Immo

Re-arranged with new patch cables.

Many Encores of that era have magnets wrongfully installed - both coils have North facing the same direction. This creates hum. It is very easy to check - just get a magnet, hold it firmly and check if one coil pulls it and other pushes it away - if so, the pickup is OK. If both coils push/pull the magnet, the polarity is wrong. Easy fix, just use a screwdriver to gently pull one of the magnets out, flip it upside down and use a superglue to attach it back

Mooer Bass Sweeper -> Polish Hate Fuzz -> Polish Love Overdrive -> Muza FD800 Modulation ToneBox -> Artec SE-ADL Buffered Analog Delay Need to replace the stiff connectors with patch cables soon. The white fluff thing sticking to the pedalboard's surface is cat fur

Pretty! And well kept. Is the bridge in line with the neck? Is the pickup proper-polarized? These are the two most common issues with those. But the pickup sounds great indeed. I compared the tone of this pickup (bought for 10 quid) with Seymour Duncan APB-2 Lightin' Rods active PU (worth ~100 quid) and while the APB-2 has more clarity and evenness and sounded a bit darker, I totally wouldn't pay 10x more for a pickup when these exist, especially when I admire kinda lo-fi sound.

I need help from someone who's a "maestro" of electronics. Strap yourselves in and try to keep up with the story, I shall share all the details. I "color-coded" all the electronics issues I had with the bass so it'll be clearer. My TwinSplit bass guitar has, well, two split coil pickups. I bought a stock Encore bass, having a second split coil form a same bass model laying around. So I decided to build a P-P-Bass, wired like a Jazz Bass. Once all was wired, the innards looked like this: When plugged, there was no hum. However, when two pickups were set at the same volume, there was a strong comb filtering-like effect, basically, the lows vanished and it sounded out of phase. I did some research and found out the way to fix it was to switch hot and ground outputs of one of the pickups. While I was tinkering, I also added a treble bleed mod to the south pickup's volume pot - after all, the south pickup was there to deliver treble! So, after the mod was done, the innards looked like this: Now the both pickups set on the same volume had full-bodied sound. However, after a while - not sure when exactly - a hum issue with the North one appeared. Either solo or paired, it hummed like a badly shielded pickup. I thought it's due to bad shielding the bass has. Due to various personal issues and the fact the hum wasn't that horrible, I always promised myself to fix it "the next day". I always thought it is a shielding issue. Only today, after someone mentioned that Encores had this stupid pickup design that had both coil magnets polarized in the same direction, I checked it with a magnet and discovered the North one indeed has this issue, while the South one does not. I flipped the magnet of one of the coils upside down. This haven't removed the hum and even restored the loss of low end issue, so I also reversed the phase of the coils connection (switched red and black wires). So now, the mess inside looks like this: The North pickup's hum is gone. Both pickups have a full bodied sound. But a new issue occurs, one that was absent before! Said issue is twofold: - there is a constant silent hum that vanishes when the strings are touched; then both pickups work fine - the pickups start to buzz really loud when the pole pieces are touched, but only if strings aren't touched at the same time (especially the South one has that problem, but it's probably due a bit more protruding pole pieces) The pole pieces of the pickups are not grounded; they go through the coil's bobbin and touch the magnet on the underside. The pickup slots are still poorly shielded; is this a shielding issue? I will shield it anyway, but I can order the copper tape only after Christmas. But do I have to do something else, too? Switch hot and ground wires on South pickup maybe (wouldn't this restore the comb filtering?)? Or maybe just flip the wires at the cable jack as now everything inside is reversed? I'll just add that I can't afford to pointlessly tear the bass apart every 20 minutes as the pickguard is not stock and some screw holes are misaligned so each unscrewing ruins them further. Thanks in advance!

Rear is a bit ugly, yet quite, uh, "rural" in appearance. The front is pretty and unusual, I like it.

Sorry for resurecting an 4 years old dead thread, but I just found an ad with an Made in India Encore (early '90s) that was strippe d and finished in natural, so I was immediately reminded of this thread here: Definitely resembles korina.

If you're into heavy stuff, I recommend this album. It's astounding and bass is one of the key things that make it great.

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1473260492' post='3128444'] Assuming the neck is not foto flamed, I would get a new body [/quote] I want to use the original body because of several reasons: 1. I want it to be genuine MiJ Fender and I can't afford another MiJ Fender body (costs nearly twice as much as the bass we're talking about); 2. I'd rather not cave a battery hole in another innocent bass body; 3. this body works fine (already routed - see #2 - plus nice and lightweight) aside form the unrepairable lacquer coating, so why waste it?; 4. sentiment for this bass as a whole (as it's my first Fender and a first big thing I bought entirely for the money I earned with honest work); 5. love of customizing everything I own; 6. I want to learn new guitar refurbishing and maintenance skills, including those requiring thinking outside the box.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1473259532' post='3128428'] On the subject of using a rattle can, you can get for a couple of £ a handle that fits over the can and the button and makes it much easier to use. This is an expensive one as an example:http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Can-Gun-1-Universal-Spray-Can-Tool-Recycled-Plastic-Ergonomic-Reusable-Paint-/321680557430?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368 [/quote] Cool idea, thanks! Wonder if anyone tried SprayPlast to, for example, cover the headstock with a protective layer. Wonder if it kills sustain. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1x500ML-MOTIP-SPRAYPLAST-RUBBER-REMOVEABLE-COATING-ORANGE-/142106577211?hash=item211636493b:g:mxcAAOSwhOdXowx5

I think I'll call local car paint shops and ask, but I'm pretty sceptic. But maybe I'm wrong? Anyway, the idea stated in the original post was to use quality spray paint. This guy presents it well and isn't really putting too much effort into the whole business while getting nice results ([url="https://www.youtube....7YrsbIPL6o18BLS"]five videos playlist[/url]). Hope the guitar's body is really lacquered with the spray nitro lacquer from the can.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1473170518' post='3127624'] (...) it sounds like you're not look to sell any time soon. [/quote] Yup, aside from horrible looks, it's a great bass and my first Fender, first maple fretboard and first P-bass (I like each of the three notions ) [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1473170518' post='3127624'] What finish do you want btw? [/quote] Sherwood Green. My goal is to get an effect similar to this: ...but with the thumbrest above the E string and with a custom pickguard, preferably with a paisley motif.

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1473091677' post='3126832'] You probably already know this, but nitrocellulose is not good for your lungs. If you're spraying it yourself make sure you have decent ventilation - preferably a proper spray booth with extractor fans if you can [/quote] Yeah, but as you probably deduced form my previous posts, I don't want this party to get too expensive, so I'll stick with mask. BTW, the Northwest Guitars made a nice 5 parts tutorial on how to use their spray-can-nitrocellulose-lacquer thingies properly. The way they show it, it looks ridiculously easy. Then again, with my low skills, dexterity and aptitude, I'll probably end up with severely bruised ribcage, green hair and will spell "Fender Precision Bass" like "ugl-glug-glug-lugs" for two weeks.

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1473081752' post='3126672'] Natural wear is acceptable :-) [/quote] Preferably Some fake relic jobs are quite OK.

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1473079199' post='3126626'] There are two types of people - those who like "reliced" basses and those that don't. I'm in the latter camp, I really don't understand the attraction of adding fake wear... But whatever floats your boat... [/quote] Relic, either fake or real, is acceptable. But the cracked body - it's hideous.

I paid 300 quid for the bass at the time the GBP was insanely low, so it costed me 1500 PLN (the pickup -SD Ligtnin' Rod - costs 600 PLN new, mind you). Painting by a pro costs 750 PLN and Warmoth replacement body in Sherwood Green + shipping costs 2000+ - 10 times the spray paint (postage included). No one in Poland would buy the body for more than 200 PLN, especially with the cracks and after the original owner had the fantasy to carve a stupid 9V battery hole under the pickguard in a random spot. EDIT: And if I had the money, I'd probably go with genuine MiJ Fender '57 RI, something like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-57-RI-Fender-P-BASS-BODY-HARDWARE-Precision-Japan-Black-/381757002934?hash=item58e27d94b6:g:GIoAAOSw-kdXyavK

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1473060532' post='3126386'] Y'know, there are people who will actually pay good money to have the finish on their shiny, new bass wrecked. It's a funny old world ... [/quote] Most people assume there is little to no difference between reliced guitars and cracked FotoFlames. But there is. Those aren't parts of wood showing, looking like "man this guitar was played a lot!", but cracks looking like "man this guitar was poorly made". Not to mention the edges of those cracks are quite sharp and maybe they won't cut you, but they can interfere with the strap of a watch. And the dirt is getting underneath the lacquer.

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1473025142' post='3126261'] It'll be basswood or Alder and neither require grain filling so you'd be fine to prime, spray colour coats then clear. You could even skip primer, but you'll most likely use more colour getting the depth, primer will also fill any small pores better. So I'd spray primer first. [/quote] And that's the sort of answer I was both waiting and hoping for. Thanks, mate! P.S. just out of curiosity - how much Manton Customs would charge for such a job if the body was delivered stripped from the previous lacquer? Purely academic question, as I'm in Poland, but I wonder if in UK it's cheaper.

My Fender P-Bass is a gem. It has perfect active pickup that sounds like a vintage one, but with more definition, it has a comfortable, regular '57 RI neck, it's made in Japan around the end of the golden era ('93-'94) and ...has a FotoFlame finish on the body. Which is a rubbish of otherworldly proportions. It cracked before I got the bass, now it's cracked so much that the layer comes off and the bass is pretty from afar, but far from good looking whenever you're close. [center] Clicky: [attachment=227086:FotoCrack1.png] [attachment=227087:FotoCrack2.png] [attachment=227088:FotoCrack3.png] [attachment=227089:FotoCrack4.png][/center] I know many Fender-heads will cry in terror, but want to remove this finish, it's funky and unique on the first glance, but ugly when you look at it and it bums me. There is now way to repair this because of the method used to adorn the body - the decorative "top" and lacquer are basically a one entity and when lacquer breaks, the "top" breaks too. And as the bass will stay with me forever and I want to enjoy it, I'm afraid the FotoFlame has to go. The point is, I don't wanna pay the luthier his price (which is around half of the price I paid for the whole bass!) and I'd want to try the Northwest Guitars spray nitrocellulose lacquer. They got Sherwood Green which should be super-pretty with a slightly roadworn maple neck with maple fingerboard, chrome covers and black or white pickguard. The current lacquer just comes off wholly, like a chocolate frosting off a cake. I could probably peel off most of it with a thin blade or even my bare hands. The FotoFlame finish comes off with the lacquer as it's embedded/stuck within the first layer. And underneath, wood (basswood, I presume). But does anyone know how the wood is conditioned? Does the body require only a layer of color lacquer, primer lacquer + color lacquer or does it have to also be treated with a sanding sealer? Is there anything else I should think of?

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1391185589' post='2354353'] You know, Immo, this thread is pointless without SOUNDS… when can we hear some sampleses? [/quote] [media]https://soundcloud.com/that-immo/twinsplit[/media] Sketchy.

I decided to shop how it looks now, after further mods and improvements. The idea of doing the whole thing, after all, was to have a bass equivalent of a hot rod: a classic thing updated for more power and uniqueness. It worked. Soundwise, for me it's a Fender killer. Overall quality (wood, lacquer, wiring and all that) is waaay worse, of course, but I don't rally care. It works, it sounds great and I love it. Although it was cheap as dirt, this bass is one of my two favourites (the Telecaster bass comes first, as always). To sum up the work done to "un-stock" it: - extra pickup: routing (executed by a better woodworker than me), PU installation and wiring - pickguard replacement (Boston) and adding an aluminum thumbrest (no name) - new, heavier tuners (no-name) - new nut (Tusq by GraphTech) - string retainer bar (Jin-Ho) - bridge chrome cover (no-name) - corny "chickenhead" knobs for that vintage feeling (no-name) - re-stringing it with GHS Precision Flatwounds The ICS-modded Encore TwinSplit really packs a punch despite the weird looks. Like I said, it is strung with GHS Precision Flats, but it still growls. Sweet spot a little south from the middle pickup works even better than in other P-basses, probably because it's exactly between the pickups. Still have to deal with the weird wiring shenanigans - it needs a set of different pots to improve the controls. Those scratches and dings seem to appear appear out of nowhere, but they're improving the "rat rod" appearance. Maybe it needs a "flamed" decal?

I had a similar problem and the replacement ferrules were a tad too wide, so I gently ground the holes to enlarge them. Of course, my hand slipped once or twice and now the ferrules are sitting loose enough to be pressed out by the string tension that pulls the tuner pegs towards the bridge. I will try to use a two part epoxy putty (and/or two part epoxy glue) to fill the holes again and fix this as I'm really not in the mood for filling and re-drilling the holes. Anyone tried this method?

[quote name='tredders' timestamp='1466889331' post='3079622'] (...) the black one had a lipstick pup. Both were originally sunburst, but I had them refinished when work was done and routing filled. [/quote] I'd leave the lipstick, it goes visually perfect with the bass; probably would add nice tones, too. Painting it black was a good idea, though. Pretty. [quote name='tredders' timestamp='1466889331' post='3079622'] Whilst they're not the most versatile basses on earth, I do think that they're sometimes wrongly branded as one-dimensional. Yes, they do the whole bass-you-can-feel-in-your-chest thing well, but there are some tonal variations lurking in there. [/quote] As I said, tone dial and fingers/pick position makes a HUGE difference, in my opinion, much bigger than in your typical bass guitar.

This here is my Telecaster Bass, finally finished. Sting Bass neck, Squier VM body, Fender hardware and pickup. Custom decals and thumb rest/tug bar setup. A thing of a beauty in my book. As for the sound, this [quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1465042312' post='3064885'] "Mudbucker" is a total misnomer. The bass lacks zingy top end, but is full of growling mids and is far from a muffled, boomy sound (though that can be achieved if so desired.) (...) for rock, disco, soul, metal, folk, pop, rock 'n' roll and more. A lovely bass to play and much more versatile than many give it credit for. (...) [/quote] quote sums it up. Love how the tone pot works here, it goes from punchy, midrange growl if rolled on 100% to a muddy wall of low end if rolled to 0%. With the tapewounds (Roto 88 TruBass) it works miracles, just a small hint of delay and bending it mimics a double bass sound pretty well. Adding a bit of foam/sponge between the bridge and its chrome cover muffles the sound for that vintage style harmonics. Really comfy to play, too, that axe is. Contoured body and soft strings make playing a walk in the park.

This bass is 99% genuine. I mean, the headstock is 99% genuine, if it's a fake, it's a one done with an extreme skill.