Grooverjr

The body shape is fine. It sits nicely on the lap to mostly balance the neck and the cutaway is just in the right place so I have no complaints there. It's purely a colour complaint.

That could be an option. It would look great in an off white. All the dings are surface chips of the finish so they could be filled in easily enough in prep. But I will likely come up against the same issue with finding someone who can do a decent job.

That is kind of my position. It's great because of the neck and the pups, not the body shape or colour and I think instruments are to be played and enjoyed. Also, I think the headstock is very attractive and the pups, bridge and knobs are all great so if the body can be a better colour I am doing the bass a favour, regardless of its vintage.

Points taken on the need for chemical assistance and the corrollary of professional assistance. Unfortunately attention to detail and high skill levels are not hallmarks of the trades in La Paz so I am not too keen on getting a random carpenter involved. There is a furniture restorer nearby and what's in his window looks ok so if I have a spare hour or two I'll strip the body of all the gubbins and take it down to him to see what he can do.

If I was in the UK I would probably think twice but I now (and presumably forever) live in a place where there is no chance of me ever getting anythig like what I paid for it, or anythig over about a hundred quid, so there is no point thinking about it in those terms.

I prefer to avoid heavy chemicals due to the lack of ventilation but the neighbous are away for a couple of weeks so the shared landing might be an option. I need to go and get some other painting and wood finishing bits anyway (1980s build flat, doors and skirting need a bit of sorting out) so I'll see what I can pick up. I'm not worried about resale value as Bolivia has no market for this kind of thing and I couldn't play it standing up for more than 5 minutes without giving myself a serious shoulder problem so even if I do make a mess of things noone will see it.

Lovely stuff! Reminds me of the old Viz Mud on Road, Sweet Trolley, The Pips single frame groaners.

That looks like nice stuff. I used mineral oil (stuff they use to help seal chopping boards, not the brake fluid!) and beeswax on a table with a rather uninspiring grain and colour and it does a great job of accentuating what is there without changing anything too much, so that may also be an option when the time comes, although it does need quite regular retouching.

Ah, I was dreading that kind of answer, but at the same time it was exactly why I asked the question so thanks for the warning. I can see from the area under the neck screw plate that the finish is very gloppy. I don't have a power sander or a well-ventilated space to work in (small flat, basic toolbox - good name for an experimental album 😁). Looks like I might need to just live with it being an ugly duck until we get going on a building project we have in mind for the next year or two and then I should have access to both. I have been warned about the surrounds and the whole pup fixing / height adjustment sensitivity so I will be very careful with that when the time comes.

Thanks @Beedster. I wasn't aware of wood wax, but that looks really nice. Agreed on the grain being a bit dull but it might be better once it is stripped and revealed and almost anything looks decent in black!

I got a Kramer 450b last year and despite the fact that it weighs a ton and it's not exactly the easiest thing to play I love it. What I don't love is the colour of the body (and the less said about the wooden inserts on the back of the neck, the better). I don't know if it was originally a kind of orangey-brown or if it has changed over the years but I suppose it is 'period corect' for the 70s - i.e. nasty. It also has quite a few little dings and chips, but nothing serious. It's a 4 piece walnut body and the pieces match pretty well but they're not all that interesting, figuring wise. In the neck pocket where it hasn't been varnished the wood looks quite pinky-red and I am thinking of stripping it down to the bare wood and seeing if I want to keep it that colour or, if not, staining it black. With the ebanol board and the aluminium I think it would look pretty good. Certainly better than what it is now. I am hardly an expert at woodworking (a couple of pieces of furniture rescued and revived is my lot) and I have no decent tools but I think I can manage a sand down and refinish if there's no spraying involved. That said, I have a solid history of underestimating the difficulties of just about everything so before I mess it up completely I thought it best to check if any of you far more experienced lovely people have any advice / top tips / recommendations.

You should be able to get some pills for that from the pharmacist. 🤣 Absolutely gorgeous bass, though.

Bravo! Is that the first ever use of "antimacassar" on BC? Weirdly enough I had reason to use the word antimacassar only this morning. They're like busses!

Thanks both. I have got pretty close now by fiddling with the chorus settings and changing the compressor model.

Thanks. I was wondering if there was a bit of chorus or similar in there. I'll have a fiddle around and see what I can do. It's such a lovely, plummy sound, kind of ballooning out and back again.