MM Copy Modding

[blendermassacre]

So I'm pretty new at this modding thing. I've changed tuners and pickguards before, done some light wiring and one refinish but the task I'm going to undertake, is way beyond that. I have some woodworking experience, but basically no luthier knowledge. I'm going to be doing the following mods to this bass:

1) installing reverse P pup, as well as route out a bit under the pickugard to cut down on some weight
2) reshape the headstock
3) recess the pickguard and the controll plate flush with the body
4) wire VVT
5) refinish body and headstock

along the way I'm going to be giving as well as receiving (hopefully) tips and tricks for someone who hasn't really done much of this sort of thing, and IMO even the littlest things make a difference. The fact of the matter is that I got this bass for $30, so it's the perfect modding ground

Day 1:

started out with a full bass.

this may seem obvious to some, but I used zip top bags to store all of my little bits. I used to use the clear plastic divided boxes, but I quit for two reasons. Firstly, when you put little things in those boxes, remembering where they go 2 months later is a bit of a task. Secondly, if the dividers move up a bit if the box gets moved or bumped, you can end up with all the parts all together, which irritates me.

in taking this bass apart, I use small (eyeglass sized) screwdriver for the tuner screws, pick guard screws and control plate screws, and a big screwdriver for the bridge and neck. I'm notorious for having my hand slip when trying to use a too big and or too small screw driver, so using the right size is important, if you don't want to gouge your bass.

here is the bass apart. the only real issue I had was that the holes through the body that the string ferrules are in were a bit too small on the top of the body to get a flathead screwdriver in there to get out the ferrules. I drilled slightly larger holes to fit the screwdriver in, and they came out easily after that.

one may notice that the nut is still in the neck. I tried to pull out the nut, but it's glued in pretty well, and I want to keep in in tact so that I can use it as a reference, since the bass is set up very well right now

this all took me about 30-40 min. Next step is to reshape the headstock.

 

[scottbass]

That's a lot of work to put into a $30 bass - but don't let me discourage you! The only thought that came to mind as I was reading this was: "I hope you REALLY like the way this bass plays - not necessarily its sound, but rather how the profile of the neck fits your hand, the overall action, etc."

I modded an OLP StingRay copy. It came out sounding (and looking) WAY better than the original, but I still didn't like the neck profile all that much.

 

[JMac- Wiskerface Designs]

Not a bad deal at all, for 30 bucks I would've expected a beat up harmony with two strings and bowed neck. Should be an interesting build. Are you doing away with the MM pickup completely? I did a similar mod/rebuild a while back with an OLP 5'er that looked like it took a trip down a staircase. A refin, touch up the wiring, decent set of tuners, high mass bridge, and a good setup it came out to be a sweet bass. Good luck man.

 

[blendermassacre]

oh man. I love the way this bass feels in my hands, way better than most OLPs I've played.

This bass is perfect for me. I'm a big fan of MM pup placement, but I really hate the preamps that they use. This bass is going to give me exactly what I've wanted: MM/P passive bass. If it was a fiver, It would be perfect

 

[blendermassacre]

Not a bad deal at all, for 30 bucks I would've expected a beat up harmony with two strings and bowed neck. Should be an interesting build. Are you doing away with the MM pickup completely? I did a similar mod/rebuild a while back with an OLP 5'er that looked like it took a trip down a staircase. A refin, touch up the wiring, high mass bridge, and a good setup it came out to be a sweet bass. Good luck man.

it's going to use both pups, P and MM. I'm also going to refin the pup cover to white.

 

[dave-chaulk]

subscribed - I love mods.

 

[A-Step-Towards]

Have you considered turning this into a fiver? This should be sweet!
I'll be watching this and thanks for pics , i hate no pic threads

 

[Stealth]

The bass looks to be in working order, the finish looks fantastic - I can only sit back and watch.

You said you would go with a VVT setup. If you have a multimeter, do a DC resistance check on the P and the MM coils and see what the number are. If it was created close to standard EBMM, you might have to recess the P pickup a bit more to get tonal balance and so the P doesn't overpower the MM too much. What's the original wiring like? I see three pots, but can't figure what all the controls are for.

 

[blendermassacre]

Its currently wired vvt with the single coils on seperate volumes. It single coil hums like none other when I select the coils separately. I need to get a multi meter.

 

[blendermassacre]

As for making it a fiver, I feel like the string spacing would end up way tighter than I would want, which is why I am not making it a 5 string, although the thought crossed my mind.

 

[dave-chaulk]

I was going to say "build a seperate 5-string neck and re-rout", then I realized that that would be a completely different project all together.

 

[blendermassacre]

So today I picked up a ryobi finish sander for $30. Some folks like to heat gun, but I'm apposed. 60 grit sand paper knocked off a bunch of the finish in less than 40 min. I've got some hand sanding to do on the edges and the horns, but overall, the bass is down to where I would primer it.

I sanded the headstock too, as it will be painted to match, in 3 or 4 min.

Along these lines, what to you guys recommend as far as where to stop on the headstock? The face? the edges? front and back?


also, the $10 p pup came from evilbay.

Question: what diameter drill bit do you guys use to drill for wiring from the pickup route to the control cavity?

also, I need a pattern bit, and I'm open to any recomendations on brand / type. My router has a 1/4" collett, fyi.

 

[blendermassacre]

Also found some time to reshape the headstock. Looks way better IMO

Before:

and after:

musicman headstock for reference:

I'm not sure I'm done shaping the end of it yet. I'm thinking of making it a bit more round. Very quick work with the jigsaw and some big clamps.

 

[Bocete]

The lower curve, below the text MusicMan StingRay, is much more subtle on your current headstock than on SRs. Also, the end of a SRs headstock is much rounder than yours. Apart from those two things, your new headstock really says StingRay. How about making it a 3+1?

 

[blendermassacre]

I thought about 3 +1, but the headstock isn't wide enough imo. Honestly I schetched out the lines to cut the headstock without looking at a musicman headstock. I just kind of ished it because of it not being 3 + 1. I just put up the picture for reference. I'm really happy with the lower bout of the headstock but the end may see some changes before paint.

 

[A-Step-Towards]

I like the headstock , a little more of a round on the tip may or may not be better , i think its fine as is tho.

 

[Evil Undead]

I'm just about to undertake my very first mod - on a £20 Encore guitar (sorry for swearing) I found on ebay
New paint job, new pickup, and possibly installing a FR trem

Subscribed for some help along the way!!!!

 

[Floridabwoy]

ah.... Dragonfire's eh? I have a set of Ibanez Super P-4's from the early 80's that I would sell you for $45 shipped. They are KILLER pickups.

 

[blendermassacre]

I laid out the patterns on the body that needed to be routed today, as well as opened up the control cavity a bit. Going to make routing patterns this week

 

[A-Step-Towards]

You still working on this?