Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Well this is my first bass guitar, I have had it for 3 years. Its a metallic red Yamaha 270. Im looking to buy Ricknebacker as my next bass, so in the meantime I have gone quite mad playing around with my yamaha. I have had no previous experience with any thing like so it was all new to me. So yes I probably did a few stupid things along the way.

Here are some pics with what I have done with it.

Ok well here it is unchanged and factory, it was a nice sparkly metallic red.

[img]http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/473/dsc00002zy9.jpg[/img]

I decided I wanted to change it, mainly just changing the paint job. So I went out to Dulux and bought a few colors and such, and started sanding. I hand sanded it all, using a few types of papers. Took about a whole day to get it down, I found a pretty cool looking silver color under the paint, which im guessing was a type of undercoat, then a hit the wood, and this is what it came out like.

[img]http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/1971/rbxlf9.jpg[/img]

I was totally amazed at the beauty of the wood So I decided I didnt want to paint it at all. After a day of no bass I was eager to play it so i quickly put it all together again. After a few days I noticed the wood started to get a bit dirty, which I expected would happen. So I had to put some sort of protection on the wood, so I used a clear gloss coat. Now, I was hoping the clear gloss coat would just be just that, a CLEAR gloss, well it wasn't, and I got this.

[img]http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/5346/compilationtu7.jpg[/img]

When I put the first coat on I was totally shocked, I nearly cried lol. I really loved that blonde/butterscotch color, and it just looked a really ****** brown. But after a few coats it became a pretty nice dark wood color which im keeping for the time being. I take comfort that in that it remotely looks like les claypools rainbow bass, very remotely.

I'm hoping to get a musicman pickup to replace the top split pickup, as well as getting a new bridge and knobs to finish it off, then I just may lay it to rest for a while.

So yeah, just thought I would share all that for anyone who wants a change for their guitar or bass and wants a change.

Not a bad result, Frank!

One thing you might want to try for a plain wood finish is tung oil. It's what is used for the natural wood finishes of Rickenbacker models like the 650S. If you'd like a small (c. 25-mL) sample to experiment with, I'd be glad to send you one, just e-mail me off-forum with your address.

Thanks Gary!

I'm not sure if the oil will work though because it has the clear gloss coats on it, I would have to sand it back I assume.

Though it seems worth it looking at pictures of the 650S, the wood finish looks amazing!

Sending a sample may be hard as i'm in Australia and you are in the states, but I really appreciate you offering!

Hey Frank,

I LIKE IT!

I think it looks a heck of a lot better than the original RED color! Kudos for taking all that time and effort to sand her down by HAND! Job well done. I just love to see the natural woods in guitars.

I too own a Yamaha, a 2005 BBN4. Actually, I purchased it for my daughter with the HOPES she would leave my RICS alone! It didn't work! LoL!

So, being the Yamaha gets almost no play time now, I like to mess with it once in a while. I hate to say it, but I like it better than every other bass I've played in the $400.00 price range! It has a great feel and sound ESPECIALLY when I use a pick on it. The body is a little large, but a nice bass none the less.

Frank, the result you got when you applied the clear gloss coat is exactly what I would expect. The gloss coat penetrates the wood and deepens the color.

Would there have been any way to protect it and still have it that light wood color? Not in my experience.

Anyway, it looks much better now than red sparkly. Well done.

Thanks for all your comments!

@Ajish4

Haha! No one can be fooled into a Yamaha over a Ric! Though your BBN4 would be awesome for slapping i'm guessing. I truly love my 270j, never played anything better for under $1000 new. Its just such a versatile bass, I get an awesome slapping sound through my fender rumble 100, and a nice vintage tone by switching pickups. Though I have tried to disguise the fact its a Yamaha by sanding of the logos The wood finish really doesn't make it looks like a cheap beginner bass anymore, which i'm happy about.

@Jingle

You are right about the wood penetrating through. The wood after it being sanding was very VERY dry so I suppose I should have expected a large change. I think there might be way though, a thing called two-pac? (think its called that). The guy at the paint store suggested it but it was very expensive. He said it was the stuff they used in marine industry over surfaces and creates a hard clear surface. I'm thinking of buying a very cheap electric off ebay just to sand down and have fun with painting and I might try it then.