Chord Solidbody Bass Upgrade and Makeover

Happy New Year folks :) This is my first post for 2021, and it features a "Chord" solidbody bass that looks a lot like a typical Jazz Bass. Construction-wise, this bass sports a plywood body, three-ply white/black/white pickguard, bolt-on maple neck; and 12" radius rosewood fretboard with 21 frets. The electronics consist of two single-coil pickups wired to two volumes and a master tone.

As the owner didn't quite like the stock red finish, he requested that the bass be refinished in flat black. He also wanted the "Chord" headstock label removed, for obvious reasons. And so, the headstock face was sanded down to bare wood; and refinished in Tru-Oil. Meanwhile, any visible dings and gouges in the body were filled with Elmer's Wood Filler and sanded flat. Then, after scuff-sanding the whole body, it was refinished in flat black; with a top coat of flat clear for added protection.

Although the stock electronics were working fine, I was instructed to upgrade them, and while I was at it; shield the body cavities with conductive shielding paint. New components added included Alpha 250K pots, a Russian K40Y-9 0.033uF tone cap; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack.

Hardware-wise, all rusty components were replaced. Luckily, the bridge, as well as control and neck plates; were still in useable condition. They were given a good de-gunking, lube and polish; and reused. The open-gear "elephant ear" tuners, however, just had to go. The gears were worn and would not turn smoothly even after servicing. One of them even had a loose ear which would not stay in place. As such, they were honorably discharged; and a new set installed. And, as expected; it was not a simple drop-in job. The old tuner mounting screw holes had to be plugged and trimmed flush, new holes drilled; and the tuner holes reamed a bit to accommodate the slightly-larger tuner posts.

Well, folks, that's it for this post. Thanks for visiting, and do drop by again soon. Meanwhile, stay home, stay safe; and God bless :)

BC Rich US Series Outlaw Solidbody

Here's a BC Rich US Series Outlaw that came in for an electronics overhaul and setup. It was bought used in 1999 and has definitely seen a lot of use since then. If you'd like to compare this guitar to a similar one in much better shape, do check out this Reverb listing.

The BC Rich Outlaw is basically a Strat-style solidbody featuring a maple neck, 12" radius maple fretboard, 22 jumbo frets, two humbuckers, three-way blade switch, two volumes and one tone; and Strat-style six-screw tremolo bridge.

There was lots wrong with this Outlaw when it came in. Plugged in, all you could hear was a loud hum. Yes, open circuit! Besides this, the frets were badly worn and the saddles frozen. Oh yes, someone had also reamed out the jack plate and installed a barrel jack. Further checking revealed rusted-out electronics and seriously miswired pickup leads. To put it bluntly, the guitar would not have worked even if the pots were Emerson Pros, the switch a CRL; and the jack a Switchcraft #11.

The whole control cavity was gutted and pickups removed for a thorough checkup. Each had four leads plus a braided ground. Both coils of both pickups were working, and so, after splicing some extra wire (the leads had been cut a tad too short by the previous tech) and a rewire; everything was fine and dandy.

The rusty pots were replaced with Alpha 500Ks, the switch with a generic PCB-type; and barrel jack with a Neutrik/Rean NYS229. And, as the oval jack plate had been attached to the body with humungous pan head screws; the oversized screw holes were plugged and redrilled to accept generic 1/2" pickguard screws.

As for the frozen saddles, they were removed and given a good soak in lube. After things had loosened up somewhat, the saddle height screws were unscrewed with the aid of nippers. Following this, new saddle height screws, as well as intonation screws/springs; were installed.

This Outlaw badly needed a full refret as the frets were worn down too low for a dressing. However, insufficient funds dictated that this would not come to pass. And so, after slapping on a set of Ernie Ball Super Slinkys, the guitar was tuned to pitch, the truss rod tightened a tad; and action/intonation done.

Well folks, that's about it for this post. Thanks for dropping by, I appreciate it very much. And though we're all facing challenging times, do have a very Merry Christmas with your loved ones :)

Acknowledgement
Fender®, Stratocaster®, Strat®, Telecaster®, Tele®, P Bass®, Precision Bass®, and the distinctive headstock designs of these guitars are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.

 

Ibanez RG350EXZ Restoration: Part Two

Quick Links:    Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In Part One, we examined the main features of the Ibanez RG350EXZ. Now, in this post, I'll talk about what was done to restore this guitar. We'll begin with the electronics, then. The pickups were in working condition; albeit a little cruddy. The control cavity components were totally shot, however. 

As can be seen in the pics, the pots, switch and output jack were either rusty, corroded, encrusted in salt; or a combination of all three. This being the case, the pickups were cleaned and polished to best of my ability; with extra care taken so as not to rub off the silk-screened characters. Following this, new Alpha A500K pots, five-way switch, poly 0.033uF cap and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 jack socket were wired in.

As for the Edge Zero II and ZPS3Fe, both were covered in grime; crud and dust. The entire tremolo system was dismantled, and serviced separately. The Edge Zero II was first subjected to electrolysis in a sodium bicarbonate bath, and after a close encounter with a heat gun; disassembled, lubed, and reassembled. The ZPS3Fe was taken apart, cleaned and lubed component by component; and finally put together again.

Basically all the hardware components were given a good cleaning, lube job and polish; as they were in a pitiful state. The objective was to save as many of the original components as possible. Sad to say, none of the pickguard or trem cavity screws were retained; as they were too corroded to be of any use.

Well, folks, that's about it for this post. Thanks for dropping by, and hope to see you again real soon. Stay safe, stay healthy; and God bless :)

 

 

OLP MM1F Restoration: Part Two

Quick Links: Part One | Part Two | Part Three

In the previous post, we took a brief look at what needed to be done in order to restore this OLP MM1F to gigging condition. And so, this post outlines just that. We'll begin with the pickups, then. A brand new DiMarzio DP151 PAF Pro® (neck) and DP155 The Tone Zone® (bridge) were wired in; coil splitting enabled by an NKK (Japan) DPDT switch. 

Complementing the upgrade were an Alpha A500K pot, three-way toggle switch; and Neutrik/Rean NYS229 output jack. Gavitt® single conductor braided shield cable was used for the master volume-output jack run. Other repairs/enhancements included a thorough cleaning and lube job for the hardware and Floyd Rose-licensed trem, a new "football" jack plate, hole plugging and sealing, fret dressing; and additional trem spring.