posted this before. this picture doesn't really show just how rough of shape this bass was in, but still you can see the major mods I did.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Before & After - Your resurrection project
- Thread starter JIO
- Start date
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,588
- 221,964
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Looked all night (unsuccessfully) for the "before" photos. The previous owner wanted to capture the Ebony- Hog vibe by staining the alder body brown and painting THE ENTIRE NECK BLACK. Obviously the OMG mode wasn't enough, so an active preamp of questionable heritage was installed.
I stripped and sanded everything, refinished the neck with tinted lacquer, and shipped the body off to Marty Bell for a sparkle job (always wanted one). Brought the electronics back to stock configuration - and this ol' B00 bass lives again.
Last edited:
Where’d you get the Fender decal? A specific store or just off EBay/Amazon? I’m currently looking for one for my 70’s fender jazz bass.
Mine, which is still in progress, is a Career CB4 I found for free: NBD - Free Bass!
Before:
Current:
Before:
Current:
before and after
85 ibanez roadstar ii bass purchased for 25 bucks off Craigslist. body was sanded with no smoother than 60 grit sandpaper (or possibly a metal garden rake) and painted with red house paint. bridge and pickguard were also painted with house paint, but creme. noticed under the pickguard a tiny bit of the original black gloss so i stripped and refinished with waterbased poly spiked with black dye. polished all the chrome best i could (had to replace the bridge). tried to make the neck looking as uniform as possible (whoever played this played only on the e string and never cut their nails, worn through the finish on the fretboard and half moon thumb nail marks on the back of the neck. gross
cleaned up the pickups and slapped on new covers, new electronics and then started playing it while i waited for it to sell on reverb.... but there was something about a simple passive pbass that just worked for me. my oft-modded active blacktop pbass became too fidgety (and like twice the weight) so when that sold i decided to keep the ibanez. goes along well with my other 85 ibanez (purple rb850)
85 ibanez roadstar ii bass purchased for 25 bucks off Craigslist. body was sanded with no smoother than 60 grit sandpaper (or possibly a metal garden rake) and painted with red house paint. bridge and pickguard were also painted with house paint, but creme. noticed under the pickguard a tiny bit of the original black gloss so i stripped and refinished with waterbased poly spiked with black dye. polished all the chrome best i could (had to replace the bridge). tried to make the neck looking as uniform as possible (whoever played this played only on the e string and never cut their nails, worn through the finish on the fretboard and half moon thumb nail marks on the back of the neck. gross
cleaned up the pickups and slapped on new covers, new electronics and then started playing it while i waited for it to sell on reverb.... but there was something about a simple passive pbass that just worked for me. my oft-modded active blacktop pbass became too fidgety (and like twice the weight) so when that sold i decided to keep the ibanez. goes along well with my other 85 ibanez (purple rb850)
That's the config on the US made Urge, except I believe they used Lace Sensor pickups on those.
Love the finish! How did U do it? U just wrote stained dark but how did U get exactly those shades & all??
Guilty as charged! I've since corrected the indiscretion.
93' MIM P-Bass, the "closet bass" nobody remembers who owned at my son's College, so the music director gave it to him. This is after stripping down to bare wood, numerous dings and gouges revealed. Rusty hardware, cracked pickguard, sloppy tuners, the works.
And here it is done, crappy photo, but it looks great in person. It has a bit of classic Fender "ski-jump" in the upper frets I still need to sort out, but otherwise plays well. New pickguard, partly new electronics, all new hardware. Finish is Varathane Ultimate water based, tinted with acrylic for color coats. I kept the tuners, but they aren't great.
And here it is done, crappy photo, but it looks great in person. It has a bit of classic Fender "ski-jump" in the upper frets I still need to sort out, but otherwise plays well. New pickguard, partly new electronics, all new hardware. Finish is Varathane Ultimate water based, tinted with acrylic for color coats. I kept the tuners, but they aren't great.
"....... and then started playing it while i waited for it to sell on reverb.... but there was something about a simple passive pbass that just worked for me."
I hear ya!! I gigged with the little Oscar one night, and had similar thoughts....that this little thing totally held it's own, was fun to play, and had a great vibe to it.
Maybe it's time to find another one!!!
I hear ya!! I gigged with the little Oscar one night, and had similar thoughts....that this little thing totally held it's own, was fun to play, and had a great vibe to it.
Maybe it's time to find another one!!!
That's the beauty of the P-bass.
You can spend a power of money for one but most times you just don't need to
Thanks much for this thread. I really enjoy the work of craftsmen.
