An odd little bass quest, and opinions needed from BC

[TRBboy]

@sandy_r found a pic on Google of one of the guitar variations that someone stripped

[sandy_r]

27 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

@sandy_r found a pic on Google of one of the guitar variations that someone stripped

 

Oooh - that grain looks quite usable - maybe you could get some idea of the grain quality on your bass by looking in the pickup &k control routs? (if not obscured by shielding or paint)

 

Edited January 6, 2024 by sandy_r

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, TRBboy said:

Lovely! I had a GS1 in cherry and a custom GS2 natural. I really don't think the wood on this Ibanez will be nice enough to get away with it though. And it's a lot more work to strip the entire finish to find out...  

 

Singlecut GS1 for me. I rather wish I'd kept it now.

[TRBboy]

15 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

Singlecut GS1 for me. I rather wish I'd kept it now.

Yeah same, really regret selling mine 😩

[TRBboy]

42 minutes ago, sandy_r said:

 

Oooh - that grain looks quite usable - maybe you could get some idea of the grain quality on your bass by looking in the pickup &k control routs? (if not obscured by shielding or paint)

 

All painted/shielded unfortunately.... 

[TRBboy]

Another option.... Kinda semi-seriously considering sticker bombing it.... 🤭

 

Or keep it black, give it a good polish up, and maybe at some point switch the hardware for gold...  😃

[Baloney Balderdash]

Dark/deep metallic purple, like this, maybe? : 

 

Or, as someone else suggested, buy an adhesive skin, covering the whole body of the bass, in just about whatever color or pattern you should wish, for example purple paisley, here for instance: https://www.skinyourskunk.com/

 

Just to get an idea of what is possible, try to take a look on these to start with: https://www.skinyourskunk.com/pattern-guitar-skins.php 

 

   

Edited January 8, 2024 by Baloney Balderdash

[TRBboy]

33 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Dark/deep metallic purple, like this, maybe? : 

 

Or, as someone else suggested, buy an adhesive skin, covering the whole body of the bass, in just about whatever color or pattern you should wish, for example purple paisley, here for instance: https://www.skinyourskunk.com/

 

Just to get an idea of what is possible, try to take a look on these to start with: https://www.skinyourskunk.com/pattern-guitar-skins.php 

 

   

Good suggestions! My first ever bass (which I still have), a Squier P, I resprayed in a VERY similar colour to that!

[TRBboy]

Other options... 

 

Also, having just refinished a speaker cab, I'm wondering if anyone's ever repainted a bass with Tuff Cab! 😅 Amazing stuff😏👌

[MoonBassAlpha]

Isn't that stuff rather knobbly and abrasive, or is there a version that comes out smooth?

[TRBboy]

3 minutes ago, MoonBassAlpha said:

Isn't that stuff rather knobbly and abrasive, or is there a version that comes out smooth?

You can apply it smooth, the stuff I've got is satin/matte kind of finish. If you use the textured roller it's much more.... Textured! 😅 Just kinda wondered if that would look cool on a bass, or just rubbish? 🤣🤔

[tauzero]

2 hours ago, TRBboy said:

You can apply it smooth, the stuff I've got is satin/matte kind of finish. If you use the textured roller it's much more.... Textured! 😅 Just kinda wondered if that would look cool on a bass, or just rubbish? 🤣🤔

 

I suspect the latter. At least it would be well-nigh impossible to relic it.

[TRBboy]

Been doing a bit more tinkering, got rid of the 'tone toggle' switch and installed a regular tone control with orange drop. Much better for my tastes! Easier to dial in a sweet spot and not have all or nothing. Just used since knobs I had spare from my 5 string build recently.

 

YES that is a massive washer underneath! 🤣 Turns out the toggle hole was pretty big, so found a washer in the shed the right size. 😏🤌

 

In terms of refinish, current favourites are:

a) leave it as it is

b) the Manilla light green pictured above

c)... Let my 11y/o arty son go at it with his Posco markers!

 

🤷

[JohnDaBass]

Lovely looking bass.

Leave it as it is, just tinker with Pups and controls. 

A very lucky find, congratulations , enjoy. 

[JPJ]

My OCD says you have to put the same washer under the volume pot as well please 😵‍💫

[Baloney Balderdash]

11 hours ago, TRBboy said:

Been doing a bit more tinkering, got rid of the 'tone toggle' switch and installed a regular tone control with orange drop. Much better for my tastes! Easier to dial in a sweet spot and not have all or nothing. Just used since knobs I had spare from my 5 string build recently.

 

YES that is a massive washer underneath! 🤣 Turns out the toggle hole was pretty big, so found a washer in the shed the right size. 😏🤌

 

In terms of refinish, current favourites are:

a) leave it as it is

b) the Manilla light green pictured above

c)... Let my 11y/o arty son go at it with his Posco markers!

 

🤷

I am pretty sure that toggle switch was not a strictly speaking a tone toggle but rather a three position coil toggle allowing for switching between having either only a single coil of the humbucker pickup working, or the two coils either in parallel or in series, so how do you have the pickup wired now?

 

If I had been you I probably would have let that coil toggle switch be and instead having replaced the volume pot for a tone pot.

 

Edited January 20, 2024 by Baloney Balderdash

[TRBboy]

31 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I am pretty sure that toggle switch was not a strictly speaking a tone toggle but rather a three position coil toggle allowing for switching between having either only a single coil of the humbucker pickup working, or the two coils either in parallel or in series, so how do you have the pickup wired now?

 

If I had been you I probably would have let that coil toggle switch be and instead having replaced the volume pot for a tone pot.

 

No, unusually it was a tone toggle. One way direct to the jack, one went to a resistor, and the other went to a 0.1uV capacitor. This meant basically you had one 'okay' sound, one very bright and one very dark.

 

Unfortunately the pickup only has two conductor wiring, otherwise I would've installed a series/split/parallel DPDT mini toggle. 🤷

[Baloney Balderdash]

Just now, TRBboy said:

No, unusually it was a tone toggle. One way direct to the jack, one went to a resistor, and the other went to a 0.1uV capacitor. This meant basically you had one 'okay' sound, one very bright and one very dark.

 

Unfortunately the pickup only has two conductor wiring, otherwise I would've installed a series/split/parallel DPDT mini toggle. 🤷

I stand corrected.

 

But yeah, would have made much more sense if Ibanez had made it a coil toggle switch.

[TRBboy]

1 hour ago, JohnDaBass said:

Lovely looking bass.

Leave it as it is, just tinker with Pups and controls. 

A very lucky find, congratulations , enjoy. 

Yeah, on further reflection this morning, I think I might give it a good polish up and leave it as is. Might put gold hardware on it at some point, I've always liked black and gold 👌

[Baloney Balderdash]

2 minutes ago, TRBboy said:

Yeah, on further reflection this morning, I think I might give it a good polish up and leave it as is. Might put gold hardware on it at some point, I've always liked black and gold 👌

Definitely, gold, or just all black hardware, will look great.