My 2nd bass

[Gerry Beckles]

After many years of seeing everyone else's projects, I now have one to submit...

You could call it a copy of a copy, as it is modeled after a Vox Symphonic Bass (Vox's answer to a Fender Precision Bass). Features are:

Body: Alder
Neck: Maple, one piece
Fingerboard: round-laminated Bubinga
Fingerboard radius: 10"
Pickups: "Vox-style" single coil (2)
Electronics Mod: DPDT switch to run both pickups in series when the switch is pulled up
Finish: Duplicolor primer, Duplicolor Olympic White, Minwax Clear Gloss Lacquer
Scale: 33.25"

Some pictures:

Any comments are welcome.

Gerry Beckles

[Hans Bezemer]

That's a nice bass.
What do you mean by "round-laminated"?
Did you spraypainted the body or with a brush?

[Gerry Beckles]

Thanks, Hans. "Round-laminated" simply means the underside of the board (in this case, bubinga) is curved to fit a curved maple neck, instead of a flat "slab" board. As for the finish, I used Duplicolor primer and top coats in aerosol cans, and the Minwax is aerosol, as well.

[Jason Rodgers]

Very retro cool vibe going on! Nice!

Can you please tell more about your finishing process? I've read very old forum discussions (Tele forum, I think) about these very products being used, so it would be nice to have a present-day Q&A: surface prep, sanding between coats, number of coats, buffing/polishing with the Minwax? Thanks!

[David King]

Great job Gerry. I've never see one of these in person but i love the old Vox pickups. Did you get them from Brandoni in the UK?

[Gerry Beckles]

Jason - Here's what I did:

Sanding the body and neck with 320 grit
Sprayed one can of grey Duplicolor primer
Sprayed about 4 cans of Duplicolor Olympic White lacquer (very little sanding between coats for the body)
Sprayed about 4-5 cans of Minwax Clear Gloss lacquer for both body and neck
**Wet sanded body and neck with 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 3000 & 5000-grit sandpaper
Hand-rubbed with Meguiar's Swirl Remover 2.0 for that shine I love so much.

I had a couple sand-throughs which needed fixing, but wet-sanding is so important. Hope this helps.

David - Neither have I, but lately there's been some interest on the web (google Vox Symphonic Bass) and an article in the December 2014 issue of Vintage Guiter Magazine.
I've had to use catalogue reprints blown up to 1:1 to help me build. The pickups are from Allparts (part# PU-6423-025); I tried contacting Brandoni, but they never answered my e-mails

Thanks to both of you for your kind comments! I plan to start another one soon for myself.

[Gerry Beckles]

BTW, the pickguard is cut from Lexan and the back was sprayed with Krylon white for a slight contrast. What a pain to cut and shape; next one will be plastic!!

[Jason Rodgers]

Jason - Here's what I did:

Sanding the body and neck with 320 grit
Sprayed one can of grey Duplicolor primer
Sprayed about 4 cans of Duplicolor Olympic White lacquer (very little sanding between coats for the body)
Sprayed about 4-5 cans of Minwax Clear Gloss lacquer for both body and neck
**Wet sanded body and neck with 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 3000 & 5000-grit sandpaper
Hand-rubbed with Meguiar's Swirl Remover 2.0 for that shine I love so much.

Right on!

[Gerry Beckles]

Ooops, I forgot a grit: 2000. Each finer grit makes the finish that much smoother.

[Gilbert Fredrickson]

Great headstock treatment.