prowla Posted February 2, 2020 Posted February 2, 2020 I acquired this bass project today; it's a MIM Precision with a Badass II bridge. The neck seems fine, the pickguard is a replacement, the tuners are maybe a bit loose, it's got no strings on it, and I'm hoping the pickups are OK. However, the body is in a bit of a sad state; it looks like it's been used as a baseball bat. The question is: is the body repairable or should I just ditch it and get another? If I go down the repair route, I guess I'll need to strip the finish... Funnily enough, only last week I thought to myself it'd be good to pick up a beater and fit a 5-string conversion bridge I have to; and then this came up... Quote
John Cribbin Posted February 2, 2020 Posted February 2, 2020 In the words of Tom Jones, it's not unusual to see a MIM with flakey paint, ba daba daba da. Sometimes, the paint hasn't adhered properly to the wood and flakes away. Unless it's impact damage, there's a good chance the wood is perfect underneath. Saw a guy online somwhere with a MIM Telecaster with a similar issue. He pretty much stripped the body just by working a scraper under the paint and removing it in chunks. 1 Quote
Reggaebass Posted February 2, 2020 Posted February 2, 2020 That’s a nice project, i would strip the body with a heat gun and finish it in whatever you choose , I did one a few years ago, and upgraded the parts, it’s good fun Quote
prowla Posted February 2, 2020 Author Posted February 2, 2020 Well, I put strings on it and it seems OK. I also put a pair of straplock buttons on it; one hole was padded out with masking tape, so I had to put matchsticks & wood glue in. I think I broke a pot too, putting a knob on with a bit too much "enthusiasm", so I'll be need to get my soldering iron out. Ho-hum... I'll try using a bit of heat to strip off the finish; I've got another guitar where someone used elbow grease to strip it and left a load of gouges there. 1 Quote
prowla Posted February 3, 2020 Author Posted February 3, 2020 Well, it seems to work OK. I reassembled the tone pot (I'd pushed so hard that the bottom half had separated, but it was just a matter of putting it back and bending the 4 tabs back where they should be) and filed the gunk/glue/whatever off the shaft so the knob would fit. Whilst I'd got it opened I spotted that the bridge earth wasn't connected, so I soldered that on too. I plugged it in briefly to check it out and it makes sounds. That's £100 well spent... 2 Quote
Cuzzie Posted February 7, 2020 Posted February 7, 2020 Good man I was going to get that bass but couldn’t organise a friend picking it up from London for me! So far as any refin etc. The world is your oyster with this. Leave as is, strip, create some more crazing on it, further relic.....I think it’s a great blank canvas to experiment congrats 1 Quote
prowla Posted February 7, 2020 Author Posted February 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Cuzzie said: Good man I was going to get that bass but couldn’t organise a friend picking it up from London for me! So far as any refin etc. The world is your oyster with this. Leave as is, strip, create some more crazing on it, further relic.....I think it’s a great blank canvas to experiment congrats Cheers! 1 Quote
Cuzzie Posted February 7, 2020 Posted February 7, 2020 As my good man @Reggaebass said, if you strip it you can confirm if there is any actual structural damage, and then if it’s pretty grain, you can stain, or refinish really easily and not too expensively with nitro cans from North west guitars or similar. Or my fave would be to get chisels/routers out and experiment with pick ups 1 Quote
prowla Posted February 7, 2020 Author Posted February 7, 2020 9 hours ago, Cuzzie said: As my good man @Reggaebass said, if you strip it you can confirm if there is any actual structural damage, and then if it’s pretty grain, you can stain, or refinish really easily and not too expensively with nitro cans from North west guitars or similar. Or my fave would be to get chisels/routers out and experiment with pick ups Haha. I do have a habit of putting Rickenbacker pickups on things. Quote
Cuzzie Posted February 7, 2020 Posted February 7, 2020 You mean like this....... it’s great doing it! 2 Quote
3below Posted February 7, 2020 Posted February 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Cuzzie said: You mean like this....... it’s great doing it! I have the pickups to do this in my trove, are you pleased with the result? Quote
Cuzzie Posted February 7, 2020 Posted February 7, 2020 Without doubt prob one of the best basses I own Quote
prowla Posted February 8, 2020 Author Posted February 8, 2020 (edited) 13 hours ago, Cuzzie said: You mean like this....... it’s great doing it! Well, I have SD pickups on a couple of basses... My slightly tweaked Ric. and my Red Baron faker: Coincidentally, I have a P with a Status neck; it's a bit of a Frankenstein. Also coincidentally, going back to your J, I'm trying out a J-style pickup on a Ric base for someone this weekend! Edited February 8, 2020 by prowla 1 Quote
prowla Posted February 8, 2020 Author Posted February 8, 2020 ...then there's my Rickenberger. and my headless doubleneck with Ric bass pickups. And finally an innocuous Ric TRC on a Fender headstock! 1 Quote
Cuzzie Posted February 8, 2020 Posted February 8, 2020 Ah yes I thought I remembered that lot, great heard, you are as bad as me for tinkering! Quote
prowla Posted February 8, 2020 Author Posted February 8, 2020 1 hour ago, Cuzzie said: Ah yes I thought I remembered that lot, great heard, you are as bad as me for tinkering! Yep - I do mess about with stuff... 🙂 1 Quote
Wilson_51_ Posted February 8, 2020 Posted February 8, 2020 Glad to see the Red Baron seems to be doing you well! Quote
prowla Posted February 8, 2020 Author Posted February 8, 2020 49 minutes ago, simon88wilson said: Glad to see the Red Baron seems to be doing you well! Hi! It's got the SD pickups on it now and a Maltese cross! I might have to re-do my rewiring, as it sounded a bit strange today... Quote
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