Here is a track featuring our very own Kevin Drexler on his 4 string J.
http://www.sadowsky.com/KevOnBass/Out_Of_My_Mind.mp3

And what a beauty that J4 is too! (hint - hint) 
Great clip & tone Kevin. Thanks for the treat.
B.

I just took the sdtrings off and shot some photos. This is my fingerboard after 3 years of heavy playing:

I'd love to see that after some "extra fine".   
How could you ever part with an old friend like that.
B.

FRESH START!!!   Thanks for that Roger. All the best pal.
Blair.

Hi Everyone!  Welcome to the new Sadowsky Forum.  This is your backstage pass to all things Sadowsky.  Share stories, photos, ask questions and more.

HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY to the Sadowsky Guitars Web Forum - (May 29,2010)
Congratulations Roger. Best wishes for you & all the crew & for a great fit & much success in your new location at LIC.
Blair.

The white maple is holding up pretty well (and pretty white ).

Thanks Fran. I'm not all that concerned about keeping it looking "new white". Taking it down to the bare maple allows for a very attractive & slight greying of the playing surface wood. I wipe it down with a damp cloth regularly (just plain water & sometimes w/ rubbing alcohol) to pay respect to the wood & keeps the "greying" uniform over the neck. I will never use polish on the bare maple. It's gonna stay "bare"; for the feel. The un-tinted nitro on the headstock is starting to nicely darken a tad. Great how an instrument acquires "character" w/time. 
B.
PS: ***Just a note here that the attention paid to "whiskering" of the wood after the 400 sanding is the deal maker on this neck.

So proud of my build that I put a couple o' pics in frames awhile ago. I put the tort PG on it but the mint still is a fav w/me. Nice to be able to swap 'em out for a change of pace if I like.
B.

It's been 1 year now since the removal of the neck finish & the bare maple is still pretty clean looking & as slippery as ever. I just love it!
B.

I recommend replacing the battery at 7.5 volts.
You will get longer battery life if you unplug your bass after soundcheck.

Roger

.... question: if I push to passive mode after soundcheck, will it stop draining battery until I pull it back to active?...

It is my understanding that closing the circuit (cord plugged in), will draw juice from the battery. You must remove the plug to disengage the battery.
B.

Congrats Fran! You did a great job. I like the way you did the side of the headstock with the hard line transition.NICE!
I hope you paid particular attention to "whiskering" the surface well with the 400 grit. That's where the silky feel comes from. Not sure I understand what you mean by "less porous" (with the oil application). Mine feels like glass & has the illusion of feeling harder than it did with the finish on it.
I'm really pleased that you had the courage to go through with this. You're gonna love it amigo! Nice thing is: now that the nitro is gone, you can always re-do any of it quite simply if needed. Did you have any problem with the nitro dust? Maybe it was less of an issue due to its aged curing. Mine was freshly sprayed.
B.  

Hard to explain; I might get the same feeling with the natural skin oil after playing the bass for a while, but the true oil really made me get that feel faster.

No problems with the nitro dust, I just did the job close to a window.

The issue w/nitro dust I was referring to was the transferring of a tacky dust residue from your hands to the bass. I found that to be a concern. I thought maybe since your bass was a few years older, the nitro would be cured completely & perhaps not have been as tacky when in dust form. I have limited experience with this so I'm just curious. This isn't wood dust that can be washed off. The protection of the bass with masking etc. is very important.
B.

I'm almost three years into the 'Vintiquity' process on my PJ4 and the results start to show. I love this bass more and more every day.

Darkening/yellowing on the fingerboard/neck:

Thanks for the pics Fran. I love this one. A few things told.
I wonder if ANYONE has a bass without a headstock ding? 
B.

I'd love to hear what you guys here think. I know most of you are also members on the other forum where I posted this photo, but here it won't get buried by newer posts. So...black or gold:

Gold!  Everybody likes a change of dress - even a P-Bass.    It'll feel like a new bass Fran.
B.

As promised:

These photos show the limits between the 'naked' wood and the vintage tint nitro finish. I followed Blair's guide but also oiled the neck with True Oil gustock oil as per Roger's recommendation; it feels almost like bare wood, but a little harder, less porous. I never felt the nitro finish to be sticky at all until recently and then I decided to go for the same finish/feel I have on my double bass. I can't be happier.

Congrats Fran! You did a great job. I like the way you did the side of the headstock with the hard line transition.NICE!
I hope you paid particular attention to "whiskering" the surface well with the 400 grit. That's where the silky feel comes from. Not sure I understand what you mean by "less porous" (with the oil application). Mine feels like glass & has the illusion of feeling harder than it did with the finish on it.
I'm really pleased that you had the courage to go through with this. You're gonna love it amigo! Nice thing is: now that the nitro is gone, you can always re-do any of it quite simply if needed. Did you have any problem with the nitro dust? Maybe it was less of an issue due to its aged curing. Mine was freshly sprayed.
B.  

14 months!  

I love it! It's such a beautiful burst...and the two tone fingerboard is simply amazing.

I'm still waiting on some videos...

Just thought I'd post some new eye candy of the build. It's been with me over 14 months now.
B.

I have some pretty exciting memories of cracking the box back then Fran. A day for gifts as I'm sure you recall.
It definitely is a special slab alright. I could ride that wave all the way home.  
The light / dark aspect of the fretboard 2 tone appearance is not nearly as obvious in real life. The lighting in photos makes it pop out more.
At the risk of repeating myself here, Roger does a very special job of truing his fretboards up high.
B.

Hey Fran, I'd love to see a couple close-ups of your "new neck" & maybe a comment about your work on it.
Hope it's all you were expecting. Thanks amigo.
Blair.

Just thought I'd post some new eye candy of the build. It's been with me over 14 months now.
B.