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Renaissance/Turner Basses Club
- Thread starter EdwardofHuncote
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Yes, those are GB-7s. Hipshot Ultralites are drop-in solution.I'm starting to get convinced these are Gotoh GB-7's currently.
Lighter tuners will help with neck dive some, but as another member has suggested, our "Dingus" strap button extender would help a lot tooI'm starting to get convinced these are Gotoh GB-7's currently.
Btw, this bass was neglected for a very long time (took me a while before the completely dried out wood of the bridge and fingerboard started to look and feel pretty again). Two of the tuning keys are not working 100% properly, so I was thinking about replacing them and then I read about the res-o-lite and ultralight options. So it's not just the balance thing why I'm thinking of replacing them. But IF I can lose some weight at the headstock, why not?
Yeah already using it. Just trying to combine the replacement I need to do anyway with some headstock weight loss because why not. 
- Aug 21, 2013
- 6,668
- 2
- 16,473
- Disclosures
- I privately own and operate a local musical instument repair shop.
Hard to believe it's been a year since The Bossman clocked out and went Home. I think about Rick a lot up in my dusty little upright bass shop.
Sunday morning confession; Ed of H. has been kicking around the notion of buying and restoring an Electroline prototype he knows about... itsa bit of a sad mess. I could bring it back.
What Would Rick Turner Do? He'd make it better than new.
Sunday morning confession; Ed of H. has been kicking around the notion of buying and restoring an Electroline prototype he knows about... itsa bit of a sad mess. I could bring it back.
What Would Rick Turner Do? He'd make it better than new.
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Rick would've probably been tickled to see people restoring his guitars and basses. He was a very special dude and I miss him every single day
Can't argue with wanting a bass that doesn't neck diveYeah already using it. Just trying to combine the replacement I need to do anyway with some headstock weight loss because why not.
- Aug 21, 2013
- 6,668
- 2
- 16,473
- Disclosures
- I privately own and operate a local musical instument repair shop.
Inspirational, in a word.
Well, it's on. I probably paid a little much, but I bought what I believe is a mid/late-90's EL-434-PM or possibly even a prototype Electroline, in fairly poor shape. I'm going to restore, and upgrade it.
Lancelot. In honor of The Boss. More later...
Ah, the fabled Pat Metheny signature bass.
- Aug 21, 2013
- 6,668
- 2
- 16,473
- Disclosures
- I privately own and operate a local musical instument repair shop.
- Aug 21, 2013
- 6,668
- 2
- 16,473
- Disclosures
- I privately own and operate a local musical instument repair shop.
Wouldn’t happen to be black would it?
I think we talked about this one a while back... I'd been hedging over whether or not to take on a project. But yep, black. It will most likely be something else when I get done.
*I'll do some before/during/after pictures for the thread here...
Tried the Gotoh GB350 Res-O-Lites and it's not a drop in replacement. The holes are not big enough (almost, the difference is very small, 14mm is not 12,7mm, which is 1/2''?). I weighed them and it's about 0,7oz difference per tuner. I'm not sure whether I want my luthier to drill into this bass yet.
Maybe try the Hipshot Ultralights first.
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- Aug 21, 2013
- 6,668
- 2
- 16,473
- Disclosures
- I privately own and operate a local musical instument repair shop.
The new-to-me Electroline arrived earlier this week, and I finally had some time to tinker with it. I had asked for it to be shipped disassembled for safety, and it was packed up super-tight in layers of paper and bubblewrap, and then boxed. I love it when someone goes to some extra trouble to ship a guitar safely. It got here in two pieces on purpose.
Well, I thought I knew what this one was, but not so sure now. This bass is totally passive. There is no preamp, no batteries, though the electronics compartment is routed for them. I do not believe it has been modified. There's no evidence of it anyway. It has no piezos and never did, a heavy Hipshot bridge and just this big ol' Bartolini MM pickup, a Volume and Tone pot , and the switch is a coil-tap. How cool is that?!
It was in a lot better shape than I thought or expected too. The black finish looked a lot worse, but after some wet-sanding and polishing, it's taken on a bowling ball sheen. I still have some more to do, but I wanted to get it together and playing as soon as possible.
I did work on drop-filling in a few chips in the tortoise celluloid headplate and the cheeks of the headstock, followed-up with more wet-sanding and buffing.
Then I oil-treated the bare wood of the birdseye maple neck with the same stuff I use on upright basses with bare wood necks. Bolted the neck in the body and set it up with some T-I Jazz Flats. I'd had design on converting it to a fretted bass, but it's such an amazingly good fretless, I'm inclined at the moment to leave it. It's possible that I may source a second fretted neck for this bass... I have one in the shop I started a long time ago but never finished. The fretless is too good to mess with though. (and that's coming from a cat that has a few pretty good fretless basses...)
So anyway, I was hoping to be able to make out the serial number (this was a hand-signed one, in silver Sharpie pen) but what was left of it was illegible. And after I finished wet-sanding the lacquer chips flush, it's basically gone.
There are these codes in the neck pocket and on the neck that may indicate what model this was intended to be, but I am unfamiliar with an Electroline marked "1-B" or "B-I". Single pickup, black? Bass? Bartolini?
I do believe, based on the squared-off fingerboard and tortoise headplate that it's mid/late 1990's. Maybe an experimental, maybe a customer request, maybe Rick just being Rick. Whatever it was, it's a very cool bass guitar.
I'll post some more as we go, but welcome 'Lancelot' here to the fold.
Well, I thought I knew what this one was, but not so sure now. This bass is totally passive. There is no preamp, no batteries, though the electronics compartment is routed for them. I do not believe it has been modified. There's no evidence of it anyway. It has no piezos and never did, a heavy Hipshot bridge and just this big ol' Bartolini MM pickup, a Volume and Tone pot , and the switch is a coil-tap. How cool is that?!
It was in a lot better shape than I thought or expected too. The black finish looked a lot worse, but after some wet-sanding and polishing, it's taken on a bowling ball sheen. I still have some more to do, but I wanted to get it together and playing as soon as possible.
I did work on drop-filling in a few chips in the tortoise celluloid headplate and the cheeks of the headstock, followed-up with more wet-sanding and buffing.
Then I oil-treated the bare wood of the birdseye maple neck with the same stuff I use on upright basses with bare wood necks. Bolted the neck in the body and set it up with some T-I Jazz Flats. I'd had design on converting it to a fretted bass, but it's such an amazingly good fretless, I'm inclined at the moment to leave it. It's possible that I may source a second fretted neck for this bass... I have one in the shop I started a long time ago but never finished. The fretless is too good to mess with though. (and that's coming from a cat that has a few pretty good fretless basses...)
So anyway, I was hoping to be able to make out the serial number (this was a hand-signed one, in silver Sharpie pen) but what was left of it was illegible. And after I finished wet-sanding the lacquer chips flush, it's basically gone.
There are these codes in the neck pocket and on the neck that may indicate what model this was intended to be, but I am unfamiliar with an Electroline marked "1-B" or "B-I". Single pickup, black? Bass? Bartolini?
I do believe, based on the squared-off fingerboard and tortoise headplate that it's mid/late 1990's. Maybe an experimental, maybe a customer request, maybe Rick just being Rick. Whatever it was, it's a very cool bass guitar.
I'll post some more as we go, but welcome 'Lancelot' here to the fold.
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That would be the perfect Electroline for me! I love that it's passive with a MM type of pickup in the MM location (I presume; it looks like it is). I am surprised Rick used a pickup by someone other than himself. Was that not uncommon?
I love that it's passive with a MM type of pickup in the MM location (I presume; it looks like it is). I am surprised Rick used a pickup by someone other than himself. Was that not uncommon?Good work! Rick would've been proud and I know I sure am!The new-to-me Electroline arrived earlier this week, and I finally had some time to tinker with it. I had asked for it to be shipped disassembled for safety, and it was packed up super-tight in layers of paper and bubblewrap, and then boxed. I love it when someone goes to some extra trouble to ship a guitar safely. It got here in two pieces on purpose.
View attachment 5046949
Well, I thought I knew what this one was, but not so sure now. This bass is totally passive. There is no preamp, no batteries, though the electronics compartment is routed for them. I do not believe it has been modified. There's no evidence of it anyway. It has no piezos and never did, a heavy Hipshot bridge and just this big ol' Bartolini MM pickup, a Volume and Tone pot , and the switch is a coil-tap. How cool is that?!
View attachment 5046951
It was in a lot better shape than I thought or expected too. The black finish looked a lot worse, but after some wet-sanding and polishing, it's taken on a bowling ball sheen. I still have some more to do, but I wanted to get it together and playing as soon as possible.
I did work on drop-filling in a few chips in the tortoise celluloid headplate and the cheeks of the headstock, followed-up with more wet-sanding and buffing.
View attachment 5046952
Then I oil-treated the bare wood of the birdseye maple neck with the same stuff I use on upright basses with bare wood necks. Bolted the neck in the body and set it up with some T-I Jazz Flats. I'd had design on converting it to a fretted bass, but it's such an amazingly good fretless, I'm inclined at the moment to leave it. It's possible that I may source a second fretted neck for this bass... I have one in the shop I started a long time ago but never finished. The fretless is too good to mess with though. (and that's coming from a cat that has a few pretty good fretless basses...)
View attachment 5046953 View attachment 5046954
So anyway, I was hoping to be able to make out the serial number (this was a hand-signed one, in silver Sharpie pen) but what was left of it was illegible. And after I finished wet-sanding the lacquer chips flush, it's basically gone.
There are these codes in the neck pocket and on the neck that may indicate r B"what model this was intended to be, but I am unfamiliar with an Electroline marked "1-B" or "B-I". Single pickup, black? Bass? Bartolini?
View attachment 5046955
View attachment 5046957
View attachment 5046958
View attachment 5046956
I do believe, based on the squared-off fingerboard and tortoise headplate that it's mid/late 1990's. Maybe an experimental, maybe a customer request, maybe Rick just being Rick. Whatever it was, it's a very cool bass guitar.
I'll post some more as we go, but welcome 'Lancelot' here to the fold.
View attachment 5046959
View attachment 5046960
View attachment 5046961
View attachment 5046962
- Aug 21, 2013
- 6,668
- 2
- 16,473
- Disclosures
- I privately own and operate a local musical instument repair shop.
That would be the perfect Electroline for me!
I can only remember seeing one other Electroline with a Bart. So long ago, the details escape me, but I remember that it was natural finish. I think maybe Gryphon had it for sale. I have seen at least one other Electroline with a Novak Bisonic. I'd assume that was probably passive too.
I think my bass is probably from around this same time as this "E-2" prototype, which has the diamond-shaped single pickup. Pre Owned 1996 Rick Turner Prototype E-2 EL-434 PM Transparent Green Bass With OHSC | Reverb
@EdwardofHuncote That looks gorgeous! Nice job cleaning it up!
I'm glad you got that one. I was eyeballing it for a while. I have a fretless Electroline with 3 passive pickups but they were wound in the Turner shop. (Mine is a prototype from when they were installing the new CNC machine for the Electrolines.) Every once in a while I think about contacting the shop to buy a piezo bridge and proper preamp to install in it, but there's something special about it as passive only.
How do you like the sound of this new to you Electroline as compared to your others?
I'm glad you got that one. I was eyeballing it for a while. I have a fretless Electroline with 3 passive pickups but they were wound in the Turner shop. (Mine is a prototype from when they were installing the new CNC machine for the Electrolines.) Every once in a while I think about contacting the shop to buy a piezo bridge and proper preamp to install in it, but there's something special about it as passive only.
How do you like the sound of this new to you Electroline as compared to your others?
