March '08

A Yamaha bass I've had for nearly five years. Still played really nice but the finish was in awful condition; scratched and dented all over with quite a few chips in the lacquer, so it was time for a re-vamp.

Heres's the end result. Solid red back and sides with 'green man' on the front, all sealed up with a satin nitrocellulose lacquer. The satin finish looks super smooth and silky, a different look completely from the high gloss finish but no less effective. Headstock was done also to tie in with the front.

BEFORE-
Follow photos down the page to watch it progress.

This sketch shows the basic idea for the front of the bass, the back and sides will be a flat glossy red. This idea is taken almost straight from a sticker designed by Jim Phillips. He was a massively influential Californian rock, surf & skate artist from the early sixties right up until recent times. I generally like to stick to my own artwork for guitars, but this basic idea was so perfect for what I had in mind for this particular guitar. The original was in red and yellow, and the eyes where open.