Introduction: My Bass Guitar That I Stripped, Sanded, and Stained
A while back, I bought a Fender Squier Bass at a pawn shop for $60, it had had a rough life. When I bought the bass it had some spray paint on spots of it, and it had been doused in glitter. It was originally blue and I think someone sanded the edges down a little to the white to give it a custom look. I actually kindof liked the way it looked but I wanted to stain it and make it my own. So I took it home and stripped the paint and stained it. I painted the pickguard, bought some knobs and a bridge cover and some new strings. It was a really fun project, my first of this kind. I had a blast doing it.
17 Comments
11 years ago on Introduction
HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR POOR POOR BASS GUITAR? nah, cool, hope it was a cheap one though
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
thanks, haha yeah I got it at a pawn shop for $60 so it wasn't a huge risk.
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
thats an awesome price! does it still work?
Reply 11 years ago on Introduction
haha yeah it still works great!
12 years ago on Introduction
That's awesome :) What kind of paint did you use on the pickguard?
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Thanks! I just bought some spray paint from walmart that can be used on wood, plastic, metal, etc. I'm not sure what the brand was though.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Ok thanks :) I've been wantin to paint the pickguard on my bass black
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
No problem. Hope it goes well.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Paint will come off, why not buy a black pickguard or make a metal one?
Plus metal isolates the pickups perfectly ;)
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Yes the paint has started to slightly come off, but it gives it a feel. Haha I dont know I cant explain it, but I like it. And I just painted it because I had the original and I didnt want to spend more money than I just had to so I painted it.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Relic look perhaps...? Something fender charges massively for ? :P
uhu... pimp my cheapo vibe :)
I'm working on my les paul on the moment, not so cheap. But pimpin' has to be done.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
what do you mean by isolating the pickups? is it a sound thing or how it makes them stand out?
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
No, its not a visual thing. Metal isolates Radio Interference. So if your pickguard is totally metal, you can apply the ground cable to it, making it an effective way of isolation.
The pickup cavity is usally painted with copper paint of foil for the same reason. Grounding is important to avoid hum also. 50 Hz in Europe, and 60Hz in America.
If you want to read more, just google grounding electric guitar.
I.E.
Old telecasters sound very different from new versions. One part is the old brass bridge baseplate AND the brass plate under the bridgepickup. This makes the magnetic field aimed upwards to the strings, giving a tele its bite and its wide response.
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
hmmm, ill have to keep that in mind
12 years ago on Introduction
what would have been really cooll for your pickguard (and i used this when i redid my tele, which i will do diferently on my next project) is if you used chalkboard paint and then draw on it. although on this with just the plain wood finished stain the flat black looks nice
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Sweet! I may try that out next time. Thanks!
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
Yeah I know but don't get regular chalk get chalkboard pens because they won't scratch the paint and won't rub off easily