Manton Customs

Not 100% I'm sure how many coats you have currently put on, but it doesn't sound like much. Your best bet is to follow the rule of three. This is 3 passes to each coat, 3 coats per day, 3 days of spraying. You will definitely have enough lacquer to level then. If you're not careful and have sprayed too little you'll wait a month then burn through and have to start all over again. As for the differing advice, that's quite common with finishing. What works for one person may not for someone else as a great deal of the details can vary from person to person...for example how heavy you're spraying, what the conditions are like, what abrasive paper you're using etc etc!

The best way would be to fill them with new switches. If you want to fill them without switches then appropriately sized dowels would be the best filler material. It obviously won't be invisible, but you could dye the dowels to match to make it less obvious. The specs say Poplar burl....so - http://www.plugitdowel.co.uk/wood-products/wooden-dowels/poplar-dowelling

Below is the description of the MM pickup. I've done quite a few builds with them. CERAMIC / D.C. =13K- Our Music Man Stingray replacement is an answer to may prayers. The Stingray is a modern classic, but until now, finding a suitable replacement has been difficult. With far less magnetic pull than the originals, ours has full length bar magnets to get every bit of string vibration, no matter how hard you play. Having similar output and tone to the original unit, this improved version has enough output to be used passive, without a preamp. For the authentic Stingray however, a low impedance buffer preamp is recommended. We also strongly suggest series/parallel switch or push/pull pot to get two distinctly different tones made available by the widely spaced coils in this pick-up. Includes wiring diagram and mounting screws.

Those type of pickups don't usually have individual pole pieces for each string, they have a flat bar pole pieces which span all strings.

You might want to try again with the truss rod nut undone (if it has one), use the clamp to get a slight backbow if you can. Then tighten the truss rod nut once you are happy with the relief. Keep an eye on it if you put it in your shed, for a shortish period you should be fine and the damper atmosphere may well help, but don't subject the bass to anything too drastic. Good luck!

There's a few options you can look into. Starting with the least risky, you could try doing similar to what you're already doing, just give it longer in the clamps (a week or two) to let the wood gradually bend. If you can gradually clamp it into a backbow so much the better, there will always be a certain amount of "spring back" when the clamp is removed. Did you remove the truss rod nut (if it's that type of rod) before clamping? Here's a video of the basic procedure the OP is describing. But you'll notice the truss rod nut is removed. You could also try the same basic method, but leave it somewhere a bit damper, the damper atmosphere should make the wood move/bend easier. Once you've got it where you want it, bring up to normal temperature/humidity still in the clamps. A (more risky) option would be to use heat while clamping, see this thread for more info https://www.talkbass.com/threads/rescuing-a-badly-twisted-1964-jazz-bass-neck.1137165/ which is mainly referring to a twisted neck, but the basic idea is the same. The last option is to get it as flat as you can, then pull the frets, level the board and refret. How viable that option is depends on how much bow is present. Whatever you do, don't force anything too hard and make sure you're applying even pressure, otherwise you can end up with a twisted neck.

The truss rod will do most of it's work in the same place that any other bass will and it really isn't going to correct the bow/twist if it's straight up until the 7th fret. You'll just end up with even more buzzing at the lower frets and a backbow on the G side. A fret job may cure the buzzing, but the twist will remain, so you'll still have a crap setup. So not really worth the expense. You could look into multi laminate necks for more stability if you didn't want to go the carbon fibre route.

Yes, judging by your detailed description you unfortunately have a twisted neck. You could take some relief out, which may solve the lower frets buzzing, but there is no easy cure for the twist, it's the neck wood itself rather than the truss rod. The cure is either serious luthiery, or a new neck. There are a few methods a luthier will use to fix it, but none are cheap or 100% guaranteed to last forever.

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1509660892' post='3400746'] Thanks again for taking the time to reply. Expert advice from professionals such as yourself on things like this make this forum invaluable. [/quote] No problem, I'm always happy to talk techy/building related stuff! [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1509661053' post='3400747'] Just Off Topic briefly... could you use this stuff to finish a bass body..? [/quote] Actually yes, but I haven't personally tried it on anything like a body. There's a couple of guys over on Talkbass who have though, they were using it as a wiping varnish (like Truoil) by thinning it and rubbing it on. So in place of a thin oil type finish, yes it's quite doable. The same method may work for a gloss finish, but it would be quite difficult to get the application right without creating flaws and witness lines. When applying it to a fretboard a common method is to use a damn round the fingerboard then pour epoxy, this method of application obviously wouldn't work on a more complicated shape like a bass body though. So it'd have to be done in multiple coats, which is likely to cause witness lines (hazy, cloudy, type patterns where one coats meets another).

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1509645523' post='3400593'] How hard a finish is epoxy? How many hours of fretless playing with round-wound strings would you get out of it before the fingerboard needs true-ing up again and re-epoxying? [/quote] Decent stuff like West System is very hard and would withstand roundwounds for a long time. West System has a Shore rating of 83, which is apparently the same as a builders hard hat! It's pretty indestructible stuff.

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1509637301' post='3400519'] Cheers for the advice folks. The luthier i contacted has also said he doesn't want to do it because he thinks removing the frets will damage the finish which, long story short, would take a lot of work to rectify and end up costing considerably more than the bass is worth, So, time for another look at fretless necks. [/quote] A wise man . The approach would be something like - Remove frets Fill slots True up fingerboard and completely remove finish due to the gaps the frets will have left and possible damage Apply a hard finish such as Epoxy Level the epoxy. So yeah, it'd be pricey.

Usually Maple boards are sprayed after the frets are installed, so if you defret you'll likely have bare patches where the frets used to sit. You'll also probably chip the surrounding finish removing the frets. It's also normal to have to sand/true up the board after removing frets...which will remove the finish. So you'll likely need to refinish the board after performing the defret. That's if you want it to look nice anyway.

[quote name='thegummy' timestamp='1509493774' post='3399482'] The only set I could find were Stewart McDonald [/quote] https://tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/bass-nut-files-set-of-3.html?SID=18d4ba24e0d5c3cfcaae84d3e917e5d4

Which nut files are you looking at? The Hosco set have a 65 and a 75. So your D would be the furthest out but still only .09, which won't cause any problems.

A standard set will be fine, you're talking about a few thousandths of an inch. You really don't want nut slots too tight, or they will pinch the string and cause serious tuning problems. Also try and keep the file dead straight with no wobbling or change of angle, otherwise you'll cut an even bigger slot than advertised.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1508778550' post='3394370'] That's actually bubinga pomele, burl wood is basically rotting wood that happens to look pretty, but generally soft and unsuitable as a solid oil finished body. Can't say I've ever seen bubinga burl? [/quote] You're confusing burl (or burr over here) with spalted wood (which is rot/mould)

I do a few custom necks, feel free to pm or email if interested .

You'll likely get better results with plasticard/styrene sheet. It won't contract at a different rate to the fingerboard like Maple will, or stain from the surrounding oily wood like Maple can. It'll hold up better and is easier to work also. The contraction/swelling thing is less of an issue as you'll be coating the board, but thought it was worth mentioning anyway!

[quote name='Chewie' timestamp='1506871488' post='3381648'] What do you guys charge for a "fret job".......? [/quote] Around £70 if it's just a level, crown, polish and full setup that is required. Anything more than that would be difficult to quote for without seeing it.

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Sounds like you've got what's known as a ski jump, sometimes a fret job will solve it if it's very minor and you've got plenty of fret material there. The other alternative would be removing the frets and levelling the board. Not a major job but not particularly desirable on a vintage bass.

Before you do any of that, how much lacquer have you sprayed? You need to have built enough finish to level in the first place or you'll burn through. It sounds like you hadn't intended on levelling the finish at all, so you may not have sprayed enough. If you can't find Micro Mesh or don't want to shop online you can use ordinary wet and dry paper, it'll be cheaper too. Start with 1000 grit and progress to 1500-2000-2500 then buff. The higher grit you sand to, the easier the final buffing will be. A trick to avoid the dreaded water induced cracking/lifting is to sparingly use either olive oil or mineral oil as the lubricant instead of water.

Yep, it's a relatively simple job. Though the pro level job will pay off when it comes to truing the board correctly after. Just as your frets have to be perfectly level on a fretted bass, your fingerboard needs to be on a fretless. Pro luthiers will have their own methods of doing this, whereas the less experienced will just go at it with a radius block! So as the others have said, pick someone who knows what they're doing!

Yes 1/4" US/imperial knobs. Not metric (6mm) http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/hardware-parts-c1/knobs-c39/fender-replacement-knobs-c40/wd-music-telecaster-barrel-knob-flat-top-aluminium-usa-fit-and-cts-pots-p4500 Also q-parts knobs will fit.

It doesn't look like shrinkage to me, looks more like it was defretted and took some chipping during fret removal. Yes, Ebony dust and super glue for the win. This would make it invisible.