Nasty, Naughty Sterling!

[eric B]

i love that....looking for one just like it...

 

[shamus63]

Damn-good resuscitation job there, Jack! Had to do pretty much the same thing with my '83 P-Bass when I got it, but it was well-worth the effort!

 

[RockinRayDuke]

Great job bro. I'll wash my hands before I play it.

 

[Beth]

Stratus Blue Sparkle?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's Stratus Blue - 5Stringer or Kevin, can we get a serial number check?

 

[GassieBall]

I've run a lot of "code blues" in my life, and you really brought that one back from flatline. Nice job!

 

[Psycho Ward]

Jack, you got a hell of a deal on that bass!

 

[tiffles]

Great job bro. I'll wash my hands before I play it.

id wash my hands AFTER i played it.

 

[jongitarz]

I bleeb it's Glacier Blue...

 

[midopa]

Nice!!!!


You know, reading this reminded me of Dan Erlewine's series of "Bass Tech" articles he wrote for Bass Player. Except it's EBMM. Good show, old bean, good show!

 

[LisaIs]

Jack, she is a beauty. When you are bored with her and ready to sell then give me a call.

 

[Aussie Mark]

That's probably the only sparkle colour I've ever seen that I like. Looks great! Good job on the detox Jack.

I had to do a similar exorcism with an '83 Jazz I bought here in Jakarta. It looked like it had been played every night for 20 years (at 90 degrees and 90% humidity) and put back in the case wet after every gig. A little elbow grease and fumigation worked wonders, although I couldn't rescue some of the hardware, such as pickup screws and pickguard screws. A change of clothes (for the bass) helped too.

 

[Mobay45]

Jon, if that's not Glacier Blue Sparkle, it should be.

Reminds me of the blue that I've seen in the glaciers in Alaska.

 

[hankSRay]

jack, what did you use on the pole pieces to get rid of that tarnish and rust?

 

[tkarter]

Did ya put the flats back on it after the good job of cleaning it was done?


tk

 

[bovinehost]

Jack, you got a hell of a deal on that bass!

Well, maybe. It was seriously nasty. It depends on how you look at it, I guess.

Lemme get it fired up and fixed up and then we can decide whether the deal was good or not.

Did ya put the flats back on it after the good job of cleaning it was done?

Those might have been flats. I really don't know. But I do know this - those strings have been cut in half and will never again be on a bass.

jack, what did you use on the pole pieces to get rid of that tarnish and rust?

Nothing special - just some EBMM polish and a bit of elbow grease.

I can't wait to fire this thing up!

Jack

 

[todd4ta]

Jack, remember the 'vampire blood' Stingray you got from me a few years ago. That one took some cleaning up...

The previous owner had played it for Halloween as a vampire, and there was dried vampire blood in every place possible. Not quite as gross as the DNA fest that Jack just cleaned up.

Several years ago I won a fairly high-end 'sandwich' bass (built in Santa Rosa) on ebay for about $300. It came from Hawaii, and looked like it had been left out on the beach for a long time to mark the high-tide line or something.

The strings were corroded & rusted and actually green. All the brass hardware was looking really bad. A layer of gunk covered the whole bass. I cut off the strings and took off all the hardware. I did an initial cleaning of the hardware, then dropped it off by the shop and they polished it up to a shine. I bought a few new screws and things. It went from a frog to a prince (cosmetically at least). I made about $1000 when I sold it.

 

[Steve Dude Barr]

When I had more time on my hands I used to do similar. It's not hard to clean a gunked up bass and get it into decent condition again many times.

It's just like "why" sometimes to me now though...I can get a factory fresh bass of pretty much of my choice now (not that I can play them mind you).

I used to get a lot of enjoyment out on my bench cleaning up basses like that...I kinda miss it.

You did a great job on that one Jack and well worth the effort on such a hard to find bass.

Be sure to post a lot of pics of this one in your usual style and quality.

 

[Steve Dude Barr]

ps to Mark:

I like the way you cleaned that one up Mark but I would have kept it original down to the cheezy knobs and white pickup covers myself. Two more years and 83's are "vintage" you know. I dig Sienna Sunburst.

 

[Aussie Mark]

ps to Mark:

I like the way you cleaned that one up Mark but I would have kept it original down to the cheezy knobs and white pickup covers myself. Two more years and 83's are "vintage" you know. I dig Sienna Sunburst.

I know where you're coming from Steve, but I scored this at a bargain price as a player. I did use the same cheesy 80's Strat style knobs when changing from white to black, to maintain some semblance of originality. I've kept the original white bits and pieces, so can make it original again when 83's start selling for $2000

 

[Steve Dude Barr]

I've kept the original white bits

Mark said "white bits".