Guild B-302 Mod and Restoration

[Bass VI]

Hello All,

This started out in " Other Bass Brands " http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=1447.0 but as it's turned into a mod and restore project, I thought it was more appropriate to continue it here....

1979 Guild B-302, cracked headstock ( repaired ), replaced J-bass pups ( replaced with an original in the bridge posiyion and a DiMarzio Model One in the neck ) brown sunblah finish ( stripped soon to be black ) that's about where it is at the moment, and now for a few pics to get this post up to speed..........

This is where it started.....nothing too bad....



Non original J pickups....



Headstock repair before, during, currently...









It should be noted that I didn't do the repair, although it was done solidly albeit not the prettiest I've ever seen, I stripped the finish and did a little smoothing to make the break a bit nicer...



Here it is with a couple of sealer coats, not too bad...



At this point I could have redone the 'burst on the headstock and left it alone.....but...

I decided to re-fin it in black with a natural neck and add a Model One in the neck position....

Back of the neck with a few coats of clear ( note the vintage tint to the maple center ) I've got what I hope is a cool idea for the back of the headstock, but we'll have to wait for the pics...



Nice contrast on the " wings "



Finally a few body shots, including the route for the Model One







That's it for now, I'll be working on a new pickguard and filling a few dings around the perimeter of the body and then paintwork.

Cheers,

Scott ( BassVI )

[drbassman]

Very cool project!  Did these basses sound anything like a jazz bass?

[shadowcastaz]

Looks like you have my evil twin . Nice repair job.

[Bass VI]

Thanks Guys!

Dr B, not really, even with the mystery jazz pickups that were in mine when I got it, it seems much more Gibson-ish in tone to me. With the original installed in the bridge and the big humbucker in the neck position, I expect it to sound even more like the other "G" brand. I suspect it has much to do with the set neck, all mahogany construction, three point bridge and the pickup placement ( the bridge pickup isn't very close to the bridge ) combined together in a way that is definately not Fender-like.

Evil twin! just because I'm gonna do it in black? Actually if I rank my collection by color, black wins hands-down. I think over half of my basses are black and I can't remember the last time I did a show playing any other color.

Shadow, how is yours coming? Post some pics, I'd like to see what you've done with the pickups and covers.

I roughed out a pickguard template at work today, will try to get that finished up this evening, I'm such a night-owl.

I'm looking forward to getting this one back together, should be a pretty cool deal.

 

Scott ( BassVI )

[Bass VI]

Three hours later-ish..................

Pickguard template sans the big hole at the neck for the Model One! I'll get that tomorrow, a bit tired right now and I don't want to screw it up ( or lose a finger! )

Original and template



Template on the bass ( note the nifty new pickup mount ( the brass thingy ), the original was jacked up when the jazz pickups were installed )



Geez, buiding Fender clones is easy, try and redo something off the wall like one of these and you've got to make everything yourself......not like Allparts has B-302 pickup brackets in stock  Oh yea, that's why I like doing this stuff!

Anyone need a pickguard? PM me, ( I'm sure my inbox will not be flooded!

Nap Time!

Scott ( BassVI )

[shadowcastaz]

I will if I ever get to work on it. I finally got a job teaching at a culinary school 1 1/2 hour from home. I only get home on weekends and is usually filled with honey dewz!!I may get in the shop  this weekend

[Bass VI]

Good Luck with the new job, Shadow!

I'm pretty lucky, my job is repairing guitars, so I have a bit of leeway to work on my own..... so today I soaked the p/g template in super-glue ( makes it a bit stiffer and smooths the edges, also double stick tape dosn't peel the masonite up as bad ) and did the layout for the Model One route.

Finished up the template, not as pretty with the super-glue "paint job" but the edges are nice and smooth.



Close up



Big Black pickup ( Uwe should be happy I didn't Chrome the cover! )



I also roughed in a new bone nut, the original was replaced with some horrible generic plastic thing, probably when the headstock was repaired. 





That's about it for now, I'll try to refine the nut a bit and line up the Model One before I drill the four mounting holes for it. Then it's back to the refin and actually making the new pickguard.

Happy Thanksgiving All,

Scott ( BassVI )

[drbassman]

Wow, looking good Scott!!! Keep us posted.

[Bass VI]

Modest update,

Temporary all black pickguard ( waiting for the five-ply blank ) although it dosn't look bad as is......







Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving,

Scott ( BassVI )

[drbassman]

Looking good! Too bad that huge pick guard covers up so much wood. I'd like it more if you could see more of that nice old mahogany.

[Bass VI]

Looking good! Too bad that huge pick guard covers up so much wood. I'd like it more if you could see more of that nice old mahogany.

I thought about that ( for a moment ) but the route for the controls is huge...



...if the controls had been back-routed, something might have been workable. I'm doing Black for the body anyway so it's not an issue on this one. The back of the neck has the prettiest grain on the guitar so I am leaving that natural.

Probably a defect in my character  but I'm no fan of brown-sunbursts or natural finishes, I like cherry, three-color Fender sunbursts ( on Fenders anyway ) blonde and of course black. The whole natural/brown sunburst thing just looks too much like furniture to me, I like my guitars a little flashy. Of course it goes without saying, I wouldn't be doing a refin on something "classic" say a '64 Bird, I could deal with brown on one of those!

Thanks for the kind words, I'm starting to get into making pickguards. In the past I've usually sent those out to be done, but lately I'm having a bit of fun with it. Last night I finished a template for a hybrid Tele ( I get a lot of requests to build them at my job ) and made a couple of them. It's amazing how fast you can zip one out, after you've spent a few hours making a proper template.

Hopefully I'll get it ready to finish this week and get it back together soon.

Cheers,

Scott ( BassVI )

[Nocturnal]

Why not pick up another project and make twins???

http://cgi.ebay.com/1977-Guild-B-302-Bass-Guitar-Project_W0QQitemZ230313209680QQihZ013QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Bass VI]

Why not pick up another project and make twins???

http://cgi.ebay.com/1977-Guild-B-302-Bass-Guitar-Project_W0QQitemZ230313209680QQihZ013QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I soooooo already there on that one! another character defect : several of the same basses  ..........sometimes in the Same Color !!!!!!!!!

Progress report:

Headstock 'burst, I think this should be called a Dachshund 'burst or maybe a Black and Tan...



Another view...



The body joint...



The finished five-ply guard with the one ply "test" and electronics...



Pickups and etc....



Close-up of pots & switch....



So far so...........................far

[shadowcastaz]

I like the black and tan . That is my style ,nice job.M

[drbassman]

Looks great, thanks for keeping us up to date!  Black & Tan, I'll drink to that!