Hot-Rodded Cheapo (GSR205 content...)

[Oig]

It started out, innocently enough, as this...

...a stock GSR205. It was ok, but the string spacing was on the narrow side, it was a bit short on sustain and it suffered from neck/dive. A high mass bridge was ordered in short order.

Problem solved. Better spacing, (far) better sound and no more neck dive. And that’s how it stayed for a bit....

 

[Ghook]

Sweet and simple, excellent

 

[Oig]

...but then the A-String tuner started crapping out, so I ordered a replacement set of tuners here on Talkbass (from a Yamaha!) and I figured that while I was at it I’d order the Duncan Blackouts preamp I’d been eyeing. And then figured that I may as well design a pickguard for it ‘cause I wasn’t crazy about the bland college metal looks (completely forgetting what a righteous pain in the butt it can be to hand cut a decent pickguard). First draft yielded this:

Which I proceeded to fashion out of an old Esquire pickguard...

Until a happy accident with the Dremel (I gouged it while cutting the pickup rout) forced a redesign, and I ended up with this:

Still rough and far from perfect, but you get the idea. It’ll look something like this:

Which is much betters if you ask me. The pickguard needs final shaping and a drop-fill repair for a smaller Dremel gouge ($#I+!!!). Still to come, preamp and tuner install and Jazz Bass knobs....

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I was thinking the “first draft” would look better with a curve to that straight area below / behind the pickup and there it was! Looks good.

 

[Oig]

I was thinking the “first draft” would look better with a curve to that straight area below / behind the pickup and there it was! Looks good.

Thanks!

 

[Oig]

Sweet and simple, excellent

Thanks!

 

[rudy4444]

What's a "GSR205"?

 

[Riff Ranger]

When you’re done, there’s a thread for this. Coming along nicely!

 

[Cage]

What's a "GSR205"?

I'm with you what is a GSR205?

 

[Baa]

I'm with you what is a GSR205?

It's the model name for a low budget Ibanez bass.

 

[Ghook]

The revised pickguard looks great, very minimalist. Don't know why but it makes me think of a "Carbronita"? I suspect it's due to losing the bottom of the P/G . ... great accident lol. Be curious how it would look removing all the Guard except from the G down , actual Carbronita style?

 

[spvmhc]

Can you please provide the name of the bridge you chose to replace the original?

 

[Oig]

Can you please provide the name of the bridge you chose to replace the original?

Sung-Il BB105, 17mm spacing. They’re the same factory that makes the Wilkinson stuff IIRC, and I’ve had nothing but good experiences with their stuff. The only issue with this bridge was getting the medium/heavy gauge B string to fit (135 I think). It took a little wiggling but it’s all good now.

Spacing is up 2mm from the original Ibanez 15mm, made a big difference in how it feels to play.

 

[Oig]

So these arrived. They’re from a Yamaha Attitude 5 bass, and I really wasn’t sure when I ordered them that they’d be much of an actual improvement. I needn’t have worried. They look and feel much more solidly built. I think they might actually be Gotoh’s...

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Nicely done. The Ibanez sub-500 series have such good overall build quality in the body and neck that they make great upgrade platforms. Dig the pickguard shape.

 

[two fingers]

Looks great! And the "specs" seem plausibly nice.

How does it play and sound? That's the real test!

 

[Five String]

Looks slick. The pickup placement is interesting, both closer to the neck that the traditional jazz.

 

[Oig]

Looks great! And the "specs" seem plausibly nice.

How does it play and sound? That's the real test!

It plays great! I’ll let you know how it sounds once the preamp is installed. I decided to go that rout because the pickups are ok, and rather than replace them, I figured the Blackouts pre could add the missing X-factor for half to a third of the cost of new pickups.

Plausibly nice is exactly what I’m shooting for - trying to get maximum bang for the buck on a super tight budget, lol. Specs and costs are as follows...

Bass: $0!
High mass bridge: $19
Yamaha Tuners: $20
SD Blackouts Pre: $51
Knobs: $8

The guard had been lying around for years, so let’s call it free. I may replace the volume pots with full size CTS pots if space in the control cavity permits. Those were also lying around, so let’s call them free too

I’m hoping to get a thoroughly gigable 5 banger out of this experiment for a hair under $80, haha. Not that I’m shooting for the stars or anything.

 

[Oig]

The revised pickguard looks great, very minimalist. Don't know why but it makes me think of a "Carbronita"? I suspect it's due to losing the bottom of the P/G . ... great accident lol. Be curious how it would look removing all the Guard except from the G down , actual Carbronita style?

Thanks! I had thought about that, but figured it’d be too small in the end.

 

[Gt6s]

I have the same bass. Best mod was to rip out the Phat 2 replaced by el cheapo Chinese 3 band. Have a set of Gotoh tuners still to be fitted as the OE ones are junk. BUT WANT ONE OF THOSE BRIDGES