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Bitsa P relic build…. My first build


Big J
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So, I’ve had surgery so I’m stuck at home. 5 days after surgery I realised that I’d finished reading the entire internet and an old, cheap P I have was sitting in the corner of the room begging for a rebuild. 
here it is, I’m going to strip it after this cup of tea. IMG_2487.thumb.jpeg.f9d29db12aead742454158024bd1f0be.jpeg

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IMG_2489.thumb.jpeg.6abd84fe3547641c3cf01437e8676bed.jpeg
 

I think it’s a kit, although the neck and the body have clearly been mounted to different bases? Maybe a kit body and no name neck. The neck plays well, so I’m happy to keep it though. 
 

tuners- utter garbage so I need new ones

pickups- sounded ok so I’ll keep for the moment. same with the pots. 
screws- need to order some new ones

Scratch plate - quite like it, but will see what the colour scheme turns into

bridge- basic bent bit of metal, has a random screw in there too. 

neck plate- standard squier, might get an F logo one for Armani value…

strings- nice flatlands, likely the most valuable part of the bass… so I’ll keep them. 
body- I’m going to work on it, if it doesn’t work out I’ll buy a blank one and start again. But if I can get it how I want it then it’ll stay.
 

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These were what held the pick guard on..

IMG_2491.thumb.jpeg.c636b47111ff3e0ea9fbe4ee59200a0c.jpeg
the body has a shim in the neck pocket. A poorly executed one. Would I be right in thinking that the shim was put there to compensate for the overly filed nut on the E string that has the string too close to the fretboard? It looks like it is when I compare to my other bass. Here’s some pictures:

IMG_2493.thumb.jpeg.3d3ca8252b514437a6c070fd4ef892f0.jpeg

nut:

IMG_2494.thumb.jpeg.8177f1363e20ee10902f25ff31c338e0.jpeg

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I think you need to do away with that shim and if it still needs one, get a full neck pocket sized one (set of 3 different ones: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166313960606). Also get another nut.

 

You might finish up with a nice looking bit of wood which would be a bonus.

 

Edit: the Ebay ones don't seem to be tapered, so they're not very useful.

 

Edited by tauzero
Trying to head people off from my bad recommendation
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5 hours ago, tauzero said:

I think you need to do away with that shim and if it still needs one, get a full neck pocket sized one (set of 3 different ones: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166313960606). Also get another nut.

 

You might finish up with a nice looking bit of wood which would be a bonus.

Yeah, it’s coming out. I was just going to cut one myself, didn’t realise you could buy them so thanks for that link mate 👍🏻

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So I’m waiting for some parts to arrive. Pick guard screws, machine heads, drop D tuner, and a new neck plate with screws that aren’t for plasterboard … so far I’ve resisted the urge to go for all new electrics, pickups and a high mass bridge… let’s see how it turns out first.

 

been thinking about couloirs for the body, and I’m not sure where I’m going yet.

i like most colours, if it had a maple neck I’d be tempted to go for a straight black and have a go at a vague roadworn look…. Bit like the Dusty Hill custom shop one. But I’m drawn to a bit of bling…so it may go metallic or glitter finish. 
 

time for some research… although I know I’ll probably not want to beat it up if the paint job comes out good😂

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Felt up to some light fiddling today, I’ve finished reading the internet and I can stand ok so I went into the garage to fit the replacement tuners. Needless to say… none of the holes fit, and the drop D I bought was listed as the wrong part 🤦🏻… so I had to make that work too. They are as straight as I can get them without gluing wooden dowels into the array of holes already there. 
I cut the botched nut out first then the new one was too thick so I sanded it down for 10 minutes until it slotted in easily.
IMG_2521.thumb.jpeg.74f3e461d5cc8fb393a9813a33d20cae.jpeg

New one fitted with a bit of glue.

IMG_2522.thumb.jpeg.6cdca1752e960d71b85ef5221a5a1877.jpeg

After re-drilling and fitting the 3 replacement tuners I had to make a template so I could drill the peg slots for the type of drop D I have. Bit of a fiddle on but it was cheap and it’ll work.

IMG_2524.thumb.jpeg.89348bbdb9ce17f09e52c2e5ed97a3c0.jpeg

Finished with the neck for the time being. I’ll oil the fret board now.

IMG_2525.thumb.jpeg.bc1177d9673d39ee361844862ab03683.jpeg

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Spent 30 minutes sanding the body today, it’s in better condition than I thought, just got thick paint on it. The wear/relic is mainly on the paint so there are only a couple of relic marks to fill. I did a test patch of primer last night to see if it would react, and it doesn’t, so that makes things easier.

 

I couldn’t decide on a colour looking online, so I went for the one that jumped out on the shelf. It’s a gunmetal grey metallic, a bit brighter than the landrover colour if you’ve ever seen a Defender. Should look good, although I’m not sure if the tort pick guard would go? 
 

IMG_2539.thumb.jpeg.d1ee4dea4eb45a1b4dc886864562f7b0.jpeg

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One thing this has taught me so far is that I desperately need some brighter lighting in my garage. Sanded the body off the shot a mist coat of primer, waited a couple of minutes and layer a proper coat on. Not I can see some of the imperfections better. I’ve filled them and I’ll sand back tomorrow.

im still in two minds about giving it the relic look. 

IMG_2544.thumb.jpeg.992ce123c74c972823581c2f14306eab.jpeg

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Shot the colour this morning, had a bit of a blip when the spray can nozzle blocked and splattered across the body 🤦🏻 but I think I managed to blend it out without running. Temperature isn’t ideal, about 10 degrees here and that’s the lower limit for spraying this stuff. 
with it being a metallic pain they sometimes don’t flat very well so I’ll let this dry properly, check the finish is ok, then I can start with the lacquer. 
it’s still wet in the pictures below;
IMG_2547.thumb.jpeg.89637b5c482c1dee16e9a9fe55482295.jpegIMG_2551.thumb.jpeg.be7d4506742df41092abbfd8fdea520b.jpegIMG_2553.thumb.jpeg.a48d0c9924e9e427df596c6a17bbea53.jpegIMG_2556.thumb.jpeg.93f246a28e232a1ce91af489b36291b3.jpeg

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Came out ok. 
prep could have been better, paint sank a bit …. But what do you expect painting 24 hours later in 10degrees C. I wouldn’t do that on a car 😂

 

I might relic it and do the acid on the hardware too, we will see. I’ve got a new bass coming tomorrow so I suspect it will be on the back burner whilst I play my new toy.

 

cost £100 to do, that includes a used drop D tuner… so can’t complain. 
IMG_2572.thumb.jpeg.17c2476968ce49b860b9e819fc23b040.jpeg

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On 21/12/2023 at 22:19, Big J said:

Came out ok. 
prep could have been better, paint sank a bit …. But what do you expect painting 24 hours later in 10degrees C. I wouldn’t do that on a car 😂

 

I might relic it and do the acid on the hardware too, we will see. I’ve got a new bass coming tomorrow so I suspect it will be on the back burner whilst I play my new toy.

 

cost £100 to do, that includes a used drop D tuner… so can’t complain. 
IMG_2572.thumb.jpeg.17c2476968ce49b860b9e819fc23b040.jpeg

Never been a fan of tort pickguards. Not really a big fan of metallic finishes...

 

 

 

...absolutely love this!

 

And the flash of chrome from the bridge cover finishes the whole thing off perfectly. What a fabulous job.

 

Hope the surgery recovery is going well.

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On 21/12/2023 at 22:19, Big J said:

Came out ok. 
prep could have been better, paint sank a bit …. But what do you expect painting 24 hours later in 10degrees C. I wouldn’t do that on a car 😂

 

I might relic it and do the acid on the hardware too, we will see. I’ve got a new bass coming tomorrow so I suspect it will be on the back burner whilst I play my new toy.

 

cost £100 to do, that includes a used drop D tuner… so can’t complain. 
IMG_2572.thumb.jpeg.17c2476968ce49b860b9e819fc23b040.jpeg

If that plays half as good as it looks..!!!! Lovely rescue job.

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