Modding my basses

[neil___lien]

 

Hello everyone!

I have these two basses that I'd like to modify. One because I don't have a fretless, and it seems like a great candidate given the comfort of the neck, the sound it produces, and the overall aesthetics of the instrument. The other one, purely because I really love the classic look of Musicmasters but can't afford one.

Note: While reading this post, please keep in mind that I have very limited resources, no professional equipment, and fairly limited knowledge as well.

 

Ibanez TMB400TA-CBS that I want to convert to fretless:

Luthier's advice:

1.1 – Thoroughly moisten the fingerboard before removing the frets. (How can I moisten it without compromising the stability of the already dry neck wood? I have some Dunlop Lemon Oil on hand — is that enough?)

1.2 – Use a pair of flat pliers.

1.3 – Heat the frets with a soldering iron to melt the glue before pulling them out.

1.4 – Keep any splinters that come off and have some superglue ready to fix them.

 

Potential issues:

This bass has block inlays on the fingerboard and binding along the edge.

1.5 – Where can I find maple veneer to fill the fret slots?

1.6 – How do I clean the glue residue out of the slots when there's binding involved?

1.7 – Can you use a radiused sanding block with block inlays? And where can I find a radiused sanding block?

1.8 – What should I use to coat the fingerboard once the defretting is done to make it last? Epoxy? If so, how do I go about it?

 

Squier Sonic Bronco Arctic White to be turned into a Musicmaster:

 

Planned finish: Sherwood Green, Sonic Blue, or Dark Lake Placid Blue with a 3-ply cream pickguard and a cream-colored dual-rail pickup (+ 3-string retainer, 500k pots, 0.047uF capacitor...)

2.1 – How do I fill the screw holes in the body before refinishing?

2.2 – I’m worried the Musicmaster pickguard might not fully cover the Bronco’s cavities (lengthwise, from neck to bridge). I haven’t checked yet, but if that's the case:

• How do I extend the pickguard to cover everything?

• I have pickguard material and a printed template that fit the pickup and neck correctly. But if the Musicmaster pickguard turns out to be too short, what should I do? Should I cut the template vertically (along the pickup line when holding the bass in playing position) between the pickup and the neck, and add 1 or 2 cm of paper in between?

2.3 – What's the right process for refinishing the body? I know I don't need to sand off all of the original finish, just enough to help the new layers of spray paint adhere. But what comes next? I saw on Madinter that their sprays don't require wet-sanding between coats, but they recommend buying 4 or 5 cans per guitar/bass. Did I understand that correctly?

 

And finally:

3.1 – i am based in France: where can I find the necessary supplies with a good price/quality ratio? Madinter? Emma Music? Or is there a cheaper option?

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

 

[itu]

Lots of questions, I try to answer just few.

 

Converting to fretless, my advice: turn to a pro if you do not have decent tools. In a youtube video conversion may seem easy.

 

Madinter is a good company to source materials. I bought Blackwood to my fretless, but a pro installed it.

2.1 Cocktail sticks and glue is a tried and true way.

 

2.3 Painting, a good quality paint pays itself already in the beginning. 5 € bottle compared to a 30 € paint, there really is a reason for the price difference. If you buy two or three bottles from a pro paint shop where they mix it while waiting, the colour is the same. Some cheap bottle that has stayed in the shelf for months may be whatever.

 

3.1 If you are after a cheap solution, buy a bass from California Music, Thomann, or similar shop. Zikinf may be a good source to find used stuff.

 

Building is fun, but cheap it isn't.

Edited Monday at 17:02 by itu

[neil___lien]

Haha i can see that. I have started a smilar thread on talkbass (US) and onlybass (Fr) and it seems i am out of my depth completely. I think i'll just wait for a fretless i can afford!

[Hellzero]

C'est, en effet, le mieux à faire dans ce cas, car tout risque de finir à la déchetterie... 😉

[PaulThePlug]

Fretless Conversion...

Buy or find the cheapest bass (or guitar) and have a go as a practice.

[neil___lien]

So very cool!!

[tauzero]

I started a fretless conversion some years ago and am coming towards the end now. Main problem was not filling the lots properly - that's what I am finally getting round to sorting by putting a little epoxy resin in.

 

Whoever did the defret on my recently acquired Squier did an excellent job. It's a maple fretboard, and close up you can see the serrations along the edges of the fret slots (they're filled with a black filler so the fret lines are visible), but there's no tearing and the binding is fine.

[neil___lien]

That is encouraging.. but i am going another route in the end. 

The caution messages, plus the fact that i am not gigging nor in a band, plus the fact that i am unemployed at the mo & need cash, have led me to list three of my 4 basses and my GT-1B on french second hand websites. I am getting rid of everything and will just stick to playing at home along Youtube videos. I am keeping the Bronco and might still mod it later. Maybe just a new pickguard and the electronics and pickup i already have for it.