Reparing a P bass knock-off

[aaronwhite1786]

So, i have a bass that was left with me. The original owner said he wanted it, but never actually got it. Seeing as i haven't heard from him in forever, and he doesn't play bass anyway, i figure i may as well fix it up.
It's a knock off brand, but i couldn't even tell you what brand.
It has no marking on it anywhere. I can't find a single one.
Anyway, here's my idea.
With Christmas rolling up soon, i thought this might be a good idea to give myself something to spend some time on.
I want the opinion of those with more knowledge than myself however to enlighten me as to if i will be just wasting my money and time.
I like the way the bass plays, it's a pretty nice bass. I think it sounds quite nice for a nameless bass that was apparently purchased for cheap off of E-bay.
It needs a bit of work though.
First thing that i need to fix is the nut at the top (i do hope that's the name for the piece) the little bar that runs across at the very top of the fretboard to keep the pieces in line. I think i found them for about 15, and from what i have read it doesn't seem to be too crucial of a part to go nuts money wise on (As with everything, feel free to correct me when i'm speaking out of turn).
The next thing is that i want to put some new pick-ups on it to give it a better sound. I like the way it plays, but i think the sound leaves a bit to be desired. It has a hollow body, so from what i've been told a Pick-up swap should be as easy as de-soldering the old ones, and re-soldering the new ones in their place.
Now, the bigger of the challenges is fixing the strap nut at the top of the body. It worked it's way out of the wood, and stripped any bit of threading that may have been in the body before. I figure this isn't too big of a deal, because i would like to paint it (Maybe blue, or a grey color, Green's not really my style).
So, i figure i can just find some sort of industrial wood-filler and fill the hole, then put the little Strap nut back in there and have it set in place. That's the step i'm really unsure of, since i don't know if that idea will give me enough strength to support the weight of the bass.
Also, last of all, i think i will throw some new strings on it.
I would love it if you all would suggest pick-ups, or anything that i could use for this project that you think would be the best thing to put onto this bass. I'm not rich, but i'm willing to spend a little bit on the bass to get it back in working order, and sounding good.
Thanks for your time guys.
-Aaron

[jakelly]

No offense, but you seem like a novice at all this.

That's not a good strap button fix IMO. Fill the hole with real wood, a piece of tight fitting hardwood dowel glued in place, trimmed flush, and redrilled. Can't find dowel the right size? Carve a piece yourself.

Unless the nut is damaged or poorly made. you shouldn't mess with it. It is a challenge to make a good nut or even fit a pre-made one, and then wind up with great playing action.

Pickups? Unless they are broken or damaged, the existing pickups are probably adequate to begin with. Plus, pickups are expensive. Be sure that's what you really want before you attempt it.

Paint? I hope you don't mean Krylon from a hardware store. Painting a guitar is a challenge. Thousands have been ruined by well-meaning amateurs with a stack of sandpaper and spray paint. LOL. I ruined a couple myself in my earlier days.

I think you should get another bass if this one doesn't satisfy and leave this one the way it is.

[Pilgrim]

I agree, you sound like this is a new experience for you, and there's more to learn before you start modifying things.

I suggest buying Dan Erlewine's excellent book on guitar repair - there's a lot of great info in there. And I suggest you need to spend a few months playing the bass before you modify anything.

Unless there's a specific problem wuith the nut there is NO reason to mess with it. Fine-tuning a nut does require some knowledge. Pickups? Don't mess with them until you have become much more familiar with playing a bass.

The single change I would recommend if you want to change something is to change the strings. They make a big difference in sound, especially if you change from roundwounds to flatwounds...and it's completely reversible. Many people experiment with different types of strings, and you will be surprised how much difference they make.

Do some searches here on TB for things like "rounds and flats" to learn more about the many discussions about strings and how they affect sound.

Also - why not take some pix and post them here? You'll get better information if people can see what you're dealing with. If there's no name on the headstock, see if there's a label inside the body - or see if there's anything on the plate which reinforces the neck. You may have a bass with characteristics that people here will recognize.

[scottbass]

I'm having a hard time visualizing this - you said it's a P bass knockoff, then you said it has a hollow body?

[aaronwhite1786]

Thanks for the replies guys.
As for the nut, it's broken, that's the only reason i'm thinking of replacing it. The groove that should hold the E string in place has broken off at the top and the E string now slides off the fretboard entirely.
I'm not new to playing bass, i've been playing for about 5 years, i just am new to fixing them up.
As for the painting i was going to strip it down to the primer, and then apply a good quality paint in a few light coats, then put a matte finish on it to protect the paint.

Also, i will see if i can wrangle up some batteries to throw into my camera and get some pictures on here.
Oh, and as for the hollow body, i phrased that entirely wrong.
The body isn't hollow, but there's just a channel between the pickups and the control knobs, so putting new ones in wouldn't be an issue of having to do any major work, just a kind of drop in and re-solder type deal.

[Pilgrim]

Originally Posted by aaronwhite1786

Oh, and as for the hollow body, i phrased that entirely wrong.
The body isn't hollow, but there's just a channel between the pickups and the control knobs, so putting new ones in wouldn't be an issue of having to do any major work, just a kind of drop in and re-solder type deal.

Yes, every P-bass normally has that rout in the wood...standard stuff. The pots are pretty easy to replace.

[INTP]

If you have some calipers, you can measure the existing nut and see if one of these pre-cut models will fit it. Even if the basic measurements work, it may still need to be tweaked, but it could be a good starting point to getting it playable again.
http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?SubCategoryID=58