New bass coming, maybe need a make over!

anarchyok

anarchyok

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Hey guys,

Organised a trade - swapping my Swamp Ash Vette 5 for an '98 FNA 5string, in burgandy red. Bass looks in ok nick, but I think it would look better in Gold hardware so that might be on the cards. It does in fact have one gold knob already. The full Wenge neck looks awesome!!

The top has a big scratch on it, as seen in this pic. Any tips for possible removal? Its not biggie, i'm buying this bass to play the hell outta it, but if steaming it out might work, I'll give it a shot. I've just never worked on coloured oil warwicks....
 
I've just notice it has recessed straplocks. Do they fit the Warwick strap lock strap part??
 
Nice looking bass Jono ;)

I remember it for sale.

The scratch is a bit of a bummer - the steam method won't work as the finish has sealed the wood and is no longer porous - that is the steam can't get in to the timber's pores to expand the individual wc vessels.

If you try the steam method on this bass it's likely to damage the finish.

Live with it unless you're prepared for a refinish, and play the hell out of it.

:D
 
Can't do anything short of drastic to fix that scratch...

I'd stick with the chrome - it looks sharp to me, well, except for the one gold knob.

First order of business is to get some tapered strings on that thing! That B looks crazy :roll:
 
agree on the tapered strings... those look like EBMM slinkies.

I love the golden hardware instead of the chrome. I am little by little making all my basses have golden hardware.

the scratch looks sick but I think you can't do nothing besides stripping it and then steaming it out or a whole refinish. maybe if you put some of that glue that we used to use at school that is liquid and white in color and when it dries it dries transparent to try to fill the scratch a little bit? try a little and if it does not work then with a dampen cloth remove the glue which is water-soluble for the first days before it gets dryer.

or what about using some of that shoe polish in red to fill in the scar of the scratch.

maybe?

good deal on the swap man. you scored good on that one!!

if I had the bass i would:

1.- install tapered strings
2.- make all hardware gold
3.- get me spoe Dunlop Straplocks (which are what you have right now).
4.- get me a set of elecs and a J pickup to make it a Jazzman.
5.- if I had a lot of money then do a refinish.
 
Thanks for the advice guys, I think i'll go all new gold hardware on it.

The scratch doesn't really worry me - its certainly not a deal breaker. I might go the option of trying to fill it a little with some car polish stuff. In all honesty, if its too much trouble, I won't worry.

The owner has installed tapered strings and a JAN3 since those pics were taken.

All in all, a great bass i reckon, and the rest of it looks pretty mint. I'll take some good photos on Sat when I grab it, and then give it a clean up and make over and take some more. Similar to what I did with my bubinga one, which came up 10/10!!
 
Now just change your signature and show us pics of the bass once completed with cleaning and new additions :wink:

by the way the pic on your avatar has the corvette ash in natural finish... I like the fretboard look. did it had a special inlay or is it just the light that makes it look like it has a streak of blonde across it or inlays :?:
 
Yeh I know I need to update it!!

Its actually not in the original pic, for some reason when I reduced it for the avatar, it blurred the fretboard a bit...I was too lazy to try it again!
 
Looks pretty hot, almost looks better for being a bit worn and beaten up. Whatever colour you pick for the hardware though, you gotta make it match, the gold and chrome combo looks absolutely cr*p
 
Yeh I think the knob obviously got lost at some point and all that was on hand was a gold one. I'll be stripping the bass back when I get it in 2 days, cleaning it all up. I'll put a new chrome knob on first, and maybe change it all to gold if I think it will suit better later.

I'm gonna get Dominant (Warwick distributers in Australia) to have a look at the scratch - they seemed to think it was fixable.

I'd agree that a few battle wounds suit it, but i think the rest of the bass is impeccable, so I wouldn't mind fixing the scratch if its not a huge hassel.

I'm salivating at the thought of a full wenge neck though!
 
Excellent score Jono.I reckon you're gonna adore this baby.
I remember seeing ad for this same bass on TB iirc.The result of a toddler left alone with a bass & screwdriver within reach.
I wouldnt worry about it.It's not really the sort of damage that steaming will fix.This is more of a tinted sawdust & glue repair.Maybe Michael can get you some burgundy red sawdust sent over. :idea:
Did you get the email from Michael last night?Some pretty sweet CS's.
Congrats mate.Looking forward to hearing her in the wood. :wink:
 
Yeh as I said, scratch doesn't phase me one way or the other...i reckon this bass will sound massive with the Ashdown roaring.

Yup, i've posted some of those basses in the eye candy thread!!
 
All wenge necks are pretty damn awesome. Think I prefer them to the ovangkol necks, and defo prefer them to maple. I think they make the bass sound warmer, and they also feel nice and rough under the palm!!
 
So I got the bass - and it sounds amazing even without a good set up!!! And the scratch looks worse in photos than real life. So thats the pros!!

The Cons - the recessed straplocks don't fit my warwick style ones - can you fit new ones with do work with Warwick straplocks or do I have to change to dunlop locks? It also needs some new hardware - the string retainer is mangled (someone filled the b slot down a bit too quickly), and the tuners aren't fantastic either. And i need new chrome knobs to all match.

But all in all, awesome!!
 
Re.the recessed strap locks Jono.
Get them dowled & have new Warwick strap locks fitted.It's pretty easy,so ya can do it yourself.
Good to hear it plays good.All the other stuff is just cosmetic.
 
Apparently there are new style Warwick recessed ones, which I think are mix and match with the normal Warwick ones. If there aren't, i'll go the dowel method.

She's a beauty. Sounds amazing. So grunty!!
 
Why not just buy a new strap Jono, and have a strap for each bass. Sounds like a better option to me than dowelling the bass and fitting new locks.

;)

I know dowelling will work, and it's an effective repair, but I'd just live with a strap for each bass.

:D
 
Ah mate, I've got a strap for each bass. Catch is the bass didn't come with the strap lock parts for the dunlop ones anyway, so i've gotta buy some new locks. I'd prefer them to be all interchangeable for simplicity sakes.

Apparently the Warwick recessed ones should be an easy swap over, and then they'll all fit together! :)

Bass sounds so damn punchy, I can't get over it!!
 
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