neepheid Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 I've been keeping this quiet, as I'm a superstitious sort of person, yes, I believe in things that I don't understand It's here, arrived on Friday having survived the flight, the clutches of HM Customs and Excise and Parcelforce. Gave it the once over and found non-corroded chrome and working electronics. I've managed to snag (for relatively cheap until Customs got involved ) a rather sad looking 1981 Gibson Victory Artist in the States. I've been after one of these bad boys for months. She's not pretty - been refinished badly in dark blue, pickguard etc. painted with something like silver Hammerite and someone had the great idea of taking a blowtorch to the back of the neck. No, I don't understand it either. It will be refinished, but structurally and electronically it's remarkably sound. A wire had popped out of the preamp circuit, an easy fix. Also the D tuner was broken - the screw which attaches the capstan to the pinion had snapped. It would tighten up to a degree but once the string tension got too much it would jump out of position, like the string snapped. Thankfully, to get going I found that the capstan/pinion from a Grover Titan fits in the body of a Schaller M4S damn near perfectly I'm still trying to find a single Schaller M4S (not only do I want this as original as possible - I want my Grover Titan back, that's for a project on the back burner). So, my question is - what colour to refinish? It was originally Candy Apple Red (gold base coat). According to flyguitars (the Gibson Bass Online Bible) the only colours that the Artist came in in 1981 were CAR and Antique Fireburst. Although they say that Ebony (that's black to you and me) was introduced in 1982, I've seen pictures of a 1981 Standard in Ebony top to toe. I'm not going to try and recreate an Antique Fireburst. Should I remain true to history, or if it's being refinished anyway then do it any damn colour I like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 EH will be keeping a look out for this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Congrats Matt! Glad it arrived in one piece I'd go with Black, reckon that would look the bomb! Cheers, Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shockwave Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 White with black hardware! I had a Custom shop Q-80 with the same body shape. Pity i cant find any photos :S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 nice. what's the push button for ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 [quote name='ahpook' post='879762' date='Jun 28 2010, 12:23 PM']nice. what's the push button for ?[/quote] Someone thought it would be a good idea to have a separate button which disconnects the battery. Fine in theory but I kept pushing it while I play, which delivers a nice thump to the amp. Got rid of it pretty quick. I will have to make a new battery cover now, there's a big hole in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 [quote name='neepheid' post='879945' date='Jun 28 2010, 03:15 PM']Someone thought it would be a good idea to have a separate button which disconnects the battery.[/quote] hmmm...[i]interesting[/i] idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arsenic Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Take it back to the original CAR....I always thought they looked great in that colour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutton Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Congrats. Glad you found one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Good score! I've had my last 3 Gibsons from the US; customs bill hurts, but still works out way cheaper and much more choice. I'd strip this back to the wood, and if it's a nice grain go for a vintage (tobacco) sunburst with a black p/guard. If not, then CAR or even metallic red. Neck should hopefully sand back to unsinged maple. Be sure to post the pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted June 28, 2010 Share Posted June 28, 2010 Oh, how I have coveted one of these! Saw some band on telly years ago and the bass player was wielding one of these beautiful things. It got to a part where it was just the drums and bass and I can stiill remeber the growl. The camera zoomed right up to it and just in the background was a blueline SVT and 8x10 cab. Wish i could remember who it was and when! It was a light metallic blue, like some of the old Thunderbirds (pelham blue?) so this must´ve been either a custom order or a refinish. Anyways, if you´re a stickler for tradition, it say go CAR, its a classic for a reason. Failing that, a Pelham blue would look rather fetching IMO I would love to be in your shoes now, because either way, you are going to end up with a fantastc sounding bass! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 30, 2010 Author Share Posted June 30, 2010 I think I'll get this moved into Build Diaries, it's not a build per se, but a full blown restoration so I suppose it counts. Anyway, I was doing some polishing, and found that a shiny headstock was possible! So, one eye on the football, one eye on the headstock: [i]Et voila![/i] Victory is mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilLordJuju Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 I voted for black, purely because you'll get the best result... although I think gold would be the most interesting looking. Maybe too flashy for some. I am surprised they put the battery on/off button on, as these have active and passive modes. If the battery drains, the bass should still work (with a flick of a switch) without it. Don't forget the [url="http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/GibsonDesignerSeries2.php"]Gibson Rebel Victory[/url] finish - probably not easy to replicate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 6, 2010 Author Share Posted July 6, 2010 Thanks for all the replies and votes, at this time it's black by a nose! I report good news - Schaller are absolute stars. I contacted them to see if I could scrounge (or even pay for) the parts I need to fix the single broken M4S tuner I had. It took a couple of emails to get across what I was talking about - I think I muddied the waters when I mentioned the Gibson branding, they (when I say they, I mean the MD of Schaller ) suggested contacting Gibson - I know from experience this is a waste of time when it comes to things they haven't made for 20 years. Once I sent a highlighted diagram showing the parts I was taking about he said he would send the bits I need. The parts came today - in quadruplicate! I only needed one Not only that but a full set of plectra from .018 to .043 and a sticker which I will be placing somewhere probably on a hard case to show my appreciation. No sign of an invoice, despite offering to pay. Amazing! Yesterday I begun the resurrection. Sanding down that poor, burned lacquer on the neck. Very careful around the serial number, the first two digits are not very well stamped and I might have to leave a little bit of the burning there for the sake of retaining the number. Edges are much easier than flat areas: I had to be careful at the heel too, as I removed a mess of attached new finish, old finish and an old card shim I found some interesting things: the date stamp (Oct 2 1981), someone's initials (N.S.) and a couple of random number stamps (17, 19). These are the kind of fascinating historical things that I don't want to lose. So, a first pass results in this: Still some remnants of burn marks left. I'm not sure how deep I want to go to try and remove these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 Looking great Matt! Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harvey1-8 Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 I'm looking forward to seeing this one progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 Seeing as the "any colour you like" option has hit the front I thought I'd "bring out the GIMP" and have a muck about with colours (original picture of Jules' Victory Custom on Fly Guitars): The "reasonably historically accurate" section: From left: black, Candy Apple Red The "plausible, but incorrect" section: From left: gold, silver The others (some more silly than others) From left: Pelham Blue (an actual Gibson colour, though never applied to Victories), white, Sonic Blue, Surf Green, Shell Pink, Sherwood Green Metallic That Pelham Blue is quite fetching, actually... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry norton Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Looking like a really interesting restoration. I'd go for changing as little as possible if you're keeping the original markings and patina on the hardware. The CAR sounds really nice too. Even the slight scorch marks left on the neck'll add some character - don't go too far with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 White. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Pelham blue looks good to me. Doesn't it go green as it ages? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eude Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Black Black Black - All Black! Can't get the pics of the mint condition one you showed me on ebay out of my heid, it won't look right unless it's black now... Eude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 He he I voted "any colour". :blush: I know you're mad keen on originality but speaking as a player and not a collector there's a satisfaction that a (well done) refin has over a restoration. Besides I'm the one painting it and I can't be arsed with CAR. I kinda like the white from those above - also the yellow looks interesting to me, although I'd imagine it not getting too many votes (probably why I like it ). As far as the serial number goes, if it were me I'd take pictures as proof then sand the neck as much is as necessary to remove the scorched marks. You could always stash a pic under the p/g for future owners - not that you'd sell your dream bass anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB1 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 [quote name='Ou7shined' post='888543' date='Jul 7 2010, 03:13 PM']He he I voted "any colour". :blush: I know you're mad keen on originality but speaking as a player and not a collector there's a satisfaction that a (well done) refin has over a restoration. Besides I'm the one painting it and I can't be arsed with CAR. I kinda like the white from those above - also the yellow looks interesting to me, although I'd imagine it not getting too many votes (probably why I like it ). As far as the serial number goes, if it were me I'd take pictures as proof then sand the neck as much is as necessary to remove the scorched marks. You could always stash a pic under the p/g for future owners - not that you'd sell your dream bass anyway.[/quote] MB1. ...I know you love a Challenge! ...Candy Apple Red it is then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 [quote name='MB1' post='888612' date='Jul 7 2010, 04:18 PM']MB1. ...I know you love a Challenge! ...Candy Apple Red it is then! [/quote] Bar steward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 Body sanding has commenced: Some of that old paint is like glue. Some of it seems difficult to shift without removing a lot of wood - might it be ok to leave if it's being refinished in an opaque colour anyway? Won't show through a primer and a colour coat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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