Ideas for closing a routed opening on bass body

Gear
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I got a used Harley Benton JB 75 SB Vintage for very little money today and am giving it some TLC right now. But the previous owner hasn’t been using it much at all - she was more into guitars and drums apparently. So, other than dust and a very dry fingerboard there isn’t that much to do.

Anyway, I want to get rid of the pickguard (tort) and unfortunately, there is a big routing for the wires from the neck pickup (Fenders don’t seem to have these). See pictures below.

Any good idea how to cover this somehow? And, no, thanks, not with a pickguard :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

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You could do a custom ramp that goes around the neck pickup and covers the hole, not quite as big as a pick guard, but covers the hole.

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Large quantities of toothpicks and superglue? :rofl::rofl:

Or this…

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Good idea, but perhaps not a whole ramp… it’s “vintage” in looks after all :wink:

But, yeah, something 3D-printed perhaps…

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Well… that would be some project - toothpicks or not :wink:

I guess this is also where the sunburst really bites me in the behind :joy:

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Cut down the existing pick guard to just cover the hole?

Use a laminate trimmer or Dremel.

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Not bad… but perhaps I should get a non-tort (black?) pickguard for that :thinking:

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You could try the tort one first. To find the basic shape. Then use it as a template for a colour you like?

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Fill with epoxy? You could make it black epoxy, have it color-matched to the burst, or just get crazy with it. Fill it all in, or perhaps leave some cavities in case you ever want to swap pickups.

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The color matching would be tricky; and perhaps getting a smooth surface…

I guess I am trying to find a simple (as few tools as possible) and cheap solution. Enclosing everything in epoxy might be an issue, but then again, this was an 80 bucks expense; I am unlikely to put 300 dollar pups in there. Besides, the bass sounds great (from what I’ve heard so far) :smile:

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Gotta wonder how much that restoration job ran him. I’m betting Dan isn’t exactly inexpensive.

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That’s quite a cool pic and gives me some ideas.

Questions:

  • metal near pickups/strings has no side effects on the pickups?
  • i’m thinking about using small neodym magnets for the battery cover on the backside, just for fun. If I would create a solution like in your pic, magnets would surely be a bad idea, especially if they are near the pickus, right?

EDIT one idea is to use magnets for holding a thumbrest…

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I should have clarified that I wouldn’t try to recreate the burst, but you could try to match the main color perhaps. Smooth surface (and epoxy bubbles) would probably be things to consider. If you ever did want to replace pickups, you could place a tube or something like that in the void before you poured, which would leave a gap for the wires to run through. And surely some finessing around the pickup itself, but it could be done.

This is certainly possible!

I just saw something similar available commercially, I think it used suction to affix? Ah yes:

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To be honest, I’d just go for a custom pick guard - let your imagination run riot.

I used this chap for one: https://www.originalscratchplates.com/
I’m U.K. based.

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Extraordinary.

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That’s definitely a woody!

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It’s obviously meant to be cherries, right :cherries::cherries::cherries::cherries::cherries::cherries:

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I knew you’d come through eventually :joy:

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If you want to show off the color then why not clear Pickguard. It would look great especially if you want to upgrade the electronics. I love the raw look.

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Cherries it is!

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