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(MANY PICS) The evolution of the Squier P

E

EarlSandwich

Nov 13, 2007
32
0
#1
My first bass was/is a Squier P, covered in stickers when I got it (sorry, no pictures from then, I thought it was too horrendous to document) A bit after I upgraded to my MIM jazz, I toyed with the idea of modifying it, so I decided to pull the frets.
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Filled the holes with wood putty, and of course, being a Jaco fan, I wanted to live the epoxy experience:
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A year or so later (about a month ago), I decided I still wasn't satisfied with it, so I decided to take the modding to a whole new level: a bridge pickup! (Dimarzio P/J)
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Now for some paint:
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Not satisfied with just orange, I decided to do a red/orange burst:
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and here it is today, mostly assembled except for the electronics:
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Not a great pic of it^
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thoughts?
 
#3
I forgot to mention that this is my first paint job.
I also did some alligator clip sound testing, and it sounds great. Does anyone have any suggestions for controls (what, where, and how) with minimal or no drilling?
 
#6
Thanks Jared!

Gregg: The fret pullers and the pickups were the most expensive, about 40 for the pullers, as they had to be ground flush and 100 for the pickups. The epoxy for the neck was probably about 15 and the paint was probably about 12. Overall, I'd say I paid as much for mods as I did for the bass itself, about $150
 
#8
EarlSandwich said:
Gregg: The fret pullers and the pickups were the most expensive, about 40 for the pullers, as they had to be ground flush and 100 for the pickups. The epoxy for the neck was probably about 15 and the paint was probably about 12. Overall, I'd say I paid as much for mods as I did for the bass itself, about $150
Click to expand...

I have a Squire J bass I was thinking about modding. I am not going to pull the frets, but I was going replace the pups. If I find a Badass bridge on ebay for cheap... that may go on too.

Consider adding a long post of "lessons learned" when modding your bass. This worked and that didn't and why.

Thanks for posting your work. It has planted a few ideas for me. :ninja:
 
#11
Some of my lessons learned are:
1. something's masking the paint, you don't know what or where it is, but something is
2. some paint is a solvent for itself, BE CAREFUL WHEN WIPING IT
3. don't overdo it
4. a chisel is a valuable tool, don't underestimate it's power

That's all for now.
And regarding the orange peel, I don't really mind it too much, and I'd rather spend my time playing it than being finicky. As for the clearcoat, it's a well-known mojo-blocker.

Once my radius sanding block arrives, however, I will give the fingerboard a consistent radius, rather than the somewhat-random sanding it has now.
 
#18
newfuture said:
What wisdom can you impart about the epoxy?

I've got a defretted aria that in need of a more durable surface than rosewood.

Great job!
Click to expand...

Don't do it like I did unless you have a sanding block. It's an awful way to do it, but "Jaco did it that way" so I had to as well... I built a tape barrier around the edge using blue masking tape (don't use this, epoxy leaks through, use some plastic tape instead). I haven't personally done this, but I'd recommend masking off the neck except for the fingerboard, and using a sponge brush to do multiple coats. This will require way less sanding, and probably less radiusing as well.
 
#19
69nites said:
if you're not into drilling and like controls you can do stacked volume/tone and keep the jack on the front
Click to expand...

Depending on the sort of sound you're after, there's a number of things you could do. The P-style Frankenbass I'm fooling around with right now will probably keep the volume where it is, and then get an Aguilar 2-band like this one: Invalid Link Removed , which would mean either adding one more pot or setting them up as a stack. With this thread's bass, you could do a stacked volume/volume and then stacked bass/treble arrangement with one of these, too.
 

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