off the lacquer the more you weaken the neck and you risk ending up with an unstable neck difficult to keep straight and to keep in tune. Kinda like turn the heating on and the neck bends forward, turn it off and it goes the opposite way.

So don't go so strong as to end up to the bare maple.

[Ghost_Bass]

Polish the back of the neck. Use some kind of furniture spray to clean any grease and give it a strong and vigorous polish with a clean cloth. If you want to worn it out i can only think of a very thin grade sand paper... don't realy know if it will work!
In the worst case scenario you can sand all the poly from the back of the neck and treat it with gun stock oil and wax [i]a la stingray[/i], i did it with the neck of my first bass (Maison P-copy) and it worked out realy well and now it plays like a treat! You can see some pics of the restoration process if you like here:
[url="http://www.baixistas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=197"]http://www.baixistas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=197[/url]

edit: just read GW's post. Be aware for the dangers he mentioned!

Edited February 4, 2011 by Ghost_Bass

[Lozz196]

Contact a luthier, and ask them how much they would charge to relic just the neck, to the same feel as the Road Worn. As fake relicing seems to be an "in-thing" at the moment I`m sure that a few luthiers have added this to their lists of work

I know what you mean about the RW necks - most comfortable bass I`ve ever played was a RW P-Bass.

[warwickhunt]

re. the neck - If you are talking about a maple board and you want it back to matt then it will require a de/refret and is best done by a luthier/builder. Back of the neck is a different matter and that's an elbow grease done at home job.

[cameltoe]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1114785' date='Feb 4 2011, 12:46 AM']Also I need to warn you of a possible sinister result, the more you rub off the lacquer the more you weaken the neck and you risk ending up with an unstable neck difficult to keep straight and to keep in tune. Kinda like turn the heating on and the neck bends forward, turn it off and it goes the opposite way.

So don't go so strong as to end up to the bare maple.[/quote]

Why is this GW? On the RW the neck finish is very thin, rubbed down to nowt in places. Is it just a case of cheaper woods being used?