Repairing an acoustic bass guitar

[rch427]

Hello all --

I recently bought an Olympia OB3CE acoustic bass guitar that had been stripped by the owner. Actually, let me back up a minute. The owner had done something stupid, like used the bass to break the spring ice in his local pond or something and, when he realized that the bass was now no longer of use to him, he did what any person would do: he eBayed it.

Being a starving artist with the need of an acoustic bass sound for my home recording hobby, I was pleased to be the high (and only) bidder on it, knowing full well that I would have to find tuners, strings, a nut and bridge before it would be playable. The seller's description of there being a "small seam separation at the neclk/soundboard joint" didn't worry me too much, as he assured me that it was strictly cosmetic; the neck was still tightly set. A-hem.

When the bass arrived, I was curious to see that the final two inches of the headstock were sticking out beyond the box proper, with the flaps taped over it, providing a full 1/4" of corrugated protection to the headstock, and by extension, the neck and body. I was less than surprised to discover, once I had removed the box, that the neck had indeed been impacted at some point, and had buckled the plywood soundboard, causing stress cracks in it on both sides of the neck. Communication with the seller proved less than satisfactory, with him claiming that UPS must've caused the damage, and telling me that I would have to pursue the claim with them. Finally, after weeks of legal threatening, he refunded most of my money, and left me the bass.

OK, that was far more explanation than you wanted. But the upshot is that I now have a bass that will need work, and will never sound great. Interestingly, the neck does seem pretty secure, and it doesn't seem to be out of alignment. I think that I can fix the soundboard issues with some judicious gluing and clamping. But that still leaves me with a stripped bass, which is the reason for this post. I need to find the following:

A set of tuning pegs (2 on a side) with bushings around 9/16" O.D., to go through a pegboard that's 5/8" thick. They can be mismatched, and they can look like hardware salvaged off the Andrea Doria, so long as they fit and they hold strings securely in place. They must be cheap.

A nut, to fit a neck that's 1-9/16" wide, 1/4" thick and at least 1/4" tall at the lowest part of the slot.

A bridge to replace the Fishman transducer that the fool ripped out. It's about 2-3/4" wide, <1/8" thick and of an unknown height. What would work here--hardwood? Graphite?

34"-scale Strings. I'd love to try something really nice like T-Is, but I can't justify the price. Given that I'm gonna be mic-ing this thing, that I'm a very poor bassist and an even poorer spender, can anyone recommend some budget strings? Martin, Fender, GHS and "Alice" all seem to offer sets for under $20, but are they all likely to sound like crap? Any gauge recommendations?

Does anyone know of a source for the first 3 parts? My usual sources for guitar parts don't seem to have ABG parts, nor could I find any Olympia/Tacoma parts at their website.

Thanks in advance for any advice or information, or at for at least not laughing in my face.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by rch427

Hello all --

I recently bought an Olympia OB3CE acoustic bass guitar that had been stripped by the owner. Actually, let me back up a minute. The owner had done something stupid, like used the bass to break the spring ice in his local pond or something and, when he realized that the bass was now no longer of use to him, he did what any person would do: he eBayed it.

Being a starving artist with the need of an acoustic bass sound for my home recording hobby, I was pleased to be the high (and only) bidder on it, knowing full well that I would have to find tuners, strings, a nut and bridge before it would be playable. The seller's description of there being a "small seam separation at the neclk/soundboard joint" didn't worry me too much, as he assured me that it was strictly cosmetic; the neck was still tightly set. A-hem.

When the bass arrived, I was curious to see that the final two inches of the headstock were sticking out beyond the box proper, with the flaps taped over it, providing a full 1/4" of corrugated protection to the headstock, and by extension, the neck and body. I was less than surprised to discover, once I had removed the box, that the neck had indeed been impacted at some point, and had buckled the plywood soundboard, causing stress cracks in it on both sides of the neck. Communication with the seller proved less than satisfactory, with him claiming that UPS must've caused the damage, and telling me that I would have to pursue the claim with them. Finally, after weeks of legal threatening, he refunded most of my money, and left me the bass.

OK, that was far more explanation than you wanted. But the upshot is that I now have a bass that will need work, and will never sound great. Interestingly, the neck does seem pretty secure, and it doesn't seem to be out of alignment. I think that I can fix the soundboard issues with some judicious gluing and clamping. But that still leaves me with a stripped bass, which is the reason for this post. I need to find the following:

A set of tuning pegs (2 on a side) with bushings around 9/16" O.D., to go through a pegboard that's 5/8" thick. They can be mismatched, and they can look like hardware salvaged off the Andrea Doria, so long as they fit and they hold strings securely in place. They must be cheap.

A nut, to fit a neck that's 1-9/16" wide, 1/4" thick and at least 1/4" tall at the lowest part of the slot.

A bridge to replace the Fishman transducer that the fool ripped out. It's about 2-3/4" wide, <1/8" thick and of an unknown height. What would work here--hardwood? Graphite?

34"-scale Strings. I'd love to try something really nice like T-Is, but I can't justify the price. Given that I'm gonna be mic-ing this thing, that I'm a very poor bassist and an even poorer spender, can anyone recommend some budget strings? Martin, Fender, GHS and "Alice" all seem to offer sets for under $20, but are they all likely to sound like crap? Any gauge recommendations?

Does anyone know of a source for the first 3 parts? My usual sources for guitar parts don't seem to have ABG parts, nor could I find any Olympia/Tacoma parts at their website.

Thanks in advance for any advice or information, or at for at least not laughing in my face.

I'm not laughing at you but at your description of what the seller did.

For a nut, you can buy a blank and cut it to fit. I don't know about 1/4" wide. I've seen them in 3/16" wide. Stew Mac is usually a good source.

For tuners, as long as you don't demand the originals you should be able to find something to fit. Given your intention to not spend much, look for used. Sometimes you can find what you need by visiting a music store with a good repair department. They often have a bin full of used stuff and you might find what you need cheap.

If all you need is an acoustic bridge with no piezo pickup, possibly an acoustic guitar bridge blank will work with some modification. You'll have to take some measurements to decide. The glue you use to secure this is important. i don't trust ordinary carpenter's glue for that. I like a 2 part urea formaldehyde marine glue.

I don't think you can find better sounding strings than the TIs. Yes, they're more expensive but they last for many years. If you have to go really cheap on strings try one of the store brands that are common now. But flats may be hard to find really cheap.

Hope this is of some help.