hey gang, I recently purchased a Vox Cougar that's seen better days and am hoping to repair and refinish it myself. this is my first project and I don't know where to begin. ultimately this bass will need a major overhaul ...I hope to try and do as much as possible by myself (too cash-poor to hire a luthier at this time), though there are a couple of issues that may require a pro eventually.
here's the rundown of problems, in descending order of magnitude:
my biggest concern is that the thin wood top of this old hollow body appears to be badly warped between the pickups, and especially around the neck PU. anyone know how to fix this?
next problem is the 3 piece neck; there's a 10" area where the glue came apart:
the floating bridge (that has a few too many old string indents) will need to be removed along with the rest of the hardware because I plan on stripping off the poly with a heat gun... I think I can handle the rest but how do I get the bridge off without damaging it?
fretboard has a long hairline crack down the middle for about a third of the length of the neck
guess I'll have to replace it, which sucks because the frets themselves have minimal wear
someone made off with the MOP logo on the headstock so I'll need to learn how to cut and replace inlay
one of the tuning screws is loose and swings up like this whenever you try to use it. still technically works, and I'm not sure how to fix it but am hoping it can be brazed in place?
the front and back have long cracks in the thick polyn and there are also a couple of places where it's chipped off. I bought a heat gun and plan on stripping the poly and refinishing with a nitro lacquer. it seems straightforward enough though I'm nervous because it's a hollowbody and the wood is so thin - will the heat gun warp it? I'll also have to strip and replace the old binding.
....other than all that, she's a beaut! lol. actually, this pic makes it look like the finish is a vibrant cherry when in reality it's kind of a ruddy brown (the color of the body as seen in the picture of the floating bridge is more accurate)
I appreciate your taking the time to look at this thread! I am totally new to this and really need help. I think if I take it one problem at a time I may be able to handle most of the repairs myself, but I don't know where to start and may need a bit of step-by-step guidance.
here's the rundown of problems, in descending order of magnitude:
my biggest concern is that the thin wood top of this old hollow body appears to be badly warped between the pickups, and especially around the neck PU. anyone know how to fix this?
next problem is the 3 piece neck; there's a 10" area where the glue came apart:
the floating bridge (that has a few too many old string indents) will need to be removed along with the rest of the hardware because I plan on stripping off the poly with a heat gun... I think I can handle the rest but how do I get the bridge off without damaging it?
fretboard has a long hairline crack down the middle for about a third of the length of the neck
guess I'll have to replace it, which sucks because the frets themselves have minimal wearsomeone made off with the MOP logo on the headstock so I'll need to learn how to cut and replace inlay
one of the tuning screws is loose and swings up like this whenever you try to use it. still technically works, and I'm not sure how to fix it but am hoping it can be brazed in place?
the front and back have long cracks in the thick polyn and there are also a couple of places where it's chipped off. I bought a heat gun and plan on stripping the poly and refinishing with a nitro lacquer. it seems straightforward enough though I'm nervous because it's a hollowbody and the wood is so thin - will the heat gun warp it? I'll also have to strip and replace the old binding.
....other than all that, she's a beaut! lol. actually, this pic makes it look like the finish is a vibrant cherry when in reality it's kind of a ruddy brown (the color of the body as seen in the picture of the floating bridge is more accurate)
I appreciate your taking the time to look at this thread! I am totally new to this and really need help. I think if I take it one problem at a time I may be able to handle most of the repairs myself, but I don't know where to start and may need a bit of step-by-step guidance.
