Bitsa P relic build…. My first build

[Big J]

So, I’ve had surgery so I’m stuck at home. 5 days after surgery I realised that I’d finished reading the entire internet and an old, cheap P I have was sitting in the corner of the room begging for a rebuild. 
here it is, I’m going to strip it after this cup of tea. 

[Big J]

 

I think it’s a kit, although the neck and the body have clearly been mounted to different bases? Maybe a kit body and no name neck. The neck plays well, so I’m happy to keep it though. 
 

tuners- utter garbage so I need new ones

pickups- sounded ok so I’ll keep for the moment. same with the pots. 
screws- need to order some new ones

Scratch plate - quite like it, but will see what the colour scheme turns into

bridge- basic bent bit of metal, has a random screw in there too. 

neck plate- standard squier, might get an F logo one for Armani value…

strings- nice flatlands, likely the most valuable part of the bass… so I’ll keep them. 
body- I’m going to work on it, if it doesn’t work out I’ll buy a blank one and start again. But if I can get it how I want it then it’ll stay.
 

[Big J]

These were what held the pick guard on..

the body has a shim in the neck pocket. A poorly executed one. Would I be right in thinking that the shim was put there to compensate for the overly filed nut on the E string that has the string too close to the fretboard? It looks like it is when I compare to my other bass. Here’s some pictures:

nut:

[SpondonBassed]

Best wishes for a full recovery (you and the bass).

[Richard R]

Following with interest. 

 

Don't overdo it while recovering. I was informed by a surgeon a long time ago:

"Boredom and watching DVDs are both essential parts of the healing process "

[tauzero]

I think you need to do away with that shim and if it still needs one, get a full neck pocket sized one (set of 3 different ones: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166313960606). Also get another nut.

 

You might finish up with a nice looking bit of wood which would be a bonus.

 

Edit: the Ebay ones don't seem to be tapered, so they're not very useful.

 

Edited January 4 by tauzero
Trying to head people off from my bad recommendation

[Big J]

5 hours ago, tauzero said:

I think you need to do away with that shim and if it still needs one, get a full neck pocket sized one (set of 3 different ones: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166313960606). Also get another nut.

 

You might finish up with a nice looking bit of wood which would be a bonus.

Yeah, it’s coming out. I was just going to cut one myself, didn’t realise you could buy them so thanks for that link mate 👍🏻

[Big J]

So I’m waiting for some parts to arrive. Pick guard screws, machine heads, drop D tuner, and a new neck plate with screws that aren’t for plasterboard … so far I’ve resisted the urge to go for all new electrics, pickups and a high mass bridge… let’s see how it turns out first.

 

been thinking about couloirs for the body, and I’m not sure where I’m going yet.

i like most colours, if it had a maple neck I’d be tempted to go for a straight black and have a go at a vague roadworn look…. Bit like the Dusty Hill custom shop one. But I’m drawn to a bit of bling…so it may go metallic or glitter finish. 
 

time for some research… although I know I’ll probably not want to beat it up if the paint job comes out good😂

[Big J]

Felt up to some light fiddling today, I’ve finished reading the internet and I can stand ok so I went into the garage to fit the replacement tuners. Needless to say… none of the holes fit, and the drop D I bought was listed as the wrong part 🤦🏻… so I had to make that work too. They are as straight as I can get them without gluing wooden dowels into the array of holes already there. 
I cut the botched nut out first then the new one was too thick so I sanded it down for 10 minutes until it slotted in easily.

New one fitted with a bit of glue.

After re-drilling and fitting the 3 replacement tuners I had to make a template so I could drill the peg slots for the type of drop D I have. Bit of a fiddle on but it was cheap and it’ll work.

Finished with the neck for the time being. I’ll oil the fret board now.

[Big J]

Spent 30 minutes sanding the body today, it’s in better condition than I thought, just got thick paint on it. The wear/relic is mainly on the paint so there are only a couple of relic marks to fill. I did a test patch of primer last night to see if it would react, and it doesn’t, so that makes things easier.

 

I couldn’t decide on a colour looking online, so I went for the one that jumped out on the shelf. It’s a gunmetal grey metallic, a bit brighter than the landrover colour if you’ve ever seen a Defender. Should look good, although I’m not sure if the tort pick guard would go? 
 

[Pea Turgh]

34 minutes ago, Big J said:

Should look good, although I’m not sure if the tort pick guard would go? 

Oh definitely!  That’ll look ace 👍

[Jackroadkill]

This is looking like a great project.  At some point I must get on with mine...!

[EBS_freak]

Got to be a black plate!

[Big J]

One thing this has taught me so far is that I desperately need some brighter lighting in my garage. Sanded the body off the shot a mist coat of primer, waited a couple of minutes and layer a proper coat on. Not I can see some of the imperfections better. I’ve filled them and I’ll sand back tomorrow.

im still in two minds about giving it the relic look. 

[Big J]

Shot the colour this morning, had a bit of a blip when the spray can nozzle blocked and splattered across the body 🤦🏻 but I think I managed to blend it out without running. Temperature isn’t ideal, about 10 degrees here and that’s the lower limit for spraying this stuff. 
with it being a metallic pain they sometimes don’t flat very well so I’ll let this dry properly, check the finish is ok, then I can start with the lacquer. 
it’s still wet in the pictures below;

[Big J]

Shot the lacquer this morning, three coats, looks ok, but the temperature started to drop so I did what any self respecting bachelor would do… and I moved it into my downstairs toilet to keep warm. 

[mrbacco]

On 10/12/2023 at 10:45, Pea Turgh said:

Oh definitely!  That’ll look ace 👍

yes! very much!!

[Big J]

First fit, neck needs the shim with a ramp. action is high with the old wedge that was in there so I’ll make a smaller one. Christmas tree adds extra mojo. 

[Big J]

Came out ok. 
prep could have been better, paint sank a bit …. But what do you expect painting 24 hours later in 10degrees C. I wouldn’t do that on a car 😂

 

I might relic it and do the acid on the hardware too, we will see. I’ve got a new bass coming tomorrow so I suspect it will be on the back burner whilst I play my new toy.

 

cost £100 to do, that includes a used drop D tuner… so can’t complain. 

[Jackroadkill]

That looks grand - glad it turned out well.

[Big J]

1 hour ago, Jackroadkill said:

That looks grand - glad it turned out well.

I’m slightly more surprised that it actually plays better than in did since I’ve put it back together 😂

[Mykesbass]

On 21/12/2023 at 22:19, Big J said:

Came out ok. 
prep could have been better, paint sank a bit …. But what do you expect painting 24 hours later in 10degrees C. I wouldn’t do that on a car 😂

 

I might relic it and do the acid on the hardware too, we will see. I’ve got a new bass coming tomorrow so I suspect it will be on the back burner whilst I play my new toy.

 

cost £100 to do, that includes a used drop D tuner… so can’t complain. 

Never been a fan of tort pickguards. Not really a big fan of metallic finishes...

 

 

 

...absolutely love this!

 

And the flash of chrome from the bridge cover finishes the whole thing off perfectly. What a fabulous job.

 

Hope the surgery recovery is going well.

[uk_lefty]

On 21/12/2023 at 22:19, Big J said:

Came out ok. 
prep could have been better, paint sank a bit …. But what do you expect painting 24 hours later in 10degrees C. I wouldn’t do that on a car 😂

 

I might relic it and do the acid on the hardware too, we will see. I’ve got a new bass coming tomorrow so I suspect it will be on the back burner whilst I play my new toy.

 

cost £100 to do, that includes a used drop D tuner… so can’t complain. 

If that plays half as good as it looks..!!!! Lovely rescue job.