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Due to abuse - forum is closed and in archive mode only
Paul
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Posted: 11/28/2004 at 2:40 PM Post subject: TB200 snapped body crisis! |
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Mid-gig last week my 'bean' bass had a rather nasty interface with a scabby pub floor, resulting in the top half of the body breaking off! Christ. Anyway, its a spookily clean break that runs in a straight line from one end of the body to the other. Essentially the top portion of the wooden 'body' has seperated from the metal neck piece that runs the length of the guitar. No splintering or anything, just a clean break. The bottom half and all the electronics are still intact and it plays, so i'm HOPING that it can be saved.
Really i'm looking for advice. Looking at the pieces ~starts to cry~ of bass the wood didn't seem to be bolted on to the metal neck/body part, so i guess they must have been glued? Is this standard for these basses? If so, any suggestions as to where one might have it re-glued? (i'm in the UK) Has anyone had a similar experience and care to share a HAPPY ending with me?
Anyone?
I'm not entirely sure how these basses are constructed but it doesn't look to me like the wood that makes up the body is bolted onto the metal neck part that runs the length of it
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Wade
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Posted: 11/29/2004 at 5:11 AM Post subject: RE:TB200 snapped body crisis! |
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Hi Paul, I'm from the UK as well. This has happened to many TB basses and all in the same body area and you're the second person I've heard that this has happened too in the middle of a gig. The same thing happened to me years ago whilst cleaning my TB bass. When it happened I thought I was hallucinating and I was totally gutted. I have owned Wal's, Rickenbacker's, Fender's etc but my TB is the best loved bass I have ever owned. I tell you if I was in the band on the Titanic, f**k the women and children my Travis Bean would be the first on the lifeboat.
When you slide the neck receiver out from the body you can see there is only about 1" thick length of wood holding the bass together so this is a very, very delicate area. If it is a clean break it is easy to glue together and after gluing it is much stronger in that area than before. This can be done without taking the electronics out. No matter how clean the break it still leaves a slight crack running down the length of the body. I know a wood craving expert and teacher, he put some liquid wood in the crack, let it dry and sanded it flat and now it is fine and 100% smooth. He told me what filler he used but I've forgotten but I can ask him again if you wish (by the way, he said I did an experts job in gluing the body together). You can also cover the damage done to the polyester coating yourself or just sand it all off and get a guitar builder to re-polyester the whole body to new for you. On mine I just sanded it all the polyester off my bass as it had many years of scratches to the finish anyway as I bought it S/H. I did want to sand the whole finish down to the bare Koa wood but my wood craving expert friend and I had no idea what finish was used on the original bare wood of the TBs bodies and I received no reply to this question in a posting on this forum so I have left it as it is. I don't know where you live in the UK but I'm in the Devon area and can always give you a hand or even better there is a local (Exeter) guitar builder and guitar shop owner called Hugh Manson whom builds basses, guitars, pedal steels and mandolins for John Paul Jones amongst others and is his personal guitar tech. I am always weary of leaving a guitar with a luthier if I don't know his work, but from experience I can vouch that his work is brilliant with real attention to detail and you could leave it with him to do it all for you. He is not cheap but we are talking about a Travis Bean.
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Paul
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Posted: 11/29/2004 at 7:45 AM Post subject: RE:TB200 snapped body crisis! |
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Hello Wade.
Glad to hear i am not alone on this one and that the repairs are reasonably common and straight forward.
I don't intend to undertake any repairs myself as i have a knack for truly twatting stuff like this up. I live in Leeds so i may try and source a more local luthier to save the day, but if you could email me the address for your man i'd appreciate it. I seldom get precious about guitars and such, but like you said this is a 'bean'.
Cheers for your help chap.
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Wade
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Due to abuse - forum is closed and in archive mode only
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