I found this bass on ebay a while back, and ended up getting it down to about $180. It was honestly quite impulsive, but I was (and am) a sucker for this ridiculously cool paint job. My goal is to do what I can to improve its playability, and hopefully to learn a thing or two in the process. For reference, even though it was ordered sometime in early November, its being shipped quite slowly from the motherland and its expected to arrive on the Jan 18th, so I do not have the bass yet and cannot take measurements at the moment.
So, my primary concerns with repairs and set up are to do with the neck. In the photos, the third fret is missing (something I'll admit it took me a while to notice
) . So in all likelihood this instrument will need to be refretted, something I'd rather do than buy a new neck all together. I believe the neck length is 30" and there are 20 frets, but knowing the size of the frets would be helpful. But another concern of mine has been that, from further research, I have heard tell that many of these soviet instruments lack truss rods. uggg. So if this be the case, I'll bolt that neck clean off and start fresh.
I am very much a beginner to working on instruments, so advanced warning that I
have a lot of rookie mistakes yet to make before I can really be sure whats up . Really I'd just like to know any information about the size of the frets, and, if there really is no truss rod, what size neck I should shop around for. I have thoroughly pursued these forums seeking an answer, but with obscure specs on obscure instruments it really can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. If you made it this far thank you for bearing with me
So, my primary concerns with repairs and set up are to do with the neck. In the photos, the third fret is missing (something I'll admit it took me a while to notice
) . So in all likelihood this instrument will need to be refretted, something I'd rather do than buy a new neck all together. I believe the neck length is 30" and there are 20 frets, but knowing the size of the frets would be helpful. But another concern of mine has been that, from further research, I have heard tell that many of these soviet instruments lack truss rods. uggg. So if this be the case, I'll bolt that neck clean off and start fresh. I am very much a beginner to working on instruments, so advanced warning that I
have a lot of rookie mistakes yet to make before I can really be sure whats up . Really I'd just like to know any information about the size of the frets, and, if there really is no truss rod, what size neck I should shop around for. I have thoroughly pursued these forums seeking an answer, but with obscure specs on obscure instruments it really can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. If you made it this far thank you for bearing with me
I'm from Plovdiv (Bulgaria) the city where these were made. My first bass was violin like Orfeus. Like this one:
