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Wishbass Club Part VIII

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#2
Okay, to kick this off, here are some shots of poplar Stude #0003 hanging in my music room with about 13 coats of Tru Oil and curing out before I go further. I apologize for the substandard photos, but the light that day was not good and I really need a more serious camera (which is in the planning). Anyway, these pix don't really show how smooth (sanded out to 2000 grit and then beyond with micro-mesh pads) and shiny this baby is now, but trust me - it is! This is probably my lightest Wishbass to date, and should sit on your shoulder pretty nice. I'll weight it again once it's all back together.

Stude0003004-2.jpg


Stude0003001-1.jpg


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By way of reminder, this was part of a run of Wishbasses that Steve tried to produce for an even further price drop. The idea being they would be all the 'same' and sort of "mass produced" (thus the 4 digit serial number starting at 0000). They featured poplar bodies, maple and walnut neck stringers, Ipe fingerboards and lipstick pups. This one had a wax finish on it when I bought it on Craigslist and I think it was original, but I'm not really sure. I will post better pix when it's all done and strung back up. Hmmmm, do I keep this one or trade it off? - tough call!
 
#6
nice stude. i have never seen one look that shiney.... I may have a sister to that bass. looks very similar - all same woods, serial number is 00018. extra o for extra beer that day??? i am now going to have to refinish mine thanks to you.... pickup is really weak on mine. thinking of changing it out. my fretboard has a swirl thing going which made me buy it originally of feebay. was around $200 if i remember right. mine also has a pinstrip in between the body. can't tell if yours does.

stude1.jpg


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did you work over the headstock. mine is huge....

stude2.jpg


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#7
jumbodbassman said:
nice stude. i have never seen one look that shiney.... I may have a sister to that bass. looks very similar - all same woods, serial number is 00018. extra o for extra beer that day??? i am now going to have to refinish mine thanks to you.... pickup is really weak on mine. thinking of changing it out. my fretboard has a swirl thing going which made me buy it originally of feebay. was around $200 if i remember right. mine also has a pinstrip in between the body. can't tell if yours does.

did you work over the headstock. mine is huge..
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Jim: Thanks for the kudos. Hey, we may have a family going here! The triple zeros in front of the number identify it as part of the "EconoStude" run, as I like to call it. I asked Steve about these, but he was did not give me much to go on, other than it was an ill-fated attempt by him to produce in larger numbers a standardized Wishbass that could be purchased for about $200. He also said that there was a fire in the shop that put a damper on things, plus he got tired of making the same bass over and over. I have no idea how many actually got made, but I might have the third one off the line. If you look on his website, the photo he has of a Stude looks eeriely like mine, knothole and all.

Your Stude has the more pronounced "thumb" shape to the lower horn, which I think is more attractive than the less distinct shape of mine. I did do a bit of reshaping to my horns to give them more definition, since they looked so anemic. Yes, my Stude is a poplar sandwich with a veneer sheet in between the top and back, so it does have a pinstripe, as you called it. The headstock on mine had no wood to spare on it. I did angle it ever so slightly, but mostly I evened up the shape of the inside cutout and radiused all the edges. Tedious work doing that, and not much fun actually! I also have made a nut and bridge out of Ipe to match the FB, but we'll see how it sounds once it's strung up. I also made a PUP cover and veneered it and the cavity cover with maple veneer to try and get close to the poplar. My lipstick pup seems plenty hot, but there was a loose wire in there when I bought it, so it would cut in and out which is another reason I think the guy sold it. I surfed Craiglist all over the US and found this one several states away from me and was able to convince the guy I was not a scam artist!

Stude0003004-1.jpg


These photos were taken before final grades of sanding were complete so there is no finish on anyuthing here ...

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One thing I learned about light colored polar wood - it gets dirty soooo easily! It was a nightmare trying to keep the wood clean during the sand-out process and in some spots, I never did get the subtle sanding stains out. It got hard to control after about 1200 grit paper. The pup cover was the worse because it is on alumimun and when you sand the edges, the aluminum dust gets into the light wood and does NOT come out completely. At some point I just gave up and put the TruOil over it! Errrr ....
 
#11
jumbodbassman said:
hey cuz - I like the pickup cover alot. i will have to think about that also. love this site. some great ideas come up when dealing with many creative folk..... control covcer looks perfect - like came from the same board.
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Jim; They say that neccesity is the mother of invention - well, the reasons I felt I had to come up with a cover is that Steve cut the pup cavity out of square to the neck stringers and I also hated the way the tab mounts on the ends just sit there exposed. I toyed with all kinds of shapes, but in keeping with the more 'liquid' sort of vibe this one has, the 'rings of Saturn' theme seemed the best. I used the same sheet of maple veneer for both the control cover and pup cover. In person it's not as good a match as it appears in these photos, but it's not bad. I could make you one if you want me too, but something tells me you are more than capable of doing it yourself.
 
#12
Rip Topaz said:
Wow 49!! Looks great. I don't think I have it in me to be patient enough to sand out a whole bass to the point of Micromesh. Great work as usual.
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Thanks Rip - I am a detail freak, I have to admit. It just seems like you are polishing stone when you get the wood past about 1500 grit and I just love the result, so it spurs me on. Plus, I stop a lot and then hit it again the next day so I don't get too impatient with the whole process.
 
#15
wave rider said:
Very cool _Sasquatch_, I wondered where it went! Some wild maple!


Paging 49s'fine, 1 5/8ths" width neck:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Bass-Fretless-4...s-/130425537186?pt=Guitar&hash=item1e5df7c2a2

=wr=
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Wally; Thanks for the good thoughts, and while tempting, I think I should refrain (still haven't paid for the Mando bass completely yet). I have been kind of wanting a Swirl, even though they look pretty uncomfortable while sitting down and playing. Anyone out there know what they feel like on your knee?

Saquatch; Nice catch! Boy, I didn't even get a chance to see that one while it was up. You must have pounced on it.

Fanned Fret Hipper Update: After going back and forth for a couple of days, I decided to TruOil the beast instead of waxing it. Now that I have a couple of coats on it, I am glad I did. It is looking pretty spiff! Pix later, I have a wedding gig today ...
 
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