Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Pimp Yo' Bass


Stub Mandrel

Recommended Posts

A string retainer which brings some level of consistency to the break angle of all strings over the nut. Why Fender etc. persist with the A string having a substantially lesser angle over the nut than the other strings, for whatever reason, is one of the minor mysteries of life.

 

E24498F8-8281-480A-9B6E-81BDE2F2B9D0.thumb.jpeg.6b140677842d80ac25f59e22b9a2618a.jpeg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Owen said:

I am DIGGING that. Tell me more. How did you do it?

I brought it from GAK I think when they were discontinued & going cheap & I wasn't sure I'd keep it but it played so good it became my main squeeze.

I fancied doing something different so I had the body hydro-dipped, the neck lacquered with a satin vintage tint, I dyed the fretboard do give it a bit of an ebony look then added the Hipshot bridge & string retainer.

Oh I took the pickup selector out & wired it VVT.DSC_0724.thumb.jpg.938571d3b7152147a5a9ecba4434b353.jpg

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm also not a huge fan of unfinished necks, I like how they feel but when they start to look like a weathered fence it's time for lacquer.

My 55-02 below looked pale & anaemic (& a bit cheap) but felt great, probably the nicest neck I've played. I'd already worn through the thin lacquer on my 55-01 & decided getting the 55-02 done to prevent wear through & make it look a bit better.

I went for satin to retain the soft feel.

I also had my Stingray neck lacquered by Shuker in high gloss vintage with stainless frets.20190228_131916.thumb.jpg.1720bb4502a03a47057678c4aeea7e72.jpgIMG_20220412_202505.thumb.jpg.2c8dec329871b93b9fde012ce87ee775.jpg

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, Horizontalste said:

I brought it from GAK I think when they were discontinued & going cheap & I wasn't sure I'd keep it but it played so good it became my main squeeze.

I fancied doing something different so I had the body hydro-dipped, the neck lacquered with a satin vintage tint, I dyed the fretboard do give it a bit of an ebony look then added the Hipshot bridge & string retainer.

Oh I took the pickup selector out & wired it VVT.DSC_0724.thumb.jpg.938571d3b7152147a5a9ecba4434b353.jpg

Who did the hydrodipping?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Maude said:

A visually subtle but sonically strong change to my BB424X. 

 

16736828416637260624850505825049-01.thumb.jpeg.aff9264500128fa5e06d65cb189f7c00.jpeg

 

if I had (a) that bass and (b) the wherewithal to do things like this I would hide two more volume pots inside the bass and rewire the toggle switch to make the options neck / full neck plus some bridge / full bridge plus some neck.

 

Go on, you know you want to :D

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 14/01/2023 at 16:30, Maude said:

Reverse P pickup. 😉

 

Ah, of course!  :facepalm:

 

Thank you! :i-m_so_happy:

 

Yeah, I never understood why anyone would have their high D and G string sound even thinner, and the low E and D string to sound even more boomy in comparison.

 

But then again it is a known fact that Leo Fender liked to be contrary and do stuff the complete opposite way of everyone else, P pickup orientation defying logic and common sense, insisting on calling vibrato tremolo and tremolo vibrato e.t.c.

 

And having huge success doing so I guess no one dared to question it and just mindlessly proceeded copying what he did.

 

Edited by Baloney Balderdash
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My very first Bass Guitar (I owned a ukulele bass at the time) was a Greg Bennett Corsair MCR-1 mini bass (24.6 inch scale length).

Over the course of a few weeks, I made the following mods:

  • Changed to a 3D printed black pickguard.
  • Changed to a black high mass bridge.
  • Upgraded to an EMZ Geezer Butler pickup, I shielded the electrics cavity with copper tape at the same time.
  • Swapped in better quality (and black) tuning machines.
  • Added in a diy passive diode based fuzz and a diy rotary multi-position tone control (Similar to the Tonestyler Bass 6 but much less expensive), this required enlargement of the electronics cavity (and reshielding!).

I later changed to an EMG active MMCS pup (no photo) with active EQ, which required further enlarging of the pickup cavity and a reprinted pickguard.

Being small and all black (nearly) I named it 'Ponty'.  I loved the sound and playability of Ponty.

 

It was the success with these mods (which just a few months before would have seemed impossible for me) that got me into building my first bass, Twiggy.

(Sadly both Ponty and Twiggy were destroyed in my flat fire)

 

S'manth x

 

image.thumb.png.c19501fcf9d1948668f591e4976b63e3.pngimage.png.864e81446d7adc4aee60274b705463f7.png

 

 

Edited by Smanth
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Unbelievably tragic that after all that they were burnt, such a waste.. :(

Yep.  The BC community came to my rescue and I was soon grooving again ... and, undaunted, I have the materials to build another better version of Twiggy (To be called Phoenix).

S'manth x

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...