No magic there; I e-mailed Steve W and he sent me up a new one first class post!
I did sand out the serial number as it was squint and uneven. As you may know these are die stamped so it can always be put back on!
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Refinished Wishbass - pics
- Thread starter Thunderitter
- Start date
No magic there; I e-mailed Steve W and he sent me up a new one first class post!
I did sand out the serial number as it was squint and uneven. As you may know these are die stamped so it can always be put back on!
Hey Thunderitter, if its not a big hassle, could you break down your sanding/refinishing process? I'd like to get started cleaning up mine when it comes because I know I'm gonna have to LOL. By the way, that bass looks great.
PS. How's the EOTS working out, I really do miss it.
Anything?
Busy day and just back from seeing Tommy Emmanuel - man that guy rocks!
I'll get to my 101 on sanding a wishbass asap - it wasn't too complicated!
Stay tuned!
(ETOS doing well!)
I started by filling any gaps (and there were a few!) with gel super glue and the colored wood filler, which was source at my local Home Depot. I then got down to sanding!
I did the bulk of the 'major' shaping with regular old coarse (60 grit) and medium coarse (100 grit i think!) sand paper. The three areas that needed the most were the upper horn, the lower horn and the back neck to body join.
After I was happy with the overall shape I went to work with 150 grit, getting the curves on the body to where I wanted them. The 150 grit was certainly the best for accurate shaping and then I went up through 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 to 1500 grit. I got all my papers (3M and Eagle Brand) from Stewmac.com. The 1000, 1200 and 1500 I used wet, but not oiled as per the recommendation. You really have to keep constantly wetting/cleaning the paper. Depending on what I was doing I used a soft rubber block, a wooden block or my hand for the paper.
Once I got everything to my likening, and there were several times when I went back to 220 to refine some shaping, I used a set of micro-finishing pads. These went from 2000 (I think) to 12000 grit; again from Stew-Mac. The high grits were probably overkill, but it was fun to see what a shine I could put on the bass without using any type of lacquer of finish!
For the finish on the recommendation of Kevin Robertson at KRGuitars who I'd been building a bass with, I went with TruOil, which I bought from Lmii.com. I initially used the TruOil sealer to fill the grain, having sanded so fine this wasn't really necessary but I thought "what the heck". Allowing that to dry as per the instructions, I then went to work with the TruOil itself. After the initial first coast, which I evened out with 0000 steelwool, I found the best way to go was very sparingly wiped on with a rag and then very light buffing with the 0000 wool. I reckon I did about 4 applications of the TruOil, but it wasn't thick as I was buffing down.
I sanded the fingerboard using the higher grit papers (320 and above) till it was silky smooth and then applied StewMan fretboard finishing oil as per instructions, which gave me a very nice finish.
When I was happy with the finish I went to work on the control cavity cover. I bought a headstock piece of flamed maple from Lmii.com and went to work on it with my hand jigsaw to get the basic shape I wanted, using the original aluminum cover as a guide. I then sanded and shaped using 220 grit and as it was a thin piece of wood I didn't need to do much work at all. I then went to work with the higher grits and finally the finishing pads. It was then sealed and TruOiled.
I fitted a Wishbass control harness that I bought off eBay (but made by TBer 3stringpete). A little bit of soldering but nothing difficult. I also changed out the volume pot for a linear one, which worked better for me with the harness.
I bought the ebony control knobs again from Lmii.com fitted them and a set of Schaler strap locks and I was nearly done.
My final 'trick' was while a lot of folks think that the bridge is ebony it is actually a Corian bridge that Steve W sent me that I have sprayed with satin black Rustoleum from the can. I did about 5 coats and so far it stayed black really well! If I thought about it at the time, I would have done the same with the nut, but there you go, maybe on the next string change.
Finally I changed the round wound strings to Rotosound Jazz 77 flats; 45 - 105.
So there we have it: How to refin a Wishbass!
By the way if I've said in an earlier post but 'she' sounds as good as 'she' looks!
If you need any more info or explanation ask away!
- Jul 30, 2006
- 2,315
- 453
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist:Regenerate Guitar Works Carvin, Micheal Kelly Guitars
My advice is just buy the body from Wish. Don't let him do anything else. Put your choice of electronics & hardware on it & then have someone else finish it(unless you do it). Mine has a Hipshot bridge & an EMG passive pup. Mine is a 36" scale fretless 5 & it sounds like a freaking bulldozer.
Thanks Thunderitter for the info, looks like I got a lotta work to do! LOL!!! I"m sur It will be a learning as well as fun experience.
This is the bridge/tailpiece I was thinking of.
http://cgi.ebay.com/CHROME-LP-BASS-...tcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/CHROME-LP-BASS-...tcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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that is an interesting idea with the Gibson-style tunomatic bridge.
and, nice work on the wish, Thunderitter
and, nice work on the wish, Thunderitter
Here's a quick snap showing the limited space that I have. As you will see a triangular shaped bridge allows the strings the a good angle to go through the body.
I would need to get my hands on one to be sure, but I think that the angle with the tun-o-matic style would be to severe and cause the strings to foul on the rear edge of the bridge.
Interestingly enough (and I know it is a fretless) but the twelfth fret intonation is spot on with the current bridge angled as per the photos!
I would need to get my hands on one to be sure, but I think that the angle with the tun-o-matic style would be to severe and cause the strings to foul on the rear edge of the bridge.
Interestingly enough (and I know it is a fretless) but the twelfth fret intonation is spot on with the current bridge angled as per the photos!
Have fun! I know I found the whole experience quite cathartic and certainly vert satisfying at the end of it all!
I think you have the whole spectrum of bass-prestige right there--Ritter on one side, Wishbass on the other.
I think you are right, that angle looks like it would be too severe and you would be breaking strings left and right. The only option would be to make it inset into the body but that would be a major PIA and would be hard to fix if it didn't work.
Here's a quick snap showing the limited space that I have. As you will see a triangular shaped bridge allows the strings the a good angle to go through the body.
I would need to get my hands on one to be sure, but I think that the angle with the tun-o-matic style would be to severe and cause the strings to foul on the rear edge of the bridge.
Interestingly enough (and I know it is a fretless) but the twelfth fret intonation is spot on with the current bridge angled as per the photos!
Yup!
I think I'll stick with the current faux ebony bridge, it does the job well. You know what they say - if it ain't broke.....
Following some photo album work on Photobucket (an upgrade!) I've lost a lot of my original links so here are some pics of my re-finished Wishbass:
This bass sounds like a million bucks and is a joy to play. Almost makes me want a Wishbass of my own. 
Did you use a radius block for the fingerboard? I prefer mine on the flat side but don't think I want to to level.
Also, did you find the fingerboard oil to darken the jatoba? I'm hoping to keep mine as light as possible since my body wood is quite dark.
Also, did you find the fingerboard oil to darken the jatoba? I'm hoping to keep mine as light as possible since my body wood is quite dark.
I used a rectangular block for the fretboard, which was flat in the first place. The main reason for the sanding was to get rid of a couple of high spots. I then used finishing paper to 10000grit to get the board really smooth and shiny.
I did not find the fingerboard oil darkened the wood much at all, but it certainly left it feeling a lot more finished.
I do intend to oil the fingerboard with something...right now even when dampened my fingerboard (also Jatoba) is much lighter in color than yours, more of a blonde...and I'm hoping to keep it as close to that as I can.
You have inspired me to do more work on mine.
I changed the bridge to a Schaller roller bridge, but I think I might put the original one back on. Any ideas as to what I can use to fill a groove in the original bridge? It made the E string too low, and it was hitting the pup.
I changed the bridge to a Schaller roller bridge, but I think I might put the original one back on. Any ideas as to what I can use to fill a groove in the original bridge? It made the E string too low, and it was hitting the pup.
