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The Hello Kitty Bass Project

#61
Volker Kirstein said:
Everything needed for this project has been ordered. o_O Woo hoo! We're under way!
View attachment 3629500
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I love the cat fret boards. :wideyed:

Who will get theirs done first. :nailbiting:

I am soooo excited and I just can't hide it. :hyper::hyper::hyper:
I'm about to loose control and I think I like it. :hyper::hyper::hyper:

:drool: :drool: :drool:



upload_2019-12-13_13-24-11.png
 
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#64
Volker Kirstein said:
Amen!

As a Hello Kitty fan, and the proud owner of a Badtz Maru Bronco, there is a special place in my heart for this project. I wish @IamGroot much luck in his endeavors, and look forward to pictures of his build.

Since I've never had an original thought in my life, I'm going to ride Mr. Groot's coat tails, and make a Hello Kitty bass of my own. I have a Harley Benton MB-4 stingray clone in red/white plaid, which in my mind is almost perfect, colorwise, for Hello Kitty modifications.

The Stingray pickguard is 22 x 18.7 cm.
View attachment 3624297
A 22 cm Hello Kitty sticker should cover it perfectly. The stuff that goes over the edge (ears, whiskers, bow) can be trimmed off and placed on the body itself. The pickup cutout can be trimmed out and placed on the pickup itself. This should be no huhu whatsoever.

I even found something for the headstock!
View attachment 3624298
And, of course, cats paw inlay stickers. If things go to plan, I'll be rocking a Hello Kitty BEAD Stingray clone by January! Photos will be provided in this thread.
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#67
I'm subscribing, let's see where this goes!

This is funny, just this morning I was almost pulling the trigger on a Badtz Maru Bronco. I don't even know who that is, and I definitely didn't ever watched a helo kitty cartoon, but the Bronco seems really cool! It's so small, ahah!

To the couple of Bronco guys here, is it worth it? I'll only buy it if the seller goes down on the price. 260 euros is a bit crazy, even for such a small market as the portuguese one.
 
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#68
J_Bass said:
I'm subscribing, let's see where this goes!

This is funny, just this morning I was almost pulling the trigger on a Badtz Maru Bronco. I don't even know who that is, and I definitely didn't ever watched a helo kitty cartoon, but the Bronco seems really cool! It's so small, ahah!

To the couple of Bronco guys here, is it worth it? I'll only buy it if the seller goes down on the price. 260 euros is a bit crazy, even for such a small market as the portuguese one.
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I’d compare it to what you can get a new bronco for in your market, don’t go over that!
 
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#70
J_Bass said:
... just this morning I was almost pulling the trigger on a Badtz Maru Bronco. I don't even know who that is, and I definitely didn't ever watched a helo kitty cartoon, but the Bronco seems really cool! It's so small, ahah!

To the couple of Bronco guys here, is it worth it? I'll only buy it if the seller goes down on the price. 260 euros is a bit crazy, even for such a small market as the portuguese one.
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RobOnBass said:
I’d compare it to what you can get a new bronco for in your market, don’t go over that!
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Umm... Comparing the price of a Badtz Maru Bronco price to a new, stock Bronco is misleading, as the Badtz Maru Bronco is an entirely different beast:

1) The Badtz Maru Bronco has a maple fretboard, with the frets on a separate piece of wood. New, stock Broncos do not have a fretboard at all, the frets are set directly into the flat of the neck.

2) The Badtz Maru pickup is a "special" that runs a little hotter than the pickup in "regular" new Broncos.

3) The Badtz Maru control cavity is back routed, and the pickup rout is huge. New broncos have the big ol' slash through the body, like a P Bass.

4) The Badtz Maru Bronco was a limited production run, and not many (relatively) were sold.

Don't compare prices with new, stock Broncos. If you search for prices on Badtz Maru Broncos, you'll find them in the €300 range. IF you can find one at all. I paid €200 for mine, and feel like I got a steal. €260 is not unreasonable.

As far as the "guitar" pickups go, don't let the "guitar" label fool you. A pup is a pup is a pup. I use a Telecaster lipstick guitar pickup on a "51 P", and it sounds wonderful. Danelectro (and other manufacturers) often uses the same pickups on both guitars and basses.
 
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#71
Volker Kirstein said:
Umm... Comparing the price of a Badtz Maru Bronco price to a new, stock Bronco is misleading, as the Badtz Maru Bronco is an entirely different beast:

1) The Badtz Maru Bronco has a maple fretboard, with the frets on a separate piece of wood. New, stock Broncos do not have a fretboard at all, the frets are set directly into the flat of the neck.

2) The Badtz Maru pickup is a "special" that runs a little hotter than the pickup in "regular" new Broncos.

3) The Badtz Maru control cavity is back routed, and the pickup rout is huge. New broncos have the big ol' slash through the body, like a P Bass.

4) The Badtz Maru Bronco was a limited production run, and not many (relatively) were sold.

Don't compare prices with new, stock Broncos. If you search for prices on Badtz Maru Broncos, you'll find them in the €300 range. IF you can find one at all. I paid €200 for mine, and feel like I got a steal. €260 is not unreasonable.

As far as the "guitar" pickups go, don't let the "guitar" label fool you. A pup is a pup is a pup. I use a Telecaster lipstick guitar pickup on a "51 P", and it sounds wonderful. Danelectro (and other manufacturers) often uses the same pickups on both guitars and basses.
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Interesting, I have an 05 badtz and a 17 bronco and can’t see/feel any difference in the necks. And I needed to change both pickups, they were both too buzzy for me.

my badtz was cheaper than my bronco, but i had to level the frets and replace the strings, I used this to get the price down.
 
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#72
RobOnBass said:
I’d compare it to what you can get a new bronco for in your market, don’t go over that!
Click to expand...

It depends on how much he wants the Maru, I guess. They're harder to find than a standard Bronco, so I don't think the comparison makes much sense.

I paid a little over the odds for my white made in USA EBMM SUB, because I really wanted a white one and this one looked sweet. I could still be waiting if I hadn't ;) So it all depends on how much something is worth to you.
 
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#73
Thanks for the help, guys.

I would buy for maybe 200 or less, because I really don't need the bass, I just liked how it looked. I understand It may be worth more, but not being a fan of the cartoon, I'll pass.


Thanks for the help!
 
#74
This is funny. "Spokespeople for Sanrio have said that Hello Kitty has no mouth, as they want people to "project their feelings onto the character" and "be happy or sad together with Hello Kitty."[11][24] Another explanation Sanrio has given for her lack of a mouth is that she "speaks from the heart. She's Sanrio's ambassador to the world and isn't bound to any particular language".[21] Representatives for Sanrio have said they see Hello Kitty as a symbol of friendship, and they hope she will foster between people across the world"

The real reason Hello Kitty doesn't have a mouth is because in Japan, the ideal women doesn't speak up.
 
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#75
Back to the subject at hand. Today, I did the headstock.

In order to do it right, I had to take off the neck and remove the tuning heads. When the neck came off, I found a pretty large shim.
IMG_20191220_114133.jpg


Anyway, the logo is under a layer or three of clear coat.
IMG_20191220_115030.jpg


No huhu. I started with 600 grit to remove the decal, then buffed with 1200 and 2400.
IMG_20191220_120051.jpg


I applied the sticker in the proper place, and wrapped it up for clear coating. This is happening as I type, I just applied the first coat. :)
IMG_20191220_122710.jpg

IMG_20191220_121854.jpg
 
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#78
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#79
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