Chris Sharman Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Hi all, Excuse the long windedness but as some of you may recall I recently purchased a very cheap Westone Thunder 3 fretless that someone on here pointed out. This involved a trip to London and the purchase of some bits from Maplin electronics and a desperately needed re-string. I re-strung with TI Jazz Flats which has highlighted a problem. It would seem that spending 25 years or so under roundwound strings has caused some considerable wear to the fretboard in places, especially below the 5th fret on the D-string so it could really do with a sand down and re-finish at the very least and I assume the nut would need to be re-cut to address the action. Does anyone have any idea how much such a treatment would cost? and would anyone here be able to recommend someone here in the East Midlands (or indeed further afield) that they would trust to do such? I would also like to be able to address a cosmetic issue at the same time. It would seem that a former owner of the bass has sanded the Westone logos off of the pickup covers and begun trying to do so from the headstock (probably until they realised that one was under the lacquer). I would like to get the headstock re-finished and if the logos could be replaced or replacement pickup covers sourced I would prefer to do it all as a single job. So, learned purveyors of the lower frequencies, any suggestions on who I should trust my dearly beloved plank of wood to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 As you bought this as a cheap bass. Are you really doing the right thing spending much money on this, or would you do well to playit as it is while you save up for another, better bass? You could buy a neck sanding block of the right radius and sand it yourself. After doing this you could refinish it yourself with varnish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 There's an East Midlands luthier called Colin Keefe http://www.keefeguitars.co.uk/ I've no personal experience of his work but if he builds guitars and mandolins he'll definately be able to do the fingerboard levelling and sorting the nut for you (and maybe refinish the headstock). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 (edited) Hi, Chris Where in the East Midlands are you and how soon do you want this sorting? I'm just north of Derby and, if late May is OK for you, happy to do it for the cost of the materials (if there are any, which there probably won't be). Have a look at my website www.ajrguitarmods.co.uk in terms of the stuff I've done in the past. This was a scratch built fretless I did for our band's bassist: ...and this was a veneer job and refurb (including getting rid of the old round-wound indentations!) on an old Yamaha fretless: As I say, no charge but couldn't do it until the end of May (eldest daughter's wedding is taking over the family's life!) PM me if you are close by and interested. No problem if not Andy Edited May 1, 2014 by Andyjr1515 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 In fact, based on your band's address, we probably live about 3 miles from each other I'm in Duffield - you're near Belper? If you want, you can pop round this evening for me to have a look and for you to see if I know what I'm doing Being so close, I can probably do it a bit quicker, too. PM me and I'm sure we can sort something out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Afternoon All, I shall answer you in turn; Grangur - The Westone Thunder 3 holds a special place in my heart (used to have one, now having a mid-life crisis) and this one (other than the fretboard) plays like a dream. Howiebass - thanks for that. I would look into that had the posts immediately following yours not triggered an immediate interest.... Andy - Errr....let me think......YES PLEASE! Actually my previous fretless was a Yamaha RBX and I saw this re-finish you did and was seriously impressed. I am indeed in the People's Republic of Belper (my dad used to live in Duffield) I would be more than happy to bring it to you for an examination. Patternmakers arms perhaps? PM to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 In your best Carlsberg advert type voice "Basschat, we don't make beer but if we did... Basschat, probably the best bass players' community in the world" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 [quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1398955077' post='2439395'] In your best Carlsberg advert type voice "Basschat, we don't make beer but if we did... Basschat, probably the best bass players' community in the world" [/quote] Could not agree more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 It's a small world...I've PM'd you, Chris. The things we blokes have to do to get out for a pint....best excuse yet, though. I normally have to tell my wife 'I've just got to go and see a man about a dog....' The 'I've just got to go and see a man about a Westone' just has so much more cachet about it Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 I wonder if this is on the pub's jukebox? http://youtu.be/eGBPa5SAhok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allighatt0r Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 This is heart warming stuff, good on you Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 So, the postscript of this is:[list] [*]Yes - we do live 3 miles away from each other (small world) [*]Yes - I did meet Chris and his lovely wife for a pint at the Pattenmakers Arms last night [*]Yes - the Westone Thunder 3 is a beauoooootiful bass [*]Yes - my freedom from the b****y wedding coincides with Chris's availability of the Thunder for the fixes [*]Yes - the one crazy man is trusting his precious bass with the other crazy man [/list] We'll keep you posted in a few weeks time By the way - follow Chris's band's website link above - some great and original music. Trip Hazard is sublime... Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblueplanet Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Great wee tale unfolding here. Post results with pics soon please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted May 4, 2014 Author Share Posted May 4, 2014 Just to confirm what Andy said, it was great to meet up and I look forward to seeing you work your magic on the Westie. More pints of Pedigree to come I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted May 21, 2014 Author Share Posted May 21, 2014 Update: over another pint of pedigree my fretless Japanese wonder has now entered Andy's care. I look forward to receiving it back in 10 days or so after a liberal dose of tlc and a fine top coat of magic have been lovingly applied. Really can't wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 (edited) Met Chris again last night and took possession of his precious bass. I resisted the temptation to jump in the car, drive off and find a quiet corner of Scotland to play contentedly to myself for the rest of my days... Instead, I thought I'd do a short blog of the progress on this lovely but short-lived make and model. I had a largely free day today and was able to make decent progress. First I checked it over, checking also the string heights and relief for a datum on reassembly. As Chris and I had discussed, there are a few body dings we agreed to leave alone, but there are around 10 quite deep string wear grooves on various strings at the 3rd, 5th 7th and 9th 'fret' positions (my primary job). A previous owner had tried to sand off the headstock logo, leaving a deep depression in the poly (my secondary job): The previous owner has also had sanded off the logos on the pickup covers leaving nasty scratches in the plastic (which we agreed I would try to polish out): I took a good look at an ominous-looking lacquer crack at the back of the neck but concluded it is just that - I suspect it has been dropped in its past and the headstock flexed enough to crack the lacquer but not enough to split the wood (moral - laminate necks like this one are strong!): Other than a missing screw and broken switch toggle, it seemed to be pretty shipshape. I measured the fretboard radius and it was a surprisingly tight 12". I build 6-strings at 12" so happily had a 12" radius sanding block. I'll post the rest of the progress today shortly. Andy Edited May 22, 2014 by Andyjr1515 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 First job was to take off the nut so I could get a clear sweep for the sanding block and the leveling beam. I carefully scored the join line of the nut as it appears that the nut had been epoxied in and there was a subsequent risk of tear of the fingerboard or headstock veneer. With a sharp tap of a hammer and drift, it came off cleanly with no damage to it or the neck. There were signs of sanding scratches on the fretboard so presumably the previous owner had had a bash at doing this before! I checked that the neck was dead flat and started with even and long strokes (with the grain) of the radius sanding block with 120 grit paper, cleaning frequently using an old toothbrush get rid of the build up of old finish that can, if you don't get it off as it forms, put grooves into the surface you are sanding. Every now and again, I ran the leveling beam over the whole fretboard length to ensure there weren't any curves or dips being formed by uneven pressure. Better this way round otherwise you can end up with irregular flats down the board. This is it in progress: Note that the body is all wrapped up to protect against knocks or scratches and to keep the VERY fine dust out of the workings. You can see why my wife insists that she does the Christmas wrapping In little over half an hour, the last of the depressions were gone: I repeated with the radius block with 400 grit, 600 grit, 1000 grit and finally with microweb until it was silky smooth and then popped on a light coating of lemon oil: Bootiful! I also made some decent progress with the headstock - I'll post that in a few minutes Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 The dip where the previous owner had tried to sand off the logo was almost down to the veneer and at first I was concerned that, in trying to sand it flat, that I might end up sanding the decal itself. However, I am beginning to think that is is, in fact a white-filler filled routered logo! I used a flat sanding block. First 120 grit to get rid of the bulk. You can see the dip as the darker line across the logo: Here it is with the dip fully flattened: Then it was progressively finer paper down to 1000 grit to remove any visible scratch marks. I put masking tape around the edges and gave it the first coat of Ronseal Hardglaze, thinned by around 15% with white spirits and wiped on with a micro-fibre cloth. This is it after coat 1: Thanks for looking Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 Oh My Dog!!!!! I can't believe the progress after this short amount of time. ...welling up already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 That really is nice work ! I might have to have a word in your shell like about a new tiger maple fretless fingerboard to replace the ebony ( originally fretted but now fretless with hills and valleys ) thats currently on my Peavey Also, do maple fingerboard always get the acrylic or epoxy gloss finish for the hardness factor - keeping string wear to a minimum ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 [quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1400799411' post='2457206'] Also, do maple fingerboard always get the acrylic or epoxy gloss finish for the hardness factor - keeping string wear to a minimum ? [/quote] Must admit I haven't seen many maple fretlesses. Maple wouldn't need any help with the hardness - it is a VERY hard wood. The coating you tend to get on six strings is usually more to show off the flame or simply keep the dirt off. On a fretless, I think a gloss would tend to drag on the fingers. If I was doing one for myself, I would seal it with a coat of matt varnish and then very fine sand it (1000 to 2000 grit) to a silky smooth finish... Any maple fretless players out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Back to the Westone, I've added a couple more coats of varnish to the headstock, sanding with 1000 grit in between. When it's dry tomorrow, I'll see if it needs a couple more. While I'm waiting, I've started a quick repair on the side of the fretboard where some lacquer had been knocked off. Chris didn't ask specifically for this but it catches your thumb as you run up and down the fretboard and is easy enough to fix with a few dabs of varnish applied with a cotton bud. By the time the headstock is ready for the final polish, this will be hard enough to smooth out with a bit of wet and dry and polish up with a micro-mesh pad and should make the neck feel a lot smoother Tomorrow I'll see of I can get rid of the sandpaper scratches on the pickup covers. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblueplanet Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 That's some lovely work Andy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kodiakblair Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 It is a great job Andy. Now how about this one? Joking of course. It's looking like this at the mo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 [quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1400874478' post='2457865'] It is a great job Andy. Now how about this one? Joking of course. It's looking like this at the mo. [/quote] Now that's what I CALL mojo You've made a nice job of stripping it - what are you planning next? Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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