Another abused bass ressurection

[Duarte]

I just keep finding myself with such poorly treated instruments - not that I'm the best person to be bringing them back to life, but hey I'm learning, and I can't make it any worse than this, right?

So as the franken-reggae bass goes through multiple obsessive stages of paint before being finished off, this guy comes in. The plan is for a straight up punk P bass. Think single volume knob, bright colours. The body, I'm told, is a Greco from 70s/80s. This checks out, I have a few Greco basses around and it makes sense. It has the pancake body construction and weighs an insane amount. The pickup seems to be OK. I have a neck with a pointy headstock coming from Korea (an old Samick I believe, it should fit). First order of the build is to strip the finish, remove those broken screws, and fill that hack job cavity. 

I will update slowly as parts start to arrive, and as I work on the other project.

 

This is how I received it (pickup also included)

 

 

Stripped, screws pulled, and epoxy resin to fill the hole. Bridge as I was checking it lines up with original holes (of course it does).

 

 

 

More coming! 

 

Edited July 29 by Duarte

[Duarte]

First day without torrential rain in Sydney for a few weeks, so updates can begin!

 

First coats of primer are on - revealing a few points that need attention. 

 

 

Also, the neck has arrived. I found a great deal on this pretty nice Samick neck, which fits perfectly and feels quite good. Hardware and custom pickguard are on order.

 

 

Edited August 26 by Duarte

[itu]

"The plan is for a straight up punk P bass. Think single volume knob, bright colours." 

 

Will you do something different and paint the neck? It seems to be one very rare choice. 

[Duarte]

9 hours ago, itu said:

"The plan is for a straight up punk P bass. Think single volume knob, bright colours." 

 

Will you do something different and paint the neck? It seems to be one very rare choice. 

 

I am considering it! Or at least the headstock. Still undecided though.

[Duarte]

Sent the dimensions to my mate in Thailand who has cut the shape, now sending it off to the anodising shop.

 

Looking forward to showing everyone where we're actually going with this!

 

 

[Duarte]

Spent a lot longer than I should have stripping down the neck today. Made a right old mess!

 

Edited Tuesday at 05:25 by Duarte

[Duarte]

Base coat! 

I have moved away from the 'punk bass' aesthetic. I've decided to gift this to my Dad once it's done, and he had a great idea which I'm rolling with. He has spent a lot of his life working inside nuclear reactors, and he's really into nuclear imagery and technology. He said that the inside of a reactor has a blue, oceanic, sci-fi glow, and that he'd like to see that on an instrument. So I'm going to experiment a little with this blue theme!

 

Updates soonish, weather dependent.

 

 

Edited 19 hours ago by Duarte

[Si600]

57 minutes ago, Duarte said:

He said that the inside of a reactor has a blue, oceanic, sci-fi glow, and that he'd like to see that on an instrument. So I'm going to experiment a little with this blue theme!

 

Presumably he's not been inside to look when it's been switched on, or is he now glow-in-the-dark blue as well?

[Duarte]

7 minutes ago, Si600 said:

Presumably he's not been inside to look when it's been switched on, or is he now glow-in-the-dark blue as well?

 

Probably not into the reactor core, but y'know...

 

Edited 18 hours ago by Duarte

[Richard R]

I assume he's refering to Cherenkov radiation, which is not only blue and sci-fi looking but is the result of some pretty awesome physics.

 

It is also a FABULOUS name to put on the headstock!

"Cherenkov FTL Bass"

in a Fender-esque script. 

 

 

 

 

For the reason behind "FTL bass"  see the explanation here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation

 

 

Edited 14 hours ago by Richard R

[SpondonBassed]

6 hours ago, Duarte said:

I'm going to experiment a little with this blue theme!

 

Ooh!  Ooh!

 

U/V fretmarkers?  U/V activated paint?  "Sci-Fi glow" - sounds excellent.

[itu]

Search from Amazon that Cherenkov bluish powder and mix it to the paint. Choose Strontium based powder over Zinc and others to get the longest possible glow. I've done tests with 2 - 20 % of luminous powder to paint. I might suggest around 5 - 10 % depending on your needs. 

 

Green is the most powerful colour, that's why you need more when using blue or other colours. 

 

Addition: I've only used whitish paints, but try it to some tinted colour and tell us about the results. 

Edited 12 hours ago by itu
one more

[Duarte]

10 hours ago, Richard R said:

I assume he's refering to Cherenkov radiation, which is not only blue and sci-fi looking but is the result of some pretty awesome physics.

 

It is also a FABULOUS name to put on the headstock!

"Cherenkov FTL Bass"

in a Fender-esque script. 

 

 

 

 

For the reason behind "FTL bass"  see the explanation here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherenkov_radiation

 

 

 

This is exactly what he's talking about. And you're so right, that is an excellent name to put on the headstock! Still undecided on how to apply the headstock logo or what it will even be. I have an engraver, which would work, but may not be so appropriate. I definitely want to engrave the ionizing radiation symbol on the neck plate. 

 

8 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

 

Ooh!  Ooh!

 

U/V fretmarkers?  U/V activated paint?  "Sci-Fi glow" - sounds excellent.

 

Ahhh such good ideas! I'm going to the paint shop today to see what they have for me to play with.

 

8 hours ago, itu said:

Search from Amazon that Cherenkov bluish powder and mix it to the paint. Choose Strontium based powder over Zinc and others to get the longest possible glow. I've done tests with 2 - 20 % of luminous powder to paint. I might suggest around 5 - 10 % depending on your needs. 

 

Green is the most powerful colour, that's why you need more when using blue or other colours. 

 

Addition: I've only used whitish paints, but try it to some tinted colour and tell us about the results. 

 

This is great advice - sadly I'm working with cans for now so a little limited. There's a good graffiti shop nearby that seems to have some pretty specialist stuff so I'll see what I can muster up!

 

I'm very excited to see the pickguard once it's back from the anodising place.

[itu]

OK, how about spreading some powder between the top clear lacquer coats? Before the surface is dry? 

[Duarte]

28 minutes ago, itu said:

OK, how about spreading some powder between the top clear lacquer coats? Before the surface is dry? 

 

I didn't know this was possible. Let me do some research.

[Duarte]

My experiment this morning was to try a transparent light blue over the dark base colour. I applied it only to the end of the body so it catches the light. It definitely gives a subtle depth.  

 

Apologies for the construction sounds!