LeftyBassist.com

I have a question about modifying a P-Bass I own that has already been modified once. Here are the specs:

1974 P-Bass body, installed with Bartolinis, routed near the bridge for a Bart soapbar pickup.
1996 MIA P-Bass neck

My question is, if I were to refinish the body, in another color, would that reduce the street price of this bass? I tend to think not, since this bass is not even close to being all-original. However, it certainly has a nice, authentic relic'd look to it (the paint's wearing off "nicely" around the edges - I guess some people like that).

Thanks.

A refinished bass will almost always retain more original market value than a re-routed one, however, given the amount of mods done to this bass I'd say you have nothing to lose in value. I like the look of the original sunburst here, but go ahead and do what you want.

^ Thanks. I was actually thinking about filling in the rear route with a piece of alder (well fitted and glued), then refinishing in sonic blue. I'm hoping to leave no trace of the rear route. Is this achievable? I've never refinished a bass before.

you will most likely (98% or so) eventually be able to see the patch work you do to fill in the MM pickup route given enough time for everything to settle/shrink, but it may only be visible when the body is held at certain angles that highlight the surface no being of Class A formation

different wood types expand/shrink at different rates, and every bondo (or other filler) job I've ever seen eventually shows in a low angle reflection given enough time and the right conditions

all the best,

R

p.s. I like that you have the MM pickup 'correctly' orientated!

I really, really, really dislike MM pickups mounted with both ears on top, as there's no real comfortable place to rest your thumb

(did I say that I really dislike a MM with "both ears up"?)

all the best,

R

^ Thanks. That certainly makes sense (wood types).

Do you think that Bart MMC is too close the bridge? It looks closer that a Stringray placement to me. I don't care too much - it sounds great.

Dave Edwards here, new to the site... hi, I concur with Rodent, I have done some repairs to fill embarassing mistakes by those of us without a crystal ball.
Who woulda thunk when we were routing holes in these in the late seventies, that these basses would actually appreciate in value? I have a suggestion for you. It would be a bit tricky, and a really good luthier- repair tech could do it. After you fill the hole with a suitable piece of wood, you could apply a very thin veneer over the repaired area- a larger than the area overlay patch, if you want to call it... with the grain in the same direction as the body pieces. If you 'flank it in' or feather the edges just right, and it is thin enough to not bulge over the top... it will be hidden under the primer you'll be applying. I make a paste filler out of epoxy and dust, or pigment, and fill any gaps at the filled area. Use Denatured alcohol as a solvent if using epoxy. After curing, I block sand with grits down to 320. Then, apply the overlay on top of that levelled surface. I'd use a thin epoxy or hot hide glue to apply it, to prevent hydroscopic curling of the veneer if you were to use white or yellow wood glues. Do NOT use Weldwood contact cement, -after 40+ years I still hate that stuff. After the refin, it might be almost undetectable. Auto body men know defects are best hidden under lighter colors, such as sonic blue. I know first hand...I made the incredibly uninformed decision to strip my BLACK 1976 Pontiac Trans-Am to bare metal, and do all the body work myself. I thought I was in hell. I also learned that Ditzler makes a nice black acrylic lacquer! Good luck with the refin...I hear good things about the Reranch company's Fender colors in aerosols, and their refinishing products.

^ Awesome. Thanks.

Just a note on this topic of filling in the routing. I had a professional job done on my Warmoth P Bass from the 80's. In time the seam began to show and you could see the line where the filler was placed. Be careful and I would have this done by a professional luthier that has lots of experience with this. The body would look very good in blue.

What he said! This is totally true, wood moves in different degrees than glue and dissimilar filler wood pieces/plugs. That is why after filling the rout, to slightly recess the entire area, and feather in the aforementioned overlay, filling over it with primer and finish. That would take a very long time to become visible if done nicely.