BassBus Posted June 1, 2013 Share Posted June 1, 2013 This is the start of a long term project. I bought this wreck of a bass on Ebay for £52 complete with Gotoh tuners and Badass bridge. Nowt else. The neck was a bit of a banana so I clamped that on a number of occasions. I had almost given up hope of it ever straightening but got there in the end. There is still quite a bit of play in the trus rod. I strung it up with an old set of Thomastik Jazz Flats and acoustically it sounds pretty good. I suppose that is the best way to tell how a bass will sound amplified if you get a good tone acoustically. Roundwounds had been used on the bass so you can imagine the state of the finger board. Full of gouges. I bought a 12" radius sanding block and set to removing all the gouges from the rounds. Cut it down with 80 grit paper and finished it off with 330 grit. That's left it smooth enough. Can't decide if I should give it another run with 600 or 800 grit. couple of applications of oil later and there is a lovely sheen to it and it is playing without any buzzes. Next job is to replace the bridge with a Gotoh 201. Other plans: I had thought of having the entire face planed off and a new one applied but that might not be worth the money. I'm more inclined to fill all the holes with dowel then sand the whole thing level to remove the old finish. Stain the face with a dark coloured wood dye and then apply coats of finish over that. I quite fancy Tru-Oil for that. I have a couple of EMG-HZ pickups and would quite like to fit an East U-Retro preamp. I want to fit a Roland GK-3B too but that will be externally to avoid the extra expence of more routing. Still trying to work out what to do with the pickup routings and where to set the EMGs. I know I want the back pickup about 3cm from the edge of the bridge. This will take a while so don't expect regular updates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 It'll be nice to see this brought back to its former glory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 Managed to get things stripped down to drill out the old control holes to 12mm. I decided to drill the small screw hols in front of the bridge too and fill with 6mm dowel. I'll leave it like this to set for 24 hours. Last night I was just playing around with it acoustically and happened to put the top horn up against my ear. Couldn't believe the sound that came from it. I dug out my old Fishman BP100 DB pickup and attached it to the top horn with masking tape. You might not believe it but [url="https://soundcloud.com/bassbus/acoustic-upright-or-is-it"][i][b]THIS[/b][/i][/url] is what came out. There is a small sticker inside the control cavity which looks like a serial number, 881970. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 That's coming along nicely. I would imagine that flogging the Badass would pay for most of this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 That thought has crossed my mind. It just does not fit this bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threedaymonk Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 [quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1370117616' post='2096705'] Other plans: I had thought of having the entire face planed off and a new one applied but that might not be worth the money. I'm more inclined to fill all the holes with dowel then sand the whole thing level to remove the old finish. Stain the face with a dark coloured wood dye and then apply coats of finish over that. I quite fancy Tru-Oil for that. [/quote] Veneering the front face might be a simple and cheap alternative. People tend to veneer with fancy wood, but if you were to use something unassuming and similar to the body wood (whatever that is), it should blend in pretty well, and won't increase the thickness by more than about 0.6 mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubis Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 Very nice sound clip, why not fit a piezo bridge if it sounds like that Best of luck with your project Bassbuss Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted June 15, 2013 Share Posted June 15, 2013 Got any better pictures of the Badass, I bought one off t'internet to replace the original one on my 1987 neck thru B.C.Rich ST bass, and when it arrived, it wasn't BLACK, it was, well, Chocolate coloured! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 (edited) [quote name='threedaymonk' timestamp='1371323661' post='2112646'] Veneering the front face might be a simple and cheap alternative. People tend to veneer with fancy wood, but if you were to use something unassuming and similar to the body wood (whatever that is), it should blend in pretty well, and won't increase the thickness by more than about 0.6 mm. [/quote] Interesting you should mention that as I was just looking at that being done on youtube the other day. I've had a look around for supplies of 0.6mm veneer and there's plenty available. When I sand the face to remove the finish that will probably remove about half a milimetre. [quote name='rubis' timestamp='1371328774' post='2112698'] Very nice sound clip, why not fit a piezo bridge if it sounds like that Best of luck with your project Bassbuss Harry [/quote] The strange thing about this sound is that it only comes from the top horn. I tried the pickup on different bits of the body but nothing produced the volume or quality of tone that the top horn had. I can't even hear the same tone from any of my other basses, even my Spectorcore which is also strung with TI Jazz Flats. [quote name='Lorne' timestamp='1371333371' post='2112767'] Got any better pictures of the Badass, I bought one off t'internet to replace the original one on my 1987 neck thru B.C.Rich ST bass, and when it arrived, it wasn't BLACK, it was, well, Chocolate coloured! [/quote] I'll see what I can do. It won't be up for sale for a while as I have to find the right piece of wood to fill that hole. New bridge has been ordered. Edited June 15, 2013 by BassBus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorne Posted June 16, 2013 Share Posted June 16, 2013 [quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1371337685' post='2112813'] I'll see what I can do. It won't be up for sale for a while as I have to find the right piece of wood to fill that hole. New bridge has been ordered. [/quote] Thanks, keep me at the top of the list LOL Here's my opinion on your bass, you've filled the excess control holes, I had that done by Chris Eccleshall on one of my basses, looked great when I picked it up, then the paint settled and it sticks out like a sore thumb The front pick up route, gonna be a P.I.A. to hide So, get a piece of flame or quilted maple, get the front of the body planed down to however thick your maple is, fill the pick up route with maple, add the quilted/flame to the front and spray it tobacco burst. I had one of the original Bass Collection basses, in the 80's, they came with hard cases as standard back then, wish I could remember what I did with mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share Posted June 16, 2013 I'm well aware that hiding fills is going to be difficult. That is why the idea of gluing a thin veneer on the front appeals. I have never wanted fancy wood on the front of this bass. If the front planed off any new face will be something simple like alder or ash. As for pickup routes, I would like a ramp on the bass. I'm toying with the idea of having a ramp made with the pickups inside it. That would mean less filling and just a bit more routing. I'l have to look into that a bit more though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted June 16, 2013 Author Share Posted June 16, 2013 Lovely warm day outside so a chance to cut down the fills and sand the top. As Lorne commented the fills are going to be impossible to hide. Veneer is still an option but I'm leaning towards having the face planed and a new one stuck on. Shall inquire with a luthier friend locally this week about that. Seeing it sanded like this gives me an idea of what an ash front might look like . I like the contrast between the two woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted July 5, 2013 Author Share Posted July 5, 2013 Standby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 The body has been away for a face lift. Mark Mawby, who is [url="http://www.smallstrings.co.uk/"]Small Strings[/url], took the old face off and has replaced it with a rather splendid looking European Walnut book matched face. As it has been such a great day it was a good chance to sit outside and set to removing the remainder of the old finish. Started with a course 80 grit sand paper and took it down to 130 grit. I think I'm going to use some finer grade paper still. Before sanding. After sanding. A little bit of Nitromors in the control cavity removed the old screening. Next job is to fit the bridge. At sometime in the future the new pickup cavities will be routed out. Once that is done the face can be planed down and Mark is going to apply a thin satin lacquer on the whole body. Having seen the results of that lacquer on some of his other walnut instruments it will look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 And starting to see what it will look like. [size=4] [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myke Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Pretty, pretty, pretty What type of pickup are you going for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 I have two EMG-HZ pickups that I bought from a board member. I far prefer the sound of a humbucker to single coils. Haven't decided on a preamp yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted July 7, 2013 Author Share Posted July 7, 2013 I have posted this in 'Obscure Musical Backwaters' as well. Can anyone with one of these basses measure the scale length for me from the nut to the G saddle. Measuring the distances between each of the position markers on this bass brings the scale length to 33 1/2 inches. That would explain why my fingering never coincided with these markers before as I measured the scale length with the old bridge at 34 inches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 I've answered this in 'Obscure Musical Backwaters in more detail, but mine's 34" dead. This is looking really good. I'm just beginning to wonder whether my SB310 would benefit from similar treatment, except with a Stingray pickup in the sweet spot. Just put a Nordy pre-amp in my SB465 and I'm very happy with the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted July 7, 2013 Author Share Posted July 7, 2013 [quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1373186392' post='2134380'] This is looking really good. I'm just beginning to wonder whether my SB310 would benefit from similar treatment, except with a Stingray pickup in the sweet spot. [/quote] That would be interesting. The evolution of a bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted July 7, 2013 Author Share Posted July 7, 2013 Just goes to show that perfect preparation prevents pretty poor performance. Having checked measurements again and again I went with the 33.5 inch scale. The intonation is bang on the dots on the side of the neck. Can't explain why there might have been variants but there you are. Bridge installed and strung up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubis Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Very pretty Still think it would look and sound great with a piezo bridge and no magnetic pickups Best of luck with the rest of your project Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted July 7, 2013 Author Share Posted July 7, 2013 I have two basses with piezos already so unfortunately don't need another. It has always be the intention to use mag pups on this. It does seem a shame though, to cut into that lovely walnut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Oh my, that's shaping up very nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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