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Attachment 44607 Home made P bass, not built by me but I have upgraded a little using using Epic Series Klein 1958 P BASS Pickups and have basically used this bass for most of the last 15 years. I know this is not a Pit Bull guitar just throwing it up there, I may change out the tuners for the black set I ordered from Pit Bull
Attachment 44608 Sitting along side, I may be dismantling this one for a new paint job, depends what I find under the paint, it is a solid body looking at the neck pocket but im unsure of the timber used. It is quite a bit lighter, so it may just be a cheapo pine body, than the JB A4 but tends to nose dive a bit, weight over body to neck, the new kit is a more stable due to the body weight, which should improve my playing ability.
Ash of the non-Swamp Ash variety is a heavy wood, so most other standard body woods like alder and basswood are likely to be lighter in comparison. Fender 3x has a bass with the body made of Paulownia, which is very light and soft, rather like a stronger balsa wood.
Ive heard about the Paulownia timber, I would assume the neck weight would also be an issue. I know its used for decking and fencing due to its high tolerance to decay and wood rot, never thought it would be used as a guitar body. Will have a look at Fender 3x posts.
It’s used as the centre block in a lot of the semi-hollow body kits like the ES-1. It makes them lighter, but it’s not the ideal post-anchoring wood.
Mostly decking and fence pickets, posts are generally treated H4 posts these days. Old school hard wood posts have become a rarity.
Almost ready for staining/painting/ebonizing..... Has anyone here tried to ebonize ash ??? Ive been trying out a few sample pieces, using the vinegar and a couple of different grade steel wool, the first brew I used was with medium grade 1 steel wool and another batch I have been fermenting for around 2 weeks using the finest grade 0000 and vinegar, basically to see any differences in the color after. The other mix I have brewed up using 0000 grade steel wool vinegar and jet black fabric dye powder. Of course there are 3 different results. The fine grade 0000 and vinegar mix has a very rich brown result, which has been the longest fermenting and I dont think its likely to get any darker. The other grade 1 mix is a light brown in color, and the 0000 grade with vinegar and black fabric power is not working to hold the color, may try alcohol based stain see if that holds up. What Im after is a rich black wood grain effect. Anyone have a better idea ?, I may just stain it with over the shelf rich black yet.
Have you tried using a very strong tea (or other tannin-rich) mixture first? It does need tannin to work properly.
I did try an earl grey mix was 6 tea bags I let seep for a few days in a cup of water but didn't really have a huge effect, not sure which tea would be better to use, but will have a look at utube and see if I can get something going with that. I do like the rich brown color ive managed to get going, much like the tobacco color I think its known as. There is a tea tree bark power called Quebracho, suppose to be very high in tannin and used on timber prior to using the ebonizing agent, just need to hopefully locate some locally. Another option which seems to be very popular is to use Speedball Super Black India ink that im currently reviewing, lots of very nice work, quick non toxic and deep penetration into timbers, no higher than 220 grit sanding so not to close the nape and keep the grain to an open state so it sinks in. Thanks for the tip.
Attachment 44620Indian ink over ash sample, this is what im looking for, one half has had 3 coats exterior grade clear coat no sanding at this point, but that's the color i'm after. I will now empty the ebonizing mix (glad it was a cheap process) good results if you want a tobacco burst color, but this puppy will be as indicated "Jet Black".............