OK I'm on a roll, got a couple of beers next to me, it's teatime soon but I reckon I got 1/2 an hour.
The infamous RB-414. I alluded to this in the post above. This guitar cost me an arm and a leg to do up. Well it was a few years ago when I was a bit more naive and having been on here, I got the bug, that heady feeling I can make a cheap guitar into a great guitar out of nothing but bolt on bits. This project turned out to be one of my first and most expensive. I'm not gonna lie, I actually think this guitar sounds awesome - I've never played a real rick but I reckon it'd get closer that a Chinabacker and sounds a lot better than the stock HB. Is it worth it, to me yes, this was the modding platform that went out of control but without asking questions on here in that journey I would still be ignorant.
Anyway here's the guitar..
I started off with the Schallers. £95
The horrible bridge had to go so I got the Hipshot Rick Replacement I saw on Ebay from a guy in LA, I think £140.
The bridge was made for a Rick, the HB's neck was slightly higher that the Rick, so I bought some 3mm ally plate and made my own shim to lift the bridge. £15 off amazon, and a day later...
I also had issues with the saddle screws as the Hipshot grub screws we're still not giving me the height I needed to fully stop the buzz, contacting Hipshot they gave me the imperial sizes, very rare in the UK so a pack of 10 slightly longer screws cost me £10.
Then - electrics. I must've bought about10 CTS pots over a period, getting confused with linear and log, and 250k and 500k. Sprague cap, S/Craft Switch and Jack socket.
So we're onto pickups. Well I'm now going the whole kaboodle. I didn't like the stock bridge pickup just too weak and I got the Retrovibe "Slim Jim" drop in Rick replacement and that really bought out the sound. £75
The stock neck pup was an Artec and I have to be honest I really liked this pickup, however being a newb I wondered if a Filtertron type would work better?
Here we go, not a proper Gretsch but a Roswell which I have immense respect for for quality and budget. This did add a completely different complexion to the sound though, I really like it but it's not for everyone. £40
Well, at that stage I think I've cracked it, however this bass is wired like a Gibson, not like a Rick. If you switch the selector into both pickups turning down any pickup will kill the signal on both pickups. So.. Asked on here again and a really kind guy
@HHudson - I fear something has happened to him , I lost contact with him Xmas 2023, but he took me through the wiring on PM's, burned out a few pots with my crap soldering skills, bought more until finally Xmas Eve 2023. This guitar was where I wanted it to be.
There was some fret sprout and the plastic nut broke off at the E string, so I took it to a local luthier to fix the nut and level, file and crown. He replaced the nut with a Graphtec.£100.
I can do all of this now I'm older and wiser.
But the journey has been fun and I've learned so much. And yes I don't think I'd get any of my money back if I was to sell it - and I won't be doing that - but what I've learned over the last few years has been priceless.
I guess most people just coveted what they couldn’t easily have while trade in rosewood was more restricted more recently and it still doesn’t feel ordinary. You do have a lovely piece on that one 
- Osmo Oil mate.
