First Act medium scale

[Al Nichols]

Hello all,

I just picked this up from a local guy. It's a 32" First Act. I just oiled the fretboard and checked the neck. I also ordered some Ernie Ball Medium Scale Regular Slinky Nickel Wound Bass Guitar Strings, 45-105 Gauge. The strings on this now could be 10 years old. It seems to play OK though. I bought this as a project. I may end up replacing the P/U eventually.

Al

 

[CostaMoses]

Do you still have this? What do you think about it? Did you end up modding? I'm loving my first 32" and researching my next!

 

[Al Nichols]

Yes, I still have it. I haven't done any mods to it yet as I went down the rabbit hole and bought a P bass kit. I'm not sure which route I'm going to take though. I really don't know enough about basses to give an informed opinion except I think it's a solid guitar. The fitment is really good, the intonation is dead on, it has good sustain. Believe it or not, it's neck heavy though. I don't know what kind of wood it is but the guitar weighs 8 lbs. If you could pick one up for $50.00 like I did, it's a no brainer. You could use the neck on a custom build and make a lighter 32" one.
If you need anymore info you can contact me via pm here.

 

[CostaMoses]

Thanks for the info! I'm not too knowledgeable on gear stuff either...former drummer turned bassist.
Whatever you do with it I hope you have a blast and share the process here!

 

[CostaMoses]

Also, I have a First Act Paul Westerberg guitar. Found it at Marshalls or TJ Max or one of those stores over a decade ago, for $30! With just a little bit of work it became an awesome cheapo guitar! All that to say I'd be stoked to try out a First Act bass.

 

[ejaggers]

I bought one years ago for $40, and it is my sandbox for trying new mods.
I've read posts that bash these as crap but I don't understand why, and the posters never said.

Here's my story: Another Cheap Bass Is Awesome: First Act Discussion | TalkBass.com
A few things have changed since this post.

I tried replacing the black PUP covers with cream and ended up destroying the PUP.
So I replaced it with an SD Hot PUP and this sucker came alive.

I dyed the fingerboard black to simulate ebony, which was a test case for a different bass.
It didn't turn out as black as I wanted but did darken it some.
Maybe I should put more coats on.

I strung it BEAD with cheap $5 Chianese rounds from eBay that actually sound pretty good.

The only thing I don't like is the wide P-Bass neck since my goto bass is an SS with tight spacing.
In fact, I've considered turning it into a 5-string if it's possible since it is my sandbox.

Also, the PUP cover isn't dark enough, I realize this is extremely picky,
so I may paint it to match the headstock, knobs, and PG.

My overall opinion is that these are decent basses considering how cheap they were,
and since they get no respect they can be gotten for peanuts.

Although not a good pic, here's the latest one....057912:

 

[CostaMoses]

This is so great! Thank you for sharing! I will be on the lookout for one.