Rich Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 I have a new project bass, bought off eBay for a small amount of folding last week... it’s one of the short-scale basses Overwater made for schools some years back. I believe they only made 200 or so of these things, and I suspect that 190 of them probably got smashed to bits by the little darlings. This one hasn’t escaped unscathed either, the headstock has been snapped off at some point and reattached, and there is some other damage to the body and neck. These areas look relatively superficial judging by the pics. I don’t have the bass in my possession yet, the seller lives in London and so CK was kind enough to go pick it up for me. I’m looking forward to getting hold of it and finding out just what a challenge I’m facing..! My plans are to strip off the black finish, then make good the headstock repair and attend to the other damaged areas, fit a new pickup and electrics, renew any hardware that needs, errm, renewing, and refinish it. Depending on what the wood is like (mahogany, I believe?) I'll either go for a clear finish of some sort (oil? wax? lacquer?) or perhaps a sprayed finish (either a solid colour, or perhaps a baccy sunburst like my JD). If anyone knows anything more about these instruments, please impart your knowledge! I’d love to know more. Pics will follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauljdcooper Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Never heard of em. Look forward to the pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 30, 2007 Author Share Posted August 30, 2007 OK, these are the pics sent to me by the seller... as you can see, he also had one of the matching guitars up for sale. The headstock repair has unfortunately resulted in the Overwater logo being painted over -- I have emailed those lovely O/water people to ask if there's any chance of a new logo decal to put on it once it's finished, not had a reply yet. [attachment=1996:Project_...__guitar.JPG] [attachment=1997:Project_...r___body.JPG] [attachment=1995:Project_...adstocks.JPG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamthewalrus Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 [quote name='Rich' post='52768' date='Aug 30 2007, 01:26 PM']OK, these are the pics sent to me by the seller... as you can see, he also had one of the matching guitars up for sale. The headstock repair has unfortunately resulted in the Overwater logo being painted over -- I have emailed those lovely O/water people to ask if there's any chance of a new logo decal to put on it once it's finished, not had a reply yet. [attachment=1996:Project_...__guitar.JPG] [attachment=1997:Project_...r___body.JPG] [attachment=1995:Project_...adstocks.JPG][/quote] Hi Rich, Might be worth sending Bleedproof a PM - I think he works for Overwater (?) Cheers, iamthewalrus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Another of these came up on eBay about a year ago, Rich. I was spending a lot of time in & out of Andy's Guitars in Denmark Street (now gone bust, of course) and found out that Andy was once partners with the guy who owns Overwater. He suggested that I simply telephone them and ask about it and, sure enough, within 10 minutes I was talking to the guy who did the original deal with the education authority. Just call Overwater at their current number and ask the question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 [quote name='Happy Jack' post='52872' date='Aug 30 2007, 04:51 PM']Another of these came up on eBay about a year ago, Rich.[/quote] Its far from perfect condition - will need some laminations I think to restore some structural rigidity but might make a decent plank to spank. The fretwork, pickup and bridge are pretty decent. Photos taken this evening... [attachment=2000:overwate...nk_front.jpg][attachment=1999:overwate...ank_back.jpg][attachment=2001:o erwate...eadstock.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 31, 2007 Author Share Posted August 31, 2007 Plank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 [quote name='Rich' post='53178' date='Aug 31 2007, 10:10 AM']Plank? [/quote] Sorry matey, it should have been written like this: [droll mode: ON] "plank" to spank [droll mode: OFF] It looks like its been crushed at some point over the control cavity because the wood around the knobs is stoved in slightly. You'll probably need to put a new facing on the front to reinforce it I think. I've got some fancy curly redwood if you want some Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 31, 2007 Author Share Posted August 31, 2007 Hey, I might take you up on that. I think my first job will be to lose all that black finish so I can see exactly what I'm up against. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted September 1, 2007 Author Share Posted September 1, 2007 OK, some more info courtesy of the seller: [i]"The Overwater basses and guitars were made about 20 years ago for school use only. How or why they had the commission from ILEA and others I don't know. The instruments were made of mahogany - looking at the edges of the cracked headstock proved that. The instruments were appointed with EMG Select pups. You can imagine it was quite a thrill to see those instruments when they arrived in school - they were quite different to the Westones and Japanese jazz copies of the time. "The reason they were damaged was not the fault of fledgling bassists and guitarists. It was lax supervision in the music department that allowed a thuggish element to use the instruments as cricket bats. Your bass came from a school in North West London. A student of mine rescued it thinking he would make a fretless bass out of it. He abandoned the bass and passed it on to me to repair." [/i] Cricket bats! The little bastids. No respect, some people. Thanks to M for the extra info, I'll definitely keep the diary going with any progress I make over the next months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 Marc's trying to sign up at the moment, he called me this afternoon to say he's been having problems with his email. However I've validated him and hopefully he will be able to contribute directly soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 [quote name='Rich' post='53858' date='Sep 1 2007, 03:33 PM']OK, some more info courtesy of the seller: [i]"The Overwater basses and guitars were made about 20 years ago for school use only. How or why they had the commission from ILEA and others I don't know. The instruments were made of mahogany - looking at the edges of the cracked headstock proved that. The instruments were appointed with EMG Select pups. You can imagine it was quite a thrill to see those instruments when they arrived in school - they were quite different to the Westones and Japanese jazz copies of the time. "The reason they were damaged was not the fault of fledgling bassists and guitarists. It was lax supervision in the music department that allowed a thuggish element to use the instruments as cricket bats. Your bass came from a school in North West London. A student of mine rescued it thinking he would make a fretless bass out of it. He abandoned the bass and passed it on to me to repair." [/i] Cricket bats! The little bastids. No respect, some people. Thanks to M for the extra info, I'll definitely keep the diary going with any progress I make over the next months.[/quote] I think I know where they work now [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=716"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=716[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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