gggoattt wrote:
Hi there...
As I stated in my original post, I bought three Ricks at the same time from American Musical Supply. All three were manufactured in the same month. All three were sealed, all three had been untouched since leaving the factory. All three had the SKB blue plush interior cases. All three have been stored within a few feet of each other since I received them. The other two basses are fine and show absolutely no signs (yet) of the finish softening.
The bass has never had a complete song played on it and has never been wiped down with anything.
The case doesn't have any weird smell.
However, what makes me suspect the case is that the tailpiece had fibers on it from the case, and they were STUCK on the chrome...as in possible glue residue...sticky goo. I had to use a fingernail to get it off. At first I figured this was because the bass has been stored upright with all it's weight on this portion of the bass, so the bass sits tightly against the case on the tailpiece. But...after 12 years you would think the case materials would have cured. So, I have no doubt that the weight of the bass on this point contributed to the fibers being stuck to the tailpiece, but I think the case's chemicals in the plastic caused the goo to hold the fibers onto the chrome tailpiece. However, it should be noted that the bass itself does not have any residue on it...the stickiness on the bass is actually the finish on the bass itself, for it is soft enough for the weight of your fingernail to leave an imprint in it. Something has reacted with the finish...seems like it must be the case itself.
Well, it wasn't exactly clear that all 3 were in SKB cases. Over the years, RIC has used various types of cases, and for some of the "fancier" models, they use "vintage" style plywood type cases. But, now we know they were all in SKB cases.
You say all were sealed and had not been touched since leaving the factory. I assume by this you mean the boxes were sealed with the big metal staples and not merely taped shut. If just taped, then they had been opened.
Now, all 3 were new and bought at approximately the same time. What are the manufacturing dates of the 3 basses (the 2 digits at the top of the jack plate are the year, the first 2 of the bottom digits are the week)? If they are fairly close together (same year or so) it's unlikely that the cases were much different from one to the other since they were probably made in the same lot. So, the fact that 2 are fine and one has issues tends to point to the finish on that particular bass.
It's pretty certain that all of the basses were finished with the same material. During that time, and until just the last couple of years, RIC used a 2-part catalyzing polyurethane conversion varnish. Probably from the same manufacturer. But, I suppose it's possible that the mixing was a bit wrong for one painting session so that the finish didn't cure quite perfectly. This would lead to there being a number of instruments with the same issue though since they paint them in batches.
Now, the case lining sticking to the tailpiece is strange. That's a piece of chrome plated zinc and doesn't have any sort of clear coat on it (some were done in black, with a powder coating, but now we know yours was chrome - more info). Is there any sort of corrosion on the chrome? It's hard to imagine what would cause the case lining to stick to chrome.
Anyway, I'm not sure what to do about this. It's possible that you could clean/polish the sticky part off, but if the finish is actually deteriorating, it may have to be refinished. Perhaps some of the other members who are more familiar with the actual finish process, such as jingle_jangle, can give you more information...
I have NO idea what to do with those skinny stringed things... I'm just a bass player...