Epiphone Powerbass project

[Stefanogregori]

Hi all,

Below you will see some pictures of my first ever bass, a Gibson Epiphone Powerbass. I am ashamed of the condition that I have let it get into. It needs a new nut and a replacement saddle for the bridge. The electrics need a good clean but apart from aesthetics, that is all that really needs doing. The strings are dead but it still sounds pretty good through an amplifier so I am going to keep the pickups for now.

The neck is particularly nice to play.

I have had it for over 20 years and have been meaning to restore it for some time but now is the time for action! If anyone is interested I will post pictures of progress as I go.

Cheers

[bigjohn]

I have one of these. But it's a JJ instead of a PJ. Mines a bit knackered too, the neck's a bit bust (truss came through the back).

Am definitely interested in your progress. Good Luck.

[Stefanogregori]

Ok, so I took the bass apart so it could be prepped for painting. You could say I was disappointed to find it is made of laminated wood! However, I am not going to let this stop me as I thought it sounded OK before I knew this fact!

I managed to find a replacement for the bridge. It is not a direct replacement so I need to choose whether to use just the saddles or the whole of the new bridge. This may effect my choice of colour for the body-any suggestions?

[neepheid]

[quote name='Stefanogregori' timestamp='1438693233' post='2836429']
Ok, so I took the bass apart so it could be prepped for painting. You could say I was disappointed to find it is made of laminated wood! However, I am not going to let this stop me as I thought it sounded OK before I knew this fact!

I managed to find a replacement for the bridge. It is not a direct replacement so I need to choose whether to use just the saddles or the whole of the new bridge. This may effect my choice of colour for the body-any suggestions?
[/quote]

Black and gold, didn't do the JPS Lotus any harm...

[Stefanogregori]

Black and gold does look sweet but I was hoping to change the colour! May not have a choice though!

[PlungerModerno]

I wouldn't worry about laminated wood - it's in good company:


[url="http://www.kubicki.com/about.php"]http://www.kubicki.com/about.php[/url]


(The above is on a martin acoustic: [url="http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=20216.0"]http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=20216.0[/url] )

And most importantly:
[IMG]http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj529/blablas/mk4/mk4-12/DSC_9398.jpg[/IMG]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/240945-de-afwerking-mk4-4-blablas-has-that-building-itch-again/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/240945-de-afwerking-mk4-4-blablas-has-that-building-itch-again/[/url]

My objection to laminated wood is the look and weight tends to be a little busy for me.

[Stefanogregori]

Nice, they look sweet! It did sound fairly resonant with pretty dead strings on so I'm hoping it will sound good when it's finished. Will pop up some more pics when I have more progress.

[Andyjr1515]

Hi. I will follow this refurb with great interest .

I agree - nothing wrong with laminated wood for tone. Tends to be heavy, but one of the best sounding 6string electrics I ever had - an Epiphone LP Junior - was also plywood.

Andy

[PlungerModerno]

[quote name='Stefanogregori' timestamp='1438805798' post='2837621']
. . . It did sound fairly resonant . . .
[/quote]

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1438843642' post='2837821']
. . . nothing wrong with laminated wood for tone . . .
[/quote]



Wether wood makes a difference to tone (as far as wood species is concerned) is open to interpretation. What is for certain is You can get decent laminate acoustic instruments (up to and including contrabasses) so I can't see it being a problem on electric ones.
I agree with you, Andy1515, that laminates tend to be heavier (with all that stabilizing glue) - but with careful design it can be overcame. Like carbon graphite instruments - the laminate can be a skin and the inside can be filled with something stiff but very light. I think the Danelectro Longhorn is built using a similar concept - but I could be wrong.

EDIT: More on topic, black and gold can look great IMO:

Edited August 6, 2015 by PlungerModerno

[Stefanogregori]

Gold and black does look sweet! I'm still undecided on the brass saddles though. Is there any paint that would withstand strings being pulled through them?

Edited August 12, 2015 by Stefanogregori

[Stefanogregori]

It's been a while but finally have it sanded down. Just needs a little filler here and there and then it's ready to paint. Have found a product called 'Brass Black' which will turn the saddles black if I want to do that so that opens up colour options for the body. I will post more pics when I have more progress.

[Stefanogregori]

Should be getting round to the respray in the next few weeks. So much for saying I was going to stick with the original pickups though! I went and bought these, very excited about hearing them!

[PlungerModerno]

Tis coming along - but it's not quite ready yet.

You stated: "Is there any paint that would withstand strings being pulled through them?" I doubt any normal paint would hold up long term. Most plating will tend to wear away after years of use. Maybe an ultra hard enamel?

[Stefanogregori]

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1447913155' post='2911376']
Tis coming along - but it's not quite ready yet.

You stated: "Is there any paint that would withstand strings being pulled through them?" I doubt any normal paint would hold up long term. Most plating will tend to wear away after years of use. Maybe an ultra hard enamel?
[/quote]

Thanks, I'm thinking I may just leave them as they are!

Edited April 2, 2016 by Stefanogregori

[Stefanogregori]

Ok, so now it is painted! I must admit that it isn't my handy work, a friend of mine did it for me but I think it looks pretty killer!

Edited April 2, 2016 by Stefanogregori

[Stefanogregori]

I'm liking the brass saddles - a lot!

[PlungerModerno]

Looks good. Is that a satin finish?

[Stefanogregori]

To be honest I'm not sure! I went to Halford's with the guy who sprayed it and picked out 'Ford metallic graphite grey' car spray paint as a colour so he had an idea of what I wanted. He said he was going to mix up a paint close to it and this is what he came up with.