Bass, an anthology...

[Az_Holl]

I finished doing my bass pretty much and thought you guys may like to see a little history behind it.

I receive the bass like this (september 2003), it had been living in my garage for a long time, I didn’t even know it was there.

I broke the bridge in half the first week I had it.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass1.jpg

My dad just happened to have this Schaller bridge lying around that he bought in the 80’s so on it went. Not only did it do a much better job, it was also no longer gold.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass2.jpg

Billy Sheehan was the first bass player I ever listened to, so I became a bit obsessed with him and decided that my bass would be like his.
I won a writing competition and with the money I purchased the dimarzio will power neck.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass3.jpg

Now for some crazy reason, I decided that my bass should be black…not a good idea.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass4.jpg

[Az_Holl]

After a while I actually got around to putting in volume and tone pots for both pickups and also a series/ parallel switch for each. (please ignore the knobs)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass5.jpg

Another aspect of Sheehans bass that I loved was the all maple tele neck. I sent Billy an email and he pointed me towards warmoth. Unfortunately this would have cost me an extraordinary amount of money, so I turned to ebay and picked this up for 100$

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass6.jpg

The short lived 21st fret theory… days were slow, boredom was high.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass7.jpg

Whilst my bass was really cool by this point, I felt that another pickup was a good idea, get a bit of a Stu Hamm thing going. I looked into many different humbuckers and finally decided on the Seymour Duncan MM replacement. I also put in a 3 way switch for it and the neck humbucker ( parallel/single coil/series)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass8.jpg

[Az_Holl]

At this point I thought that the paint job wasn’t holding up to the looks of the bass so I made the decision to re paint it, but until I could decide what to do with it, I was going to basically go nuts on it.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass9.jpg

An interesting look but nothing I could see myself sticking with.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass10.jpg

It was then that I decided that if I was going to paint it again it was probably going to turn to crap, like most home paint jobs do, so I made the decision to go all natural.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass11.jpg

The grain was a lot nicer than I originally anticipated, and there was a different wood used on the edges which make it awesome too

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass12.jpg

[Az_Holl]

I used floor sealer which gave amazing results

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass13.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass14.jpg

So yeah my bass now kills all of you sonically…and visually…. Just ignore the missing knobs and electrical tape.

[MyFriendOfMisery]

I used floor sealer which gave amazing results

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass13.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass14.jpg

So yeah my bass now kills all of you sonically…and visually…. Just ignore the missing knobs and electrical tape.
Wow..........that is awesome, just awesome.

[Thonk]

Very nice Az.

[nicatterberry]

I actually think that looks really good. Nice transformation.

[The_Red_Death]

Wow... Very nice indeed. :thumb:

[Sade]

Dude, it looks absolutely AMAZING now. Keep it that way.

[BassVirtuoso]

I'd get a different pickguard. Red Tortoise Maybe...

[darrell]

Do you have a pic of the whole bass together?

[Az_Holl]

Do you have a pic of the whole bass together?
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass15.jpg

Like that?

[Soulfly666]

Wow, quite a transformation. It looks pretty damn nice. :)

[Manticore Guy]

Very high quality look it gets from the natural finish. Definetely keep it like that.

[Left Shoe]

thats awesome

[Joelbassman]

He'll re-paint it in two weeks. You'll see.

[sub-bass]

That's quite a tale, of amazing perportions

[Az_Holl]

He'll re-paint it in two weeks. You'll see.
**** you

what arent you on msn? :(

[Joelbassman]

**** you
♥ :thumb: ♥

^Woah Ninja edit...MSN is bein screwy, otherwise I would be.

[WhoDidTheElf]

Wow that looks REALLY nice.

And is it just me or are the humbucker pickups kinda slanted?

[Az_Holl]

Wow that looks REALLY nice.

And is it just me or are the humbucker pickups kinda slanted?
You know they probably are...but there not meant to be :lol:

[WhoDidTheElf]

You mind if I ask why you taped over the pickups?

[Az_Holl]

♥ :thumb: ♥

^Woah Ninja edit...MSN is bein screwy, otherwise I would be.
YIM?

[Az_Holl]

You mind if I ask why you taped over the pickups?
To stop me form rusting out the pole pieces pretty much

[WhoDidTheElf]

Yeah that's what I thought, I just never figured that there wouldn't be enough swet or what have you to do that :lol:

[Joelbassman]

To stop me form rusting out the pole pieces pretty much
He sweats like Oprah Winfrey at Burger King.

[Az_Holl]

He sweats like Oprah Winfrey at Burger King.
Oh i so do :lol:

[sixner]

that's freaking great... the tones (i assume)are amazing with that PUP combo.... man.....

im jealous,haha

-sixner

[da_s_man13]

Dude.

:eek:



Thats all im saying

[Sade]

Seriously, don't mess with that bass anymore. It's absolutely gorgeous as is.

[nicatterberry]

Why don't you put some clear nail polish on the pole pieces? That electrical tape is really ugly.

[faelun]

hey what are the wierd white things on the neck? in the 3rd picture

[The_Red_Death]

Why don't you put some clear nail polish on the pole pieces? That electrical tape is really ugly.

Yeah, the only thing I don't love about that bass is the electrical tape.

[Az_Holl]

hey what are the wierd white things on the neck? in the 3rd picture
I wrote the note names of all the notes onto the pieces of paper and then i selloptaped them to the neck of the bass

[Criss Frantic]

Yeah, the only thing I don't love about that bass is the electrical tape.

123, but otherwise, it's friggin' amazing! I'm with Sade, you seriously should not mess with it again, that bass has attained nirvana!

[Az_Holl]

123, but otherwise, it's friggin' amazing! I'm with Sade, you seriously should not mess with it again, that bass has attained nirvana!
The tape isnt that noticeable really...well it is but it looks a lot worse in the photo.

[faelun]

thats cool, sounds like something i wooulda done to help me learn my neck XD anyways dudde ur bass is sooo amaazing

[Criss Frantic]

Are you gonna put knobs on, or do you like the look how it is?

[Az_Holl]

Are you gonna put knobs on, or do you like the look how it is?
Im going to. Ive got some that i got from Dick Smith but there not tall enough to cover the pot shaft. Heh that sounds dirty

[Criss Frantic]

Shaft, Knob, Dick Smith....it's all good!

[Alma]

Killer Az!

[Bass_swede]

NIIICE, but I also like the black/red/natural style..

[Aukai]

Dude, thats HOT, and inspiring.

[BassPlayingPineapple]

That is really really great man. Nice job :thumb:

[muthafunkabass]

Yeah, you made the thread. Awesome dude. What a transformation.

[SixnStones]

Atomicant ftw

[PaulR]

Please don't change it.

Except for knobs.

Knob your bass.

[tim_commerfordism]

WOW!

That looks gorgeus, so keep it like that.
BTW I think the DiMarzio is wonky?

hehe

[the101er]

Can I ask you how you stripped the paint?

Also, is there any way of making the two type wood when your bass only uses one kind of wood?

[Visti]

Wow, that is exactly what I'm doing to my bass, except mine has no pickguard and I also kept the paint on the back, but the front looks almost like it. I'm deciding on a finish right now.. you say you used floor sealer? Where do you get that?

[Wintermute]

Wow. That went from one of the worst home paintjobs I've ever seen to one of the best looking finishes I've seen on any P bass... Nice job! :thumb:

[Akira]

That is hot, but I am not so into the pickgaurd.

[darrell]

What is up with the way you strung your bass?

Edit: Better question, what kind of tuners are those? I've never seen a bass tuned like that... It looks more like really big guitar tuners. Then again, maybe I just haven't seen certain brands of basses.

Edit again (this is the reason why I only have 1,200 posts and not 2,000,000): I like this bass... probably the only P-Bass I've ever yearned for. lol... Maybe because Fender doesn't make it. I still want a nice Jazz bass though.

[muthafunkabass]

What is wrong with the way he strung his bass? What pic? And what is wrondg with the tuners? They are classic-head tuners......

[Lowtone]

What did you use to strip back all the paint?

[PaulSimonon]

Also, is there any way of making the two type wood when your bass only uses one kind of wood?
You could always stain it to look as though it's 2 parts, but it'd be pretty hard to get sharp lines between the natural and the stained parts because of how the wood absorbs the stain.

[SLKBassist]

[QUOTE= Also, is there any way of making the two type wood when your bass only uses one kind of wood?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, you can get a different colored stain. Just be very careful with it.

^^^oh paul beat me

[BenJammin]

Oh, wow. That is so hot. So, so hot.

*eyes my Peavey*

Hmm...

[pukeboy66]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y58/Atomicant/bass15.jpg

Like that?

oh my god


keep it ... dont do a damn thing to it.

[Led_Zeppelin678]

Now you can work on the rig that thing deserves.

:thumb:

[sanray]

wow a testament to the do it yourself movement

[wicked_child]

very nice!!! ever thought of putting 3 output? 1 for each pick up

[Az_Holl]

very nice!!! ever thought of putting 3 output? 1 for each pick up
...

No, its going to cost me around 2000$ just to get half of my rig going so 3 is just nuts.

And to those who asked- i got the paint off by heating it up with a heat gun and just carefully scraping it off. Im not sure if this will work for every type of paint...

Thanks for all you responses :thumb:

[burtonbassist_101]

that is absolutely gorgeous...just knob it :p

[Visti]

I sure wouldn't mind knobbing it.

[Led_Zeppelin678]

...

No, its going to cost me around 2000$ just to get half of my rig going so 3 is just nuts.

And to those who asked- i got the paint off by heating it up with a heat gun and just carefully scraping it off. Im not sure if this will work for every type of paint...

Thanks for all you responses :thumb:

What kind of insane monster rig are you going for?

[Az_Holl]

What kind of insane monster rig are you going for?
Power amp>BBE bmax preamp>dbx266xl compressor>effects>4x10 cab.

Soemthing like that for the high end. Ill probably jsut get a 1x15 combo for the neck pickup becasue it doesnt really need any effects or anything

[Led_Zeppelin678]

You might want to put the power amp at the end of the signal chain so you're not pushing XXX watts into your preamp, which couldn't end well.

If I were you, I'd get a couple Avatar cabs and a stereo power amp (QSC pwns), then a Sansamp RBI for the lows.

[Az_Holl]

My chain wasnt really definate, i have no idea about the whole amp/power/pre order i just put them down.

I looked at QSC a while ago and it would cost me a crapload more just to buy that.

But when im a millionaire im sure ill buy it all

[Led_Zeppelin678]

An RMX850 is like $300...

[mister_tee]

That thing is luurvely. I really like the different wood around the edge, makes it look very classy :thumb: Must have been a very nice surprise!

I'm not huge on the scratchplate and tape, but the rest is totally beautiful.

[Az_Holl]

An RMX850 is like $300...
Maybe in America, but its the QSC which is going to kill me

[bottlerocket]

Wow, that bass is pretty sweet...:amaze:

Nice job. That thing is a tank.

-Gav

[PaulR]

that is absolutely gorgeous...just knob it :p
I beat you to that joke on the page before :p

[amnestyslowend]

You might want to put the power amp at the end of the signal chain so you're not pushing XXX watts into your preamp, which couldn't end well.

If I were you, I'd get a couple Avatar cabs and a stereo power amp (QSC pwns), then a Sansamp RBI for the lows.


Yes the sansamp/bbe/qsc combo is great I use it my self and I have no problems with it.

[da_s_man13]

What horrible things have you done to this bass lately Az? Started molesting the Jazz yet?

[Radiobass81]

It's a year old thread.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Please don't bump old threads, my dear posters.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Seriously, don't mess with that bass anymore. It's absolutely gorgeous as is.

:lol:

This Sade account isn't even banned.