Oh no! Jazz bass damage

[pedrodelawasp]

At the studio on Tuesday this week for rehearsal I take my Geddy Lee Jazz out of the bag as usual, sling it over my shoulder and go to plug in and... horror, there's a gouge come out of it just below the control plate!





I hadn't had the bass out since being at a mate's place the previous week after rehearsal. It spent some time alone in his kitchen during a going away party. I suspect a chair leg has come down and knocked this bit out.

Anyway, at least it wasn't the neck!

Any tips on how easy it is likely to be to get this repaired? I'm imagining someone with a lot more skill than me would be required to carefully strip back the damaged area, fill the dent, sand this off then build up the paint and lacquer layers again. I have the chunk of wood that came out, but think the drummer and guitarist's joint suggestion of gluing that back in is unlikely to leave a very convincing finish!

My other thought had been using this as an excuse for some GAS-ing and getting something like a fretless squier jazz, using it's body on the geddy and having the scuffed up one on the fretless as an occasional use instrument...

[bassist4dalord]

I'd say do the Squier route, that would be pretty cool. However, it looks like you've got aftermarket pickups; worth the work? Sorry to see that injury

[Burlington]

I'd keep the battlewound. Sucks that it happened, but now it's naturally relic'd

[knigel]

The Squier idea is a great one! Not sure if it would be a direct replacement (PUP widths, screw hole placements) but it shouldn't be too much work.

[M0ses]

The Squier isn't a bad idea, but why not take that to a luthier and get a quote on it? The fact that you have the chunk is really good, you wouldn't want to fill that all up with putty.

[king_biscuit]

Wow, that's too bad! That's not good relic either it just looks like abuse. You could color it in with a sharpie and it wouldn't be noticeable from a few feet.

[Govier966]

maybe some nail polish could cover it up.

[pacojas]

i like it!

[Slax]

If you bring it to a shop, I wonder if they can glue the piece back in and fix the finish around the edge?

[pedrodelawasp]

Originally Posted by bassist4dalord

I'd say do the Squier route, that would be pretty cool. However, it looks like you've got aftermarket pickups; worth the work? Sorry to see that injury

They're just aftermarket pickup covers that I like the look of.

I shouldn't have mentioned the idea of getting another bass to fellow TBers, collectively the worst support group for struggling bass-cleptos!

[mike phillips]

contact musiclogic he is right here on talkbass

[pedrodelawasp]

Originally Posted by mike phillips

contact musiclogic he is right here on talkbass

Thanks for the tip, you mean for advice or to go to for work? Michigan is a bit far for me, damn pesky atlantic!

[Killcram187]

Woa... I say go the squier route, and you'll have a fretless

[Darkstrike]

The Squire rout seems like a pretty good idea, and you'll have a fretless, double score.

Thing is, it'll change the tone, due to different woods, and the 60's pickup position, rather than the Geddys 70's positioning.

[Grant Bass]

like mentioned; if you got the piece; bring it in with the bass to get repairedit will get glued back on and be a 'simple' finish repair, that depending on the method could be melt in stick lacquer or a refinish; which would cost less than a new bass; me thinks;
but really, war wounds are good, cuz now you can rock that s*** w/o worrying

[bjabass]

Don't know what it would cost to get a real luthier to fix it but if you have the piece it wouldn't be a major job if it were say, a car. Fill it, buff it back, spray, buff again, perfect.

[Big B.]

I mean, "relic'ed" is one thing but that is hardcore. If you had done it, it would be easier to live with as a "battle wound. As it is you dont even have a good story to tell about it.

With a painted bass and the missing chunk that should be a reasonably easy repair for a good repairman. If you dont have the missing chunk it can be filled, just not with wood filler.

[pedrodelawasp]

Thanks for the opinions/tips.

I have been advised that a luthier's repair job may be quite steep, but I think I'll look in to getting a quote or two.

Give me a shout if anyone sees a jazz body with 70s spacing. Maybe one of the VM squiers? Doesn't have to be a black one, but I would prefer that. Although, saw a pic of someone on here with a red p-bass, with a geddy neck and black pickguard, that looked great...

The photos do make the damage appear substantially deeper than it actually is. My little finger is thicker than the dent is deep, and I've got what you could call 'piano fingers' (i.e. long and thin).

As far as the story goes... yeah, it's not so great that I can't detail exactly how the damage came to be, but the fact everyone was dressed as 90s wrestlers at least means the story of the night is fun. I was Brett Hart, and looked how he would look should he lose more than half his body weight

[bassman_al]

I had a smaller chip in a bass and called my luthier. We could not give me a quote without seeing the damage, but he said it would probably be $200 or so.

If you have that chunk, you can take it in with the bass. I bet a lot would have to do with how nice a job you wanted. "As before the accident" would be a lot more then "just get it back on the body, a scar is ok."

Good luck. I agree that chunks like that look more like abuse than relic.

[pedrodelawasp]

Agreed, that don't look like a relic job.

Spied the Squier VM '77 Jazz bass. I'm guessing the bridge pup placing will match up with the Geddy? The necks look great on those too. Maybe I could make the squier a p/j...

Might get a quote on repair first. If it's more than £100 - £150 I'm gonna justify the donor bass to myself quite easily, I expect...