Project Thrifty

[Bassfinger]

I fancy a Limelight. Reports are they sound great, feel nice in the hand, and you don't need to be precious with them as a few knocks and bangs only adds to the character.

 

Problem is I've spent 3 grand on Ricky and Sire basses in the last few months and even the easy going Mrs Bassfinger might raise an eyebrow were I to spend more. So, it's time to see if I can make my own version of a Limelight, making it cheap while making it also good and convincing.  A tall order.

 

So, today I've been raiding Barn Of S***e looking for the parts I need. As is the case with many of you chaps, when one upgrades a bass one ends up with the original parts as leftovers, and in my case I have many basses worth of such spares.  I also have a few bodies and necks from previous projects where I've chopped and changed or upgraded them over the years, and after rummaging came up with...

 

A precision neck. Maple, rosewood fretboard.  Not sure where this one came from but I suspect it was Chinese in origin.  I do recall giving it a minor fret dress in its previous installation and it being a decent player.

 

A jazz and a precision body. Both Ash I believe. The precision is unpainted, bar a thin poly clear coat, and that better suits my plans.

 

Warman precision pickups in white.

 

Several precision pickguards. A pearl one looks the best fit on this body.

 

An assortment of neck plates, including an ebay "Fender" item.

 

Squier Classic vibe tuners, string tree and bridge, all in nickel. Even better for my purposes they've corroded a little where the barn is a touch damp, and that suits my needs.

 

Tired looking pup cover, that I may or may not use.

 

And I'm sorted for strings, various control knobs, etc.

 

Rummaging though my paint box I've found a can of Rustoleum blue spray which is a fairly close finish for daphne blue, originally intended for sprucing up the cast iron ends of a garden bench. Also some reds and greens from my lawn mower restoring, but the blue would go best with the pickguard methinks. Even better, it's a satin finish.  Nitro would be better as the aged finish is easier to achieve, but that means more spending, so the Rustoleum. Fortunately I reckon I can age the satin finish quite convincingly.

 

So that's everything I need, except for pickguard screws and pots.  I've order a set of the former, in a slightly dull stainless rather than shiny chrome, and CTS are supplying the pots.  

 

So I shall start work this week and titillate you with pictures as it progresses.

[PaulThePlug]

Proper Barn Find!..

I can almost hear the 'A Team' music as its pieced together... I ain't playin' no bass, fool!

[Bassfinger]

Here, drink this milk!

[TommyK]

17 hours ago, Bassfinger said:

  

 

So I shall start work this week and titillate you with pictures as it progresses.

Ooh looking fwd to this one 😎🍿 

[Bassfinger]

Headstock relic'd, tuners fitted.

 

Neck aged with wire wool and boot polish.

 

Body paint and hung over the Rayburn to dry. Good things Mrs Bassfinger is at work because it stinks! 

 

Just about to start work ageing the pickguard. My Zippo,.patience and a dab of luck should do the trick. Fortunately it's already darkens quite a bit with age so it just needs a bit of 'wear' adding to it.

 

Pics to follow.

 

 

 

[Bassfinger]

[PaulThePlug]

Fender or Finder?..

[Bassfinger]

Well, I've been a busy boy

 

 

And it plays...luvveerrrlllyyy!  I'm a big fan of Warman pickups and this one has been no exception. That lovely clear, thumping precision tone with just a lick of growl when digging in. Just how I like it.  I've done a set up and will fine tune it in a day or two once the truss rod has settled down.

 

I was a little worried how convincing I could get a poly finish to look on a relic, but it's turned out very well. Aside from the lack of nitro cracking it looks respectably tired and worn, and I'm guessing it being a satin finish paint has helped there. Incidentally, it dried very hard and tough so I can recommend Rustoleum for anyone considering a painted finish on a DIY project.

 

So there it is, my very own Limelight clone, and I'd happily put it up against a real one for both sound, feel and finish, and for the 25 quid it cost me in pots and pickguard screws I think I did very well.  I'll take it to rehearsal tonight and may even gig it next weekend.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Bassfinger

[Paul S]

Nice job.  I hope you have superglued the saddle adjustment screws for added Limelight authenticity!

[Bassfinger]

I learned from their mistakes and all the screws got a dab of machine oil on a cotton bud.

[rushbo]

Very lovely indeed. It actually looks like play wear and not the usual "take it into a field and shoot it with a pellet gun" relic finish. 

Kudos sir. 

[Bassfinger]

Thanks Rushbo.  I must've looked at pictures hundreds of relics and real vintage planks in order to decide how and where to apply the 'wear and tear.'  I hate nothing worse than seeing a top contour sanded back as it invariably looks like someone had simply sanded the top contour!p and nothing like wear or damage from use.

 

I left it hanging in the kitchen over the Rayburn for about 24hrs (Mrs Bassfinger surprisingly said nothing!)  and the paint had dried rock had faster than I had expected.  The edge wear was done by carefully dragging it along the brickwork of the house! Smaller nicks and dents were the olde fashioned throwing of a bunch of keys method, with a sparing amount of scalpel action. I then rubbed these areas back with 800 grit wet and dry to soften the feel, and then rubbed in Black Bison wax to simulate dirt and grimes also rubbish g a little bit here and there on the paint.

 

The biggest bit of damage was already there, so I rubbed it a bit so as not to feel rough on my forearm and then rubbed the wax into that too.  The top contour I carefully rubbed down with the wet and dry until it had just gone through to the primer, to make it look like forearm wear...something a Black and Decker job never achieves!

 

I then rubbed the whole thing with the 800 wet and dry, spending longer in areas that might be in contact with the player when in use to make them a little bit warmer and shinier.

 

Bridge and tuners were already a bit corroded from storage, so left them as it.

 

Knobs were cheap jobs I had knocking about, rubbed through the chrome finish, dipped in salty water and left outdoors for a few days.  Ditto the neck plate and pickup cover.

 

Pickguard and pickup covers had a light smoking from my Zippo (being a pipe smoker has its upsides) to make them look grimy. The pickgard had been in the sun and had already darkened unevenly so already looked fairly well used.

 

The pictures are taken in my tablet and the camera isn't the best and it does kinda bleach the images  bit. The neck is one I had aged previously with Danish oil and is a nice amber colour, the wear on the neck being down by scrubbing the finish with a brillio pad and rubbing in boot polish.

 

I fancy maybe building a Jazz in this manner so I have a matching set, although I'll have to buy some parts to complete another.

 

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by Bassfinger
Staggeringly poor typing

[Waddo Soqable]

That looks smashing! 👍

Good bit of Intel with rustoleum paint too, I've heard of it but never used any myself, I'll try some at some stage for sure

[Bassfinger]

I'm really impressed with it. I use it in gloss for my lawnmower restos and the coverage is really nice, bit this is the first time I'd used satin and was super pleased. The do a good range of colours too, many not that far off the classic Fender shades.

[Waddo Soqable]

For some reason I thought it was one of those only available in the US type paints, anyway good to know of for sure... I will check out the available colours on 'tinternet in a mo 

[Waddo Soqable]

BTW, is it the one they call "painters touch" or a different type in their range? 

[Bassfinger]

Yes, Painters Touch.  Sounds a bit pervy...

[Waddo Soqable]

48 minutes ago, Bassfinger said:

Yes, Painters Touch.  Sounds a bit pervy...

Yes I thought the name a bit odd too, you can imagine the "artists model" running out screaming.. 

 

The paint seems to be aimed at wooden furniture and stuff going by the blurb I saw, so fairly tough and hard wearing you'd think, sounds ideal. 

[Waddo Soqable]

Can you post a pic of the whole bass in one shot BTW? be nice to see an overall view.. 👍

[Bassfinger]

8 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Can you post a pic of the whole bass in one shot BTW? be nice to see an overall view.. 👍

I think that can be arranged.

 

[Waddo Soqable]

Top man, that's a cracker! 😁

[Bassfinger]

Thank you!

 

I might go into business making them.  Lemonlight, or Limedark, and you could be damn sure my bridge saddles wouldn't be seized!

 

Edit - Grimelight!

 

I'm giving serious consideration to this.  So long as I didn't make a loss I'm not interested in it as a business opportunity, could do 2 or 3 a years as a hobby.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Bassfinger

[Reggaebass]

Looks great and really nice colour 👍

[Richard R]

Grimelight. 👍👍

[Bassfinger]

Update. Survived a 2 hour rehearsal tonight. Dropped the EA side of the pickup as output was a touch high on that side, otherwise it plays nicely. It could do with the action dropping a touch but I'll wait another day or two for the truss rod to settle before making fi al tweaks.

 

It sounds fantastic, very solid mid range but deep and full, not a bit thin sounding like some precision can be, so I'm extremely happy.

 

One of our guitarists brought his Jagstang in Daphne blue with a pearl pickguard and I was very pleased at how close a match the paint turned out to be, a pleasant fluke. He in turn was impressed with how realistically worn the Grimelight looks.