Ruined with Precision, non-Warmoth content

[spauldingrules]

Just un-relic it.  Please.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Nice.

The relicing could use work. First of all, use ashes or something similar to dirty up that wear.... Real marks would never, ever look that clean. Also, add dents and chips, and rough up the wear around the edges a bit. That all would help a lot. The key to good relicing is not to be precise, but to be careless. Obviously, you'll want to figure out realistic wear, etc. but the main thing is to make it look like the damage was done at shows and not on a workbench.

Get off my lawn.

 

[dmraco]

I have used pencil shavings with great success.  The small amount of graphite in the shavings really gives an aged look

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I never really used anything aggressively abrasive on it.  The wood that is showing is still protected by the base coat.  But...I'm happy with it.  It looks fake, as do 99% of the relic jobs out there. Ever seen a Nash?

Any comments about the string thru addition, wiring without pot chasis soldering, grease bucket tone circuit, or questions about the pickup?

 

[dmraco]

I never really used anything aggressively abrasive on it.  The wood that is showing is still protected by the base coat.  But...I'm happy with it.  It looks fake, as do 99% of the relic jobs out there. Ever seen a Nash?

Any comments about the string thru addition, wiring without pot chasis soldering, grease bucket tone circuit, or questions about the pickup?

I love the string thru.  I would be curious how it sounds with the new pick up.

Additionally...I wish warmoth would make the heel adjustment cutout and option....

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I've gigged with it a lot since this summer.  The P sounds like a P.  It's not a very hot pickup and responds well to my cut not boost EQ philosophy.  The MM is bright and farty, which van serve the right song nicely.  Most importantly, the 2 pickups balance nicely together. You can hear the characteristics of both without them fighting each other.

 

[Day-mun]

I never really used anything aggressively abrasive on it.  The wood that is showing is still protected by the base coat.  But...I'm happy with it.  It looks fake, as do 99% of the relic jobs out there. Ever seen a Nash?

-That is how my Sonic Blue P-bass is; just the color knocked off with the wood showing, but still sealed. I dunno if I'd want the wood actually exposed. I did a Fender American Vintage '62 re-issue for a guy, and he wanted SRV driftwood treatment... I'm still not so sure that was a good idea.  -How straight is that neck gonna be in 10-15 years? :-\

Glad ya kept it subtle and stayed low-grit, that keeps it closer to believable. Yeah, some of the relics out there just about make ya cry; look like they took a pile of parts and handed 'em over to the American Tourister Gorilla along with an angle-grinder!  :doh:

 

[DangerousR6]

I never really used anything aggressively abrasive on it.  The wood that is showing is still protected by the base coat.  But...I'm happy with it.  It looks fake, as do 99% of the relic jobs out there. Ever seen a Nash?

Any comments about the string thru addition, wiring without pot chasis soldering, grease bucket tone circuit, or questions about the pickup?

I thought the pick up mod and bridge mod were pretty awesome. Great layout and execution.... :headbang1:

 

[Day-mun]

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I am a bit intrigued by the grease-bucket tone mod; now that you've had it up-n-runnin' for a while, is this something you'd recommend doing? How much (if any) does this have to do with the two pickups working well (better than usual) together? I got a P-bass that recently got a MM plopped in at the bridge, so I'm not askin' just to get some jeee-whiz fun-facts, I'm wondering if it helps to balance the split-coil/MM equation. Right now, mine is okay as long as there is some tone rolled on, but wide-open is just silly. -Grease-bucket smooth stuff over even when the tone is on ten, perhaps?

 

[alterbridgefan]

I never really used anything aggressively abrasive on it.  The wood that is showing is still protected by the base coat.  But...I'm happy with it.  It looks fake, as do 99% of the relic jobs out there. Ever seen a Nash?

Flucking Nash... Gotta be some of the shittiest relic jobs on the market. Hate those things.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

@ Day-mun, supposedly it rolls off the treble and touches less of the lows.  But guess what, still sounds like a tone knob.  The factory grease bucket tone circuit uses a .022 at the primary cap and a .1 as the grease bucket part.  I use 500k pots and a.047 as the primary cap.  I typically run through a SansAmp with the bass and mids flat and the treble cut to 9 o'clock or lower. My main cab is an Ampeg 410 HLF and the horn cut slightly.  Even with a dark sounding cab and treble cut, there's air on top with a cutting midrange.  Aside from my Musicman Sterling, it's the brightest sounding bass I own.  I typically go for a brighter sound because it's easily manipulated in the mix.  IMO, too many bass players sacrifice their house in the mix sound for a stage sound that is pleasing to them. 

But, to answer your question, I think any subtlety the grease bucket has is lost on the bass. It's probably more well served on a more dynamic instrument like the guitar.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Also, I have a Warmoth with P/MM setup that initially had a SD baselines MM.  I swapped the SD for a Carvin pickup, that warmed it up a bit.


Also, 3 P pickups I've shared with other pickups (Dimarzio, Fender, and SD), the P pickups have been out of phase every time.

 

[Day-mun]

...Also, 3 P pickups I've shared with other pickups (Dimarzio, Fender, and SD), the P pickups have been out of phase every time.

Yes, I discovered that to be the case with mine. Got the fun of ripping it apart/putting it together again just to switch two wires. *rolls eyes* Fun-fun.

Ex-per-i-ence (noun): 1. the wisdom one receives right after one needs it.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

In every case, I left the P pickup alone and just swapped the others. One of the Ps had that metal plate under the pickup wired to the ground side.  I figured that one had the right of way.

 

[Cederick]

I gonna be honest here.

It just looks like sandpapared finish, NOT reliced at all.

Personally, I don't like relicing at all no matter if it looks well done or not, so when I first saw this thread and I saw the first picture I was like "nice Fender bass" and then on the next "what the hell did he do to it??!"

I have a friend who "reliced" his bass in the same way. Looks totally unnatural.

 

[musicispeace]

I agree about not being a fan of a full relic job that is often an attempt to mimic an original 1950's instrument as they often appear in the present day but I am a fan of some thought out wear. I have one guitar coming together that was "worn" by the folks at MJT and it just appeals to me in the way it will really look like it was made from a variety of parts. Its an individual thing and as long as the player is happy with the bass......

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

It is a polarizing subject indeed.

The process(es) of routing the pickup, routing the switch, adding the string thru holes, the relic job, even the way I acquired it have all endeared me to it.  Everyone wants a connection to an instrument, even a one of a kind instrument.  Before I did that stuff to it, it was too new, too glossy. Very un me. More than any criticism of what should've been done different, or not done at all, the worst assault to my ears is, "I have one just like that. " 

 

[Day-mun]

Everyone wants a connection to an instrument...Before I did that stuff to it, it was too new, too glossy. Very un me.

I think you hit the nail on the head as to why EVERY ONE OF US DO THIS GUITAR-BUILDING THING AT ALL!  :sign13:

I know that I envy the way SRV looks at "Number One" in the photos, or how Sheehan's most famous bass is nicknamed "The Wife", Willie's "Trigger", -the list goes on... -and a lot of these examples look like hammered-sh*t!

I know I'll never hit the big-time, but I do hope to have a special bond with the favorite(s) I instantly grab as soon as I wanna play some music.

One does not simply have a deep connection with a box-stock Fender bass.

 

[Jet-Jaguar]

One does not simply have a deep connection with a box-stock Fender bass.

Well, yes, but for the same reason that someone doesn't have a 50-year marriage with a girl they've just met.

 

[Day-mun]

The problem with comparing this to these things is that they are not these things.  :-\