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SGC Nanyo re-build


TheGreek

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Came back from Scotland with a stinker of a cold.  Good news is that it gives me the perfect excuse to sit in the spare room tinkering with stuff.

The reconditioned body came without screw inserts so I tapped them out of the donor body and cleaned them up with some dampened micro-mesh cloth.  In spite of the cold, I could still smell strong nicotine off these tiny bits of metal.  Makes you remember what pubs and clubs used to be like!

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This afternoon I will probably transfer the electrics.  Using a tap test, I've checked it all works and it seems OK.

There are quite a few wires you have to unsolder and so one of the most essential things is to take a photo and a note of which wires go where.  No matter how confident you are of remembering...

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After cleaning a few decades of crud off them, I installed the pickups.  Certainly some mojo with that string rub!

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Then the transfer of the main circuits followed be a tap test to make sure it was still all working:

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Then remember the template I took before veneering?

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Well - as it happens, that was only useful for finding the bridge earth hole - the bridge off the donor is a different type...a 5 screw one:

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So, once the neck and the machine heads are on, I'll recheck the position of the bridge and install from fresh.  But knowing where the bridge earth hole is important - and, trust me, you would never find it without the paper template!  Nowadays, I solder the earth wire to a piece of sticky-backed copper tape for good electrical contact:

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So, all being well, neck, tuners and bridge will be fitted tomorrow :)

 

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Something I was aware of was how narrow the headstock is on the Nanyo.  So how was that going to work ref string runs?

Well, you live and learn...

A quick internet search revealed the answer - which I'm sure many of you already knew, but I didn't:

Headstock.jpg.4874791a19092d93dfdd40ffbe8df71e.jpg

Yup - two of the tuners are fitted upside down and strung from the other side.  Well, I'm not going to steal THAT idea ;)

And the neck headstock screw holes confirmed this.  This is how it looks from the back:

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And - for good measure - from the front:

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So a couple of side issues occupied my thoughts for a while.

First - what to do with the donor body now a big chunk of wood has been taken off to repair the lower horn issue and all the electrics and remaining hardware is now off:

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Second issue is the replacement control cover.  Mick had asked me to try to match the colour of the new body as far as I could rather than going with a contrasting colour.  Closest I had in my bits pile was some mahogany sheeting.  Close but still a bit dark once the finish is on (eg the dampened patches here):

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Hmmm....I wonder where I could get some wood of the same species?

Altogether now, Pantomime style:

"IT'S BEEEEEHIND YOU!!!!!  :party:

So one of my jobs this morning is seeing if I can take a 3mm hatch-sized slice off the donor body on my modest but reasonably accurate bandsaw ;)

 

 

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Don't get too excited - the bridge isn't fixed yet and I haven't started on the back cover or the frets tidy-up, but with most of the rest done, thought it was worth a quick mock-up.

I know I say this about all of @TheGreek 's builds and saves, but this is one of my favourites :D :

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Well - other than I'm going to recommend to @TheGreek that I order a replacement barrel jack for it (it works - but it crackles when you really start rocking!), it's finished.

Hatch fitted and magnets installed; frets polished; fretboard cleaned and oiled; bridge fitted; bass set up; sound check completed

Here it is:

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1 hour ago, AndyTravis said:

Blummin eck. Looks a damn sight better than it did when I first met most of it!

No, that was a completely different one all together, nothing to do with this one at all, in any way, shape or form...you are completely mistaken and if you persist with the rumour it is the same as this one you'll be hearing from my lawyer...

It is DEFINITELY NOT this one!! (all be it with a new body)

s-l1600.jpg

Edited by TheGreek
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Thanks folks for your very kind remarks.  Credit also to the concept - which is entirely @TheGreek 's ;)

 

And talking of @TheGreek, I'll add this here because otherwise I am bound to forget to tell him!

The hatch is fixed with magnets:

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Shamelessly stealing from, I think, @Jabba_the_gut , there is a slight dip cut in the rebate.  So to open, just press here and it will pop up the other side:

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Saves getting the kitchen knife out...

 

Just waiting the replacement barrel jack socket and this will be shipped back to Mick :)

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17 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Genius.

Incidentally, why was there a mis-match between the SGC plastic cover and the cavity? I think I missed a bit somewhere.

 

There were two bodies to start with.  One was slightly different to the other with respect to the cavity dimensions.

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27 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

Genius.

Incidentally, why was there a mis-match between the SGC plastic cover and the cavity? I think I missed a bit somewhere.

 

 

8 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

There were two bodies to start with.  One was slightly different to the other with respect to the cavity dimensions.

^ This, @Happy Jack   

Not entirely sure why the cavities were different - especially as it was the one with the pre-amp and battery (and, typically, the cover) that was the shorter one.  The two bodies may have been from different years (the donor is a 1991 model but there's no way of knowing what year the other body is) so maybe just a random design change as it evolved.  Happily, the neck pocket and bolt holes were smack on so no adjustment was needed there at all (the neck also came from the scrap body) 

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Bass arrived today...sent to my office with the neck off, for safety reasons...wanted to put it together there and then but unfortunately the thing they pay me for got in the way...bl00dy work!!!

They say "the camera never lies"...I say "poppycock"...no reflection on @Andyjr1515's ability to take photos but the bass is infinitely (well, "much better" anyway) in the flesh/timber than in the photos.

Neck feels luvverly ...so smooth and playable. Along with the light (40-100) Warwick strings, it invites you to play it more...or is it playing itself??? I spent about a minute trying to feel where the veneer joins the body - pointless exercise - smooth as a newborn's backside.

This really doesn't feel like a £200 bass with the @Andyjr1515 touch...it feels high end, as good as anything else I own or have owned (big claim there) - check the "a few of TheGreeks" thread for details of what's on the list (including my two previous builds by Andy).

Not a secret how much I love the Nanyo SGC basses - IMO well balanced, great tonal palette, in fact still very under-rated even though they do have a big following. What Andy has done is take a plain looking bass and made it beautiful - has added a few per cent to the quality of what is already a good bass and pushed it into another league.

I could go on...but, instead, I'm going to plug it in and bash out a few licks for the next hour or so.

My thanks and appreciation to @Andyjr1515 for another fine job, well done. Has exceeded my expectations yet again...

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