My first Mod: Rickenbacker copy bass

[Tom0Blam0]

I just wanted to document my progress on a bass I bought in high school from a pawn shop for about $150. I don't know much about it's origins (what brand of copy it is). It originally came with some DiMarzio p-bass pickup in the neck position and the original pickup in the bridge position (it didn't work, unfortunately). It also had the bridge replaced with a Badsss II Bridge which I promptly took off and put on my jazz bass. I had also painted it at one point with auto paint and removed it shortly thereafter, but that is why there is blue all over the body. The pickguard is some cheap plywood I got at an arts and crafts store that I stained.

A few years ago I ripped out all of the frets to make it a fretless. I went the Jaco route, popped the frets out (with all the finesse of a gorilla) and filled the slots with wood putty. I tried to epoxy the neck and it did not turn out well, so I scrapped it all off. I also replaced both pickups. The bridge is a jazz pick up (i'm not sure the brand) and the is a seymour duncan p-bass pickup.

Here is my plan for this old girl. First, I'm going to sand the whole thing down so I can refinish it with either Tung Oil or Tru-Oil (open to thoughts ). Next, I'm going to focus on the neck as there are some areas that need some TLC before I try my hand at putting on an epoxy (the System 3 Mirror epoxy) to get a smooth glassy finish.

After getting the body ready to go, I plan on replacing the pickups with Rickenbacker pickups or rick replacements. I have a hi gain pup for the neck that I bought from Rickenbacker directly. I will likely use the seymour duncan bridge pup to replace the j-pup currently in there. I'm replacing the fender bridge with a Hipshot bridge and the pickguard with a black rick pickguard from allparts. I'm also going to buy the black pickup plate cover from these guys ([Invalid or Expired Link Removed]) to finish it up. I'd like make a replacement trussrod cover, but I'm not certain what I want shape I want. I'm also thinking about replacing the tuning keys (the ones on it currently are fine but it might be cool to change it up if I have the cash).

I'll keep posting updates as I go along and I'm happy to take any suggestions, tips, or the like. Cheers!

 

[Flad]

That looks like a fun project. I hope it turns out well. Do I see two truss rods? That's a little unusual for a copy...if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing.

 

[ThaCoast]

+1 cause i see them too. Looking good. Can't wait for the end result.

 

[Tom0Blam0]

yeah, it has the dual truss rods. I've read that there are a few rick copies that have the dual truss rod, but I have no idea who made this bass.

I'm thinking of finishing the fretboard with either tung oil or epoxy. I'm planning on using tapewound strings, so I don't anticipate too much damage to the fretboard coming form the strings. Any thought will be appreciated!

Pics of the sanded bass to come soon.

 

[joseplluissans]

Is there a cavity under the bridge?

 

[Flad]

I have a Univox Fakenbacker that I absolutely love, it was my 19th b-day present from my folks in 1990 and my first electric bass. My Univox does not have the dual truss rods, I've had a guy on reddit tell me his univox did (thought I really doubt it) maybe the guys over in the "fakenbacker" thread can help to identify one? I have no idea if Ibanez did the dual truss rod in their copies, whatever this one is, it must be a better made copy to have the dual trusses....least you'd think so anyway.

 

[Tom0Blam0]

Yes, there is a cavity under the bridge. As you can see, the guy who owned it before me used some plastic peice to fill the gap and glued it in there. There was some kind of paper underneath the plastic so I'm going to have to figure out how to get all of that crap out of there (any thoughts?)

The cavity doesn't look like other rick cavities i've seen and I have no idea what the original tailpiece looked like.

 

[Tom0Blam0]

Just an update. I am almost finished sanding the body before I make my way to the neck. I will post more pictures as I get more done.

 

[Ric5]

Good job so far ...

 

[Pentatonic]

Looking good!

 

[mapleglo]

Looks great! I love me some Mapleglo

 

[Ronbeast]

Looking good! I love mapleglo basses. Keep the updates coming!

 

[Tom0Blam0]

Sorry for the delay. My wife and I are moving so I haven't had as much time to work as I'd like. I'm still sanding off the finish and I'm having a bit of trouble in some areas. Specifically, where the horns meet the neck is particularly difficult to sand. Any tips would be appreciated!

I am also working on the fretboard now to good effect so far. I'd like to sooth the side of the fretboard because they've become somewhat sharp after sanding. I'm hoping to move on to finishing up all the sanding and adding a tung oil finish, but I'm not sure if i've completely removed the finish everywhere. I'll keep the pictures and updates coming!

 

[chuck norriss]

cool good luck

 

[Flad]

I would try wrapping some sand paper around a small block of wood that fits in the spots your fingers wont. Also just folding the paper several times will sometimes make it stiff enough to work with without any backing, though this method will likely take longer since it's harder to apply a meaningful amount of pressure. Good luck getting settled into the new diggs.

 

[Tom0Blam0]

Here are some other pictures.

 

[Tom0Blam0]

I don't know if you can tell in the pictures, but the previous owner routed the path from pickup to controls and it eats into the body quite a bit so I have to be careful how I set the pickguard.

Does anyone have any resources or links to filling the old drill holes on the body? I've heard of people using dowels but I'm hoping to get a more thorough explanation so I don't screw it up

 

[ThaCoast]

Does anyone have any resources or links to filling the old drill holes on the body? I've heard of people using dowels but I'm hoping to get a more thorough explanation so I don't screw it up

Toothpicks are what most people use. Just add a dab of glue to each toothpick and insert them in the pickguard holes. Then you can align the pickguard on the body properly without showing any cavity and then use a punch or something with a point like a thumbtack, to mark the holes placement. Then use a drill and a bit relatively smaller in diameter than the screws you'll be using to attach the pickguard down to the body. And voila, your pickguard is on and there are no excess holes underneth other than the ones for the guard. Hope that helped.

 

[Tom0Blam0]

Toothpicks are what most people use. Just add a dab of glue to each toothpick and insert them in the pickguard holes. Then you can align the pickguard on the body properly without showing any cavity and then use a punch or something with a point like a thumbtack, to mark the holes placement. Then use a drill and a bit relatively smaller in diameter than the screws you'll be using to attach the pickguard down to the body. And voila, your pickguard is on and there are no excess holes underneth other than the ones for the guard. Hope that helped.

That sounds do-able. Thanks!

 

[Tom0Blam0]

I am about to attach the nut to the bass (this nut here: http://boutique.rickenbacker.com/NUT-316-BASS-BAKELITE-BLACK_p_563.html) and I'm not sure what the best type of adhesive to use is. I've looked around some forums without much success. Also, Should I attach the nut before or after I apply tung oil?