Dr.Dave Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Finished messing with the 54P reish. So here she be............. The bridge is a BadassIII. I had a II but I sold it to finance the III which was £43 delivered from a US ebay shop. I have the through body option with the III which I can use with this bass. You get an extra set of unfiled saddles too - but I left the filed ones on. The pup's a SD QP. Fabbo. Loads of shouty bottom and top. Less of a trebly scratch than the original too. The dice knobs are a bit of fun don't you think?? I have some on my EpiEx too. The sharper eyed amongst you may have spotted 2 extra pickguard screws , meaning you should get out much,much more, but I did that because the clear pickguard around the bottom curve had a gap you could park your bike under. The 2nd one's by the bottom heel as I suspected that might get flappy after a while too. The straplocks are Dunlops. I didn't get on with the reverse tuners so they're flogged and I put these US series on which I already had. There was a groove inside the holes in the headstock so I stuck some sandpaper to a broken drill bit with epoxy , banged it in the drill and routed them out like that so that these would sit properly. I had to fill the old screw holes on the back. Polyfilla mixed with yellow paint and a few drops squeezed out of a tea bag. Dab of varnish on top and flattened with brasso (which is watered down T cut) They show up more in this pic than they do to the eye. What you can't see - because I couldn't be arsed to take a pic of it - is the nice 'F' neckplate bearing the serial 384915. I had that engraved years back when I replaced the 3 bolt neck (and plate) on my 72 telebass with a jazz neck. Looks much nicer than the plain jap one. Po95413 is the real CIJ serial. It'll get plenty of work both with Dr Blue and the ZZ trib. Only issue is a (I think) raised fret (15th) that only affects the D string. The set-up's right and I'm not raising the bridge saddle for that so I'll stone the frets a touch round there next time I change the strings - probably about 2017. I left it's new strap off too. I decided against pink fur - too tacky - so got one in multi coloured pink/lilac/green fur instead!! Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Looks great Doc, knew I should've had those reverse machines off you, wasn't too sure if they'd be ok on a USA headstock You've done a fine job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 [quote name='Dr.Dave' post='245597' date='Jul 22 2008, 06:53 PM']Finished messing with the 54P reish. So here she be............. Enjoy.[/quote] Thanks; I did!! Looks quite stunning and very individual to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Q Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Looks great I was considering a blue flower myself, really like them! kudos to you sir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 that's a classy bit of work there...how did you find fitting the badass ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted July 23, 2008 Author Share Posted July 23, 2008 [quote name='ahpook' post='245712' date='Jul 22 2008, 10:08 PM']that's a classy bit of work there...how did you find fitting the badass ?[/quote] Honestly , if I were talking to a complete novice who'd hardly ever held a screwdriver I'd say they could do it with their eyes shut. The 3 supplied screws dropped straight in to the 3 existing holes and the string holes are in perfect alignment. Set up wise the 2 centre saddles needed raising with the supplied allen key to accommodate the radius of the Fender's neck and the saddles move back and forth smoothly with a flat head screwdriver for intonation. I added a few comments in the badass pinned thread on the repairs forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Q Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 this thread has me GASing for one of these now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 Well , it began earning it's keep last night at a pub gig in Horbury , West Yorks. Happily , a guitary mate of mine had turned up and had his fret files in the car (opticians instruments from his work, I believe) so we cured the d string prob in a couple of mins. He held the strings out of the way while I filed - sorted. The bass still has that vintage , no nonsense sound but the scratch has gone - all thanks to the QP I think , and I'm happier tuning 'forwards' - esp that last minute or between song check. Having access to my korg rack tuner meant that I got the intonation spot on in less than 2 minutes too (actually during a guitar and drum intro!!!) I'd got the E bang on by ear at home but the other 3 saddles had to come back about 3 turns. That sent them sharp but I yanked at them and back they went without touching the tuners. I'd wondered about the Badass III grooves - the pre cut ones are 3 or 4 very close together per string. I thought the string might jump from one to t'other - didn't happen. It's a good weight (basswood body??) and plays very well. The neck isn't clumpy at all and I haven't noticed any dead spots.I can do the whole Doc Blue set easily , no way I could do it with my EpiEx so it'll def do the double header gigs we do with our ZZ trib band .I'll use this for the Doc Blue support slot , the EpiEx just featuring on the early ZZ set for visual effect then I'll switch to this again and maybe back to the EpiEx for the encores. Unlike my old Telebass there isn't the slab body to take lumps out of my forearm and dig into my ribs. I find my right thumb searching out the underside of the top of the pickup for a place to anchor. Bit weird - first bass I've had where the pup hasn't any form of pickup cover. It's simplicity and basic sound is quite a change from my hi-fi ish Shuker and Status and I think overall I'll use them in preference to this for normal Doc Blue gigs - just because of the versatility. Makes for a few stage gags too - 'Dave's got a gay bass' - 'watch yourself if Dave's bass follows you into the bogs' etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Q Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Ha ha great stuff- glad to see the effort was worth it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Lovely job, but why, oh why the flower power and the dice?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayfan Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Far out. If only they'd had a Basschat porn section in 1967... Man. I think I'd need a disco biscuit to wear this one out to a gig but good work getting it all done. I often think about putting a bass together, then I remember I can't even get round to tidying the garage up! Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 [quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='251106' date='Jul 30 2008, 10:53 AM']Lovely job, but why, oh why the flower power and the dice?? [/quote] The dice is a sort of signature of mine. I've had furry dice hanging off my mic stand for years - both for a gag and because they remind me of my mum. My solo stuff was termed 'Furry Dice Productions' etc. The Blue Flower because - a) I like it because it's so different and I wanted another passive bass , pref. another Fender , pref. a Precision. it looks like a 'gag' bass for the ZZ trib as they're known for outlandish instruments but it's a good enough player to do the Dr Blue set too. If anyone ever thinks 'Dr Blue?? Is that that twat we saw with the flowery guitar?? Lets go see 'em again' - that'll do me. I also often wear hippyesque gear for Dr Blue. It appeared on Ebay just as I made the decision that me and Jazz basses aren't a team however much I respect them , and decided to strip my Jazz and sell most of it on. I got this for £270 and already had most of the parts to do the upgrades - June was a high earning month for both bands and I like to reinvest some of my gig money - voila. I like the Blue Flower finish - what can I say - funnily enough I hate and despise the Pink Paisley , strange isn't it. Eye of the beholder and all that. Dunno what to say. Why is my other P a 3TS?? Why is anyone elses Jazz bass Fiesta Red with changed chrome knobs?? 'Cos we want them that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted July 30, 2008 Author Share Posted July 30, 2008 Here's a (very rough) snapshot of the whole family. Happy to say that every one of them earns it's keep and shares my adventures around the toilets of the North. Shuker Bolt-on Custom Epiphone Explorer Status series 3000 with shukerised top The Fender Blue Flower re-ish Fender Precision 1973, had it 30 years now. Yes , I've tried 5s but never really got comfortable with them when I'm singing too - I'll try again I'm sure and I WILL buy a 70s sunburst Precision fretless sometime although it's difficult to see how I'd find much gigging use for it which would be a shame and against my work ethic. Best go shift them off the sofa , the cat's trying to climb up the EpiEx !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Quality gear there Dave, I really MUST come and see the ZZtop tribute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.