Unexpected results from a $30 bass

[joeLowB]

Yikes! That's a great save but a lot of effort .

And one moral of the entire story...be gentle and precise with truss rod adjustments. Had that nut not been boogered, this neck work would never have been required.

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[flomaster]

And one moral of the entire story...be gentle and precise with truss rod adjustments. Had that nut not been boogered, this neck work would never have been required.

100%

That nut is likely why it wound up at the Good Will in the first place. Lucky for the bass, it fell into my hands and can continue its life. Unfortunately for me, it's a lot of consumed time.

 

[joeLowB]

100%

That nut is likely why it wound up at the Good Will in the first place. Lucky for the bass, it fell into my hands and can continue its life. Unfortunately for me, it's a lot of consumed time.

So, several weeks on, how is this project turning out, @flomaster ?


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[flomaster]

It's been a while since I posted, and I figured I didn't really offer any real closure here.

In the end everything worked out. With some effort, the bass has been re-assembled. In retrospect it would have been easier to just get another neck.

But, with the mods, this bass has turned out to be a total bad@$$. I love the sound of the stock pickups (could be cheapies, could be good, expensive ones, I have no way to tell), and it's easy to play. The extra shielding I put in it made a world of difference in how quiet it is when it's plugged in, but not being played. These days I find myself playing this thing more than the LTD.

As soon as I find a black bridge that'll fit it, I'm going to black it out all the way.

 

[s van order]

I recently bought a used bass guitar from Good Will for 30 bucks. Since I bought it from their site, I didn't get to see or try it before it arrived in the mail, so I was expecting the worst -- what can you really get for 30 bucks, right? But I wanted a spare hanging on the wall that I can keep tuned down so I don't have to tune (and re-tune) my other basses. Not really interested in modifying my other bases to do that easily, either.

Well, it came in the mail. It's one of those cheapies you used to be able to buy for a beginner or something...no frills. Lyon by Washburn P bass.

Well, it arrived, and after a short inspection it needed the following:
--a good cleaning
--strings
--neck/bridge adjustment (general setup)
--knobs
--shielding for the electronics (apparently didn't come with any)

It was pretty noisy when plugged into my Yamaha amp, and the setup was so bad that there was no wonder why someone donated it.

Anyway, a little bit of work got this thing in playing condition, and to my surprise this thing actually sounds pretty damned good. And is super-easy to play, to boot. I wouldn't toss my Sterling for it, but it's no slouch, either.

Turns out that one doesn't need to spend a lot of cash to get a decent bass guitar. For those of you who want a cheap bass and have a few hours to spare, cheap ones are out there and are to be had.

I bought a black Lyon at Walmart when I wanted a low cost way to see if I could play bass again (after years of overuse injuries). I put in a decent replacement P pup, set it up, better strings and, voila, it was a nice bass as the OP also discovered. It was very light, unlike my boat-anchorish J bass. I eventually donated it to the local music hall to have for lessons, backup if a visiting bassist's axe had an accident.

 

[joeLowB]

It's been a while since I posted, and I figured I didn't really offer any real closure here.

In the end everything worked out. With some effort, the bass has been re-assembled. In retrospect it would have been easier to just get another neck.

But, with the mods, this bass has turned out to be a total bad@$$. I love the sound of the stock pickups (could be cheapies, could be good, expensive ones, I have no way to tell), and it's easy to play. The extra shielding I put in it made a world of difference in how quiet it is when it's plugged in, but not being played. These days I find myself playing this thing more than the LTD.

As soon as I find a black bridge that'll fit it, I'm going to black it out all the way.

Awesome! If it's easy to play and sounds good, that's all you need!