W1_Pro Posted October 10 Author Share Posted October 10 On the laquered fingerboard tip...has anyone done one? I assume you put the frets in first and then give it a seeing to with a can of clear coat? It all sounds so simple when you write it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted October 10 Author Share Posted October 10 I'm also going to leave the finish on (I hope). I quite like the dark green colour, I've given it a clean and its actually quite nicely battle scarred. So I'm going to buff it and see where we get too. Pics to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 13 hours ago, W1_Pro said: On the laquered fingerboard tip...has anyone done one? I assume you put the frets in first and then give it a seeing to with a can of clear coat? It all sounds so simple when you write it... You can do it either way. Pros and cons but both work OK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted October 11 Author Share Posted October 11 Thanks Andy, which way do you prefer to do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 6 minutes ago, W1_Pro said: Thanks Andy, which way do you prefer to do it? I lacquer first and then fret. Pros and cons, though... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted October 11 Author Share Posted October 11 Thanks Andy. When the time comes I'll give that a go. Much sanding yet to be done though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 11 Share Posted October 11 Proper bargain that. Following this with interest. I remember trying out a US Curlee in Hickies Music in Reading, back in the day. I'm sure it was double P, but my memory might be playing tricks on me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted October 11 Author Share Posted October 11 Thanks Rich, Curlee did a double P, the Curbeck, pic of mine further up the thread. I've buffed it up a bit today and its looking pretty good for a frst time relic job😆..I'll post more pics shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted November 16 Author Share Posted November 16 (edited) Sorry for the lack of updates. I've done quite a bit to the bass. I decided to leave the finish as is, so I gave it a bit of a buffing which left it nicely battle scarred. Its been rewired and the cavity shielded as you can see from the pics. I wish I could say I was this good at soldering, but I'm not. I paid someone to do it. The neck has been stripped, sanded and tru- oiled, I've also put new frets in (currently in the process of de sharpening the fret ends, which is thereaputic). I clear coated the fingerboard, not that you can see it here for the masking tape. I also handily managed to dot some superglue on it (the fingerboard) at various points during the refret, so there will need to be a bit more sanding and clearcoating done, I think. One quite nice touch, I needed to make the fret slots a little bit deeper, and I found an old fret saw of my fathers (who was a very handy amateur carpenter) which acomplished the task nicely. The old man has been dead for nearly forty years, but I like to think he was smiling at me from somewhere whilst I was doing this... What else...I've bought a set of SD Curlee accurate Grover machine heads and I found an old Gotoh P bass bridge in my bits box which will fit the bass nicely. I need to get a step drill to ream out the tuner holes. The original Hondo tuners were in pretty bad shape, one was entirely knackered, and the other three were pretty ropey forty years ago when they were put on the bass, so best replaced. Edited November 17 by W1_Pro 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted November 18 Share Posted November 18 On 16/11/2024 at 10:59, W1_Pro said: I decided to leave the finish as is, so I gave it a bit of a buffing which left it nicely battle scarred. Good call - enjoying seeing your work 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted November 19 Author Share Posted November 19 Thanks for the various likes and comments everyone. Much appreciated! A bit more done. Its going back together nicely. So far... Neck back on. Bridge fitted. The various metal plates back in position New jack plate fitted. Old strap button holes plugged with toothpicks & glue. I'm waiting on new covers for the pickups. Someone up the thread suggested cream/white and I like that idea. I'm also waiting for pickup screws and a step drill bit to ream out the tuner holes.The new Grovers are a fair bit more substantial than the original own brand Hondo ones. I hope to have it finished by the end of the month, if all the various bits arrive. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJay Posted November 19 Share Posted November 19 (edited) I just picked one of these up for $80CAD. It's going to be my first foray into resurrection of a vintage bass. Cream DiMarzio pickups! One snapped tuning key, and missing knows, but everything else is there. Some extra holes past the bridge, but that's an easy fix. Never even seen one in 40 years of playing, but I'm excited now! Edited November 19 by TheJay 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted November 20 Share Posted November 20 The bridge will need a massive realignment @TheJay... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted November 20 Author Share Posted November 20 (edited) That looks in really good condition @TheJay, the frets and fingerboard look fine and that cream dimarzio is a handsome thing. As @Hellzero says, looks like you might have to tweak the bridge a touch. Those holes behind the bridge...what do people do? Its just weird......😂 Edited November 20 by W1_Pro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted November 20 Author Share Posted November 20 ..and it goes without saying that $80 CAD for this is beyond a steal. What a result! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted November 20 Share Posted November 20 19 minutes ago, W1_Pro said: .Those holes behind the bridge...what do people do? Its just weird......😂 It looks like someone thought they'd make it a 34" without considering the frets. D'oh! 😁 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJay Posted November 20 Share Posted November 20 9 hours ago, Hellzero said: The bridge will need a massive realignment @TheJay... Yeah! Haven't had a chance to look at it carefully yet, but you are correct. It will be interesting to see if there are MORE holes under that bridge. Seems the pots may need a change as they're super tight. A week of holidays starts Friday, so I'll dig into it then. I just hope the neck is still good one it gets tension on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJay Posted November 21 Share Posted November 21 On 19/11/2024 at 14:00, W1_Pro said: Thanks for the various likes and comments everyone. Much appreciated! A bit more done. Its going back together nicely. So far... Neck back on. Bridge fitted. The various metal plates back in position New jack plate fitted. Old strap button holes plugged with toothpicks & glue. I'm waiting on new covers for the pickups. Someone up the thread suggested cream/white and I like that idea. I'm also waiting for pickup screws and a step drill bit to ream out the tuner holes.The new Grovers are a fair bit more substantial than the original own brand Hondo ones. I hope to have it finished by the end of the month, if all the various bits arrive. I'm needing to replace a busted tuner. Which Grovers did you go with, and will the screw holes also need moving? Thanks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted November 21 Author Share Posted November 21 (edited) Yes, the screw holes will need moving, also the holes will need reaming out as the OEM tuner shafts are quite narrow. I went for the Grover Titan 145c, which are the same as on my Curbeck. Gives the headstock that SD Curlee 'big eared' look. Edited November 21 by W1_Pro 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted November 22 Author Share Posted November 22 The scariest part of the process was reaming out the tuner holes. If you know anyone with a pillar drill, try and talk them in to letting you use it to do this job. I found it devilishly difficult to keep my hand drill from jerking around whilst reaming the holes, with a concomitant wonkiness in the new, larger holes the result. It looks OK now the tuners are on, but nonetheless, best avoided, I think. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pst62 Posted November 22 Share Posted November 22 I got one out me mam's catalogue around 1981, it had a cream coloured P pup and a Gibson style 3 point attrocity of a bridge, IIRC it cost around £110. It was an uncomfortable thing and if that was a Dimarzio model P pup it sounded Scheiße! I sold it and put the cash towards one of those new to the market Squier P basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W1_Pro Posted November 22 Author Share Posted November 22 6 hours ago, pst62 said: I got one out me mam's catalogue around 1981, it had a cream coloured P pup and a Gibson style 3 point attrocity of a bridge, IIRC it cost around £110. It was an uncomfortable thing and if that was a Dimarzio model P pup it sounded Scheiße! I sold it and put the cash towards one of those new to the market Squier P basses. A Gibson three point bridge on one of these? That is very weird. Never seen that. Still, your investment in an early squier was shrewd, must be worth a bit now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pst62 Posted November 22 Share Posted November 22 1 hour ago, W1_Pro said: A Gibson three point bridge on one of these? That is very weird. Never seen that. Still, your investment in an early squier was shrewd, must be worth a bit now. Yeah, I paid £249 for the JV and they threw in a hard case free. Sadly life got in the way and I had to sell it in 1990. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pst62 Posted November 22 Share Posted November 22 1 hour ago, W1_Pro said: A Gibson three point bridge on one of these? That is very weird. Never seen that Here you go. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted November 22 Share Posted November 22 2 hours ago, pst62 said: Here you go. A cool bass but not an SD Curlee. The pickup does look like a DiMarzio with the hex pole pieces so should sound good, although it is in a very different place to a Curlee. Being further forwards it should have a deeper tone to it than a Curlee, which is better or worse depending on your preference. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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