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How to make your Bass look worn?????

#64
Mr. Ray said:
I could hardly read that the font was so small. :D


As my mother use to say there is no excuse for bad manners..so we really shouldn't call anybody stupid or silly for wanting a relic. But you do have to agree that the Musicman Bongo is shaped liked a toilet seat. :hmm: People use comparisons describing guitar shapes all the time..some examples:
1.) Dean "Shrimp Fork" Headstock
2.) Rickenbacker "Crest-shaped" Headstock
3.) National "Map" shaped guitars
Etc.
I am sure TBer's can come up with a whole lot more.
Click to expand...

Descriptive is one thing; mocking is another.
 
#68
I'll help the OP.

1 - Take all hardware out and place it in a bag with rusty screws and nails. Shake vigorously for a few minutes.

2 - Dump the hardware in muriatic acid for 20 minutes, rinse and let air dry... Don't mess with the pickups...

3 - Quickly run a sandpaper #1000 throughout the body and neck. Grab a #300 and pay special attention to areas like where your forearm or thumb rests in the body and the middle of the neck...

4 - Grab a knife and a burning cigarette and do dings, marks and few burns here and there.

5 - Bury body and neck in your backyard for a week.

6 - Put it all together. Make sure the strings mark the body when re-stringing the bass.
 
#72
How to make a road worn bass ...

1 Buy the bass.
2 Give it to an eager young musician who will play it all the time.
3 After he beats it up then get it back.

That's a win win ... young players get a nice bass and they do all the road worn work for you.
 
#73
Most of this stuff I see is not really worn.. looks fake.

I'd be collecting pix of basses to see where they wear etc...

I know this is a bit different than you were asking... I'd think a Highway One and then let nature run it's course...

A guitarist I play with has a custom shop nitrofinish in white (tele) it is worn in ways that no "relic" would do.. discoloring etc.
 
#74
I think my '71 Jazz bass is in pretty good shape, but it does have a bare spot worn through to the wood under the right forearm (I'm right-handed) and its' share of dings and paint swirls, as well as rusty screws, dirty bridge, patina'd tuners, buckle rash, and bare wood showing on the side of the neck. But it is 38 years old and I used to play it a lot, so I guess it is naturally reliced.

But that's not what gets me. I don't care if the bass is beat-up or not. I have some newer basses that are starting to look worn, and my Sterling looks almost new. If you want a bass to stay new-looking, take care of it. If you don't care, that's also a valid decision, I think.

What gets me is this: If I order a Custom Shop reliced '70's Jazz bass from Fender, they will charge me twice what my real, actual, no-phony-baloney, naturally-reliced '71 Jazz is worth. What's up wit' dat?
 
#75
Stanley Design said:
If you got a buddy who works in a restaurant, you could ask him to stash your bass on top of the deep fryer filters, I'm sure that'll give it that smoked on tint.
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ROFLMAO!!
That's hilarious!
Actually, that wouldn't really work though. Have you ever looked up there?
All that would do would be to cover the bass in grease and fuzz. Then he'd have the stickiest, hairiest bass in all bassdome (well, except for that fuzzy one that ZZ Top used in the 80's) :D

That'd be one crazy a** look for a bass though!

Then he could do a really kickin' cover of D'Angelo "Chicken Grease"

HA! I kill me!
 
#76
Maybe go "on the road" for that "road worn" look. Maybe get an artist signature deal like the guys above whom you've posted pics of. Following the logic here, shouldn't Billy and Eddie get to play their new instruments too? I think you've hurt my feelings. I may have to change my look to Emo.
 
#77
allexcosta said:
I'll help the OP.

1 - Take all hardware out and place it in a bag with rusty screws and nails. Shake vigorously for a few minutes.

2 - Dump the hardware in muriatic acid for 20 minutes, rinse and let air dry... Don't mess with the pickups...

3 - Quickly run a sandpaper #1000 throughout the body and neck. Grab a #300 and pay special attention to areas like where your forearm or thumb rests in the body and the middle of the neck...

4 - Grab a knife and a burning cigarette and do dings, marks and few burns here and there.

5 - Bury body and neck in your backyard for a week.

6 - Put it all together. Make sure the strings mark the body when re-stringing the bass.
Click to expand...

Does that actually look realistic or like backyard trash?
 

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