Re-pimped Encore Coaster

[Ou7shined]

Absolutely no idea why but I bought a cheap Coaster off the crapbay.

[attachment=25969:_BSEkYOw...PRv____3.jpg][attachment=25966:_BSEke3w...UGow___3.jpg]
[attachment=25964:_BSEk_DQ...WrqQ___3.jpg][attachment=25967:_BSEkRe_...f1P____3.jpg]

The seller advertised it as his old "road worn" back up bass. Sadly it turned out to be a fake up job - you can still smell the paint on it. I was under no real illusions when buying it but looking at the pics I couldn't help hoping that it might have been genuine... but no... it's the result of white emulsion, 60 grade paper and a Stanley knife. The neck has had a reddish brown clay like material rubbed into the chipped areas in order to age it (odd considering how nicely it has aged naturally) and for some unfathomable reason they have run a blade down the skunk stripe to chip up the finish. In an email to the seller before he sent it I offered the option of removing the neck for transit. He came across as knowledgeable and agreed with the neck removal idea. In a surprise move he neglected to take the strings off either the neck or the bridge to ship it so upon opening the box I was greeted with an unmanageable, connected, squirmy mass of wood and wires. The gold anodised pg is a big old fake up too.

I fired the neck on and plugged it in and (although quite quiet) it has a very recognisable P sound and plays reasonably well. Definite potential here.

noticeable issues...

Fret buzz after 12th fret. So the guff in the ad about "low action all the way along the neck" wasn't an exaggeration. A quick trussrod adjustment didn't fix it but I get on the case better later.

Bridge is offset (hence the quietness) and needs repositioning to bring the strings dead-centre to the pole pieces.

Tuners and screws are loose - I popped a small amount of wood glue down the holes the 1st night I got it - this should take up the slack sufficiently. The tuners themselves just need striping and rebuilding.


Let's see what fun we can have with it.

Edited July 25, 2009 by Ou7shined

[allighatt0r]

It looks great from a distance if you squint!

I think a set of white Dimarzio pickups would look the mutt's preverbials in that thing, the black pickups just look so out of place to me!

[sixshooter]

Best of luck with the project!

[Ou7shined]

Cheers

[Ou7shined]

I meant to post this a while back but forgot......

[size=2][quote]Hi Rich
Thanks for bidding on my item. I have left feedback for.
Please could you leave feedback for me too?
Thanks
R**[/quote][quote]Feedback left mate.

Everything's cool.

You've got to tell me though, What's with cutting down the side of the skunk stripe?

I plan on completely turning this bass around so a bit more background history on it might be cool for the write up.

Cheers
Rich[/quote][quote]Rich.
Not sure what you mean.
The laquer is flaking off a bit due to the age of it. If that is what you mean then it was like that when I got it. All part of the natural ageing of it.
I liked the bass because it looks well used. The knocks and dings on the body and neck were there when I got it.
Hey it was only £38!
R**[/quote][/size]
Yeah right.
[attachment=26925:neck.jpg][attachment=26926:clay.jpg][attachment=26927:plate.jpg][attachment=26928:
sandpaper1.jpg][attachment=26929:sandpaper2.jpg][attachment=26930:sandpaper3.jpg][attachment=26931:fe
rruls.jpg]
and here was the "all original" pick guard after noodling about on it for a day.
[attachment=26932:pguard.jpg]

I didn't bother pursuing it any further. It's a pity he didn't just hold his hands up to it and we could have had a good laugh about it together.

[Balcro]

Oh good, that's two of us on here with an Encore Coaster! Well the body and the bridge look the same.

By comparison, mine is immaculate. That could be 'cos it's only been out of the house on 3 occassions.

I wonder where that neck came from? I'm not sure that's original. Whatever, once it's [u]all[/u] adjusted it gives a surprisingly beefy sound.

Enjoy.

Balcro

[thedontcarebear]

Surely the neck is original? Who is going to make a decal for an Encore Coaster to go on another neck?!

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='Balcro' post='512184' date='Jun 12 2009, 02:58 PM']Oh good, that's two of us on here with an Encore Coaster! Well the body and the bridge look the same.

By comparison, mine is immaculate. That could be 'cos it's only been out of the house on 3 occassions.

I wonder where that neck came from? I'm not sure that's original. Whatever, once it's [u]all[/u] adjusted it gives a surprisingly beefy sound.

Enjoy.

Balcro[/quote]
Hey cool. Can you post pics of yours please?

Any similarities to the Hondo in [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=50897"]this[/url] thread? The bridge that was on mine was identical (the same angled ferrule arrangement) so there has to be a connection somewhere.

I agree it really does have a superb P sound (if a little thin) - that's why the sprayed pg ended up like that - I couldn't put it down.

Unfortunately The next time you see it you won't recognise it. Plans are afoot but I'm keeping schtum for now. :brow:

[Balcro]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='512210' date='Jun 12 2009, 03:22 PM']Hey cool. Can you post pics of yours please?

Any similarities to the Hondo in [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=50897"]this[/url] thread? The bridge that was on mine was identical (the same angled ferrule arrangement) so there has to be a connection somewhere.

I agree it really does have a superb P sound (if a little thin) - that's why the sprayed pg ended up like that - I couldn't put it down. :D

Unfortunately The next time you see it you won't recognise it. Plans are afoot but I'm keeping schtum for now. :brow:[/quote]

I'll have a go. I'll borrow a decent digital camera tomorrow. Then the tricky bit, never having posted pictures on here before. I'll check the guidance or the wiki.

Balcro.

[Balcro]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='512210' date='Jun 12 2009, 03:22 PM']Hey cool. Can you post pics of yours please?[/quote]

Well here goes. I hope the pics are automatically reduced to "thumbnail".

[attachment=27141:ALL_BASS_FT_1.jpg]

I'll do one, and if that's ok, I'll add some more.

Sorry for the delay, I'm having home network problems.

Balcro.

Edited June 15, 2009 by Balcro

[Balcro]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='512210' date='Jun 12 2009, 03:22 PM']Hey cool. Can you post pics of yours please?[/quote]

That's worked. Now for some more -

[attachment=27142:BASS_FRONT_2.jpg][attachment=27145:BASS_HEADSTOCK.jpg][attachment=27143:BASS_NECK_
1.jpg][attachment=27144:BASS_3_BACK.jpg]
[attachment=27146:BASS_1_L_SIDE.jpg]

Balcro.

[Ou7shined]

Ah yours appears to be (massive assumption here) an '80s model while mine is a '70s job. T'internet info on them is pretty scarce but I did find [url="http://www.tomsie.co.uk/guitars/"]this[/url] one (1/3 of the way down) through google - sorta half way between our two...

Nice pics btw. Gotta love that hefty brass bridge eh?

[Bassassin]

Balcro's pointyhead will be a mid 80s version while Ou7shined's one on the slab here is early 80s - both from the same Korean sweatshop, by the looks of it! They might well be from the same place as the similar Hondos of the era, which would possibly be Samick.

Encore is just a brand name (owned by John Hornby Skewes) and they'll source instruments from whoever sells 'em cheapest - they were coming in from India in the early 90s, AFAIK.


Anyway, despite the fact someone's taken a sander to Ou7hined's Encore, I'm inclined to think the guy's telling the truth about the cracking down the skunk stripe - I've seen the same thing on 2 projects of mine. Both my Kawai Sleekline & my prize-winning £5 Marlin rat-bass had this, and I assume it's to do with unequal wood shrinkage, or something - the truss rods on both basses work fine so I don't think it's delamination.

Anyway, I [s]fixed[/s] bodged it by running superglue around it (just in case it was coming apart) and then building up successive coats until the chipped area was filled. You can then lightly sand it smooth & polish it up with T-Cut or somesuch. It's still visible if you look closely but it's completely smooth to the touch.

Jon.

[Ou7shined]

Cheers for the info Jon. I thought there might be a Hondo connection there somewhere.

It's not obvious from my pic but you could see where the blade had cut almost parallel to the join. Never the less, I'll keep an eye on it in the future just in case it had started by itself.

[Balcro]

Bassasin is quite correct. It's an '87 and the little sticker saying Made in Korea is still there, only not visible in the photos.

I may not be able to crow about the brand name, but that chunky brass bridge puts a few others to shame.

One odd thing the photo exercise did throw up is the built-in "intonation" setting with the through-body stringing (see photo of the back). I've never noticed it before, even when re-stringing. Since I've set the intonation at the bridge, does that mean I'm double intonated. I thought they important dimension was from bridge saddle to nut.

The headstock photo shows an odd string path, particularly for the "E", but that's deliberate. If I don't string it like that the nut slides off sideways. I've repaired it once with PVA, but it lasted less than 6 months. Didn't have any "No-Nails" handy at the time.

Balcro.

[Ou7shined]

A spot of superglue should sort it right out for ya.

If you're referring to the squint arrangement of the ferrule holes I think it is just a quirk of these. There may be some logic behind it (other than just matching the natural angle of the saddles) but I can't really see it being a major influence on anything.

[Ou7shined]

Edited the thread title coz I'm close to the big reveal. Definitely worth bookmarking this one. :brow:

It's almost finished but I've decided that the icing on the cake will be a re-fret. I've never done this before, so fingers crossed.

[Ou7shined]

Here ye go. How do you like the new look?

[attachment=29564:25072009007.jpg][attachment=29565:25072009008.jpg][attachment=29566:25072009009.jp
g][attachment=29567:25072009010.jpg][attachment=29568:25072009011.jpg]

I've modded the original body and neck and pimped it out in Surf Green - the only other original parts used are the neck screws.
I'm against the decals theoretically but I think there are enough [i][b]homages[/b][/i] to the original Coaster so as not to be pulling the wool over anyones eyes so (although at the end of the day it's probably put together better than any Fender) I thought f*** it why not.

I'm getting dragged out to the shops just now but I'll list the changes and hardware later.

I'll try and get some better pics up too as the sun's out in Aberdeen again and these are way overexposed and you can't get a right good look at the purty Surf Green.

Cheers

Edited July 25, 2009 by Ou7shined

[lateralus462]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='551183' date='Jul 25 2009, 03:58 PM']Here ye go. How do you like the new look?

[attachment=29564:25072009007.jpg][attachment=29565:25072009008.jpg][attachment=29566:25072009009.jp
g][attachment=29567:25072009010.jpg][attachment=29568:25072009011.jpg]

I've modded the original body and neck and pimped it out in Surf Green - the only other original parts used are the neck screws.
I'm against the decals theoretically but I think there are enough [i][b]homages[/b][/i] to the original Coaster so as not to be pulling the wool over anyones eyes so (although at the end of the day it's probably put together better than any Fender) I thought f*** it why not.

I'm getting dragged out to the shops just now but I'll list the changes and hardware later.

I'll try and get some better pics up too as the sun's out in Aberdeen again and these are way overexposed and you can't get a right good look at the purty Surf Green.

Cheers[/quote]

Mate, that looks awesome.

[steve]

wow, nice job, that looks excellent

[lemmywinks]

Suitably impressed with that one, good job!

Never in a million years thought it would turn out looking that good

[PURPOLARIS]

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='551183' date='Jul 25 2009, 03:58 PM']Here ye go. How do you like the new look?

[attachment=29564:25072009007.jpg][attachment=29565:25072009008.jpg][attachment=29566:25072009009.jp
g][attachment=29567:25072009010.jpg][attachment=29568:25072009011.jpg]

I've modded the original body and neck and pimped it out in Surf Green - the only other original parts used are the neck screws.
I'm against the decals theoretically but I think there are enough [i][b]homages[/b][/i] to the original Coaster so as not to be pulling the wool over anyones eyes so (although at the end of the day it's probably put together better than any Fender) I thought f*** it why not.

I'm getting dragged out to the shops just now but I'll list the changes and hardware later.

I'll try and get some better pics up too as the sun's out in Aberdeen again and these are way overexposed and you can't get a right good look at the purty Surf Green.

Cheers[/quote]

Is this the same guitar as the OP ? Bloody hell, great job !!!!!

[Balcro]

Wow! It looks even more vintage thatn the original.

Nice,

Balcro.

[Ou7shined]

Thanks guys. :blush:
Yes it is quite hard to believe that this beauty actually has lowly origins.

I suppose it's even harder to believe the some idiot would actually attempt to do this.

To get my head around what I was about to do I made a mock-up from polystyrene.
I know most people would rout out a larger simpler recess then plug that... but I'm not most people.
My initial pencil sketchings were luckily good and I stuck with them right to the end.


I had already sourced the pup from our own The Bass Doc (cheers Howard).
It's an original Fender RI pup that's been rewired by his pup guy. I couldn't resist trying it out so knocked this up...
It sounded ok but it was hard to get an even sound across the strings with it sitting at this acute angle.


Here it is plugged with ply and levelled. I used a fine chisel to form my new cavities - never done this before.
I did such a neat job of it that I didn't need to sand it out at all afterwards (what you see in the finished bass is just paint over the chiselling)
I love doing this kind of intricate work.


Wanting to leave as much control cavity space for possible future developments I "floated" certain pieces.
I though it prudent to glue [b]and screw [/b]this particular bit in.


I had 3 coats of undercoat before it was flat enough to even consider colour (I wish I'd used white now - I'll know better next time eh)


I looked at a few headstock pics on the net and sketched on a line as close to the shape as possible.
I don't have a lot of tools so I literally attacked the headstock with a hacksaw then set to it with some homemade sanding blocks.
It took ages as the maple is hard as stone. Sanding the varnish off revealed a snapped off string tree screw - I left it in.
I'm very happy with the new shape.


As you might see in the pic above, the previous owner had mucked about with the holes and my shiny Schaller bushes slopped about in some of them.
So I opened them all up to an even size then lined them all with some maple veneer to take up the slack - tight as a duck's now.


Borrowing Neepheid's fret puller, the frets came out with relative ease.
Any minute bits of fb that lifted I saved and superglued back in... like I say, I'm not most people.


Surf Green. It's a hard colour to capture but on my monitor this pic is actually pretty close to the real thing.


this one is a bit bluer than reality.

Edited July 27, 2009 by Ou7shined

[Ou7shined]

This shows the Electrosocket Telecaster jack socket that I chose for this. I used my Dremel sander to create the recess.
As you can see I left the original through body holes. it would have been easy enough to fill them but I though it would be a nice [i]homage[/i] to it's former life. I have no intention of using them.


Around this time we decorated the bathroom in.....
... You guessed it, Surf Green. My 3 year old daughter displays the skills inherited from dad.


The Mint Green (mg/b/mg) RI pickguard I shipped in from the states was a very close fit but needed modifying slightly.
I did this by scraping perpendicularly with a loose Stanley blade and tidied it up with some 1000 grade paper.


Re-fretting is not as difficult as I thought it would be. Just make sure you get each one right before going on to the next.


I was interrupted in my important re-fret job by a pesky gig...
so I stuck all together with blu-tac and hung it up so I could purvey my handy work.
I was trying out a 4 saddle Wilkinson bridge at the time (well they're cheap). It just wasn't right for the job so I bit the bullet and got a swively Wilky 2 saddle one from the states (not so cheap).


Elvis approves.


A job I do on all my basses, whether it's necessary or not. Note how each compartment is earthed to the next.


Soldering up.


Very simple wiring job.


Cha-ching!


There are still a few jobs to do but I blew my load and couldn't resist posting the pics up here the other day.

Things still left to do...

A special wee '50's style decal for the headstock tip.... once I can be arsed getting photoshopping.
A thumb rest - because of my aggressive finger playing style I need to play nearer the bridge otherwise it gets a bit clanky.
possibly a pup cover too.
I'm not over the moon with the pup that's in there just now - it's relatively thin sounding and low output. Howard is having a look into what else he might have - but I'm tempted to bung a Lindy Fralin split in. I have LF's in my main bass and love them to bits.

More later....

Edited August 14, 2009 by Ou7shined