My new old Slammer CP4 for restoration :)

[mangtas]

Hello TBers, just want to post my new old cheap Slammer by Hamer CP4 SB Bass, bought for around $75.00, I think its a keeper mainly because of the cool sunburst finish and the aged pickguard I luv the roadworn feel..., I have little info on this bass, reading from other forums and threads was also little to be had. Mainly they say this bass is mediocre.

I will be restoring this one as a project in futility so any thoughts on this one?

A little history:

I cant date this one exactly because the sticker serial number on the neckplate already came off ages ago i presume but reading an article about the history of Hamer guitars at vintageguitars.com gave me a hint that it was built around 1998 because of the Slammer Logo being already italic and not the block type like Hamer's...anyways, the sound is, as far as i can tell, still great. It has more bottom, growl and sustain than my other cheap bass an Ibanez GSR200 as far as I can tell even with the rusted/dead strings it came with. The fretboard is full of gunk, the bridge and pups all rusted and the pots flimsy at best and the strap holders are loose. Anyways, here are some pics of its condition:

Any feedback/tips would be much appreciated

Wish me luck.....

 

[Revolver Ocelot]

I have the same bass in black. My brothers friend gave it to him and my brother virtually destroyed the electronics. So then I kind of took ownership of it, put in new pickups, eq, pickguard, and tuners. Still needs a new bridge though, and a good set up. Good luck!

 

[mangtas]

I have the same bass in black. My brothers friend gave it to him and my brother virtually destroyed the electronics. So then I kind of took ownership of it, put in new pickups, eq, pickguard, and tuners. Still needs a new bridge though, and a good set up. Good luck!

yah, needs new pots and some good brushing/cleaning ,,,any cleaning solution/degreaser u can recommend? or tips

 

[A-Step-Towards]

I use a old tooth brush and windex to clean a rosewood board and then once its clean I soak the board with lemon oil. You can use windex to clean most of it, some light 0000 steel wool on the chrome etc.

Are you replacing lots of the parts or just generally cleaning it up?

 

[mangtas]

I use a old tooth brush and windex to clean a rosewood board and then once its clean I soak the board with lemon oil. You can use windex to clean most of it, some light 0000 steel wool on the chrome etc.

Are you replacing lots of the parts or just generally cleaning it up?

tnx for the heads up man very useful as for d pots definitely gonna be replaced (i guess ill have to learn how to solder things soon ) and the strap holders need to be secure, dont know how just yet. maybe filling the cavity up w/woodglue or wood putty?..

 

[A-Step-Towards]

Are the strap button holes like stripped out to where you cant just tighten the with a screw driver? I have heard of people removing the strap button and putting a few tooth picks , wood ones, in the hole broken in half and then re-tightening and if the hole isnt to stripped out this gives the screw something to bit into.

If the holes are really messed up you would want to glue in wood dowels and redrilled the holes.

The good thing is a P bass is pretty simple to work on, there are lots of wiring diagrams you can view in the electronics forum to figure it out.

 

[E.J. T.N.T.]

I use a old tooth brush and windex to clean a rosewood board and then once its clean I soak the board with lemon oil. You can use windex to clean most of it, some light 0000 steel wool on the chrome etc.

Are you replacing lots of the parts or just generally cleaning it up?

I am not sure about the windex but for me the lemon oil on the board and the steel wool on the chrome are NO-NOs.

I would suggest:
Toothbrush and simple green for your board. Brush-wipe-repeat until there is no more gunk on your wipes. Once done, oil your fingerboard with some linseed oil. A few drops should be ok. Rub them in and then wipe off. My guess is that your board will suck those in seconds.

Toothbrush and simple green for your bridge as well. Wipe it, or if you have a blower, or blow dryer blow the water away.

For any rusty parts (not pickups) get some w40 let it sit for a couple of minutes and then wipe.

For all finished wood surfaces you can either use lighter fluid. You clould also use furniture polish without silicone, provided the finish is not nitro.

You can have a look here on how to do all of the above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK6gqLk2n1M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoGoiL6Jy-o

 

[A-Step-Towards]

I am not sure about the windex but for me the lemon oil on the board and the steel wool on the chrome are NO-NOs.

I would suggest:
Toothbrush and simple green for your board. Brush-wipe-repeat until there is no more gunk on your wipes. Once done, oil your fingerboard with some linseed oil. A few drops should be ok. Rub them in and then wipe off. My guess is that your board will suck those in seconds.

Toothbrush and simple green for your bridge as well. Wipe it, or if you have a blower, or blow dryer blow the water away.

For any rusty parts (not pickups) get some w40 let it sit for a couple of minutes and then wipe.

For all finished wood surfaces you can either use lighter fluid. You clould also use furniture polish without silicone, provided the finish is not nitro.

You can have a look here on how to do all of the above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK6gqLk2n1M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoGoiL6Jy-o

There are various grades of steel wool , i said 0000 that is the finest grade and you're right I wouldnt use it on a vintage bass worth anything, this is a old P copy worth maybe 50 bucks if that, it has some rusty china chrome. Anything steel wool does to it will be a improvement.

I use lemon oil often, good enough for furniture good enough for my boards.

Linseed oil is good as well

 

[E.J. T.N.T.]

There are various grades of steel wool , i said 0000 that is the finest grade and you're right I wouldnt use it on a vintage bass worth anything, this is a old P copy worth maybe 50 bucks if that, it has some rusty china chrome. Anything steel wool does to it will be a improvement.

I use lemon oil often, good enough for furniture good enough for my boards.

Linseed oil is good as well

From experience the lemon oil dunlop product leaves the fretboard really dry because it seems to evaporate.

Just because it is a cheap bass with cheap hardware doesn't mean we should give the OP this sort of advice. What if he buys an expensive day someday and then tries to clean up the hardware with steel wool? I know, very hypothetical questions, but it is important to get things right the first time.

 

[mangtas]

Tnx for all ur replies it really helps a lot....much appreciated to all of u

 

[mangtas]

well, just an update...got my initial cleaning going yesterday and after I removed the neck and exposed the neck pocket i was a little shocked that the wood of the body make was laminated/plywood from the looks of it, I get what I paid for I guess--->

From the Slammer Guitars website it says the CP4 has a Hardwood body make. I guess it means hard plywood?

I still cant believe the tone I can get w/this bass was fuller sounding than my Ibanez w/an agathis body. I quickly searched in the forums about plywood bodies and its not exactly all that negative. Its just a hit or miss thing. Any thoughts on laminated/plywood bodies?

 

[mangtas]

just an update, this is in relation to my previous post upon discovering the used bass I bought was actually plywood. I was rummaging thru my office drawer and saw something familiar--->

OMG, my bass and my office table are somehow related ***

 

[mangtas]

Well, I finally found the time to clean the bass up over the weekend.

Here are some pics and some processes I did for those interested. Its my first time :

-dismantling the hardware, cleaned the bridge and rusted parts out w/ WD40

-took a picture of the wiring diagram for reference

-remove the stickers on the pickguard and cleaning it up, the hardest part being taking out 2 rusted, stripped out screws by drilling out there heads until they gave in

-cleaning the fretboards with a "multi-surface cleaner" because i am a cheapskate. simple green cost an arm in my part of town here and sold by the liter w/c was way too much. i hope i wont do any future damage to the board tho. but it sure looks clean enuff to me. soaked it up and wipe it down with mineral oil after cleaning, couldnt find any linseed oil.

-cleaned out the headstock as well w/the same cleaner and the tuning pegs w/ WD40 after dismantling it.

-bought some new A500k pots and soldered it up

-only to find out i soldered it wrong because after testing it the volume meter was upside down/or soft to loud counterclockwise hehehehe....

-a pic of the clean fretboard again

-the final output. put some spare string set someone gave to me back in 2006 and never used it so i was lucky to have one. A GHS Fatties Nickel Wound but too twangy for my taste or was it because its still new. (so some post bashing GHS strings, but i wont complain coz i got it free). replaced also the pot heads from plastic to steel black w/c was cool.

heres a pic w/my other bass an also cheap Ibby GSR:

w/c made me clean the Ibby out to, kinda the same process above sans pot and wire soldering tho. heheheeh:

after all the cleaning i had to make some adjustments to the intonation/action on both. Thats about it, a learning and rewarding experience.....