basswood modding?

[Joe Geni]

Hi all. I stumbled upon a CIJ bass in a shop. I suspect it is basswood (as of this writing, I am awaiting confirmation). It plays great and I really like that it is unusually lightweight, but I feel the electronics would need to be changed (pickups minimum, possibly wiring too). However I am told basswood is a bit infamous for screws becoming undone or chewing up the wood.

Has anyone modded a basswood body before? Can I assume that a good luthier can do this safely?

 

[JW56789]

It's primarily used by manufacturers as a lower-cost alternative to alder, ash, and other usual suspects. It's reputation that it's too soft or not workable is obviously put to the lie in that those same manufacturers use it, and would not cover it warranty-wise if it were a 'use and lose' wood. All of the best EVH guitars use basswood as Ed preferred the tone. In some grades, it can be pretty bright (sort of like a cousin to ash, without the weight). Like any wood, there are better and worse grades.

If it's any kind of quality bass, you should have zero problems. There may be some small basis in fact for the very crappiest, cheapest axes made out of it (SEE Chibson, Rickenhacker, Finder, and all the other Ali Express wonder axes), but in most reputable builders, you're good.

 

[gln1955]

If you aren't screwing things in and out a dozen times and keep Mr. Gorilla Hands away from your bass, you should be fine.

 

[oyobass]

A trick I learned early on, working with a cheap Japanese made Higher copy- to reinforce screw holes in wood that makes balsa look like maple in comparison, put a drop or two of wood glue into the screw hole, then work it into the sides of the hole with a toothpick. Thread the screw carefully back into the hole to avoid cross threading, then clean off any excess glue with a damp cloth.

After drying fully (at least overnight, if not 24 hours) you'll have a screw hole that wears almost like a threaded brass insert.

Another tip, before putting a screw back in, turn it gently backwards (CCW) until you hear/feel a small click. That is a screw dropping into the thread. It is now lined up and will be less likely to cross thread.

 

[Arie X]

well, basswood is certainly no paulownia (the blue-cheese of woods), still, the standard wood working protocols apply.

 

[oyobass]

a cheap Japanese made Higher copy-

Auto (mis)correct changed "Hofner" To "Higher". Artificial "intelligence" isn't.

 

[tvbop]

CIJ = crafted in japan, top quality instruments. I always understood them to be alder.

 

[oyobass]

CIJ = crafted in japan, top quality instruments. I always understood them to be alder.

I'm old. In the 60s and early 70s, 'Made In Japan' was a badge worthy of ridicule. Bent nails in carpentry, soft, flimsy woods used in guitars that would not hold the screws used to assemble them, toys assembled with thin, stamped sheet metal with sharp edges that would cut little fingers, the list goes on. In the mid 70s they went from a make it quick and cheaply mindset towards the top quality they are known for today. A real paradigm shift.