SG bass conversion

[Gank Bass]

Lately I've found myself re-interested in woodwork after taking a long break, which came just at the right time as I picked up a botched/abandoned sg guitar project off eBay for peanuts. 

 

The plan - route a central channel to get rid of the off centre neck pocket and pickup route, fill with a strip of pine, re route for a 30" neck and new pickups/bridge. Finally to stain red in the classic style.

 

[Mykesbass]

Could do an Aria SB style finish - the red stain and pale natural stripe would work really well imo.

[Gank Bass]

8 minutes ago, Mykesbass said:

Could do an Aria SB style finish - the red stain and pale natural stripe would work really well imo.

Im hoping the different density of mahogany Vs pine will give it that!

[Gank Bass]

Neck pocket cut, mixture of plunge router and chisel for the details. Headstock also shaped with a rasp

[Gank Bass]

On 06/09/2025 at 10:49, Mykesbass said:

Could do an Aria SB style finish - the red stain and pale natural stripe would work really well imo.

 

Not as dramatic but I'm happy with the contrast 👍

[Gank Bass]

A few coats of poly lacquer! On the lookout for an emg soapbar/mm/tb pickup 🤔

[Gank Bass]

Neck fit check, nice and snug 

[BigRedX]

Are you going to stain the back of the neck to match the body?

[Gank Bass]

Nope just leaving it as is, headstock will be gloss black

[Gank Bass]

Bridge fitted, still haven't found an emg for the right price 

[Gank Bass]

First pickup route done, just needs a bit of tweaking. Just used a drill and chisel for this as it's a simple shape for the soapbar

[Gank Bass]

Both routes done and pickguard drawn on tracing paper, going to attempt cutting it with a Dremel 😱

[Gank Bass]

Turned out pretty good for free hand, but I will clean up the curves and add the bevel on the spindle sander next time I visit my folks

 

Also the placeholder cheapo pickups I had in my spares box are total junk..

 

[Gank Bass]

Finally made some progress today after a bit of a hiatus 

 

New guards cut and pickup on the way, going to go for a single p bass (in p90 form) in the bridge position 

[Gank Bass]

So there's been a slight change of plan..

[Gank Bass]

We are nearing the finish line

[Gank Bass]

Knob suggestions?

[neepheid]

Something Gibson-esque (speed knob, bell knob, witch hat) in keeping with the EB-ness of it all?

[Pea Turgh]

I’d go for wide and low, aluminium maybe (like these https://ebay.us/m/tmu7Ur)

 

 

[Gank Bass]

16 minutes ago, Pea Turgh said:

I’d go for wide and low, aluminium maybe (like these https://ebay.us/m/tmu7Ur)

 

 

Love this

[p4ul]

I am so glad that I am not the only madman on here turning  guitars in to basses..  🤩 great work!

[Gank Bass]

Thanks! 

[b7l4s]

Really interesting conversion - and something I've never seen before. It might be a daft question, but is the string tension between a guitar and a bass comparible? Just thinking about the neck/trussrod etc. 

[Gank Bass]

25 minutes ago, b7l4s said:

Really interesting conversion - and something I've never seen before. It might be a daft question, but is the string tension between a guitar and a bass comparible? Just thinking about the neck/trussrod etc. 

Hi buddy, it's a bass neck but I've seen people do a straight up conversation with guitar necks before, the issue is more around intonation than tension 

[b7l4s]

Of course it is... I clearly struggle to notice the difference between four tuner holes and six 🤦‍♂️

 

But I can appreciate that intonation could be vexing. Thanks for replying 👍