Pimp my instrument
Moderators: Slowy, Capt. Black
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- Tokai
- Posts: 441
- meble-kuchenne.warszawa.pl
- Joined: Tue Apr 20, 2004 2:07 pm
- Location: Napier, Hawkes bay
- Polar Bear
- Burns BHM
- Posts: 6305
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 12:53 am
- Location: Wellington
- Has liked: 340 times
- Been liked: 342 times
Carpet normally covers the floor...Jloo wrote: whats that furry little thing doing down there?!!
Zephyr - Wellington's Leading Covers Band
http://zephyrband.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/ZephyrBandNZ
http://zephyrband.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/ZephyrBandNZ
Furry little thing? You mean the little white weird-looking rabbit thing? That's Mashimaro: http://www.mashimaro.com/gallery/flash_opening.aspJloo wrote:now thats what i call PimpED!
whats that furry little thing doing down there?!!
http://www.bictody.com/mashimaro.html
You probably shouldn't have asked, right?
My twitting tweets of twitterness
@ash lol/RT "@ChelseaVPeretti Had fun in the Cinema Tent tonight w @adultswim @robcorddry #bonnaroo #fonz #hottubtimemachineintonationjokes #childrenshospital #mud #pee" //by @Jenesis
Here be bloggins
@ash lol/RT "@ChelseaVPeretti Had fun in the Cinema Tent tonight w @adultswim @robcorddry #bonnaroo #fonz #hottubtimemachineintonationjokes #childrenshospital #mud #pee" //by @Jenesis
Here be bloggins
That's a lot of coloursOptimus_prime wrote:I got a tad board in photoshop
so I did what all cool guys do
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v142/ ... l1copy.jpg
It's pretty shitty
but I'm a shitty kinda guy
My twitting tweets of twitterness
@ash lol/RT "@ChelseaVPeretti Had fun in the Cinema Tent tonight w @adultswim @robcorddry #bonnaroo #fonz #hottubtimemachineintonationjokes #childrenshospital #mud #pee" //by @Jenesis
Here be bloggins
@ash lol/RT "@ChelseaVPeretti Had fun in the Cinema Tent tonight w @adultswim @robcorddry #bonnaroo #fonz #hottubtimemachineintonationjokes #childrenshospital #mud #pee" //by @Jenesis
Here be bloggins
- Rog
- The Self-Proclaimed Voice of Reason
- Posts: 9291
- Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2003 12:30 pm
- Location: Under de mountain
- Has liked: 20 times
- Been liked: 66 times
Rog's FrankenP - progress report
I received my new Probe bass last night and the upgrade is nearly done.
When the bass arrived, it was actually very playable for a $199 brand new MIC bass - far better than I expected. The neck is very nice, a tad thinner than a Fender P, quite fast and the tuners very stable. The body finish is a bit thin in one place and the pups were fine - quite strong, although maybe lacking a bit of definition. The pots operated smoothly and no scratching. The tone roll-off was perfect for a P. All in all, it was well set up and perfectly playable. As far as I'm concerned, I would've been happy to gig with it as was.
However, the object was to FrankenP it, so I stripped it and found out that the body is solid wood (basswood apparently), not plywood like some other Chinese instruments. As I pulled out the pups, two of the wires just fell off - this was repeated as soon as I moved the scratchplate - two wires fell of the controls. This was a clear indication of poor factory soldering, so I resoldered all joints.
I thought the instrument looked quite nice in red with the white plastic scratchplate, but I wanted to re-use my old solid brass plate, so off it went.
The pups came out easily and I re-used the foam padding for my DiMarzios. I replaced the pups in the same screw holes as the original, but I noticed they didn't line up perfectly under the strings (I didn't actually check this with the original pups), so I had to adjust their position a little.
I wired the pups with a series/parallel switch, as I've found that allows for a bit more bite on some songs and a more bass on others.
The neck pocket fit with my new neck was very tight - in fact I had to slap it into place (that'll larn it).
The screw holes for the brass scratchplate didn't line up overly well, but I expected that also.
At this stage I've left the factory strings on, being my only bass with rounds.
I assembled it all, plugged it in had a thrash - it is a very nice playing bass. I can gig with this no worries and when I play bass again, it'll become my everyday P bass when I need a red P with rounds. My other P is purple with flats & my Jazz is white with flats.
Next step is to get a bridge cover (I don't like bare bridges) and a thumb rest (I never use them, other than for a place to put my pick, but a Fender bass just doesn't look right without one), since my scratchplate has the holes for one.
When they're fitted, it will be completed.
The object of my little exercise was to make it look and play like a real Fender P Bass - I think that'll be quite achievable. Funnily enough, the thing weighs about the same as my real Fender - I expected it to be lighter.
If I had to buy all the bits and do this process, it would have been a stupid upgrade and cost more than a MIM P bass, but since I had the major bits lying around, it was a great upgrade. Of course, I could have made my own P body and gone through all of that, but I just couldn't be bothered - its only money.
I'll post pics when I've got all the parts and its finished.
When the bass arrived, it was actually very playable for a $199 brand new MIC bass - far better than I expected. The neck is very nice, a tad thinner than a Fender P, quite fast and the tuners very stable. The body finish is a bit thin in one place and the pups were fine - quite strong, although maybe lacking a bit of definition. The pots operated smoothly and no scratching. The tone roll-off was perfect for a P. All in all, it was well set up and perfectly playable. As far as I'm concerned, I would've been happy to gig with it as was.
However, the object was to FrankenP it, so I stripped it and found out that the body is solid wood (basswood apparently), not plywood like some other Chinese instruments. As I pulled out the pups, two of the wires just fell off - this was repeated as soon as I moved the scratchplate - two wires fell of the controls. This was a clear indication of poor factory soldering, so I resoldered all joints.
I thought the instrument looked quite nice in red with the white plastic scratchplate, but I wanted to re-use my old solid brass plate, so off it went.
The pups came out easily and I re-used the foam padding for my DiMarzios. I replaced the pups in the same screw holes as the original, but I noticed they didn't line up perfectly under the strings (I didn't actually check this with the original pups), so I had to adjust their position a little.
I wired the pups with a series/parallel switch, as I've found that allows for a bit more bite on some songs and a more bass on others.
The neck pocket fit with my new neck was very tight - in fact I had to slap it into place (that'll larn it).
The screw holes for the brass scratchplate didn't line up overly well, but I expected that also.
At this stage I've left the factory strings on, being my only bass with rounds.
I assembled it all, plugged it in had a thrash - it is a very nice playing bass. I can gig with this no worries and when I play bass again, it'll become my everyday P bass when I need a red P with rounds. My other P is purple with flats & my Jazz is white with flats.
Next step is to get a bridge cover (I don't like bare bridges) and a thumb rest (I never use them, other than for a place to put my pick, but a Fender bass just doesn't look right without one), since my scratchplate has the holes for one.
When they're fitted, it will be completed.
The object of my little exercise was to make it look and play like a real Fender P Bass - I think that'll be quite achievable. Funnily enough, the thing weighs about the same as my real Fender - I expected it to be lighter.
If I had to buy all the bits and do this process, it would have been a stupid upgrade and cost more than a MIM P bass, but since I had the major bits lying around, it was a great upgrade. Of course, I could have made my own P body and gone through all of that, but I just couldn't be bothered - its only money.
I'll post pics when I've got all the parts and its finished.
He hit a chord that rocked the spinet and disappeared into the infinite ...
Re: Rog's FrankenP - progress report
The first Bass I bought my son was a Probe... and no-one here had heard of them. I now have the Probe and he has a Squier 5 string P-bass Special.Rog wrote:I received my new Probe bass last night and the upgrade is nearly done.
When the bass arrived, it was actually very playable for a $199 brand new MIC bass - far better than I expected. The neck is very nice, a tad thinner than a Fender P, quite fast and the tuners very stable. The body finish is a bit thin in one place and the pups were fine - quite strong, although maybe lacking a bit of definition. The pots operated smoothly and no scratching. The tone roll-off was perfect for a P. All in all, it was well set up and perfectly playable. As far as I'm concerned, I would've been happy to gig with it as was.
The Probe is mine now, and is likely to be all that I ever need.
Stewbaby
All your guitars are belong to us!
All your guitars are belong to us!
- Bg
- Site Admin
- Posts: 43366
- Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2003 12:13 am
- Location: Auckland
- Has liked: 2269 times
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you can use a jigsaw if you're very careful, and a rasp, files, sandpaper (or belt sander). One thing you can't really get away from is a router - well you can but I wouldn't try it without.
The biggest thing you need though is patience.
The biggest thing you need though is patience.
So, is that low alcohol or no alcohol at all? mmmm, no alcohol, do you want to try it? Noooooooooo.
- ash
- Vintage Post Junkie
- Posts: 7505
- Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 4:01 pm
- Location: Auckland, NZ
- Has liked: 3 times
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A $30 jigsaw, a power drill,a forstner bit and a sharp chisel is about all the technology you need if you want to keep it simple. You still have to know some woodworking skills, perhaps more this way, but its all do-able. Plenty of resources on the internet to show the steps. If you want to skip some of the hard parts and avoid spending $100 on tools, PM me and I'll see what we can come up with. Polar Bear's breadboard guitar was made without much fancy gear, but a little of my handiwork in the difficult stages.
http://ashcustomworks.com for custom built electric guitars hand made in new zealand
- Rog
- The Self-Proclaimed Voice of Reason
- Posts: 9291
- Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2003 12:30 pm
- Location: Under de mountain
- Has liked: 20 times
- Been liked: 66 times
Yes, when I used to make my own guitars, all I had was a sawbench (which is why I only have three useable fingers on my left hand - LOL), a hand jigsaw, a planer, hammer and chisels, electric drill and sandpaper.
For the routing, I used the drill, with a bit of tape wrapped around the bit to give me the depth to basically honeycomb the area, then chiselled it out smooth. I've never owned or operated a router.
That's lo tech, but one can go high tech just as easily.
For the routing, I used the drill, with a bit of tape wrapped around the bit to give me the depth to basically honeycomb the area, then chiselled it out smooth. I've never owned or operated a router.
That's lo tech, but one can go high tech just as easily.
He hit a chord that rocked the spinet and disappeared into the infinite ...
- Polar Bear
- Burns BHM
- Posts: 6305
- Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 12:53 am
- Location: Wellington
- Has liked: 340 times
- Been liked: 342 times
Indeed, it's playing a lot nicer now that I've actually set it up a little too. The body is fantastic, however don't be a spud when it comes to the wiring, it can really let the side down.ash wrote:A $30 jigsaw, a power drill,a forstner bit and a sharp chisel is about all the technology you need if you want to keep it simple. You still have to know some woodworking skills, perhaps more this way, but its all do-able. Plenty of resources on the internet to show the steps. If you want to skip some of the hard parts and avoid spending $100 on tools, PM me and I'll see what we can come up with. Polar Bear's breadboard guitar was made without much fancy gear, but a little of my handiwork in the difficult stages.
Zephyr - Wellington's Leading Covers Band
http://zephyrband.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/ZephyrBandNZ
http://zephyrband.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/ZephyrBandNZ