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Redefining a custom bass

#261
Kelly, cd and Jon - a very nice trio of posts to awaken to. Thank you all for your considered input that helps to shed light on the many aspects of this unusual project. cd's succinct description of two dynamic looks in stylistic collision is spot-on. What I consider creating visual tension. It's what you're up against when your in the ring with a look (striped wood) that states itself so strongly - a formidable opponent one must respect when squaring off against. (minus the "strips vs distressed" path not taken) - I instead was attempting to have them tango together, not to battle each other. In fact, I'll go one step further using a romanticized analogy that the stripes are 'male' (bold/brash) in character and the distressing is 'female' (soft/pretty)... a bit of a stretch there but the tango analogy started me thinking...

And Kelly's frank calls from the guy he knows best - himself! What I liked about what you said was that you had your own imagination spinning trying to envision what could be done to effect the finish. If that isn't a fringe benefit of what transpired over these pages I don't know what would be! If I had another life to live, I'd open an "imagination school" (not an art school). Nothing against art schools, I went to two of the best and they were instrumental to my development as an artist. But the students there (like me) were aspiring artists - my "imagination school" would be for everyone no matter what background, age or calling. I have no idea how I would formulate the programs - but there are a lot of creative people out there that would assist me! :) As the song goes "what the world needs now, is love sweet love" and the B-side would be "Imagine".

Anyway - you can all clearly see how much all your insights/input can lead to discovery and enlightenment, and sometimes tension - if it didn't it wouldn't be worth spending your time participating. :thumbsup:
 
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#262
It sort of reminds me of those cheaper, plywood basses with the finish worn off. I remember someone a yamaha bass that had a solid white finish that they stripped down on the front and back to reveal a few poorly matched pieces. It looked great. The plywood thing isn't meant as a knock at all, as I dig the final results. This bass was done in a higher fashion, like those few boutique basses that get a solid finish, but have really nice woods underneath.
 
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#263
I personally like the result a lot. Lets say it loud, I don't believe in absolutes and like to look at the world from different angles. If we didn't approach the world with reinterpreting it, we wouldn't have many things we love, like progress in music, changes in style and fashion, art and literature, hot-rods, modern mountain bike frames, solar technology - you name it. I guess sometimes we are just attached sentimentally to how things are - to a "classic" shape - cut the lower bout from a Les Paul and you will be doomed :) On the other hand - look how many funky shapes of guitars emerge here on this forum and people support others creativity and making them! :)

So yes, it's an interesting approach and blend, a nice try to reinterpret somebody else's work and start a dialog with him. And on top, if the owner likes it, who is unhappy? :) Thank you guys for sharing your work, great read this thread is ;)
 
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#264
b3e said:
I personally like the result a lot. Lets say it loud, I don't believe in absolutes and like to look at the world from different angles. If we didn't approach the world with reinterpreting it, we wouldn't have many things we love, like progress in music, changes in style and fashion, art and literature, hot-rods, modern mountain bike frames, solar technology - you name it. I guess sometimes we are just attached sentimentally to how things are - to a "classic" shape - cut the lower bout from a Les Paul and you will be doomed :) On the other hand - look how many funky shapes of guitars emerge here on this forum and people support others creativity and making them! :)

So yes, it's an interesting approach and blend, a nice try to reinterpret somebody else's work and start a dialog with him. And on top, if the owner likes it, who is unhappy? :) Thank you guys for sharing your work, great read this thread is ;)
Click to expand...

:) Much in agreement - thanks for your interest and I'm glad you enjoyed it! :thumbsup:
 
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#265
dedpool1052 said:
It sort of reminds me of those cheaper, plywood basses with the finish worn off. I remember someone a yamaha bass that had a solid white finish that they stripped down on the front and back to reveal a few poorly matched pieces. It looked great. The plywood thing isn't meant as a knock at all, as I dig the final results. This bass was done in a higher fashion, like those few boutique basses that get a solid finish, but have really nice woods underneath.
Click to expand...

Yep, like of the FCS basses that have the top coat worn away uncovering a second finish underneath it. The 'look' was born of the functional fact of Fender using a finished body (in CAR) to shoot Oly white on top, probably because at that moment they had a stack of CAR bodies and needed an Oly white body! So it gets assembled, it is later purchased and then is played a lot leading to that 'look'. At the time the player probably mildly made note of it as somewhat unusual looking. Fast forward to now and that's a damn cool look! Now that I've seen the potential for myself (finish over nicely charactered wood) I will be exploring that visual concept more soon.

I saw (and played) this sweet '65 J last Christmastime at a shop in Portland. You can see it was originally finished black, then Oly white and has a lovely amber patina. If I only had a spare 10k...
fullsizeoutput_542.jpeg
 
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#266
To me, a relic type finish has to be well done to look good. What exactly qualifies one as well done? I'm not wholly sure.

This bass isn't a traditional relic job. With the restyling of the body, the new pickguard/control plate, the switch to chrome hardware, etc, this instrument really is trying to give a nod to older instruments. In the same way, the worn look of the finish being underneath the glitter signals me that it is a tribute to finishes worn by use rather than trying to convince people it is actually worn via use.

It's not 100% my cup of tea, but I love the idea and I think it came out nice. Good job JIO!

-Jake

P.S. - those old fenders that have a finish under a finish are a favorite of mine. If I ever build a distressed guitar it will likely be sunburst under black with a thin nitro top coat so that it wears more as it's played.
 
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#267
JIO said:
...where was I.., oh yah - after a coat of sanding-sealer/fine sanding, an ivory coloured base coat. I chose a hue similar to the creme pg and near the value of my top-coat colour.
View attachment 2811670
Top-coat is a pale blue-green that erred on the side of blue knowing that the full process would move more to green. I love colours that flip-flop depending on the available light situation. The neck pocket and pu cavities is the base colour. You can see the 2 new pot holes flanked by the ones that won't be used anymore.
View attachment 2811673
I coated the control and pu cavities with carbon sheilding paint, and copper taped over the unused holes. Tone pot was removed - now V-V.
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First some shots at sunset under that lovely warm glow with long shadows - I strung it with an old set of LaBella flats as it was sent in two boxes w/o strings. Sounds great!
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View attachment 2811678

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View attachment 2811680
Detail showing all layers: wood, ivory base-coat, blue-green coat, gold glitter-blast dusting and satin clear lacquer. Note aged pg screws.
View attachment 2811681
To stylistically establish that this is my artistic interpretation of a player-worn bass (as in, not fake anything) I dusted the glitter-blast over the completed work on it - including over the exposed wood. It's subtle as I intended and quietly states - this is all about the way these finishes look - not about trying to cop unearned "mojo".
View attachment 2811682
A bit less dramatic light - at rest after it's reconstructive surgery. Patient is recovering well!
View attachment 2811683
Once the lacquer had 24hrs to cure for level sanding, I buffed it to a silky smooth feel. It's feels really nice - satin finishes are where it's at. I fine sanded the pg and control-plate also to a matte sheen. Satin sheens are cool because as the bass is played, wherever it's interfaced/touched - it will buff naturally to a gloss. Same with the pg which will show wear more readily than shiny/gloss.
View attachment 2811684
The combination of the gold glitter-dusting and lacquer clear-coat over the blue-green will subtly move the colour more green over time due to the lacquer amber-ing
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It was a pleasure working on such a nice instrument made by Andrew Drake - quality stock!
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Click to expand...
That's looking sleek! Nice work on the depth and the layers of it. I really zoomed into the photos to fully capture it. I really dig the new look of this bass.
 
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#268
The Drake arrived about an hour ago! Jio sent the neck and body separately, so all I had to do was bolt the neck back on, put the tuners on and string it up! Piece of cake. The neck on this thing is just remarkable to me. Never touched the truss rod since I got it a few years back and I run 50-110 strings on it. The only strings I have on me in heavy gauge were SS Cobalt roundwounds (ordered more Lo-Riders but they accidentally shipped 45-105's). Gonna go grab an amp and test it out after lunch :)

Crappy photo alert!!!
IMG_4986.JPG


Love the new body shape a whole lot! In person, the finish has so many layers. The super subtle gold 'splatter' is especially cool.

I know this bass has been a polarizing thing for some and I even agree that the whole relic thing is very hit and (mostly) miss, but I'm a happy guy!
 
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#269
dukeorock said:
The Drake arrived about an hour ago! Jio sent the neck and body separately, so all I had to do was bolt the neck back on, put the tuners on and string it up! Piece of cake. The neck on this thing is just remarkable to me. Never touched the truss rod since I got it a few years back and I run 50-110 strings on it. The only strings I have on me in heavy gauge were SS Cobalt roundwounds (ordered more Lo-Riders but they accidentally shipped 45-105's). Gonna go grab an amp and test it out after lunch :)

Crappy photo alert!!!
View attachment 2817283

Love the new body shape a whole lot! In person, the finish has so many layers. The super subtle gold 'splatter' is especially cool.

I know this bass has been a polarizing thing for some and I even agree that the whole relic thing is very hit and (mostly) miss, but I'm a happy guy!
Click to expand...
I was happy to read that a re-shaping of the body was part of the plan for this bass. I think it has much improved the look and that headstock shape really helps the vintage MIJ vibe.
 
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#270
Reedt2000 said:
I was happy to read that a re-shaping of the body was part of the plan for this bass. I think it has much improved the look and that headstock shape really helps the vintage MIJ vibe.
Click to expand...

Agreed! All I can really say is. I try not to be sentimental about instruments, but this bass has always been special to me. Even more so now :)
 
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#271
dukeorock said:
The Drake arrived about an hour ago! Jio sent the neck and body separately, so all I had to do was bolt the neck back on, put the tuners on and string it up! Piece of cake. The neck on this thing is just remarkable to me. Never touched the truss rod since I got it a few years back and I run 50-110 strings on it. The only strings I have on me in heavy gauge were SS Cobalt roundwounds (ordered more Lo-Riders but they accidentally shipped 45-105's). Gonna go grab an amp and test it out after lunch :)

Crappy photo alert!!!
View attachment 2817283

Love the new body shape a whole lot! In person, the finish has so many layers. The super subtle gold 'splatter' is especially cool.

I know this bass has been a polarizing thing for some and I even agree that the whole relic thing is very hit and (mostly) miss, but I'm a happy guy!
Click to expand...

Wow - that's great! (that it arrived earlier than expected and safely) I'm alway biting my nails this time of year (holiday increased shipping) - a few years ago I shipped one of my Gildaxe'd basses in an ABS hard-shell case, in a box - and it was damaged upon delivery. It's like they threw it off the plane on the bottom side - the hs case was cracked and the lower strap button was pushed into the body! I think it's partially more boxes shipped, stressful deadlines and the companies hiring less-experienced peak-time workers. I always insure for max worth when shipping basses. (which that bass was covered for) Luckily that was the only time I've had a problem - I construct pretty bullet-proof boxes so they have to try very hard to damage what's inside.
 
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#272
dukeorock said:
The Drake arrived about an hour ago! Jio sent the neck and body separately, so all I had to do was bolt the neck back on, put the tuners on and string it up! Piece of cake. The neck on this thing is just remarkable to me. Never touched the truss rod since I got it a few years back and I run 50-110 strings on it. The only strings I have on me in heavy gauge were SS Cobalt roundwounds (ordered more Lo-Riders but they accidentally shipped 45-105's). Gonna go grab an amp and test it out after lunch :)

Crappy photo alert!!!
View attachment 2817283

Love the new body shape a whole lot! In person, the finish has so many layers. The super subtle gold 'splatter' is especially cool.

I know this bass has been a polarizing thing for some and I even agree that the whole relic thing is very hit and (mostly) miss, but I'm a happy guy!
Click to expand...
Sound clip, please!
 
#273
JIO said:
Wow - that's great! (that it arrived earlier than expected and safely) I'm alway biting my nails this time of year (holiday increased shipping) - a few years ago I shipped one of my Gildaxe'd basses in an ABS hard-shell case, in a box - and it was damaged upon delivery. It's like they threw it off the plane on the bottom side - the hs case was cracked and the lower strap button was pushed into the body! I think it's partially more boxes shipped, stressful deadlines and the companies hiring less-experienced peak-time workers. I always insure for max worth when shipping basses. (which that bass was covered for) Luckily that was the only time I've had a problem - I construct pretty bullet-proof boxes so they have to try very hard to damage what's inside.
Click to expand...

Your packing job on my bass left nothing to chance! Got here totally safe and sound :)
 
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