carlsim

Not a question, but some useful hints to repairing cracks in ABS guitar cases. I recently acquired a beat up fender hard case which was decent inside but clearly had suffered in it's life. It was thrown in with a bass I bought. I don't usually use hard cases but having done some touring recently, I did think that a decent hard case which I wouldn't mind if it got a bit more scuffed wouldn't be a bad thing. The biggest issue with the case was the feet on the bottom. All four had broken through and 1 had left a gaping hole exposing the polystyrene. Hmmm... what to do... So I tried the usual superglue methods... no dice. I tried 'plastic welding' the crack together. Ok, but no real strength even when try to insert staples within the welds. There must be a better way. Youtube - i came across a guy who had used an ABS slurry to repair his roof box. OK.... I will give it a try. Essentially it is dissolving plastic in Acetone. I tried first of all cutting up some tie-wraps (not all are made of ABS but worth a try) and stuck them in a jar of nail polish remover (I didn't tell the wife!). No luck - clearly not ABS plus I don't know if nail polish remover is neat enough anyway. So, a friend of mineworks for a screen printers and gave me a sheet of black ABS plastic. Perfect! Bought 1L of acetone from Amazon and away we go. He did say to me he wasn't sure if it was ABS or HIPS, but after some research, apparently they both dissolve in Acetone anyway. However, I had some black Lego bricks at hand as they are made of ABS plastic. So, a jam jar, 50g of ABS plastic sheet cut into small squares to get them in the jar and 125ml of Acetone - the next day I had what resembles a thick black tar. One hint - keep shaking and stirring! Also, get a wider jar rather than a narrow tall jar. Much easier to stir as it gets quite thick and stiff. Get an old paint brush and literally paint the stuff on. It hardens quickly although thicker coats I left overnight. I removed the inside polystyrene so I could coat inside and outside (small cracks could be done form the inside to save appearances) and I am left with a pretty solid hard case. It isn't pretty by any means, but the work is all on the bottom of the case so nobody is going to really see it. I relocated the feet and all is good. I have attached a couple of pics - as I mentioned it isn't pretty but it's solid and in a day of being more frugal, if I can repair it, I will! So if anyone is wondering, it is a great method for repairing anything of this ilk.

it's a real shame the rout wasn't on the rear - that would have looked very special!

A successful trade with Jason - his Atelier was exactly as described, well packed and quick delivery. great comma - well recommended to all!

So this is the case and the Yamaha being couriered. I think it’s pretty bomb proof - definitely courier proof I think! and all wrapped up in cardboard ready to go!

Let’s spread the word… I will post pics tomorrow. if someone wants it for postage purposes, they can speak to @Happypants to arrange collection.

I picked it up earlier from my pal, it’s certainly a bit of a beastly case so will be good for postage. It will add a few kg to the weight though! Saying that, a few extra pounds for extra weight postage wise is worth it for the protection.

I am starting this thread to see if we can get a 'pay it forward' kind of thing going on with a flight / hard case I have been given. I am about to send a bass through a courier and mentioned this to a friend and he told me he had a old spare flight/hard case in the loft he was going to bin. He offered it to me and I am going to be sending a bass to @Happypants using this case. I thought it could then be used by some one else who may need a more secure way of posting a bass. I will post some pics of it (inside and out) - hopefully it will have some use. It will be making its way to Orpington (SE London way) so will be free to anyone who can collect it from there. I did envisage it becoming a Basschat box - used by members to ship basses around the country - I may be somewhat deluded by this! Any thoughts on this? Am I deluded? Can someone ask a mod if there is a better place for me to post this? Thanks

Honestly, I refinished an Xotic recently with Tru-Oil and its looks amazing. It's great stuff and is a combination of an oil and a varnish so dries nice and hard. The process is well documented on the build diary here: I can definitely recommend it if you are after a natural finish. Lovely bit of timber by the way!

I thought I would contribute to this discussion a little and there are many valid points made along the way. From the perspective as a bass player (and this goes for any musician), I remember my old teacher telling me (he was a monster pianist) that basic keyboard skills are one of the best musical skills that any musician should have. They teach the fundamental building blocks of harmony in a much easier way than any other instrument. Grab an old keyboard - learn some basic chord construction and it opens up infinite avenues towards creating more interesting music as a bass player. As a music teacher myself now, I completely understand where he was coming from. Completing a grade 5 music theory class when I was 16 and starting out on bass was a huge eye opener for me - if you can find a course locally at a school or college, it's well recommended! Music Theory shouldn't be scary - I say to my students - having a basic understanding of music theory is central to the creation of music. Having said that, I am aware that good music can be created by people who have no musical knowledge - but imagine what they could create if they did? It isn't just about harmony either - key signatures, rhythms, melody, articulation, performance indications are all part of what makes music great. Plus it also makes it so much easier to communicate ideas in a musical setting. I still remember being a young bassist and doing an early resident band gig - the keyboard player started a song (luckily I did know the song a bit but it was a bit of a busker) and looked at me and stuck his hand out with 3 fingers pointing down - essentially telling me we were in Eb major. (3 flats key signature - fingers down for flats and fingers up for sharps). Once I knew that I had an understanding in my head of what chords and harmony were in the key and where the song might go. Obviously, it helps if it is a pretty straight forward song and not harmonically complex. Anyway, start simple - learn basic triad construction. They you look at chord extensions and how 7ths / 9ths and 11ths are added and how voicing is used. I love a dark and moody C minor 9 chord - voice the C, D and Eb together and you get this gorgeous clashy harmony which sounds amazing - esepcially when composing for a Film Noir soundtrack! Once you start with music theory, it can become addictive to want to learn more. It's an amazing world to embrace as a bass player who holds the root of the harmony. Sting said it best, "it's not a C Chord until I play a C!" Anyway... just my 2 cents!

I may well go with a blanking something of some sort… will make it a lot easier!

Hi all… some advice needed. I have an Xotic XJ-1T and love the bass… the electronics, not so much. pups are great, although I am considering seeing if something works better… but for now, I am really looking at a preamp mod. basically, when in active mode, the passive high cut is still working which to me, totally negates the purpose of having a high, mid and bass eq control. Some may disagree, but I find it counter intuitive when making tonal changes. anyway, the Xotic has 6 pots. Vol, blend and passive tone control plus the 3 band eq. hardly any preamps have 6 pots so I have settled on the Glockenklang 3 band eq, the treble becoming a passive tone control in passive mode. They have good reviews and seem to be a nice transparent pre. anyway… I will be left with a spare hole. toggle switch was my first thought - a kill switch maybe? Save unplugging during breaks? Is that doable? wire the switch to the battery positive to kill the battery feed? any other thoughts? I’m not clever endings to get in to coil tapping, besides I’m sure the pups are single coil. Plus I’m quite happy with a standard jazz blend. any other ideas?? carl.

Thanks guys… I’m still undecided on the stain… I may give it a whirl yet. See how it looks…

so... a fair bit of work later and I am approaching the end to this little project! Not quite turned out how I expected, so a bit more of a lined fretless rather than an unlined board look but for now, it will be fine and I am pretty chuffed with the end result. Glued in all the veneer, chiseled flat and then rubbed smooth. I did find there was still a little bit of chip out on certain frets when they were removed which was still visible after the veneer had gone in, so I relied on the wonders of CA glue again! I stored all the sanding dust in a little pot and used a sharp edge scraper to fill any gaps with the sanding dust, a drop of CA glue and sanded and I must say - looks pretty good. I took the same approach for the side dots - drilled them out with a 1.5mm bit, packed in some sanding dust and the a drop off CA glue over the top. Sand it back and they are barely visible at all. Very happy. Just waiting for new side dot material to come so I can drill and glue new markers in place. I was originally going to add a stain to try a bit more uniformity colour wise and hide the lines, but for now, I am pretty happy with the end result. As I say, not quite what I intended but when strung up and used on stage, I think the lines with be pretty well hidden. Any feedback is most welcome - I did a bodge defret job a while back and I wanted a much more professional job with this one and I am pretty please with the outcome. I may well attempt a black stain a bit further down the line - will see how the tru oil finish wears and perhaps when it needs a refinish, I may give it a go. Will post finished pics when it has some new flats on and I have completed the side markers.

I think I’m going that route… I’m hoping that possibly a darker stain might create a bit more uniformity. @Andyjr1515 I know you used ink as a stain for wood before - is that correct? would that work? I’m hoping to create a black ebony look - can you recommend a stain?? also… I saw people use CA glue as a grain fill but I think I will use tru oil again… just to grain fill and add some protection. @Andyjr1515 is this a good idea for a rosewood board??

I think I'm going to as well! 🙂

I hadn’t thought of that to be honest… something I am going to consider. I have done a small test area and lines are definitely showing, albeit not dramatically… hmmm…

I'm also now thinking... would feint / just about visible lines be a bad thing?? Especially with my intonation! Maybe an unlined upgrade can be a bit further down the line... Will report back when it is cut down and sanded...