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First project: Fixing up a Carlo Robelli bass

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OrangeFurball

Jun 28, 2012
52
0
Scranton, PA
#1
I am not at all a luthier. Not anywhere close. I'm just someone with a lot of time on my hands. I found (what I thought was) a good deal on a neck, body, and pups. Here are some pictures. More to come when I get it :D

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It looks like a good project. I don't know of Carlo Robelli basses but it was cheap and looks solid enough. I was going to just buy a neck, but for $30 I couldn't pass this up. The neck seems good and only needs a nut (I hope) and if the pups work that's even better. Hopefully it has working electronics...

I wasn't going to post it here, but even if one person follows this I'll be happy! And I'll get an extra bass out of the deal!

So far, this is what I think I need:

A nut, tuners, possibly guts, knobs, bridge, maybe more. Because this is an extremely budget conscious build, I am trying to keep it under $100 total. So far I'm up to $80 (knobs, acres, bridge, nut, strap locks, new jack, tuners, the neck, body, pick ups, [hopefully] electronics, and the plate for the neck)

If the finish isn't good, I want to do a chrome finish (like super mirror shiny) but I have no idea how to do this and it might be more time (and money) than its worth. If I can't figure out how to do chrome and the finish is ruined, I'll paint it either black, white, or orange.
 
#2
Good project!

It looks like you have a good starting point if this ([Invalid or Expired Link Removed]) is anything to go by!

I'm doing something similar. here.

I bought my neck and body separately, both used. The pups and knobs/wiring and scratchplate will be bought new. I may complete the build for £100.00, but strings will be extra.

I've done one of these before (strat copy) and it turned out well.

Couple of suggestions for you:
Check your neck is straight and that the truss-rod still works.
Check the frets and tidy them up if necessary. Both the necks I bought had sharp tangs to the frets from about the twelfth fret up - common problem, certainly with budget guitars, but easily fixed.
 
#4
OrangeFurball said:
I am not at all a luthier. Not anywhere close. I'm just someone with a lot of time on my hands. I found (what I thought was) a good deal on a neck, body, and pups. Here are some pictures. More to come when I get it :D

It looks like a good project. I don't know of Carlo Robelli basses but it was cheap and looks solid enough. I was going to just buy a neck, but for $30 I couldn't pass this up. The neck seems good and only needs a nut (I hope) and if the pups work that's even better. Hopefully it has working electronics...

I wasn't going to post it here, but even if one person follows this I'll be happy! And I'll get an extra bass out of the deal!

So far, this is what I think I need:

A nut, tuners, possibly guts, knobs, bridge, maybe more. Because this is an extremely budget conscious build, I am trying to keep it under $100 total. So far I'm up to $80 (knobs, acres, bridge, nut, strap locks, new jack, tuners, the neck, body, pick ups, [hopefully] electronics, and the plate for the neck)

If the finish isn't good, I want to do a chrome finish (like super mirror shiny) but I have no idea how to do this and it might be more time (and money) than its worth. If I can't figure out how to do chrome and the finish is ruined, I'll paint it either black, white, or orange.
Click to expand...

Where did you find it? What web site?

Btw, looks great to work on it :). Have fun
 
#6
OrangeFurball said:
Thank you for that picture!!! I could not find any of the finished product.

But now I'm confused.. I'm extremely new to basses and I have no idea what kind of bridge I need! :confused:
Click to expand...

Measure the spacing between the mounting holes. From the craigslist picture it looks to be a standard Fender style 5 hole bridge.
 
#7
Well it took 3 hours, but I got it all wired up! It plays better than my other cheap Squier!

Total investment:

Body and neck ($30)

Bridge ($8)

Control knobs ($8 for 4)

Strap lock things ($1.95)

Nuts ($2.50)

Tuning knobs ($12)

Strings ($20)

All pots ($10)

Caps [.1uf ceramic] ($2)

I have two extra large nuts (the kind that cover up the truss rod a bit) and one standard fender style one. If anyone needs one (or all) let me know. I don't plan on building any basses soon and they were so cheap I'll just pick up new ones. PM me!

Thank you to everyone who helped! :D
 
#8
Got the body yesterday. The neck screw holes didn't quite line up, but a drill fixed that. Now I found screws that were a few mm to long. Found perfect washers (3 in each hole) and now the neck is solid as a solid neck :D. The back has some damage, but the front looks good. And the neck is good except for a small mark on the back. Coming from a short scale bass to this, the neck is huge!

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#9
Well I'm making progress on this pre amp. This was my first time soldering... anything. I think I know how to do it now, but I just winged it! One thing I thought of was not being able to remove the pre amp without desoldering the pups. Not good in my opinion. So I took a 4 pin molex connector and soldered the wires to the pre amp pickup spots. Now I can take it out if I feel the need! I also used heat shrink to cover the ugly soldering job... :o then I soldered the output jack wires and am just waiting to either find a diagram or get some help from someone here for the other spots that need soldering. Here are some pictures of it:

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#10
90% done! I'm kinda cheating... my soldering iron broke, so I head shrunk all the wires together, and I'm not using any pots!

It sounds ok for now, and I can finish it all when I get my soldering iron fixed! But, my nut is not right. It doesn't fit! Way to small. What kind of nut do I need?

Anyway, I just have to string the rest and find a better nut and I'll be good to go!
 
#11
Looking good, but shield that connector, even with tape.

There are plenty of nuts for sale on ebay (there are plenty of nuts on ebay:D). Just measure the hole it needs to fit. If its a bit big it doesn't matter too much - you can easily file it down to size.
 
#13
Meant to say too, you can steam some of those dings out of the neck.
This doesn't work with chips or gouges, but if the wood has been pushed in (ie by knocks or something being dropped on the wood) it works quite well.

You need an iron - the type you use to press clothes - and a wet towel. Put the wet towel over the ding and apply the hot iron, not enough to burn the twel or scorch the wood, but hot enough to make the towel steam and the wood softer. It will work better if you sand the neck and take the finish off completely.
 
#14
Davidmh said:
Looking good, but shield that connector, even with tape.

There are plenty of nuts for sale on ebay (there are plenty of nuts on ebay:D). Just measure the hole it needs to fit. If its a bit big it doesn't matter too much - you can easily file it down to size.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I just ordered a 5 pack from china... i should have some extra nuts now :)





OlarteNovilla said:
i thought Carlo Robelli only makes upright basses. i think thats the same name if im not mistaken.

goodluck with the build. looks like a decent bass to begin with.
Click to expand...


They do now. They apparently made electric ones in the early 2000's




Davidmh said:
Meant to say too, you can steam some of those dings out of the neck.
This doesn't work with chips or gouges, but if the wood has been pushed in (ie by knocks or something being dropped on the wood) it works quite well.

You need an iron - the type you use to press clothes - and a wet towel. Put the wet towel over the ding and apply the hot iron, not enough to burn the twel or scorch the wood, but hot enough to make the towel steam and the wood softer. It will work better if you sand the neck and take the finish off completely.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll try that soon!

And a quick update for everyone. I ordered nuts, and two tone and two volume pots and some capacitors as I broke the PCB (noob mistake :() so Im wiring it as passive. The pickups works good without the pre amp so I should be fine. Also I had to buy a long jack thing and it works well. I'll keep the thread updated as I make progress!
 

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