A Quick Pimp Up of a Yamaha Fretless

Andyjr1515

Hi

Pete, our old-gits-band's bassist gave me his entry-level Yamaha Fretless (RBX270F) when I made him the  Warwick Thumb tribute to 'do whatever I liked with'.  

This weekend I got round to doing something with it - started a quick pimp-up by doing a veneer job.  Thought some of you might like to see how easy it is to do, so I'll post this as a quick look-see and add more detail if anyone is interested in trying something similar.

First was getting off the previous coating - I used a bit of heat and a decorators scraper (sometimes it need a LOT of heat and a decorators scraper!)

Once the paint and poly was off, it revealed the thin ply covering sometimes used over multi-piece bodies to hide the cracks.  I left it on on the top (because this will be veneered, but sanded it off the back to reveal the 6 (!) part body:

 

Now I took my piece of myrtle veneer (0.6mm) and made sure it was going to fit as one piece:

Then the little bit of magic for those who haven't seen it done before - standard white PVA (I use Evostick Wood Adhesive) can act as an iron-on glue.  You put a thin coat on both surfaces, let them dry to touch-dry (about 20 minutes), then just iron it on :-)

I apply using a small foam roller - gives a very even coat.  I also spray the back of the veneer with water as soon as I've applied the adhesive to stop it curling.

The great thing is that, once the PVA is on and dry, the veneer goes almost leathery and is very flexible and surprisingly tough.

After 20 mins or so, when the PVA is touch dry on both the veneer and the guitar top, you just iron it on.  The PVA remelts, so if there is a bit you've missed with the iron, you can go back and flatten it down with the iron later - even after it's cooled!

Notice the arm relief bends perfectly well.  Veneer applied this way struggles with compound curves but simple curves a la strat, etc, are a cynch.

I rough cut with scissors and then use a Bic disposable knife to 'saw' through the edges, using the body as the guide.

 

And voila - after three fairly non-intensive evenings worth from start to this stage, I have a body ready for final sand and varnish!

I should be able to post the varnishing shots at the weekend.

It'll be going on ebay.  I'm thinking of putting some DiMarzio D126's or some 'Duncan-designed' pups in to give it a bit more oomph - do you think that would make it more desirable or stick with the stock pup's?

Andy

WezV

stick with the stock unless they are terrible.  pickup upgrades rarely add value

I like it.  I have never had much luck with veneers, and i have tried various methods including ironing on   its a shame because i have some really nice veneers to use at some point

ddlooping

Nice one, Andy, thanks for sharing.

Jalapeno

Excellent work !

ThePrettyDamned

That looks class! How do you cut out for the pickups?

Sorry if that's a dumb question...

Andyjr1515

ThePrettyDamned said:

That looks class! How do you cut out for the pickups?

Sorry if that's a dumb question...

Thanks!  

I use the same Bic knife to cut out the pickups.  It's worth going over the edges with the iron to make absolutely sure it's stuck around the periphery, then cut a small piece out at a time to see where the body sides are, then use the pickup chamber as the guide, using the knife more like a scraper - that way there's less chance of the veneer ripping beyond the void.

Here are the chambers, bridge holes and bridge earth-wire hole cut out (took about 15mins over lunch break).  I also did a quick coat of varnish - makes it easier to see if there's anything needs tidying up.

Tomorrow evening, I'll run round the veneer edge with a sanding block to feather it in with the body wood and it's then ready for final sanding and finishing.

The figuring on the myrtle will darken with more varnish but isn't it an amazing wood pattern!

By the way, the one thing you do get with pretty much all thin veneers is the splitting (you can see a couple in the above shot.  However, they always follow the grain so never look out of place.  With this Ibanez bass I did a while ago, I didn't even fill them - it simply added to the texture of the 'starburst' effect:

 

Incidentally, this was an entry level GSR200 - used to look like this:

Some folk are left completely cold by making a guitar look like a piece of furniture - which I totally understand.  Personally, I think this is the quickest, and cheapest, way to make the thing stand out from the crowd (especially if your playing is as rubbish as mine!).  And there are some stunning veneers around...

ddlooping

Spectacular transformation!!  :-O

ThePrettyDamned

Blimey. I might have to have a go at that one day!

I love the look of furniture guitars. So long as they are played that is a pretty spectacular transformation! Good for wood stocks around the world too, rather than an inch of the stuff doing one guitar

ChrisMusic

What a transformation Andy, the Myrtle veneer looks stunning, but the Ibanez bass with the 'starburst' veneer is even more enticing.

Personally, I just love the textures provided by nature, so I don't really get the hostility to something so beautiful, it's just not for everyone I guess.  But then I love plain colours, natural wear (not tacky 'ott' relics) and metallics too.

Interesting to see how they made it, 6 pieces !

Thanks for posting this, keep it coming, please.

Andyjr1515

Hi

Bit more progress.  Done another couple of rough coats of varnish and also sanded off the very thin headstock layer down the the wood to be able to add the veneer there also:

The back and sides are also rough varnished - here you are looking for any patches that do not take up the varnish - either poly not quite taken off and sometimes a bit of PVA overspill.  They are very difficult to see before you start coating but very simple to see after.  Simply sand until the coating is completely gone.

You can see the multi-piece make up of the body here.   The demarcations will soften a little as more varnish goes on (and also the myrtle figuring will really start to pop out) so, as long as it's real wood, it doesn't bother me.  You could technically veneer the back but I think that then - conversely -  emphasises that it is a veneer.

For a different thread, I posted some shots of other veneer jobs I've done to illustrate the dramatic difference that can be achieved with what is essentially a cheap and straightforward approach: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/4860/veneer-examples-for-chrismusic

Thanks for looking

Andy

Andyjr1515

OK - finished

£15 for the veneer; £5 for the varnish / brushes; £5 for new knobs...

...and ready to go onto ebay (unless anybody here fancies it   )

Andy

ThePrettyDamned

Looks chuffing great.

I'm considering refinishing my musicman sub active sterling, but the finish is that thick textured blue, and it's poplar underneath. Great tone wood, bloody horrible to look at...

ChrisMusic

Very, very nice Andy.  You need to change the discussion title from "Quick Pimp Up" to "Transformation" me-thinks.

Seeing this finished made me glance over into the corner of the room, where resides an old Washburn 6 string fretless bass, which a previous owner hand painted in rainbow colours, looks ghastly, the nut is floating free and a bit off axis, but it plays great.

Now you already know that I drool a little over the fantastic artwork that nature can create within a piece of wood, so encouraged by your posts I can see no option but to make it yet another new project in the new year.  It was always going to get a make-over, I knew that the day I bought it, (liberated it maybe), but a transformation would suite it so much better.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Andyjr1515

Sold on ebay this afternoon.  Yaahaaaaaaaaaaay!