NBD, maybe? Advice needed!

[jholling]

I have been on the lookout for a new project and I love medium scale basses. So, when I stumbled on a Yamaha Motion B at a pawn shop, I was thrilled. However, there is something weird going on and I need your help. Take a look at this nut job!

My best guess is that the previous owner broke the nut and instead of taking to someone or buying one off of the internet, he tried to fashion a new nut out of bondo or plumber’s putty or something. Has anyone seen anything like this before? What the heck is going on?

The pros: it is not super hard. It is mostly rigid, but still a little spongy. I can slide my finger nail between the material and the finger board. The action is ridiculously high, but I think that is due to the height of this makeshift nut. Also, the bridge is adjusted super high, so I think I can get it down. Another symptom of the string height is that the output is pretty low. I can use that to my advantage in negotiation.

The neck appears to be pretty straight. The truss rod adjustment is at the heel, and appears to be functioning. Everything “works” electronically and mechanically. The body appears to be in pretty good shape, all things considered.

The cons: I can’t tell what is going on under the bondo. Also, some of the material smudged onto the back of the headstock, so I would have to work to get that off. I am expecting to find a broken nut, but I don’t know if I can get this stuff off of there without doing more damage.

I think I can talk them down. The sticker says $350, but the manager already offered it to me for $169. I am thinking I can get it down to $150 pretty easily. They know they probably shouldn’t have taken this thing in, but I really want to save this poor thing from the scrap heap. Is this a gamble worth taking? Any advice on how to get this stupid makeshift nut off of here?

TIA

 

[Gopherbassist]

Has anyone seen anything like this before? What the heck is going on?

M E T H
E
T
H

 

[NitroBobby]

if you are looking for a project, i'd say you found one.
if you can get it down to $150 or lower, maybe take a chance. could just be a new nut and a good set up away from a sweet medium scale bass. or...it could be a total train wreck under there. but if the price is right, take a chance and see. keep us posted, i'm curious as to what lies beneath the bondo nut.

kgb

 

[Discount Bassy]

JB Weld is a heck of a drug.

 

[J Wilson]

IF the rest of the bass is solid (decent frets, pickups/electronics solid, tuning keys, neck relief), I'd roll the dice.

My real concern is what's UNDER that glop. I'd take it to a first class guitar tech for removal and fabbing a new nut, not a project I'd want to deal with

 

[Stranger Danger]

Yeah I’d offer $50 or walk away

 

[sunbeast]

Definitely a pawnshop special! I've been pretty successful in the past talking down prices on beaters at pawnshops, and some have turned out to be great instruments after some elbow grease. Is this a Japanese model? If so then $150 would probably be worth the risk if everything else looks legit, if its a Taiwanese model then I'd try $100

 

[TheReceder]

I wouldn't go any higher than $100.
I enjoy the challenge of fixing things like that, but I wouldn't want to lose money in the end.

 

[Element Zero]

Yeah I’d offer $50 or walk away

 

[DrBnz]

Oh yeah .... this could be fun .... do it. It'll take a little finesse work to get that bondo it off. Get a new nut for it. Clean up the back (smudges). I think its very do-able..... but you need to go slow and don't use any caveman tools on it. Be patient..... it I couldn't pry it off easily, I'd take a dremel to it and slowly whittle it down until I was within a few thousands of the base material.... goggles / mask required. Its likely bad to breath and chunks may break off and fly easily. I bet it doesn't take much really. Turn off the dremel as you get down close to the parent material and sand or pick it off by hand so as to not damage the material underneath.

Now tell us what ya got - we're dying to see it.

 

[Micha84]

Yeah I’d offer $50 or walk away

I was thinking the same. There are instruments on the market that work just fine and cost a 100 bucks new. This thing is, in its current state, unplayable. And, while there's no doubt this can be a good instrument, it is still a Yamaha and not a vintage Fender or something. So you need to ask yourself how much money and effort this is going to be worth.

 

[TeaTime]

I've been irritated all week because I carved a nut slot like 1/2 of 1 mm off center. This wonder really sets a new standard!

 

[RattleSnack]

Most probably it only needs careful removal of that horrible nut-like mess, and a new nut. But there is a chance that the beginning of fretboard is damaged, in that case it could be tricky to fix.
So, if I really liked that bass, for a right price I would buy it and try to fix it myself.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

No wonder the action is high. That so-called "nut" is INSANELY high.

If you know what you're doing you should be able to remove all that nasty stuff, pull the (presumably) broken nut underneath it and make a new nut. You probably won't be able to do it without slightly damaging the finish though. The fretboard can just be sanded and oiled. The neck will probably need a spray of black + gloss clear coat. At least if you want it too look nice. The good news is that with most colors you would probably have needed to re-finish at least the entire neck to make it look nice. With black you might just get away with a quick spray of black + clear coat around the headstock joint and polish to a shine. It won't be perfect, but probably good enough.

However, when someone has done something like this to their instrument it makes me wonder what else they have done, or how they have treated the bass in general. Personally I would probably give it a miss. There too much potential work/risk. I mean, MAYBE there's a reason why they did this instead of making a new nut. For example if the wood around the nut has been damaged. Then you would be looking at a considerably more complicated repair that would probably need a skilled luthier (and probably not be worth the cost).

If you have inspected the instrument closely, can get it for $150 and have the skills to do all the work yourself.... then MAYBE it can be a good deal. But you won't know for certain until you see the condition of the wood under all that mess. If the groove/slot for the nut isn't intact you could be looking at a repair job that could cost 3x - 4x as much as what you pay for the bass itself. Unless you have the woodworking skills to do it yourself of course.

Then again, maybe it's just a matter of removing the gunk and installing a new nut. Impossible to say until you know what's under there.

 

[five7]

They should pay you $50 to take it.

 

[jholling]

I figured out this particular pawn shop’s pricing code a while back. I know that they have $85 in it (which is pretty silly that they gave the person that much). I am going to go offer them $85 just to let them save face. I will report back what happens today.

 

[Bassdirty]

I wonder why they built the "Bondo Nut" up so high.

They made the slots for the string to go through, (and clearly raised the action), why not keep filing until action was.. a 'little' closer.

Does everything else seem normal if you (can) play a note on the 1st or 2nd fret?


Seems very strange that they'd build it up, and NOT file it down before filing the slots..

 

[fnp5150]

Definitely a nut job alright.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Looks like a lot of damage there, may make for a huge challenge.
I would bet the intonation on this is way off, really ugly and non-defined front edge.
Don't know why it's so wide, they took out a lot of wood, it should be a normal nut width.
Not impossible though, for the right price.

 

[petermwright]

That is terrifying. I will have nightmares.