Andyjr1515 Posted June 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2016 1 minute ago, Prostheta said: Yes, you do. Those are some mighty pickups in terms of their flexibility and those LED bellwhistles. I didn't realise they were so blood expensive though. Is that each or as a set? Either way. That's out there, man. That's the set.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 11, 2016 Report Share Posted June 11, 2016 Time to sell the third kidney then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 12, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2016 Mick sent me an orangey colour that he wanted me to match for the top. He wanted the top to contrast but coordinate with the mahogany splices of the neck. However, he didn't want it looking pristine...more like that it had always looked like that. I got a few ink samples in (I'm happy to risk any colour fade on this one. I don't actually think it will be overly susceptible but, if it did fade it would merely add to the 'always looked like this' ) and started experimenting. One thing was bothering me. Not the front - the back. Walnut is lovely; this walnut is lovely; walnut is brown-brown; but brown-brown does not coordinate with orange... Never tried it before - but how abouts staining the walnut with orange ink? Talk about a revelation.... That'll do for the back.... ....now just got to get the front right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 I used a blend of orange and amber inks to stain the top panels. Mick wanted it to look 'of its age', but not relic'd, and wanted a satin finish. The best satin finish generally I've ever achieved is using the tru-oil slurry technique but I've always steered clear of stained finishes because of the fear of slurrying away the stain. For the look that Mick was after, though, this would be the best way so I pondered on the issue and tried something new. My logic went something like this: Use the Birchwood Casey Sealer/Filler first. A couple to three decent coats and let fully harden Then apply the tru-oil with a gentle slurry - not to slurry the wood (as usual with this technique) but to slurry the tru-oil! For the 'dirtying' I would add some spirit wood dye (deep mahogany) to a coat of tru oil - applying it scattershot at the high wear points. Then a final slurry and buff to soften the dirtying effect and achieve the final satin feel It may not be to everyone's taste, but for what I was trying to achieve it worked surprisingly well. What is encouraging for future reference is that you really can get the tru-oil satin / silky effect on stained wood... This was the result: That looks a bit better than when it started, doesn't it? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 13, 2016 Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 On 6/12/2016 at 7:16 AM, Andyjr1515 said: Never tried it before - but how abouts staining the walnut with orange ink? PaulieMac, over in Dublin has a habit of staining Walnut. It's not something I'd of ever thought up on my own, since walnut is often the target look for the end product.....but it can be stunning, as you've just proven. This does indeed look much better than when you started. The cavity plugs don't even bother as much as I expected them to. They are quite subdued, aren't they? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 5 minutes ago, ScottR said: The cavity plugs don't even bother as much as I expected them to. They are quite subdued, aren't they? SR Hi, Scott Yes - this is where the thought of using dye with the walnut came from. I wanted to use walnut for the infills rather than yet another wood, but didn't want it to look (even more) like a Neapolitan cake. I thought that adding orange to the walnut would tone them down a little - which, as you say, it seems to have. That's when I went a bit crazy and decided to dye the back too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 What I forgot to mention was that this project had a bit of a deadline ('bit of a' actually meaning 'very tight'!) Mick was anxious to get his hands on the refinished bass but was also organising one of the regional UK meets for the Basschat forum. Would it be at all possible for the bass, assuming it didn't fall to pieces in the meantime, to be finished in time for that? At the time Mick asked me that, there was no certainty that it would be ready in time, but I upped the time spent on it considerably. The deal we agreed was that I come to the meet (a couple of hours drive away) and would bring it anyway to either hand it over, or to show Mick and the others the progress and then take it back with me. The advantage was that, if it was finished, it would negate the need to have it couriered! Cutting an already long story short, with a few nice-to-have's left out, I got it finished. This is a very happy Mick on seeing it for the first time: What I didn't know was that at the bash also was a demo of the Sims Super Quad pickups by one of Sims dealers, Nick Smith. What I also didn't know was that, for the demo, Mick had asked him if he would demo his new bass! So, 35 secs in you see Mick putting the bass into the rack, at 4.10 mins Nick picks it out (it hadn't even been tuned!) and at the end of the demo you even see the old git Andyjr1515 himself answering a question! (in fact you see him standing at the back here with a crazed grin on his face): Mick was delighted with it and put in a very flattering review into the forum. He also named the bass - after the dicussions we'd had about taking a sow's ear.....he has christened it The Silk Bass Great project with a happy ending - and along the way, taking me into interesting and unexplored territory....again 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 13, 2016 Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 Always good to hear everybody talking honestly and having a great time around these basses, including your repair! Love the sounds you can get out of it....those pickups are definitely as flexible as they look on paper. Maybe I should consider dropping one of those in the Rick? I'm still very much conflicted about what to drop in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted June 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 4 minutes ago, Prostheta said: Always good to hear everybody talking honestly and having a great time around these basses, including your repair! Love the sounds you can get out of it....those pickups are definitely as flexible as they look on paper. Maybe I should consider dropping one of those in the Rick? I'm still very much conflicted about what to drop in there. They are undoubtedly very nice....but the price is eye-watering. Mind you, the price of a single I suppose isn't too bad if you say it quickly enough.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 13, 2016 Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 I'm going to have a hard time trying to justify it. I really am. I made a rod for my own back by specifying a Hipshot D style bridge, so quite likely this just will not happen. If I were to have a single pickup, I can easily imagine as to why this could take the place. It has enough voicings and balance to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SIMpleONe89 Posted June 13, 2016 Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 Great to see how you conquered the problems and the end product looks awesome! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psikoT Posted June 15, 2016 Report Share Posted June 15, 2016 Looks great!... I honestly didn't expect very much from that piece of wood in terrible conditions you received, but you sir brought it to life in a couple of weeks. Very nice work, congratulations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Magnificent job on this, what an awesome result. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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