Having gone a little bit guitar mad during the Sydney lockdown I was looking for something different to do... an inspired afternoon and I picked up a YB-4 kit. I wanted a bass and figured building one could be a bit of fun.
After navigating Aus Posts delays the kit turned up and I got straight into sanding and staining it. First mistake was using Dingotone... I'm not an expert on the subject but I didn't expect it to get lighter with each coat. I laid down a couple coats of blue and then the intensifying coat just stripped it all away. The nice blue I had was gone. The wood just wouldn't hold the stain. At this point I considered sanding it back and using a different stain but decided to persevere.... I'm not patient and didn't want to start over again. The finishing coat was even worse. 4 weeks and it just wouldn't cure, it stayed sticky. Eventually I gave up and ordered some tru oil. Tru oil was magic. It dried quickly and with a nice shine. I got a little over zealous a couple times and had to take to it with the steel wool. Eventually I got what I was looking for.
The build was pretty straight forward, everything goes where you'd expect.
Electronics were simple enough that someone who hasn't done any soldering in 15 years could manage it, but challenging enough that I wasn't sure it would work when plugged in (pleasantly surprised when it did). The wiring diagram had me saying "huh?" a few times so winged it a little with the basic knowledge from having recently swapped out some pickups.
Ultimately I'm not unhappy with the outcome. I was hoping for a much different blue, instead I got a natural colour with blue accents in the grain. It plays and holds tune so I can't really complain.
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