Ernie Ball Music Man JP6 Restoration Project!

[Spudmurphy]

Just popped out and was thinking about this project as I was driving about.
There's been suggestions about replacing the pickups - but (my 2c) is that the stock pickups are fine and getting new ones would just add to the outlay - something that ya don't want to do.
I know what ya mean about extra outlay because it's surprising how quickly the cost of bits n bobs all add up - I know that from experience after rebuilding mine.

[Morbid]

I wanted to stop in briefly before heading to work to thank everyone for their encouraging words and understanding of my position.

I reread over my last post, and in my dismay at the time, I believe I gave the impression that I wanted to stop the project all together. Definitely not the case. As has already been said, I've already got a lot put into this project, and need to push on. It's just a question of WHEN I'll feel that spark again, that's all. However, I believe I'm gonna try and force that spark on Monday, my next day off, and really get something going with this project. Hopefully a big jump in accomplishment of the project will start a domino effect as far as inspiration and completion is concerned.

Then again, if you're purely looking at your $$$ value for resale, you might need to re-prioritize.

Honestly though, if I were to put that much time and thought into doing a custom restoration, there's NO way I'd sell it
- so the final $$$ value becomes irrelevant. (unless it becomes ridiculously expensive)

The costs you've mentioned still give you a finished product for around $800
- that's still pretty darn good - and it'll be a one-off !

(EDIT : was the neck price included in the Ebay BIN Price of $650??)

Regarding the ebay auction, I reckon you've got every right to claim a partial refund from the seller.
They've clearly stated that the ONLY thing missing was the whammy.
Send them an email, with a quote for all of the other parts and see what they have to say.

Hell, send them a link to this thread !!

You can even complain about some of the other issues that you didn't expect. The best thing is you've got it all clearly documented with some great pics and step by step progress reports.

If they're a fair seller, I reckon you'll have no probs getting a partial refund to cover your additional expenses.

I'm not purely looking at resale value, but it's something I always keep in mind with any piece of equipment I buy, as it normally works out better for me in the end. Either I love the piece of gear I have, and I keep it having got a good deal, or I hate it, and I sell it and make some of my money back. When I first started out playing guitar, I (like so many others)went the Pod XT Pro route before deciding I had to spend the extra money on a tube amp to get tone I loved. I waited for a good deal on the POD, played it for 6 months, gave up trying to find a tone I like, and sold it for almost $100 more than I originally paid. That also helped to pay for the Mesa Boogie Mark IV which sits 3 feet from me right now. It's not going anywhere, though, lol. I bought the Mark IV for $970 and the 4x12 it sits on for $344, and the cab is in mint condition as far as my eyes have ever been able to see. So I'm definitely a deal hunter in that regard.
Also, the economy sucks for all of us right now, but I'm a fond believer in the thought that sometimes you have to spend money to save money. I've wanted a JP6 for a very, very long time, but could never afford one. This was my way of getting one and saving a bunch of money. In reality, I didn't have the $650 to drop on it, but I knew this could be my one and only chance to get one at basically half off, and that I could come up with the money within a few weeks. I work at a restaurant, so it's not a real high paying job, lol. $8 an hour...woohoo! But it works for the time being. So to buy the guitar with hopes of putting no more than $100 into it after all was said and done, and having a $1,200 guitar for $750 meant a lot, as it would have saved me $450 in the end. At least to my line of thinking. Keep in mind, that's before I realized some of the other mods that were done...holes in the headstock for example. yeesh.

And the neck was actually included in the BIN price of $650. In an attempt to break things down I can only assume the neck, even in it's condition, must be worth along the lines of $200. Again though, I'm not expert. I see Ibanez necks go for $120 all the time, but not beautiful birdseye ones.

And I hate to give the seller a bad rep, as he's a nice guy and seems very upfront for the most part. But I've also kept him up to date every step of the way, so he knows exactly what I'm going through. He said he'd look for the original Volume and Tone pots, but I never heard anything about it after. I just recently sent him the list of parts I'm going to have to buy to complete the project, but still haven't received a reply. He has told me that except for redrilling the pickup selector hole, he had all the work done by other people, so if that's true, I guess a lot of it isn't his fault either. Either way, it's at a point where I'm just gonna have to bite down and take it now. It just means the project will take me a little longer than anticipated, until I can save up a certain amount of money for the parts I guess.
Anyway though, fear not, the project will go on, just slowly.

Just to echo Dizzy, this is a project where you have already seen off the worst.

More than that though, it's a guitar project. The return will come surely in the playing of it. Added to that, the satisfaction you'll have knowing that you were responsible for restoring essentially a collection of parts back to the great guitar it once was.... and then some.

Work to your own timescale, and tweak the axe to your preferences.

Dig in fella, keep the prospect of playing with fresh strings in mind.

I've been trying to keep all of that in mind, believe me. I'm literally dying to plug the guitar in and play. I actually thought about putting it together as is temporarily, just to play it, but then knowing me, I wouldn't take it apart again, haha.

You mention tweaking the axe to my preferences...that brings me to a question. Think it's worth adding the BFR push pull pot, since it looks like I'm gonna have to order new ones anyway? lol

you can tell by looking, and other things about the auction mention that the switch was moved. I'm not sure if you meant you were surprised by that or not...

maybe you did this, but it seems like it would have been a good idea to link to this and see what people thought here before you bought it. I don't know if it's overpriced or not... I mean, it's still an EB... just an extra hole and the worst paint job ever to put on such a nice guitar.

The paint is something I would call the guy about. Just to tell him how stupid it is... Who in the world paints over paint on a guitar? LOL Maybe some people just shouldn't be allowed to buy such a nice guitar in the first place.

I would do this... Fill the hole, put it back together, get the bar and the bits n pieces... and look at it. Then play it for a while. See if you get any brainstorms, but get some playing out of it. Stripped naked it's a better guitar than a lot of people have. Maybe you have some other nice pickups laying around? See what different things might sound like in it. You never know.. you might end up like EVH (I know, but I'm going WAY back here lol) with the Frankenstein... I mean, would you be as inclined to see how an EVO or PAF Pro sound in it if it was in perfect condition?

I'd spend a year or so with it. I say this because, if it was mine I would see what putting the old old JP pickups in it would do... SS and Air Norton, not the modified ones. But, I know I want that. So, I'd try to make that happen aside from something like this. That is, I'd start seeing what I'd do if I were endorsed... as David St Hubbins says... "...and why not?" LOL Heck, stick a sustainer in the neck... see if you can find out a way to make it synth access... who knows. Be creative.

I would.

You've already done so much and got it so much more healthy than it was. At least now it can stretch without a straight jacket of crappy paint job. LOL

I knew the piezo switch was relocated, but not the pickup selector switch...that one threw me, especially since it was only a half an inch over. I thought I was going mad at first, lol.

And no, I didn't post the auction on the forums before buying. I was afraid I'd miss out on a killer deal, and posting it here with so many lurkers, I imagine someone would have jumped on it, and I couldn't have blamed any of them.

When I let the seller know about the paint, he seemed pretty pissed. Again, this was an instance where he had someone to the job, and couldn't believe I found the original paint under all of it. Oh well, though.

I've actually never gotten to hear the original pickups for my own ears. We don't have any Ernie Ball dealers here, so this is actually the most time I've ever spent with one, too. With that, I'm going to keep the original pickups, unless I decide I don't like them for whatever reason. The sustainer thing DID cross my mind, though, haha. Did you know John has an original JP6 with a sustainer in it?

I agree 100%...

It's like any restoration... cars, bikes etc
It does get overwhelming and it certainly can cost you more than expected, but is that really what it's about?

How good is it going to feel when you come out the otherside?

My first ever EBMM, my red luke 1 has sustained 'irreparable damage' on a few occasions. I was told not even to bother. But with help from Dizz, i found a luthier who would give it a crack... the neck was glued...and then lacquered for strength... and sanded back for the raw wood feel again. When it was all said and done, it played and sounded awesome and remained my main gig axe.

Two weeks ago my singer was headbanging next to me on stage and head banged right into the headstock... Hard.

Repairs weren't as serious and i did it myself... doesn't look as pretty but has epic mojo and I love it.

I am 100% positive if you hang in there and just do what you want to do with it, you will be so stoked with the end result.

Like I said earlier, no, that's definitely not all it's about, but it IS something that stays in the back of my mind. And I promise I'm not jewish, LOL.

Glad to hear that the irreparable damage was repaired, of course, I imagine it was heart breaking at first. I bet after the second round though, your singer had a nasty headache, haha.
Thanks for the encouraging words.

Hey this project is an awesome thing that you are doing.
Sounds like you have the support of yer Dad and a good "body man".
The pictures you have posted are awesome and the descriptions are great - look at the hits you have had on the thread!!!

You are over the worst and now it will just get better.
Plug the holes and get sanding and that's another problem out of the way.
It will be a great guitar when its all done.

Chin up lad you got us all waiting in anticipation!!!
Spud
P.S. That Picasso design would be totally unique too.

Thanks man, I appreciate that. Really.
I thought long and hard about the picasso idea, but decided to save that for another day. If this project comes out as good as I hope it will, it won't be my last, so my picasso idea WILL eventually see the light of da I imagine

I think the picasso print with a metallic black combo and Mystic Dream would be awesome!!!! Literally a "Then and Now" JP!!!!

As an ex-owner of the 90th Anniversary Ibanez JPM, that sure brings back memories!!!

I think you should continue the project, and go totally nuts on the paintjob... Then you'll end up with a JP that's 100% your own! It'll be awesome!!!

I've got a JPM P4 and I love it. The picasso is just such an attractive design, at least to me.
However, I came up with a more reserved paint idea for this guitar, that I think is still loud enough without screaming. So to speak.
I did a photoshop of it a while back, and have looked at it every couple of days to make sure I still like it. I'll be posting it when the body is ready for paint, just to get every one's opinions before the paint is final. But I think everyone will approve.



Thanks again to everyone for being so supportive. I don't mind saying that I feel better about the project now than I have in a few days. It's heating up quickly here in Florida, so I really do need to bang out this body work soon, so I don't have to get a sun tan the hard way. I wanna go to the beach! LOL

Thanks again guys,
Jordan

[Sticky1973]

..... Think it's worth adding the BFR push pull pot, since it looks like I'm gonna have to order new ones anyway?

The picasso is just such an attractive design....

I think subtle tweaks like that would really work on a project like this.

The Picasso design could really work with a modern spin, i've always felt that.

On a side note, I tried to find the black/silver flip paint I mentioned in an earlier post, but I just can't find an example of it. I know I have seen it, but so far i've come up short i'm afraid fella. It was used either on a bike fuel tank, or guitar; I just can't find where!

[bkrumme]

I love the BFR push/pull. I miss it when I play my JP6...

[Morbid]

This isn't really an update, but I wanted your guys' opinions.

I'm incredibly critical (As I'm sure you've noticed)so I can't tell if this is good enough or not.

I mentioned earlier in the thread how I was going to sand down the headstock and have it paint the same color as the rest of the guitar (when that time comes). That means I'll be sanding the logo away.

Unfortunately, EB doesn't sell the logos, as they're silkscreened at the factory, so I'm going to see if I can't get one made, or make one myself. This of course means I needed to recreate the logo to the best of my ability, as the normal Ernie Ball Music Man logo you find online, differs quite a bit from what appears on our headstocks.
I'm going to make the logo WITHOUT John's Signature, because I intend on having John sign the guitar by hand the next time I see him, and clearcoating over that.

So I took a large picture of my headstock (Which I found a couple of dings on today...not real thrilled with that, but they're on the back corner fortunately.)and took it into photoshop to help recreate the logo.
It's not perfect, and some things are different. The Circled R's for example, the R's are a different font...best I could come up with at this particular moment.

Do you guys think this is exact enough, or should I try again?


The bottom logo is the picture of my headstock.

Thanks Fellas,
Jordan

[buckethead777]

That looks very very close

[the24thfret]

I think you should keep the headstock natural. I think it's a cool look, plus it will save you that much more hassle!

[Morbid]

I think you should keep the headstock natural. I think it's a cool look, plus it will save you that much more hassle!

I agree with the hassle part, but I just don't feel like the guitar will look complete with the natural headstock, know what I mean? Especially considering the paint idea I have for the guitar. I think it might look half assed at that point.
Plus I really dig the idea of having John sign the headstock where the printed signature SHOULD be. Just seems like one more thing to make it a unique guitar, to me. And compared to the rest of the guitar, the headstock should be cake.

[luv]

Do you guys think this is exact enough, or should I try again?

I think that looks great.

I may be way off base here, but make sure you are not violating any copyrights by making that logo....not that any of us would care....but BP....maybe.

Dunno....just thinking out loud. It looks great...good luck with it. If you pull it off...I'll be PM'ng you, because I'm thinking of removing all the paint off of my Sub1's neck and headstock. I would also like to replace the logo on the headstock.

[luv]

do the picasso design in black on the natural wood and clearcoat over that...who cares if there are imperfections in the wood....it's wood! Leave the headstock natural! SICK!

dunno...just thinking out loud.

[Morbid]

I may be way off base here, but make sure you are not violating any copyrights by making that logo....not that any of us would care....but BP....maybe.

I was actually thinking about that, but wasn't sure how to go about finding out what BP's feelings would be. I know it says not to PM him on his profile, haha, so anyone care to ask him for me? LOL
Maybe he'll sell me a real one without the JP signature haha

[the24thfret]

Yeah, about BP, just PM him, he loves to get personal hellos from people...

Wait, DON'T!!! haha

[Morbid]

Addon update:
Just realized that the neck also has two extra holes where it screws into the body.
Apparently this neck was put onto a previous guitar also.

Now it's time to write an email.


edit;
Well, I accidentally (while searching ebay)found a picture of a JP neck off the body, and it also has those 2 odd holes. I guess they're supposed to be there. My mistake...seems odd, but still, my mistake.
I still am likely to email the guy.

[Tim O'Sullivan]

This isn't really an update, but I wanted your guys' opinions.

I'm incredibly critical (As I'm sure you've noticed)so I can't tell if this is good enough or not.

I mentioned earlier in the thread how I was going to sand down the headstock and have it paint the same color as the rest of the guitar (when that time comes). That means I'll be sanding the logo away.

Unfortunately, EB doesn't sell the logos, as they're silkscreened at the factory, so I'm going to see if I can't get one made, or make one myself. This of course means I needed to recreate the logo to the best of my ability, as the normal Ernie Ball Music Man logo you find online, differs quite a bit from what appears on our headstocks.
I'm going to make the logo WITHOUT John's Signature, because I intend on having John sign the guitar by hand the next time I see him, and clearcoating over that.

So I took a large picture of my headstock (Which I found a couple of dings on today...not real thrilled with that, but they're on the back corner fortunately.)and took it into photoshop to help recreate the logo.
It's not perfect, and some things are different. The Circled R's for example, the R's are a different font...best I could come up with at this particular moment.

Do you guys think this is exact enough, or should I try again?


The bottom logo is the picture of my headstock.

Thanks Fellas,
Jordan

Check your PM's!

[Spudmurphy]

I was actually thinking about that, but wasn't sure how to go about finding out what BP's feelings would be. I know it says not to PM him on his profile, haha, so anyone care to ask him for me? LOL
Maybe he'll sell me a real one without the JP signature haha

Just a thought - give Wonderdog a pm - he's BP's Legal Beagle and I'm sure would be able to help.

It's not as if you a masquerading a wannabe guitar as an EB or selling illegal merchandise that purports to be EB. I really don't know the legal implications of it - Wonderdog will.