BaCHbirds....

[planetgaffnet]

Quick couple of questions to any owners and anyone who has modded them.  I have a Lakland Skyline DJ5 that I'm thinking about moving on and for that swag, I could well bag three guitars (I'm thinking as I now have a pair of Gibson TBs, maybe give a punt to one of the new Epiphones, plus an Epiphone Phant-o-matic, and a Bach as a project).

OK, here goes my questions/concerns.

I guess first off, are the stock models off the shelf any good? You know, are they playable and not needing major surgery.

Side by side with a non-reverse is the BaCH a decent enough facsimile?  Accurate dimensions etc.

Second up, mods.  Looking at their website, I like the chrome hardware, but I'm really not a fan of the look of those pickups...what are you guys swapping out?  Also, where does one procure a scratchplate?

Also, I've seen this thread a couple of time :http://www.hillscloud.com/2011/06/refinishing-a-thunderbird-bass/

Thanks
Paul

[Basvarken]

There's plenty posts about BaCHbirds an modufications to be found here. Have you tried the search function?

[dadagoboi]

There's plenty posts about BaCHbirds an modufications to be found here. Have you tried the search function?

Well said, Rob.

[weekend warrior]

They are actually really nice basses stock and come pretty close to the real deal.

[TBird1958]

They are actually really nice basses stock and come pretty close to the real deal.

Leaving the pickup aside...............Closer than Gibson's reissue, and upgraded pups still gets you in
for less $$$ Awesome basses, mine are both gone now tho, I just the Big Pinkie left as my sole NR.

[Bluesman Vintage]

Hello guys, I thought Id sign up for the forum  and answer a couple of those questions  that were asked about the finishing on Jeff's BaCH. 

I DID shoot the Nitro  over top of the poly  on this one in order to keep the cost down a little bit.  stripping poly finish is a long and laborous task  ESPECIALLY on a set neck instrument where you have to work around the neck joint and such.  I Always prefer to spray  a FULLY Nitro finish  whe doing a vintage restoration, refin, or even a new finish, but the cost  was a prohibitive factor on this one. and  to the Bach's credit, the Poly finish that it had wasnt too terribly thick so what wee did here was treat the existing poly finish much like a poly base coat that fender has been using since 1968. Which brings me to the question about checking.

Somone asked why their '62 reissue would check, even tho it was nitro over poly.  well the answer is that many companies including  gibson and fender  ad a hardening agent to their lacquer to prevent unwanted cracking and makes the  lacquer much harder and more durable.

the down side.... It also makes it much like a Poly finish in that it chokes the life out of the wood if applied to thick.  Under the right conditions this hardened  lacquer  can also crack or "check"  but many times the outcome is  not the desire asthetic, so  many "relic" guy  use a razor blade to apply checking cracks.   I PERSONALLY DO NOT.  I have seen many people try this blade checking tecnique and  have seen many people fail miserably at mking a believable  and authentic looking instrument.  In fact the Only person Ive seen  achieve any measure of success with this is TOM MURPHY of Gibson, and he is credited for creating the whol relic process for Gibson.


(Stepping down from my soapbox now....)
I hope tis answers any of the questions you may or may not have had  about  the BaCH finish we applied.


JOHN SCOTT
Bluesman Vintage Guitars (and Basses)

[weekend warrior]

Straight from the man himself! Thanks John.

[godofthunder]

   I have 5 60's NRs and have been playing NRs since '77. The Bachs are so very close it is scary, they certainly capture the feel and sound. At the moment I am down to one Bach NR from series II (I just sold two off and I should have kept at least one of them). These are really fine right out of the box, the Atech pickup has the highs and mids but lacks the inherent overdirve of a 60's pup. The construction is  close to the 60's Gibson, set neck, neck angle, headstock angle that these play and feel very very close to the real deal. Rob did a outstanding job with Bach. I know that the Bach NR will most certainly be closer to the real thing than Gibsons RI. Heres a picture of my Thunderbucker equipped series II with custom guard, I now have a repro 60's tailpiece on it though its not in this picture.

[planetgaffnet]

I have been reading up on these (honestly!), but I guess sometimes when a thread reaches 130 pages, sometimes it is probably simpler (and maybe wrong) to request more succinct choices of mods.  I bow to your information.

The B&CHs seem ridiculously cheap this side of the pond (c.£270GBP), so with a birthday coming up, I will probably take a punt on one of the single pickup jobs in either black or cherry.  I'm really not up for another refinishing job at the moment, so will probably keep the mods to a minimum.

Thanks for your input.
P

[TBird1958]

The single pup ones rule 

[gweimer]

The single pup ones rule 

And they are a great bass, right out of the box.