Fairly new bass player (< 2 years) but I'm playing at church 2 Sundays a month and in a Christian band. I started with a used entry level Yamaha. Thought you guys would appreciate this story.
Was curious about a 5 string and found a Warwick Corvette $$ for cheap ($300) and brought it home. Found out why it was so cheap. The truss rod was actually stripped. DOH!
So after a bit of reading, I removed the neck, then took a long metal strip, a hot iron and peeled off the fretboard gently. I pulled out the old truss rod, measured for a new one and ordered a double rod for $20 that would fit. Used my dremel to route the neck slightly larger so it would fit in.
Glued the fretboard back together and it works great! Love the sound and how it plays.
Fast forward almost a year and I broke my left pinkie really bad. I had been looking at lots of basses online and in Guitar Center and realized the only reason I was looking was I liked the colors better. So while I was out of commission I decided to refinish my body. Took out all the electronics and then used a heat gun, steel wool and some furniture polish remover to get rid of all the old black stain. It took a while for sure.
Then got a nice dark green and carefully stained it. I used a semi-gloss clear coat and did 5 coats on top. I chose semi-gloss because I knew I didn't get everything perfectly sanded and a gloss would show that off!
I was looking at other things online and found a used Warwick 4 string in exactly the same color/finish and was shocked! Guess I got really close to a factory color!
It's not perfect, but I really love the look and no longer have bass envy
. I have gone to guitar center and played various basses. The only ones that play better than mine are $3000+ so I'm very happy with my $350 bass!
I also have a Schecter Omen Elite 4 that I use for playing slap in a couple of our band's original songs.
Was curious about a 5 string and found a Warwick Corvette $$ for cheap ($300) and brought it home. Found out why it was so cheap. The truss rod was actually stripped. DOH!
So after a bit of reading, I removed the neck, then took a long metal strip, a hot iron and peeled off the fretboard gently. I pulled out the old truss rod, measured for a new one and ordered a double rod for $20 that would fit. Used my dremel to route the neck slightly larger so it would fit in.
Glued the fretboard back together and it works great! Love the sound and how it plays.
Fast forward almost a year and I broke my left pinkie really bad. I had been looking at lots of basses online and in Guitar Center and realized the only reason I was looking was I liked the colors better. So while I was out of commission I decided to refinish my body. Took out all the electronics and then used a heat gun, steel wool and some furniture polish remover to get rid of all the old black stain. It took a while for sure.
Then got a nice dark green and carefully stained it. I used a semi-gloss clear coat and did 5 coats on top. I chose semi-gloss because I knew I didn't get everything perfectly sanded and a gloss would show that off!
I was looking at other things online and found a used Warwick 4 string in exactly the same color/finish and was shocked! Guess I got really close to a factory color!
It's not perfect, but I really love the look and no longer have bass envy
I also have a Schecter Omen Elite 4 that I use for playing slap in a couple of our band's original songs.
