yepmop Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I've wanted a P bass from my year of birth for a while now, but short of winning the lottery it isn't going to happen, so thought I’d create my own to compliment my 62ish build I did last year([url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/202190-62ish-precision-build/page__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.u...__fromsearch__1[/url]). Hopefully it will be reasonably accurate build apart from the neck as to get one with the trust rod adjustment at the heel would cost a fortune so it will be an “ish” build plus I need to keep the cost down as much as possible. So over the past month or so I’ve been busy in the Basschat market place and also bought from new at various places around the UK I have amassed the following; [b][u]Used[/u][/b] Fender 57 RI Gold anodized scratch plate. Mighty Mite All maple neck (Fender Licensed) Fender Vintage reverse tuners Fender P bass Control knobs Squire VM P bass body Fender 57 RI Bridge [b][u]new[/u][/b] Fender thumb rest and Fender neck plate KiOgon Vintage wiring harness Custom wound P bass pickups (Alnico 5, 42 AWG enamel wire, 10.7k output). All parts Vintage bridge barrels (grooved). Total cost so far for all the above is about £320 First up is the neck, it’s a Mighty Mite P bass neck with a Jazz decal on it, so need to get rid of the logo and replace it with a fender 50s style spaghetti logo. Also the tuner holes need widening to accommodate the vintage reverse tuners. Headstock sanded and Logo removed. next up is to widen the tuner holes, last time this was a real PIA and not learning from before I didn't have the proper tool for the job, It's improvisation time, so a quick visit to the kids drawing pencil cache and I found a dry tapered Felt tip pen that will do the job! A couple of hours or so later and 4 layers of skin missing along with a few blisters, the holes are widened enough to take the vintage bushes and a couple of base lacquer layers added. just a little fine sanding and perhaps another thin layer, then I will apply the new decal. This is the bit I hate as it's quite easy to screw up and at £13 a go, I need to get it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 If it helps, I've found if you overcoat the decal with a couple of fine coats of the lacquer your going to use on the headstock before you do the waterslide bit there is less chance of the decal lifting when you start to lacquer over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yepmop Posted April 10, 2014 Author Share Posted April 10, 2014 Cheers JPJ, might give that a go. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Anthony Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I widened the holes on my Mighty Mite neck using a paint brush and sandpaper and it turned out fine, so there's no need to worry about that! I'll be following this one, as I recently did near enough exactly the same style build. Just got the paint to go now. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yepmop Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 Decal applied and just need to wait until tomorrow before adding a couple of mist layers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rk7 Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Nice work. Subscribed! RK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yepmop Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 (edited) Made a start on the body, the VM body is not cosmetically in the best condition but I think it adds to the Vintage look. It's quite a heavy body and I also needed to sand down the neck pocket by half a MM for the Neck to fit. A problem I did not expect was the bridge alignment. Even though the VM has a Fender High mass bridge, the holes do not match up with the traditional Fender BBOD bridges. So out came the string and I quickly re-attached the neck, I had to fill in 2 holes (with matchsticks and drill 2 new ones but all looks okay and aligned. I then added the vintage style barrels to the bridge. After this, I installed the vintage loom, Pickups, scratch plate, Thumb Rest and Knobs all of which went on smoothly. I then drilled the holes for the Chrome Covers. Next up is installing the vintage Machine Heads, this is an awkward bit as it involves a bit of chiselling on the neck. Edited April 14, 2014 by yepmop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Anthony Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Yours is already looking nicer than mine! Nice job. Love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rk7 Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Nice work! RK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yepmop Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 (edited) Decal rubbed down with a bit of 2000 wet & dry and then buffed up. Bushes installed along with string tree. I may revisit the decal as I'm not 100% happy with the look, think it may need a little more rubbing down so the edges are completely invisible, I can faintly see a edge or 2 but it's probably me being over critical. Next was to chisel out a couple of holes for the vintage tuners, vintage tuners don't fit flush with the neck and you have to make some relief holes to take the stem bracket, This problem was corrected in 64+ basses. Also, had to fill the old tuner mounting holes with tooth picks as they could been see. Edited April 19, 2014 by yepmop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Subscribed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Watching with interest! For lacquering over decals I always do the base, leave it for at least a week to cure/offgas, apply decals, then leave another week in a dry warm place before top coating. In the past I've had decal edges lift and wrinkle by getting too over eager so time is your friend. Cheers, Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yepmop Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 [quote name='Diablo' timestamp='1397938806' post='2428920'] Watching with interest! For lacquering over decals I always do the base, leave it for at least a week to cure/offgas, apply decals, then leave another week in a dry warm place before top coating. In the past I've had decal edges lift and wrinkle by getting too over eager so time is your friend. Cheers, Rich [/quote] I think you are right done a few base layers added decal waited a day then a couple of mist coats then left for a day then done about 4-5 layers over 2 days. Looks okay but as you say, needs time to dry a bit more, so probably next week I'll give is another rub down to get those edges out. Cheers Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yepmop Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Got everything finished over the bank holiday The vintage tuners installed. The headstock The finished article Quite please with the outcome, plays wonderfully, weighs in at 4Kg , I have a high action set as I prefer the sound better. When I get a moment I'll do some samples of how it sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Anthony Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Looks absolutely lovely! Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diablo Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 A very nice looking result there! Well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myke Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 *whistles* wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Wow! Sweet! Surprised that made it through my ISP's porn filter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rk7 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Very nice, well done! RK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 (edited) Looks great. I suspect the 58 logo was applied over a clear coat - so you could see the edges of the decal. This would make your bass more authentic, if so... You gotta love white, maple and gold. One of my favourites. Edited April 23, 2014 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 That is the dogs danglies awesome job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyellowcar Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 That is lush!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yepmop Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Thanks for all your kind comments guys, I'm well chuffed with the end result. [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1398248221' post='2431977'] Looks great. I suspect the 58 logo was applied over a clear coat - so you could see the edges of the decal. This would make your bass more authentic, if so... [/quote] What a great idea, I never thought of that, So I will alone with the edges slightly visible Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4-string-thing Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Looks brilliant, where did you get the decal from? I was going to get a custom one made for my 50's lookalike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 [quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1398248641' post='2431986'] That is the dogs danglies awesome job [/quote] I fully concur, it is indeed the dogs danglies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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