Fox's Stingray refurb project

[Foxbass]

Ok, here are some shots of my formerly black Stingray 5 laid bare! As you can see on the neck, its a '92 model and boy is it heavy! I chose it over new ones after quite a few hours in the shop. I just had slightly better tone and sustain unplugged.

It took a few hours with a cabinet scraper, but with surprisingly little effort, I got it right back to this state. I got a reply from a very helpful John Quinn at Ernie Ball telling me what the clear coat is - its polyurethane. The missing top coat is custom polyester mix.
Anyway, I've taken some close-ups of the neck now its finished. It was not bad originally, but had a lot of battle scars so I carefully sanded the edges and basically tidied it up before applying many coats of Birchwood Casey. I didn't use wax as I like the neck to feel smooth and glide almost like it was bare wood. I have found that wax shines up and causes a sweaty hand to bog down when moving up the neck.

I will now apply some local coats of polyurethane where I rubbed through then sand it back before handing it over to my luthier mate to finish off.
Therefore the project will now pretty much go to bed as far as I'm concerned.
Once the finish has cured I will take it to a tech to refit the electrics as I want to update the p/u and fit a new OEM jack socket.

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Jeez!
That seems to have worked. Not so bad for a newbie. Just got to check its actually done right....

 

[jlepre]

You stripped it so well it's now invisible?

Pics?

 

[Foxbass]

Hey thats real neat!
I like the feature where you can click on the image and see it bigger.
Its just taken me ages to re-size then re-save each pic in Paint as they were about 4Mb per shot.
I'll do this more often.
Fox

 

[five7]

Lots of work! Looks like you handled it well! Great job, that bass loves you.

 

[jlepre]

WOW!!

Now I see why some basses are painted SOLID, and others are trans finished.

There's a GOOD resaon why that bass was painted and not trans.

 

[Duarte]

Upgrade the pickup? ...You lost me!

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

So, what colour is it going to be finished in?

 

[Foxbass]

Well, I like things to look as standard as possible but with a subtle twist. When I first got it, the shop set it up properly (it was already selected as a fine example) and did a couple of things for me like change the old nut for an ebony one and fettled the ends of the frets where they can be a little sharp. That and the already beautiful neck makes everyone who has lifted it exclaim that it does not feel typical of the breed.
Comments like: "Wow, this isn't standard. What have you done to it! It plays real well!" are very common. One obvious change was to swap the matt black scratchplate for a red tortoiseshell item to cheer it up a bit.
The short answer tho is it was just a bit of fettling and TLC. Not bad for a Sting that has had considerable abuse down the years. (That part baffles me. Why would you spend that much just to mess it up? Unless you're Pete Townsend!!)

As for the p/u, I spoke at length to a guy in London who understood my problem, that being the classic weakness in the G output. It disappears in the mix. He told me it is a simple job to change out the old (rusty, pitted and gouged-from-slapping) unit with a non OEM item with more even output. I'll keep the old one for sure, in case. Then that's it. No more fiddling. It has to earn its keep.

I'm hoping to have it finished in black as per original, but with that subtle twist I mentioned. It being a hint of metal flake - think a starry night rather than custom car. You would have to get close to notice it. Kinda in line with the changes I've made. The final decision will be what to do about the scratchplate. Original, new or a custom? She will 'speak' to me when she's finished.

The reason for all this effort?

Well I like a loved instrument to gain a certain patina of age naturally, and yeah, pick up a few knocks along the way. But there's road rash and there's ROAD RASH, if you get my drift. Mine looked as if some punk had attacked it with a bike chain. That's just plain abuse.

I want this to be a proper project as I intend to keep it. (My son almost cried when I told him I was thinking of selling. He grew up watching it.) Besides, I have a Lakland Osborne signature 5 to play meantime - another truly fine instrument - and quite a bit lighter on my old shoulder.

So, thanks for your interest folks. I'll keep ya posted.

Fox

 

[Aussie Mark]

As for the p/u, I spoke at length to a guy in London who understood my problem, that being the classic weakness in the G output.

Or, setup the bass properly with the correct pickup height.

 

[cellkirk74]

Or, setup the bass properly with the correct pickup height.

That!

 

[drTStingray]

Or, setup the bass properly with the correct pickup height.

+1

And also, amp EQ settings (eg excessive bass boost/mid cut/treble boost) might affect the perceived sound.

You shouldn't need to change the P/U to achieve a balanced sound and it's generally thought at least some of the aftermarket ones neutralise the Musicman vibe anyway.

PS nice project - it would be good to see pics of the completed job.

 

[strummer]

Real good work on the body there, it'll be a killer once it's painted again

But, as others have mentioned, you will probably fix the "problem" with a good set up. And if not, just be sure to keep the original pick up, as there is a reason those babies are expensive on evilbay.

 

[Low End Lover]

I love project theards. Helps to build up my courage to try one someday. Nice work.

LEL

 

[Murphy]

Looks great.
I would keep it natural now.
Looking forward to updated pictures.
Good work.