I'd like to add a bit of weight and strength to a bass with a basswood body by adding a walnut cap.

How much do you suppose most luthiers would charge for this kind of service?

You are planning to do this on what bass?

Ibanez GWB35. It's gonna have a complete refinish too, so that's not an issue.

Add weight? Most people are looking to remove it!

Seems to me that you can't just slap a top over the existing. You will also need to remove the same amount of basswood to keep all the set up in line.

Are you trying to fight neck dive or just like the heft? You might consider removing the bridge and routing out a pocket under it that you could fill with lead or some other metal and then cover again with the bridge. It could be epoxied or even Bondoed in in place so it didn't rattle.

Are you really worried about the "strength" of the basswood? If so then try to forget about that. The basswood is plenty strong enough for the task.

Sounds like a fun project to do yourself for grins, but the labor to change a top will cost way more than the value of the Ibanez.

Greg N

How much do you suppose most luthiers would charge for this kind of service?

In the UK?

Ever see the movie "Vacation" starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold?

Clark needed some repairs done on his car...at the only repair station in the middle of the western US desert...

Clark (wallet in hand): "OK, how much for the repairs?"
300lb Mechanic (huge wrench in hand): "How much you got?"
Clark: "No no no...I'm saying, how much will the repairs cost?"
300lb Mechanic (in Clark's face now): "And I'm sayin'.....how much you GOT!"

If you're re-topping and re-finishing, it would be simpler (and about the same cost-wise) to just make a whole new body from scratch.

Most guys I've seen in Australia charge $400-700 for refinishing, if you want to add a top to the body on top of that..... maybe you'd be better off buying a custom bass :D