Framus Triumph Bass restauration project

[sigbass75]

Hi there,

just would like to share this project with you. I received this Framus Triumph upright electric bass a couple of days ago.

It seems to be in ok condition. It has a repaired neck (a pro job), and only minor wear for its age ( seller told me it is supposed to be a 70s built). I would like to find out as much as possible about its origines, so any help is appreciated. I know about the Framus Vintage website, but it gives not too much detailed info.

I will go through a process of checking, restoring, maybe! upgrading some things. But I want to keep it as original as possible.

I am planning on sharing the progress here on TB. If you are interested in it, please feel free to ask any questions or to add info.

Please keep in mind that I have a job and a family, so I don't know how long it will take.

So: this is it:

The bridge is in pieces, most of the parts are vrry rusty and I will start with my rust-be-gone magic wand.

Hope you will enjoy this. Let me know what you think.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Ultrasonic cleaner vats do wonders for this kind of job

 

[sigbass75]

A bit of a progress was made. After an overnight vinegar bath, I cleaned the rusty parts with a set of soft metal brushes, 2000 grade sandpaper and a soft cloth plus a blue metal polish. My dad gave that to me, probably made in the 60s or 70s, most likely arsenic/quicksilver/asbestos-based. But made it nice and shiny

 

[sigbass75]

Last night I put three layers of clear coat on the saddles. To prevent it from flies sticking onto them I put a metal sieve on top of it. Let's see tonight how it turned out.

 

[sigbass75]

I hope tomorrow I will be able to assemble the complete bridge. I cannot wait for a first soundcheck!

 

[sigbass75]

Ultrasonic cleaner vats do wo

Ultrasonic cleaner vats do wonders for this kind of job

That is a good idea, thanks! Right now I don't have access to one, so I had to stick to brushes and polish.

 

[JimmyM]

This is really exciting. Framus made quite good plywood cutaway uprights back in the day. I'll bet this one will smoke once you get it done!

 

[Jazz Ad]

That is a good idea, thanks! Right now I don't have access to one, so I had to stick to brushes and polish.

They used to be very expensive but nowadays you find them for 50 online.

 

[sigbass75]

It took me a while to get back to the project, but now I have made a little bit of progress.

After cleaning and clearcoating the bridge saddles I reassembled them. The chrome base had quite a bit of spots of some sorts on it. This could be dealt with with a soft cloth.

 

[sigbass75]

After that I moved on to the lower part of the bridge. Although I am a friend of patina I am no friend of 50 year old beer and vomit on my instruments, so I hope you understand that I needed to get rid of this mess.

 

[sigbass75]

It turned out quite nice. Again I only had to use a soft cloth to get rid of the dirt and make it shine again.
For the dirt on the body I had to use a damp cloth soaked in some soap water. It also turned out nicely.

 

[sigbass75]

I hope to post pictures of the ressembled parts soon. Next step in the cleaning process will be the pickup.

 

[fretno]

Awesome ! Bring’r back

 

[J Gold]

Tagging @Bruce Johnson in case he was some wizard-like restoration advice!

 

[JimmyM]

Looking great so far!

 

[96tbird]

Hi there,

just would like to share this project with you. I received this Framus Triumph upright electric bass a couple of days ago.

It seems to be in ok condition. It has a repaired neck (a pro job), and only minor wear for its age ( seller told me it is supposed to be a 70s built). I would like to find out as much as possible about its origines, so any help is appreciated. I know about the Framus Vintage website, but it gives not too much detailed info.

I will go through a process of checking, restoring, maybe! upgrading some things. But I want to keep it as original as possible.

I am planning on sharing the progress here on TB. If you are interested in it, please feel free to ask any questions or to add info.

Please keep in mind that I have a job and a family, so I don't know how long it will take.

So: this is it:View attachment 4292021
The bridge is in pieces, most of the parts are vrry rusty and I will start with my rust-be-gone magic wand.

View attachment 4292023
Hope you will enjoy this. Let me know what you think.

Applause!!! Very cool project. They built that and it must be kept alive! Jealous a bit.

 

[JRA]

cool ax! nice job, @sigbass75!

 

[sigbass75]

I hope to post pictures of the ressembled parts soon. Next step in the cleaning process will be the pickup.

Applause!!! Very cool project. They built that and it must be kept alive! Jealous a bit.

Thanks! I had been looking for one for years. They come up now and then, but the prices were out of my range usually ( 2000€ and up are a regular price tag). The seller put it on reverb for 1000, then reduced it to 550€, and that was a price I could afford. I really enjoy restoring things, so this was a perfect fit.

 

[sigbass75]

I finally got around installing the bridge, after a revision and installation of all the parts of the end pin. I think I can do a better cleaning job with it yet. But I just needed to find out how it looked when completely assembled.

 

[sigbass75]

 

[sigbass75]

At this point it is more like a mock up, but it already seems to fit right in with the other guys