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'57 'Black Beauty' Precision Project


pobrien_ie
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So here's my second project.

Having sold my '57 AVRI a few months ago I began to regret it a bit so decided to do my own.

Loosely based on this:



So who knows, a refinshed 57 P Bass could have become an iconic bass had "Black Beauty" not been stolen from Jamerson in the early 60's!

So on to the project itself... I started with a 1996 MIJ '57RI and took the neck from that:







The body came from a Highway One P Bass. I choose this to get the nitro finish. It's nice and lightweight, and aklthough I've read lots of reports of there being a poly finish under the nitro, the nitro finish on this seems to be really thin. The colour is a flat/matte/satin black, and I haven't decided if I'll gloss it up a bit or not. I think it looks a bit aged in it's current form. Any opinions?





Just some of the parts used...



For the pickups I've tried to go in more of a period-correct direction than the AVRI's by using the SD Antiquity pickups, and these ones have the raised A pole pieces too. Thanks again to Mr. Fingers for pointing me in the right direction with this! And also a huge thanks to KiOgan who has wired this all up for me. He's been teasing me with the work in progress pics and it's on it's way to me now! (Note: John was as efficient as ever ;), but me wanting this type of capacitor held the process up..





I've some more of the hardware due to arrive in the next couple of weeks, so should be finished shortly.

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[quote name='MrFingers' timestamp='1349115929' post='1822056']



Oh, and please don't shove those feathers TOO deep into my arse ;) I was just helping out a bit :). Btw, if you want to go fully vintage correct: add nail-holes and paint the entire neckpocket black ;)
[/quote]

:lol: :lol: Never heard that saying before, but I get the jist of it.

Seriously though, you know your stuff, I don't.... cheers!

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[quote name='pobrien_ie' timestamp='1349115396' post='1822051']
Would definitely be interested in taking a look at them Rick, thanks!
[/quote]

Sorry, got an offer on an amp i simply couldnt refuse, but had to pay and collect it this evening, which i did, so no time to dig the tuners out. I'll sort them tomorrow, apologies.

Rick

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  • 3 months later...

This one was put on hold for a while after I had a bit of a change of heart in the direction I was going. I had the chance to buy a Road Worn P Bass recently, so I decided to use the neck, pickguard and tuners for this project. It's a little bit more period correct (1.75" nut width) than the MIJ neck I was going to use. Anyway, it turned out to be one of the most comfortable necks I've ever played. I know it's a cliche, but they really do have a great 'worn-in' feel.

Not to everyone's taste, definitely the stupid cigarette burn :unsure:, but I like a light bit of aging. Everything else is as above; Highway One body with nitro finish, '57 repro capacitor, cloth wiring etc.

The only thing I need to replace is the nut (see pic!). After a bit of a mishap with La Bella flats I ended up breaking the nut at the G string. It's now strung with Chromes <_<

It's sounds great, at least to me. It's a nice addition to my recent '62 project, which thanks to the road worn body, is also currently getting a facelift.

[IMG]http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh504/pobrien_ie/57%20P%20Bass/571_zpsbad65871.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh504/pobrien_ie/57%20P%20Bass/572_zps1590852b.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh504/pobrien_ie/57%20P%20Bass/573_zps540c60b2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh504/pobrien_ie/57%20P%20Bass/574_zps8be08f24.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh504/pobrien_ie/57%20P%20Bass/575_zpsba658531.jpg[/IMG]

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Enjoy playing it at home then mate.

I decided a couple of days back to abandon the project. Various reasons, health, finances etc. Rather than have all the parts knocking about here I'm going to move them on.
Stupid really as I'll probably be searching for all the same items, when the time comes to undertake another project. :blink:

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