radansey Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 Just bought a Harley Benton HBP120BK P-Bass clone from Crack Converters for the princely sum of £50!! It has hardly been used, certainly not gigged - the strings sound 'new' and the only 'issues' are a small ding on the upper-waist and some marks on the rosewood(?) fingerboard at the 1st position. [attachment=8363:DSC_3601.JPG] Ok, no-one would ever be tricked into thinking that it was a Fender (body radii not large enough - but the body is full thickness coz I took a rule to check and the body dimensions are about right for some aftermarket stuff) but it could be the basis of a PB project bass. [attachment=8364:DSC_3599.JPG] It appears to be a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard with Schaller-style mini tuners. [attachment=8365:DSC_3600.JPG] Plugged-in when I got home, doesn't sound too bad, classic-ish Precision sound. [attachment=8366:DSC_3602.JPG] I have box of PB bits and I'm not afraid to use them. Obviously, I don't want to spend too much of this baby coz it defeats the object of a cheap bass (and I'm a tight-@r$£ ), but with a little TLC this baby should sound good. Mods. Schaller tuners and Strap-loks 3-ply scratch-plate (one-ply at present) DiMarzio P-Bass PU (+ possibly J-Bass PU at the bridge New logo on headstock. Full strip and rebuilt to follow (don't tell the missus). Watch this space Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Bolton Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I think most people would agree that black P basses should either have a black or tortoiseshell scratchplate. The latter would look cool with chrome bridge and pickup covers too. Unusually I quite like that headstock shape, most copies generally have an ugly take on the original Fender design (which as we all know was based on an early Bigsby/Merle Travis design). I'm looking forward to this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 [quote name='jono b' post='191521' date='May 4 2008, 12:21 PM']I think most people would agree that black P basses should either have a black or tortoiseshell scratchplate.[/quote] nah! coolest looking pickguard for a black p bass is chrome, like mine! [attachment=8383:DSC02059a.JPG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radansey Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 [quote name='lwtait' post='191596' date='May 4 2008, 02:10 PM']nah! coolest looking pickguard for a black p bass is chrome, like mine![/quote] OK for those Thin Lizzy covers, I suppose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radansey Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 Straploks and Dimarzio split P-Bass PU installed. Sounds bloody good for a cheapy bass - good tonal range through my TNT115. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radansey Posted May 12, 2008 Author Share Posted May 12, 2008 3-ply scratchplate fitted after plugging old screw-holes. PU now wired-in properly. I have a set of Schaller tuners which I shall fit soon. Gigged Sunday morning - good tone, I think that the DiMarzio helps a lot. Need to check the intonation and neck-relief but it still saw the 'gig' out, so just needs a little tweeking to make me 100% happy. It's funny, this bass reminds me so much of my first ever 'proper' bass I bought 28 years ago (28 years!!!!) - the PU and tuners are from the old 'un when I stripped it years ago. Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 18, 2008 Share Posted May 18, 2008 Stick a Gotoh 203 fenderish bridge on it. Best 20 quid you'll spend ... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130222823937&ih=003&category=42455&ssPageName=STORE%3a%50ROMOBOX:NEWLIST"]Ebay shop selling Gotoh 203 bridge[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radansey Posted May 20, 2008 Author Share Posted May 20, 2008 Took the neck to work today to pillar-drill out the holes to accept the Schaller tuners. Starting to look a bit sexier. Will sand the headstock face once the tuner fettling has been completed - then add a new transfer. Would like to put on a Fender P.bass transfer from axesrus but this may be a bit too pretentious. Any suggestions? Ross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 [quote name='radansey' post='203190' date='May 20 2008, 07:49 PM']Took the neck to work today to pillar-drill out the holes to accept the Schaller tuners. Starting to look a bit sexier. Will sand the headstock face once the tuner fettling has been completed - then add a new transfer. Would like to put on a Fender P.bass transfer from axesrus but this may be a bit too pretentious. Any suggestions? Ross.[/quote] Go down the comedy route: The eBay seller plankspanker101 does them. Does a "Jizz Bass" and "Pretender Bass" by standard, but he's a cool guy, will do you something custom for a little extra, like mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radansey Posted May 29, 2008 Author Share Posted May 29, 2008 After taking the neck off to fit the Schallers, guess what - plywood body (doh!). Anyway, a fitting trial revealed that the neck, etc was a perfect fit onto a P.Bass body I bought off Ebay which had been sitting collecting dust in my study for the past 5 years. Bit the bullet and fitted all the hardware and gigged Sunday morning. At a guess I would think that the wood is Alder. [attachment=9160:S7303436.JPG] At the moment undecided whether to leave au naturel or block-colour spray finish (foam green?). Ross PS. So now I have a plywood HB P.Bass body collecting dust in my study instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 [quote name='radansey' post='208709' date='May 29 2008, 11:34 AM'][attachment=9160:S7303436.JPG] At the moment undecided whether to leave au naturel or block-colour spray finish (foam green?).[/quote] It's not a particularly featured bit of wood, I'd probably spray it a solid colour if it was me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Bolton Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 I agree that there's not much of a grain to the new body, but I like it! Because of the white scratchplate and pickup cover, I'd be tempted to paint it white if you were going to do it at all. Agree with OldGit too, Gotoh replacement bridges are really good and look a lot nicer than Badass bridges. You might need a neck shim though. I did, but it's a piece of piss to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 [quote name='radansey' post='208709' date='May 29 2008, 11:34 AM'][attachment=9160:S7303436.JPG][/quote] thats an oddly cool looking bass, because its really plain and normal looking, if that makes sense? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 [quote name='radansey' post='208709' date='May 29 2008, 11:34 AM']At the moment undecided whether to leave au naturel or block-colour spray finish (foam green?). PS. So now I have a plywood HB P.Bass body collecting dust in my study instead [/quote] That looks nice natural. I think that grain would really come out if finished nicely ... If there's no finish on it right now you can get an idea of how it will look laquered by dampening it slightly Re the old body I think they are "plywood" when you are buying and "laminated" when selling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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