Rexel Matador Posted November 27, 2019 Posted November 27, 2019 I have a Squier Matt Freeman P-Bass that I never use because it was the victim of an early attempt at "refinishing" and frankly looks a bit sh*t. Also one of the tuners is held together with superglue. But, the thing absolutely sings and the EMG GZR pickup that is currently gathering dust on it really deserves better. So I'm going to make a new body for it. My last couple of builds have been totally from scratch and to my own design, so this is a bit of a break from that level of intensity, but I'm just hoping to put what I've learned into doing something relatively simple and doing it well. The bulk of it will be a reclaimed scaffold board, to which I will add a top - something relatively restrained - no fancy flaming this time - with a layer of dark veneer in between, just for a little accent. I'll be adding a colour stain because I don't think the bare wood and the rather Trump-esque tint of the neck will go together very well. I haven't decided whether to keep the scratchplate (black) or just have the pickup and controls set directly into the top. Pics to follow in due course, naturally. 1 Quote
Rexel Matador Posted November 28, 2019 Author Posted November 28, 2019 Experimenting with an idea I read somewhere online. I cut a neck pocket template slightly oversized and then filled it in with epoxy putty with the neck in place to make a nice close fit. Tomorrow I'll try and use this one to cut a second one sans putty, so I can be absolutely sure it won't fail when I'm routing the actual body. It turned out pretty well anyway - so far so good. 4 Quote
Rexel Matador Posted September 11, 2021 Author Posted September 11, 2021 2 years later... I've finally moved house and am no longer attempting to make basses in the tiny spare room of tiny flat. Got my workshop set up in the garage and thought this relatively simple project would be a good way to ease myself back into it. I had a chunk of mahogany that I bought for another project but it wasn't right. Planed down it's pretty gorgeous. More pics of that soon. So far I've just cut it roughly on a bandsaw and am now routing the shape using a template The new Bosch vacuum is no match for the router, it would seem 🤣 2 Quote
Rexel Matador Posted September 12, 2021 Author Posted September 12, 2021 (edited) Not bad for a day's work. I messed up the pickup cavity a little - thank god for scratchplates. The wood doesn't look so great in its rough sanded form - before I sliced into it it was a beautiful red colour. I'm hoping with more sanding and an oil finish it'll look pretty sweet. Whether it looks good with that shiny yellow neck remains to be seen. It'll be nice to have this bass (or a version of it) back on the squad Edited September 12, 2021 by Rexel Matador 6 Quote
Rexel Matador Posted September 22, 2021 Author Posted September 22, 2021 Getting oiled up - the light in the garage wasn't great but it's looking pretty nice I made a couple of knobs from the offcuts too - I think they'll look pretty nice on the black scratchplate 4 Quote
Richard R Posted September 23, 2021 Posted September 23, 2021 Looking good. And the workshop is pretty cool too 😀 Quote
Rexel Matador Posted September 23, 2021 Author Posted September 23, 2021 42 minutes ago, Richard R said: Looking good. And the workshop is pretty cool too 😀 I have to say, it's an absolute game changer. I've been very fortunate. I built my first six or so instruments in the spare room in a little flat - my very patient wife accepting me indulging my passion and at least trying to clear up all the dust! Finally having a garage to fill with machines is a whole new world. Quote
Rexel Matador Posted September 23, 2021 Author Posted September 23, 2021 And there you have it - just a quick project really, to get this bass up and running again. The body was a bit thicker than the old one and I realised the screws wouldn't actually be going very far into the neck - so rather than getting longer screws or reshaping the body, I decided to use ferrules instead because I happened to have four spare ones. I sometimes find impatience to be the mother of invention (not that I invented ferrules, of course). Anyway, I love it - it looks so 70s to me. If I was Matt Freeman I would have had it sold like this from the start! 7 Quote
Rexel Matador Posted September 23, 2021 Author Posted September 23, 2021 I really should have given the scratchplate a cursory dusting before that close up Quote
PaulThePlug Posted September 23, 2021 Posted September 23, 2021 (edited) Nice... Nice touches with the Dark oil finish, High mass bridge with Brass saddles and Wood knobs... Gives it that 'evolved over time look'... Although i'm a 'Thumbs on Top' kinda guy... Edited September 23, 2021 by PaulThePlug Quote
Rexel Matador Posted September 23, 2021 Author Posted September 23, 2021 5 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said: Nice... Nice touches with the Dark oil finish, High mass bridge with Brass saddles and Wood knobs... Gives it that 'evolved over time look'... Although i'm a 'Thumbs on Top' kinda guy... I don't actually use the thumb rest and, to the best of my knowledge, neither does Matt Freeman - it's just there for a bit of vintage flair, I think Quote
SpondonBassed Posted September 25, 2021 Posted September 25, 2021 Very nice choice of colours in the hardware. The saddles and knobs set it off. Quote
Rexel Matador Posted September 25, 2021 Author Posted September 25, 2021 The saddles are the ones that came with it - and the bridge was stashed away in a box while I was doing this, so it's just a happy accident that they look so good on it 1 Quote
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