Greggo Posted December 11, 2013 Share Posted December 11, 2013 Enjoying reading this thread, especially as I may be acquiring one of these to play about with. I needs a project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzRay Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 This is what I love to see, I turned a dull OLP Stingray into a roadworn pre Ernie Ball. I did notice something about your tuner problem, you could have used a left handed set and flipped them over, they'd turn the opposite way than normal but they'd fit better. It's great fun turning a pup into a pedigree isn't it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted December 28, 2013 Author Share Posted December 28, 2013 Thanks guys. We managed to sort the buzzing/crackling by resoldering on of the pup wires. However, I didnt manage to fix the deheaded screw. Am I right that if it cant be drilled out I can make a slightly larger hole and glue a matchstick in there? Then redrill the hole for the screw?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JazzRay Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 What you want for the screw is a set of screw extractors, they aren't expensive either. They look like a cone shaped screw with a reverse thread. You drill the screw you want to remove then screw the right sized extractor into it, as you turn it anti clockwise it gets a bite of what's left of the screw and screws it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 i would be very very surprised if you could drill the remaining part of the screw out, 4 screws should hold it firm enough anyway and if youve still got the sheared screw head, if its aesthetics your worried about why not glue it into the hole thats left on the bridge. or you could always move the bridge either forwards or backwards 5mm or so depending on how much travel you have on the saddles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 [quote name='JazzRay' timestamp='1388255413' post='2320074'] What you want for the screw is a set of screw extractors, they aren't expensive either. They look like a cone shaped screw with a reverse thread. You drill the screw you want to remove then screw the right sized extractor into it, as you turn it anti clockwise it gets a bite of what's left of the screw and screws it out [/quote] This works if you're talking about the bolts on an engine, or similar, but the screws on the bridge of a bass are far too small for this. As this is a re-worked bass and new holes won't be a killer, I'd be inclined to move the bridge. Take a look at the bridge as it is with the intonation set up and ask yourself if the saddles could be moved back away from the neck by 7mm. If the answer is "yes", then remove the bridge and re-drill the holes 5-7mm in front of the current ones. Otherwise you could move the bridge back towards the foot of the bass. If you've never fitted a bridge before: You need to make sure, when you fit the bridge, you get the side-ways position right. The back-forwards isn't critical, but the side to side is. First get some masking tape and put this on the bass round the sides of the existing bridge as a guide for the position. It may also be useful to remove the pups and put tape from the neck to the bridge on each side of the neck to each side of the bridge. You can then get a long straight-edge and mark the line of the sides of the neck as they project towards the foot of the bass. This will give you the line for the outer edge, so we can make sure the strings won't be pushed so far to one-side as to go over when you're playing. Another note to the wise - fit the bridge using 1 screw at first, then check the line up and drill 1-2 more and keep checking. Filling holes - matchsticks are softwood. They're ok if you're screwing a wardrobe together. Fill the ones on the bass with cocktail sticks. It's a harder wood and will be better for long-term use - secure them in place with PVA glue. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1388312222' post='2320567'] This works if you're talking about the bolts on an engine, or similar, but the screws on the bridge of a bass are far too small for this. As this is a re-worked bass and new holes won't be a killer, I'd be inclined to move the bridge. Take a look at the bridge as it is with the intonation set up and ask yourself if the saddles could be moved back away from the neck by 7mm. If the answer is "yes", then remove the bridge and re-drill the holes 5-7mm in front of the current ones. Otherwise you could move the bridge back towards the foot of the bass. If you've never fitted a bridge before: You need to make sure, when you fit the bridge, you get the side-ways position right. The back-forwards isn't critical, but the side to side is. First get some masking tape and put this on the bass round the sides of the existing bridge as a guide for the position. It may also be useful to remove the pups and put tape from the neck to the bridge on each side of the neck to each side of the bridge. You can then get a long straight-edge and mark the line of the sides of the neck as they project towards the foot of the bass. This will give you the line for the outer edge, so we can make sure the strings won't be pushed so far to one-side as to go over when you're playing. Another note to the wise - fit the bridge using 1 screw at first, then check the line up and drill 1-2 more and keep checking. Filling holes - matchsticks are softwood. They're ok if you're screwing a wardrobe together. Fill the ones on the bass with cocktail sticks. It's a harder wood and will be better for long-term use - secure them in place with PVA glue. Good luck. [/quote] A thousand thankyous! You sir, are 'the man'. Will give it a go and report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Ok I played this bass today at church and is the first time I have used it with the new SD Quarter Pounders. My word...it sounds great. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I choose the Seymour Duncans after using the Basschat Baton and (no offence to Stagg) loving the way it sounded! Being somewhat of a noob I wasn't sure What I was listening for or even if I would hear any difference compared to the stock pups (even if they are stock Affinity). Well it sounds more like the bass is it's own instrument and is punchy, aggressive and 'phat' sounding where as before it sounded ok but a bit muffled and thin and not able to stick up for itself in the mix. I would not consider it derailing the thread if other people want to describe how changing their pickups affected or improved their sound! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestar Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Great thread Johnnyboy. A really good project and well done for getting stuck in. Expect youll be starting another soon ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 (edited) Quick update...I have purchased a black Schaller bridge from basschatter umcoo..like this: Something I hadn't realised when I bought the bridge was that it is a 3 screw config which means I may be able to mount it in the exact same position as the current BBOT 5 screw style one with the broken screw head. If not it should mean that certainly, a smaller adjustment can be made than if it was a 5 screw! So I think I am ready to attempt the last phase of my build. A refin of the body. I quite like the 'none more black' look but there are a couple of blemishes on the black paintwork which, while not serious, do detract from what would otherwise be a reasonably nice looking bass. I think the next stage is to use a heat gun and get ride of the black paint and drill the new holes for the bridge. I am also planning to to do something a bit different for the finish so I will have to figure out how I can do that without 'losing' the screw holes for the bridge and scratchplate - or maybe I should just fill in the scratchplate screw holes and then re drill better ones (some of the screws have to go in wonky). Oh well - any help or comments appreciated as always and I will post up photos of my progress as I go. Edited January 31, 2014 by Jonnyboy Rotten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 So here we are - entering the final stage of the rebuild for this lowly Squier P. I may decide to swap the neck for one with a maple fretboard but this would only be for aesthetic purposes as the current one is fine. Over the weekend I started doing the body refin and stripped it down entirely. I unscrewed the neck and found in the neck pocket a piece of square plastic. I think it is a section of that strong, flat plastic tape that is often used to bundle newspapers and magazines together. Someone has obviously thought it needed a shim to lower the action or something! I also noticed that there were several piles of compacted wood dust around the screw holes which I am hoping doesn't turn out to be the remains of someone heavy handedly stripping it the thread in the neck screw holes, otherwise I may find getting the neck to fit tightly again is rather difficult! There are also some other holes in the centre which I am assuming are from the factory when they were painting the body? So I went round to my mates (the same one who helped me before) and we got stuck in to stripping the paint. I have read some other threads on here about the three options you have. 1) Sanding, 2) Nitromors and 3) Heat Gun. Well my mate had a heat gun so it sounded like a good option especially as I didn't fancy the idea of sanding it and I have read mixed reports about the effectiveness of Nitromors. All in all it probably took an hour to remove all the paint from the body. This didn't include a 10 min interlude because my mate managed to get his hair caught in the heat gun. "Unplug it from the mains - QUICKLY" he said! I thought I would oblige. He didn't sustain any lasting damage, you will be pleased to hear, but he did tie his hair back after that! Stripping the paint off was very cathartic and satisfying, especially when massive chunks of paint were coming off! After that we sanded the body down using a rotary sander attached to a drill. We didn't need it completely, babies bum smooth, but to get rid of all the remains of the chunks of paint. So this is the body - completely prepped and ready for the finish to be applied.... You will notice if you look carefully that I didn't manage to get that de-headed bridge screw out - but it doesn't matter as my new Schaller bridge has three holes and will be centered on the existing centre hole and then two new holes will be drilled for it - and in fact you can see these holes already drilled into the body. You will also see that I have filled the scratch plate screw holes as some of them were starting to strip the thread and others for some reason were wonky. So here is the finish starting to take shape.... I bought some old, yellowed sheet music and tore it up and burnt the odd edge with a lighter and am applying it the body with decoupage glue. You can see in the photo where the glue is still fresh, it is blueish in colour. Its tough to get it to look good and stick down around the more contoured areas of the guitar such as the horns and the edges. You have to make small tears to get the paper to go flat on three dimensional corners and radii. After drying a while but still not completely dry, this is more what the finished article will look like: I decided to name the bass 'Serenata' after the title of one of the piece of music I ripped up! . There is more to come as I still need to decoupage the back and I am going to finish it with Nitro to protect the paper. One bad thing is I have 'lost' the strap peg hole at the bridge end of the body. It is there somewhere but I want to avoid drilling another one if I can incase it is too close to the original one and weakened etc. The only way I can think of to find it is compared it with another Fender or Squier Precision. Trouble is, I don't know anyone with one. Can anyone help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Anthony Posted February 24, 2014 Share Posted February 24, 2014 Looking good. Glad you managed to get the finish off with ease, and it'll be interesting to see it when the new finish is well, finished. Haha! Not sure what to suggest with the strap button, could you not just poke around with a pin until you find it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Thanks Anthony. I did try that but couldn't find it. Will try looking again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Anthony Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Any luck with getting that strap button sorted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 [quote name='Mr Anthony' timestamp='1395059177' post='2398086'] Any luck with getting that strap button sorted? [/quote] Not yet, but I have been ill/ on holiday/ busy etc etc etc so I haven't even finished the decoupage layers yet. I think I will need to see if I can lay my hands on any 'blueprints' or technical drawings which show where the hole is in relation to say, the bridge on the precision body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I'm pretty sure the bridge end strap pin is on the centre line of the body so I'd take a needle/pin and just try pushing through the paper in that position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 The suspense of this is killing me!! If this goes on much longer I'll drive over to Hemel and do the job myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1395409645' post='2402144'] The suspense of this is killing me!! If this goes on much longer I'll drive over to Hemel and do the job myself [/quote] Here you go Grangur... here's a teaser to keep you happy! - Just a little something I knocked up... Couldn't quite get the photo of the body and the body in the image to line up but you get the idea... Edited March 21, 2014 by Jonnyboy Rotten Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Anthony Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 [quote name='Jonnyboy Rotten' timestamp='1395410296' post='2402153'] Here you go Grangur... here's a teaser to keep you happy! - Just a little something I knocked up... Couldn't quite get the photo of the body and the body in the image to line up but you get the idea... [/quote] Ooh, now that does look quite look! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 OK...so a quick update. I have finally finished the decoupage and a nice shiny spray can of Nitro has arrived in the post soit feels like we are heading into the home straight! Quick question - how thick do coats of Nitro tend to end up being? Also I have heard that when you do multiple coats of Nitro -the layers meld and mesh together a little which helps build up a thickness to the overall finish (as opposed to remaining chemically and physically separate layers like polyurethane) The reason I ask is that the decoupage inevitably has a certain amount of relief and texture to it. I am not too fussed about achieving a perfect, flat mirror finish but it would be nice to perhaps see some of the more obvious troughs and peaks levelled out a bit. Also sanding the finish maybe tricky without sanding through the Nitro and and scuffing the paper underneath. Any thoughts or advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 So... This morning and afternoon I have been spraying my bass with nitrocellulose lacquer. I started taping off the pickup and control cavities with electrical tape. We then screwed the body to a piece of wood to hold it up like a massive Precision shaped lollipop. And the spraying began. Because it was sunny and am the nitro seemed to dry almost immediately. We probably gave it about 8 coats altogether with drying times of 30-40 mins in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted March 29, 2014 Author Share Posted March 29, 2014 So we have hung out up to dry overnight and with luck it will be reassembled tomorrow! Sooooooo excited! 😃 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Anthony Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Looks great Jonny! Nice work, you must be really pleased with how it's turned out? Certainly unique. Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyboy Rotten Posted March 31, 2014 Author Share Posted March 31, 2014 Thanks Anthony! I have a confession to make! On Saturday at about lunchtime we hung up the guitar to dry overnight. However I got impatient and rang my mate that evening and asked if he was up for putting the guitar together as it had been 'long enough'! So I went back over to his and started putting it together. We didn't manage to find the strap end pin hole in the end so we drilled a new one just off centre to make sure we didn't accidently just end up enlarging the existing one (wherever it is!). My Mate having a play... Yeah!!.... In the end we didn't use the spacer that came with the Schaller bridge as it has a lovely low action to it. The SD pups are same as before - tight and powerful with a good punchy sound. So I was able to play it a church yesterday morning and I loved it! Not sure what else to say! I was a little disappointed that the project had come to an end, but there is no reason I couldn't upgrade the neck or something else in the future but I don't want to over do it for the sake of it! Here's to the next project.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Anthony Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Glad you've got it all built and sorted. Looks absolutely great, nice job Jonny! A truly unique bass, I'd say. Have fun with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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