First Project

[gonzosc1]

just joined the site,,,whats up?

I getting ready to start my first project. I got a hold of a 86 Hamer Blitz Bass that is completely trashed out. about the only thing its good for at this moment would be a boat paddle,,LOL

I'm going off the beaten path for my first project. I'm going to do a full "custom" restore on it. it won't be a Hamer when I'm done with it. and also doing a 4 to 5 string conversion on it. I will have some limited help from a local builder but can't afford to pay him and restore the bass. so I will have questions for everyone here

supplies are the first order of the day. can someone direct me to a site for pre-slotted fingerboards? I went to stew mac's but they only offer a 34" scale 24 fret board. I need a 34" scale 21 fret board. I emailed stew mac about getting one made but they said no!!! help!!

thanks

[ngaa]

Just oder the fretboard from stewmac, and cut off the last three frets, but don't forget to leave as much room as possible after the 21st fret.

Or just order a fingerboard blank from them and slot it yourself.

[gonzosc1]

Ah,, cool thanks ngaa,,,

[ihocky2]

Also check out Allied Luthiery, and LMII. I'm not sure what their stock scale lengths are, but it gives you more options.

[gonzosc1]

Also check out Allied Luthiery, and LMII. I'm not sure what their stock scale lengths are, but it gives you more options.

cool, thanks

[gonzosc1]

just to get some ideas here, I thinking of doing this.

the stock fingerboard is pulling up off the neck at the heel end of the neck. I have to remove it anyway to do my 4 to 5 string conversion so I'm thinking of either a Wenge or Ebony fingerboard. I'm leaning towards the ebony as the black color will work better with the finish I have in mind.

the finish I'm shooting for will be dark honey stained quilt veneer top and head stock, the back and sides will be black. now the blitz bass is an explorer style bass and Hamer beveled the edges alot, maybe about 5/16 or so. thats a huge bevel and I'm thinking of letting the mahogany wood show through on the bevel front and back so the black sides will look like a stripe all the way around the bass. the neck is maple and I will just do a clear satin on that.

"question" the bass is trashed, lot of dings. I'm going to try to stream out as many dings as I can on the body. but in order to let the bevels show wood I need to get them all, if I can't rise the dings is there some way to fill them and make them look natural?????? or will the process of sanding sealer fill them good enough to look right and not show through the clear coat?????

thoughts on my finish?????????

on to the 4 to 5 string conversion. I've been talking to the only guy I can find on the web that does this conversion.

but he travels alot so can't alway get a hold of him. so I ended up on the Hamer fan club board and of coarse everyone there says don't do it. the neck can't handle the extra tension without the extra wood mass in the neck.

but my conversion guy says it the perfect bass to do it on.

So heres my plan for that conversion. while I have the old finger board off I will get my local builder to reroute the truss rod channel a little deeper to add the two way truss from stew mac. also will route extra channels on both sides of the truss rod and add carbin fiber rods from stew mac. I think that should handle anything I throw at it. Thoughts????

Thanks

[Mattia]

If you're staining, you don't want to fill dings. You might even consider making the bevels bigger/deeper if steaming doesn't work.

Dual CF rods and a dual action rod will add plenty of stability and adjustability, more than enough for 5 strings (although I'm still not clear on how the spacing's going to work out there...is the neck that wide and/or are there bridges that go that narrow?). Besides, what does the Hamer fan club board know about building guitars?

[Robert Burrows]

okay, the best peice advice I can give you on this is to do it one step at a time.

I had the same problem with my guitar, a local guitar builder Feline Guitars with no way to afford 'my dream guitar' in a delapadated peice of shakey/rickety guitar from the 60's...

the catalyst for this project was when I spent £300 (GBP) to get it fixed this year!, and I baught it in March 2000 when I was 13 out of some money gained at high school for £45 (haggled down from £60) in a south London pawn shop.

I knew what I wanted from the moment I saw it, hence I managed to to somehow persued the salesman to lower the price.

I did'nt even know how I was going to do do itlol, I just knew I wanted it to have Slash's pickup's from his 59' Gibson Les Paul Goldtop that he used on tour with Guns N' Roses.

Now... Dec 2007, I beat the new year, so I can safely say, it's a 1960's guitar, rebuilt in 2007.

I've cut it fine though, it's been booked in to the guitar shop, and me at the age of 21, is hopeing and praying that I can afford to take it home in 2007! LOL 4 real though , I've put £60 down as a deposit to soften the blow, but still hopeing and praying

Edited December 7, 2007 by Robert Burrows

[gonzosc1]

If you're staining, you don't want to fill dings. You might even consider making the bevels bigger/deeper if steaming doesn't work.

Dual CF rods and a dual action rod will add plenty of stability and adjustability, more than enough for 5 strings (although I'm still not clear on how the spacing's going to work out there...is the neck that wide and/or are there bridges that go that narrow?). Besides, what does the Hamer fan club board know about building guitars?

I don't plan on staining the bevels. the mahogany is a nice dark brown/red so I'll leave it natural.

if I fill the dings with sanding sealer will they look right after the many coats of clear????????

yeah I think I got the stability thing covered.

as far as the neck width goes. its 1 3/4" at the nut, which is the nut width on my Ibanes 5 string. so I'm good there.

on the bridge,,, well I have narrowed it down to 2.. #1 a 2 piece Warwick bridge which is fully adjustable on the string spacing.

and #2 the single Hipshot bridges pieces which can be placed at any spacing I want. but the question remains on the hipshots.. can I get them close enough together if needed. need to research the size of the hopshots more.

will also convert to string through.

I think the guys on the Hamer boards just want to see it stay a Hamer..but it won't..LOL the main reason for the conversion is that the necks on every 5 string I have tryed are just too uncomfortable for me.. too much wood!!! been playing bass for 25-30 years, always 4 string and always a 1.5" nut width when possible..

Edited December 8, 2007 by gonzosc1