Andyjr1515

Oh my ...... That looks fabulous ...

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1406476281' post='2511755'] Hi uk_lefty Getting the paint and poly off is sometimes a challenge but most of the veneer jobs I've done for basses and guitars has been to take an existing finish, strip down and go from there. I've got an old thread here somewhere which goes through how I do it - I'll try to find it and post the link. By the way I've just spotted your pm - I'll respond shortly Andy [/quote] This was one of the threads from this forum. I have some more detailed ones from another forum if anyone wants to see how it's done in a bit more detail. http://basschat.co.uk/topic/224207-another-veneer-job-yam-rbx270-fretless/

[quote name='namefail' timestamp='1406445087' post='2511447'] Squier VM Jaguar Bass [/quote] Thanks . That's my own bass and was one of the early ones I did (the first attempt, by the way, was the Ibanez above it - eventually sold it to a neplalese buddhist who plays in a heavy metal band...admittedly, a limited market). Unfortunately I've never found any veneer quite like the one on the Jaguar since and I'm not exactly sure what the wood is. I keep looking, though...

Hi uk_lefty Getting the paint and poly off is sometimes a challenge but most of the veneer jobs I've done for basses and guitars has been to take an existing finish, strip down and go from there. I've got an old thread here somewhere which goes through how I do it - I'll try to find it and post the link. By the way I've just spotted your pm - I'll respond shortly Andy

Most of these have been posted before in various topics so tell me if you're getting bored Ibanez entry-level GSR200 - was red: Squier VM Jaguar Bass - was black: Yamaha RBX270F Fretless, was metallic yucky green: Can't remember what this one was - a cheap import that someone had modified to make fretless. Was basic sunburst: I know they're not to everybody's taste, but I think they generally look more than the £150(ish) entry level basses they started out as! Andy

Bummer about the veneer, JPJ. Sorry it didn't work out. Great that you're back on with the project again, though. Intrigued by the bending of a thick maple cap - let us know how it goes Andy

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1406058823' post='2507974'] Great customer. Relations Andy great to see [/quote] You are a sweetie, RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Thanks - appreciated.

That looks really good. We knew you were in safe hands! [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1406045248' post='2507828'] Wow. That looks great. Can anyone explain to me how a transparent quilt top refinish like this works? It must be a lot more complicated than a solid colour refin. [/quote] Yes and no. You take it down to the bare wood, stain the wood and then build up layers of clear varnish. A solid, done well, is also down to the wood, fill, prime, colour paint then varnish. Each has its challenges. This one looks a really professional finish Andy

Hi The first rating on the thomann link above quotes the dimensions

Hi, Mornats It's worth one more go with the relief. For checking the relief, you really need to get two bits out of the equation:[list] [*]The nut [*]The bit of neck that is fastened flat to the pocket [/list] Humour me and do the following:[list] [*]put a capo on the 1st fret (or get a friend to hold it down...mmm...could have phrased that better...). [*]Hold the bottom E or the top G down at the 17th fret [*]There should be JUST PERCEPTIBLE movement if you tap / press the string down at the 8th fret. [*]Adjust the truss rod until you get to that point. Let it settle overnight and check it again and, if necessary, tweak it again. [/list] The neck relief can make a significant impact to the action height when you are dealing with such a long neck as a bass which is probably why it went so askew when the weather changed. Let us know how you get on. If the neck relief is correct with the above method and you still cannot get the correct action height, then there is another factor involved. Andy

Actually, the blurb is talking about something different but this is the stuff to use

This is the sort of stuff often used. As the blurb says, tends to act also as a dampener for unwanted harmonics. http://www.cdguitars.co.uk/neoprene-foam-rubber-sponges-2-for-bass-pickups---pu-6944-023-289-p.asp

Hi Yes - quite normal to mount bass pickups on stiff foam, then you can adjust the screw depth to raise or lower the pickup to the correct distance from the strings. Sometimes, the foam packaging the pickups come in is usable ( if it came in packaging) although often that is too soft. Andy

Relief first - it can make a massive difference to the action. I don't measure the gap - as long as there is a just-perceptible gap at the 8th when you are holding down at the 1st and 16th. No gap is no good and big gap is no good. It wants to be just the right side of straight...

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1401139399' post='2460560'] Looks great, congratulations to Andy and hope Chris has many happy hours rocking it . [/quote] Thanks, Manton Customs...means a lot Andy

I agree with the optimists. Assuming the neck joint is sound, it appears to be at the easy stage ( relatively speaking). Two-way truss rods are cheap and just drop in. You could even get a pre-slotted AAA ebony board for not much money. Fretting is straightforward and inlays too depending on how elaborate you are thinking. I'm sure Manton will do you proud.

Thanks for the kind words, folks, and thanks for the endorsement, Chris. Here are some shots of the finished article...lovely looking bass and sounds great with Chris's skills applied to playing it! This was the main job - getting rid of the furrows in the fretboard that were causing buzzing and dampening of the sound. It's a really nice piece of rosewood - looks fabulous and now sounds great too: The scratches on the pickups are gone too. It really is a very well made bass and must have looked cracking when it was new. Looks pretty cool with the occasional road dint!: This is the headstock. As Chris says, it looks OK head-on but with the full light reflected on it, I'm not entirely happy with it. I think my varnish is maybe getting a little tired. When Chris has a short spell not using it (although based on the big grin he had when he was playing it, that might be some time!), I'll just give it a final couple of coats of some fresh stuff and get it to how I would like it. Mind you, we are all agreed that, compared with how it was when he bought it, it is a great improvement Before: ...and after: As usual - thanks for looking Andy

[quote name='Chris Sharman' timestamp='1400970236' post='2458789'] Andy, That looks fantastic. On a day when I am suffering from seeing my beloved Derby County lose at Wembley, seeing my Westone in this state truly gladdens my heart. Feel free to take all the time to need, I am sure it will be worth the wait. C. [/quote] Hi, Chris - yes, a bummer ref Derby... Final coat of the headstock is a good one so no worries - it'll be done on time. It's a lovely looking bass. It's also one of the heaviest guitars of any sort I've ever worked on!!! Andy

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1400935625' post='2458315'] That has been a great job you've done there Andy. As for the old Concord. I was working on a house in March when the owner unearthed it in the loft to ask " what'd you think ? ". 2 A strings, broken nut held in with Blue Tac, Frets ripped out and never filled, tone pot missing, wiring soldered with Blue Tac and of course the Art work. Told him " No Much !" so he gave me it. Had to sand the paintwork out as I'd no stripper and the Stanely knife carving had to go, 5 hours with the sand paper did the trick. Replaced the nut,frets,bridge,strap loks and tuners then gave it a few coats of wax. Thought was to have a clear scratchplate so scanned the back and tried to match the grain Not too successful but idea was to print out just enough to cover control cavity and hope the Perspex distorted things to hide the contrast. But that's as far as I've got. the nut needs re-cut and the neck tweaked, action way too high. Then again I might sand again and spray it Yellow with white plate like in the Westone catalogue from 82. Thanks for asking Andy [/quote] Clever idea ref the photo image! You could also veneer it - this is my Squier VM Jaguar Bass...because I reshaped the fingerguard, there's all sorts of voids under the veneer:

At the final stages, I think. I used micro-mesh pads to get rid of the scratches left on the pickup covers by a previous owner who had removed the Westone 'W' logo with some pretty coarse stuff. You can still see the deep scratches on this shot: After a bit of elbow grease and progressing down to finer and finer micro-mesh pads, they have pretty much disappeared. The headstock is almost ready for its final coat of varnish...when it's dry, I will wet sand with 1000 grit wet and dry and then apply 'operating theatre standards' to make sure no dust buggies land on the final coat... Here it is with its (hopefully) penultimate coat: No doubt to the immense frustration of Chris, it will then need to sit for a week while the headstock varnish really dries hard before I can reassemble it, set it up and return it to him. It should be with you next weekend as promised, Chris Thanks for looking and for your encouraging comments, folks Andy

You're all very kind. It's nice doing this sort of thing - making an already good bass even better. Pity the day job gets in the way

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1400874478' post='2457865'] It is a great job Andy. Now how about this one? Joking of course. It's looking like this at the mo. [/quote] Now that's what I CALL mojo You've made a nice job of stripping it - what are you planning next? Andy

Back to the Westone, I've added a couple more coats of varnish to the headstock, sanding with 1000 grit in between. When it's dry tomorrow, I'll see if it needs a couple more. While I'm waiting, I've started a quick repair on the side of the fretboard where some lacquer had been knocked off. Chris didn't ask specifically for this but it catches your thumb as you run up and down the fretboard and is easy enough to fix with a few dabs of varnish applied with a cotton bud. By the time the headstock is ready for the final polish, this will be hard enough to smooth out with a bit of wet and dry and polish up with a micro-mesh pad and should make the neck feel a lot smoother Tomorrow I'll see of I can get rid of the sandpaper scratches on the pickup covers. Andy

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1400799411' post='2457206'] Also, do maple fingerboard always get the acrylic or epoxy gloss finish for the hardness factor - keeping string wear to a minimum ? [/quote] Must admit I haven't seen many maple fretlesses. Maple wouldn't need any help with the hardness - it is a VERY hard wood. The coating you tend to get on six strings is usually more to show off the flame or simply keep the dirt off. On a fretless, I think a gloss would tend to drag on the fingers. If I was doing one for myself, I would seal it with a coat of matt varnish and then very fine sand it (1000 to 2000 grit) to a silky smooth finish... Any maple fretless players out there?

[quote name='funkle' timestamp='1400751441' post='2456569'] Hello all (and Andy) Just wanted to give props to Andy for getting back in touch with me. Our mutual schedules may not work out for getting the work done in a timely fashion, so I am electing to go with someone else, but Andy's email response to me was very generous/professional and it looks to me like he'd be a good guy to go to for future work. The photos of his stuff look stunning and he nice to deal with. His quote was reasonable too. This time around though, it's going to Sims. Like I said, I'll try and get some before and after pics up at some point. Pete [/quote] Good choice, Pete - I think you'll be very pleased with Sims work. Let us know how it goes Andy