Ralf1e Posted April 26, 2023 Share Posted April 26, 2023 I few weeks ago I was given a Honer LX 90 B by a friend. It had a bit of wiring to sort out and a broken nut as well as a good deal of body damage. On close investigation the body appears to be a slab of very heavy mdf so a refinish is not to my taste. It sounds OK has good acoustic sustain and has a rather nice neck. I have a Gear 4 Music solid Ash P bass body being delivered to me today along with a new nut for around £57 inc shipping. I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Let the fun begin. Will update with photos later today. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackroadkill Posted April 26, 2023 Share Posted April 26, 2023 I'd be interested to see what you think of the G4M body; would you do a mini-review of it when it lands, please? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted April 26, 2023 Author Share Posted April 26, 2023 45 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said: I'd be interested to see what you think of the G4M body; would you do a mini-review of it when it lands, please? Absolutely. The ones on their page look somewhat better than the much used photo of stuff on ebay etc so I am looking forward to seeing if it compares favorably to the photos they use or otherwise. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted April 26, 2023 Author Share Posted April 26, 2023 Just had a weigh of the stripped mdf Honer body . The digital fishing scale says 6 lb 11 oz on its own all metalwork Pickups etc off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lidl e Posted April 26, 2023 Share Posted April 26, 2023 25 minutes ago, Ralf1e said: Absolutely. The ones on their page look somewhat better than the much used photo of stuff on ebay etc so I am looking forward to seeing if it compares favorably to the photos they use or otherwise. Which one did you get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted April 26, 2023 Author Share Posted April 26, 2023 3 hours ago, lidl e said: Which one did you get? The Ash P bass body in gloss natural finish. It's made from 4 pieces but the finish it better than some lower end guitars I have seen and for £49.99 plus shipping I am happy with what arrived. No dings, scratches or other nasties. Neck pocket and cavities cut nicely and neatly. It does need its bridge hole drilling through but I have a drill bit for that somewhere that I made years ago. Ordered yesterday and arrived this afternoon. Happy with that. When I ordered it they had 20 in stock 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted April 28, 2023 Author Share Posted April 28, 2023 (edited) Update. The neck pocket was cut to a taper being 63.5 mm at the widest part. The Honer neck was also cut to a taper at about .6 mm wider than that. I didn't want to plane down the neck so after some considerable time in thought gently planed and scrapped the short side of the pocket with a nice sharp chisel. About 10 mins work. These come without bolt holes so not wanting to fill the existing holes in the neck I opted to resort to the art of cheating. This involves a tightish fitting sawn of screw being put into the holes in the neck and being used as a dot marker. The holes can then be pilot drilled from inside the neck pocket and finnished from the other side. Warning. It has to be a pilot hole from the inside as the lacquer will crack around the holes as the drill bit comes through. Masking tape on it first may help. Using a drill press is a good idea if you are not sure how straight you can drill. One of the reasons for this palava was because the existing holes in the neck were not quite right from the start. I could have used a wooden chop stick etc and made dowels/plugs but didn't want to take more material out of the heel of the neck so opted to go with the existing holes. The supervisor was watchingT Edited April 28, 2023 by Ralf1e 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjhooker Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 Cool cat 😎 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 Lovely cat. 😍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 Nice project too. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted May 1, 2023 Share Posted May 1, 2023 34 minutes ago, Hellzero said: Lovely cat. 😍 You're supposed to say "nice pu$$y"... Keep up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted May 2, 2023 Author Share Posted May 2, 2023 (edited) 7 hours ago, Hellzero said: Nice project too. 😉 I ran into an issue with fret buzz at the headstock end. I am having to level them all and they are already quite low from it's previous life. It may end up being a refret or maybe a defret job. My preferred option is the defret if necessary. I quite like the idea of a fretless P. Edited May 2, 2023 by Ralf1e Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted May 2, 2023 Share Posted May 2, 2023 I'm quite intrigued by the Gear4Music bass body as they are dirt cheap, but look very decent... That said a fretless P-Bass will guide you outside the Jaco tone and it can become very interesting, more into the slow and powerful groove territory. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted May 2, 2023 Author Share Posted May 2, 2023 (edited) I have a bitza fretless jazz already so the P to cover the slow and powerful groove territory is interesting. That bass may have been a cheapy in its day but the passive pup measures about 13.5k. The highest passive I have and it does bark! I have no idea if its original or not or a rewind or such like but I am not looking to replace it let alone part with it. One thing I would say about the body is if you want a very shiny gloss natural finish it's for you. If you want to do a colour on it or an oiled finish I hate to think of the work involved to strip that gloss off. Edited May 2, 2023 by Ralf1e added info 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted May 2, 2023 Share Posted May 2, 2023 Looks like your pickups are the Seymour Duncan Hot as it's what they are supposed to read. I've got an original 1981 set on my PJ Leduc BD3 and they sound amazing, really! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) 13 hours ago, Hellzero said: Looks like your pickups are the Seymour Duncan Hot as it's what they are supposed to read. I've got an original 1981 set on my PJ Leduc BD3 and they sound amazing, really! Thank you for that, very helpful. The white cases are in a bit of a state with a sort of flakey skin and are all glued together from underneath inside. Have to write mojo on them or something with a sharpie. Couldnt bear to try to replace the casings and f**k up the pickups especially as I was given the bass for free. Edited May 3, 2023 by Ralf1e 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 These are not Seymour Duncan pickups as there's a magnet bar glued under, neither DiMarzio because there would be 2 magnet bars per pickup (humbucker) and Allen imprint pole pieces type. I think these are 80's Japanese pickups, maybe Matsumoku. Calling @Bassassin ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 The main thing is if the pu's sound good, use 'em, doesn't really matter who made them. I quite like their well used look myself. Great project anyway, those bodies look great for the money. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 10 hours ago, Hellzero said: These are not Seymour Duncan pickups as there's a magnet bar glued under, neither DiMarzio because there would be 2 magnet bars per pickup (humbucker) and Allen imprint pole pieces type. I think these are 80's Japanese pickups, maybe Matsumoku. Calling @Bassassin ! Could be MIJ but not sure. Looks like they've been white originally & yellowed over time, so not the cream covers some MIJ P types use, also the lugs look quite big - an oddity of 70s/80s MIJ P types is that they often have smaller lugs than standard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted May 6, 2023 Author Share Posted May 6, 2023 (edited) Progress Report The neck is defretted and slots filled with plasticard as recommended by Manson guitars in another thread. I found the top 3 inches of the neck was falling away on the E string side making a level neck for fretless impossible. So much for me thinking it was a nice neck just shows how wrong you can be. (Wipes egg off face and moves on) From a Google search I found a thread on Talkbass about neck levelling which included input from Bruce Johnson amongst others explaining the need and processes for conical levelling and hour glass levelling. Enter the need for a levelling beam. Ebay alloy rectangular tube 20mm x 50mm by 50cm long collected in person for less than £10 from a supplier about 19 miles from me. Wicks on the way home. Oakley Superflex cloth backed sandpaper Fine 120 grit. Shockingly more than the alloy tube but necessary. Cut the tape to fit the tube one length for 20mm one for 50mm. Upholstery spray contact adhesive and carefully apply the tape to the beam job done. Follow the methods and advice from Bruce Johnson. Neck is now sorted and very accurate.. Smoothed off with 240 sanding followed by 2000, 2500, 5000, wet and dry the last 3 with finishing oil applied a few drops at a time with an industrial syringe. Neck is now nice and smooth and shiny. Edited May 6, 2023 by Ralf1e 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted May 6, 2023 Share Posted May 6, 2023 9 minutes ago, Ralf1e said: From a Google search I found a thread on Talkbass about neck levelling which included input from Bruce Johnson amongst others explaining the need and processes for conical levelling and hour glass levelling. Do you mind sharing a link? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted May 6, 2023 Author Share Posted May 6, 2023 (edited) 7 minutes ago, LukeFRC said: Do you mind sharing a link? I will try not quite sure how to do that. I expect just copy the browser and past here. Found it. Done👍 Edited May 6, 2023 by Ralf1e Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted May 6, 2023 Author Share Posted May 6, 2023 6 minutes ago, LukeFRC said: Do you mind sharing a link? https://www.talkbass.com/threads/even-fretless-fingerboard-levelling-tips.905673/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf1e Posted May 6, 2023 Author Share Posted May 6, 2023 5 minutes ago, Ralf1e said: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/even-fretless-fingerboard-levelling-tips.905673/ Bruce's bit is at the bottom of page 2 He and Musiclogic have to wade through a lot of interruptions to get the point across. Powerful stuff though. Opened my eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted May 6, 2023 Share Posted May 6, 2023 Thanks! There’s some good stuff in luthiers corner … but mostly hidden amongst the dross! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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