The strap released on my Fender Jazz bass and it fell from my body onto the concrete floor. Damage was done. See pic. Any advice on how to fix? I’d like to fix it myself if possible. Maybe add a little bling like the Japanese art of repair Kintsugi. Any ideas and thoughts welcome.
Bummer! Stuff like this happens though.
Step 1: buy strap locks
Otherwise I would consider just living with it. Think of it as a free relic job. The damage looks superficial.
If it really annoys you I would consider getting an opinion from a luthier if you want a real refinishing, depends on how handy you are with woodworking.
Welcome, @connellj65. Man, sorry about your bass. That really sucks. But Howard is right: get some good strap locks (Schaller-S are the best) to prevent this from happening in the future. It’s a wise investment.
Also, finish work on an electric guitar or bass is not simple. You can see the various layers in your finish. Unless you’re experienced doing this type of repair, you’re best off taking your bass to a competent luthier.
Or, you can try to live with it until you can’t anymore.
Either way, glad you’re here.
Relic life, drop it a few more times and ur set. Gotta go all in
It absolutely baffles me that straps don’t come with strap locks as a industry standard.
That definitely sucks!
I would also recommend strap locks and leave it be.
I like the Schaller S-locks the best.
@connellj65 that’s not an easy fix if you’ve little to no paint experience. However to stop it getting worse you could ease the edges to prevent it catching on something and chipping off more of the poly finish.
You could start with a 100 grit sandpaper to give it a light sand and move up to a 150 to finish.
Making the corner look something like this, only not as big.
Thanks Barney. I can handle that. Looks good.
Does it matter that the internal foam is showing?
Internal foam? Your bass ‘should’ be made of a wood body (Alder, Ash etc) then a primer coat of paint and the finished colour coat.
It’ll be tough to match the paint finish but you could do a contrasting repair.
The damage looks to be on the radius so maybe fill and sand to restore the correct contour then mask to leave a band around the edge to the end of the radius front and rear. Then sand, prime and spray satin black. It’s pretty easy to get a great finish with aerosol satin finish paint and it goes with pretty much any colour.
Its probably a low density deciduous wood, like poplar or basswood. My guess is that if you can’t see the grain, it will look like foam, especially on the endgrain.
Just like everyone said, get strap locks. I’ve got 14 basses and ALL have them since I had an issue with the strap on my Steinberger Spirit XT1 headless kept coming loose. Just like yours, it hit the floor but fortunately it was on carpet and didn’t go far as I was sitting. Now, as far as the fixing, Barney’s right. Sand it down as best you can so that it doesn’t catch on anything. If you can find the matching paint, mask off everything else and give it a try but unless you can do the whole layers yourself, you’ll either have to live with it or take it to a luthier.
One last thing to keep in mind if you plan to spray paint yourself: take your time and don’t apply too much in one fell swoop. Instead, apply multiple thin coats - much thinner than you might instinctively think would be enough per coat.
Cumulative light coats will get you where you need to go while preventing runs and/or gummy, thick coats that are hell to deal with afterwards. So be patient, use a light touch, and take your time.
I used to do custom paint jobs on choppers back in the day, and I learned this essential painting lesson from a seasoned pro.
Okayyyy…
Nope.
And with higher heat, you have to be aware of runs too.
Those are a great inexpensive solution, PIA if you travel with your bass alot
Yep, those work great for one bass/strap rig.
Swapping one strap to other basses is doable, but an effort. Regardless of the locks you choose, they are great insurance. Just know that all strap locks are not created equal. That’s why I use and recommend Schaller S locks.