rubis

Thank you Andy A quick update just to show I haven't been completely inactive, I've done some shopping for some more parts while waiting for the Spitfire guard to arrive (and clear customs.....ouch 🤑)

I'm contemplating how to go about getting an aluminium shield that goes underneath it. you can get them in USA at reasonable cost, but I can't find a UK supplier. I will have to wait and see if I get stuck-on for import taxes on the pickguard, it seems a lottery whether you do or don't, and if I could I would rather source parts here. I could always make the aluminium guard, I used to be a blacksmith years ago! I think they are 14 gauge aluminium sheet, and I will have a template to use!

Happy to oblige! I actually got it from a gentleman of this parish, who contacted me, having ordered it for a project of his own, which very sadly won't be going ahead.

Things are at a bit of a hiatus at the moment with the body ageing, I have a Spitfire pickguard on it's way, and until it gets here I can't do the yellowing process. I tried using a pickguard from my son's Westfield p bass, but it's not a very good fit on this body, so I might as well be patient and wait a while so that the 'un-yellowed' bit under the pickguard matches the shape of the actual guard properly. I'm afraid I might end up with a bit showing which doesn't look properly sunburned, like a white tan line! I've been online shopping for a few bits and bobs, got some Durham's water putty, which apparently is great for the clay dot markers, a 7.25" radius block and a a period correct truss rod nut. I also found this clip on youtube, which may be the simplest way of doing a veneer fingerboard

That's rather lovely, that is

That’s awesome mate It’s reassuring to know I was on the right track with the method, thank you kindly for your help

Thats just the sort of effect I’m after, nice one

Thats very kind of you Bridgehouse I intended to use an old pickguard, bridge cover and neck plate to ‘mask off’ areas that would not get UV yellowing and then more clear coat over the top. Its the first time I’ve used nitro and it does seem to ‘melt’ into the previous coats a bit, so that may help it look more natural

Funny you should say that, I was googling away this afternoon and found the same suggestion ( I think it was on the TDPRI site in America) and the reply was that it would be the wrong kind of light from a tanning booth. My knowledge of the light spectrum is not all it could be, I must admit, and I thought that it would be the same sort of light as sunlight, which I think is what yellows the lacquer. Thanks for replying, we wait for someone with a tan who knows about these things

Now, the dilemma I have at the moment is how to best achieve this look. My original plan was, once the colour was on, to apply a clear coat and then some subtle yellowing followed by more clear coats I intended to put the bridge and cover and also the scratchplate in place before yellowing, which would leave the colour beneath to show how it looks when new. Also trying to avoid yellowing the neck pocket, because these areas wouldn't be exposed to the light. I have pored over countless pictures of guitars and basses, both naturally aged and otherwise, and this is the frustrating bit, there are contradictions in how to go about it, and some look less convincing than others, so I'm thinking less is more! Here's the main point of confusion at the moment, sorry if it seems trivial, but if I'm doing this, I may as well do it as best I can, and if there are those who move among us who own a naturally aged and yellowed beast, then please advise me. I had thought initially that areas which come into contact with the body whilst playing, would have less visible yellowing, I assumed that the constant rubbing would 'clean it up' I'm thinking particularly of the forearm and the belly contour on the back, maybe even that little patch that sometimes wears away just in front of the bridge below the G string. I've highlighted the kind of area on the photo below, again remember I'm aiming for slightly more subtle than the guitar in this picture if I can! But then I saw a YouTube video of a bloke doing a Strat body and yellowing the paint "where it comes into contact with the body"...….the opposite of what I had assumed would happen. What do you think would be the correct pattern of yellowing...…...where the body touches, or everywhere else except where the body touches?

I've been doing a bit more of the colour coat and before the next step, it's time for my next appeal for help, opinion and advice! This is the sort of look I'm aiming for, a sort of slightly yellowed with age and lightly relic'd look , a bit like this bass shown below.

I've managed to get a little bit of work done on the body, taking advantage of the heatwave going on at the moment, I have sealed the body then applied white primer and then a coat of sonic blue. I appreciate that although the finish will be aged, or lightly relic'd, it would make sense to start with a good finish before 'attacking' it, as that would have been how it started out, so I will aim to get the best finish I can using just rattle cans. I have a compressor, but as I'm not aiming for a showroom finish, I can compromise a little bit. I this heat, the paint from a rattle can goes on quite well as the paint and the body are warmed up nicely. Bit more work to do though, when I'm happy with the colour coat, I'm planning on a clear coat, then a bit of subtle yellowing with light amber neck tint, avoiding the areas that would not be affected, such as under the pickguard, bridge/cover and neck plate, then another clear coat.

Thank you very kindly

Sorry, didn't come out clear there, I meant to say a white (or white-ish) guard, I refer to them all as nitro, should have said nitrate ! Other than Spitfire, what other brands of repro guards are available? thanks Harry

Thank you very kindly, this is exactly the kind of help I was hoping for I found a build diary on TDPRI that a guy from Isreal did a while ago, and he used Durham’s water putty for the clay dots, it looked very authentic and is availble on Amazon, so I’ll have a little play with that Bram is waiting for a nitro Spitfire guard he’s ordered to arrive, and although they are a bit expensive, I think I’ll end up with one I was looking at using those Gotoh tuners, are they authentic, does anyone know? Thanks again for helping out

Wow that looks fantastic

This is a very cool project

Andy Thanks for your interest. According to the onfo I have found, and I don’t at all mind being corrected, the ‘transition logo’ came into use in either late summer or fall 64, during the transition of ownership/management between Leo Fender and CBS If this is correct, then I would probably need the earlier spaghetti logo to fit in with March 64 Can anyone confirm this please ?

Thanks for your comments gents Woodinblack - how right you are! I assumed (wrongly) that the numbers were the day the neck was made.....not so, as you point out, the numbers relate to the neck type, something I’d overlooked and confirmed here http://www.guitarhq.com/fender.html However, this is a happy accident because I still want the stamp to read 17 MAR 64, so much the better if officionados such as yourself, spot the inaccuracy, but hopefully, appreciate the reason for doing it, it’s a personalisation, I don’t want to slavishly try to recreate a ‘64 bass, I don’t have access to one to take measurements from etc and this one will have a neck to suit my hands, IE a thick profile thank you for educating me, please do continue 🙂

As an example of the kind of ‘fun’ detail I will be fussing over, I shall try to replicate the date stamp on the end of the neck, of course, to say 17 MAR 64 (it would be silly not to!) I shall also try to stamp my date of birth on the neck plate as a serial number I have a few bits to make a start with, it will have a Bare Knuckles ‘65 pickup which I love. I have an alder body from a popular online body parts supplier, which was sold to me as a second because of a couple of very small knots in the wood, but they are in areas where a lightly worn bass would still have intact paint anyway. It came routed and sanded for less than the cost of an alder blank, so it seemed rude not to, it will be painted over and then lightly relic’d anyway, so it certainly doesn’t need to be perfect. I am comparing the appearance of it to some of the photos I have collected, to try to get things like edge radius and routings to look as close as I can to a ‘64 body before finishing it. I have already had advice from the very knowledgeable Brams77, a proper gent if ever there was one! He put my mind at rest over a detail which was concerning me, namely, that I had read somewhere that Fender would stain all bodies yellow before finishing, irrespective of whether they were to be sunburst or painted solid colours. As I intend this to be sonic blue, I was worried that the yellow would bleed through and turn it green, not that surf green is in any way unappealing to me, I just prefer sonic blue. Anyway Bram informed me that in ‘63 and ‘64 when production at Fender was picking up, this practice was dropped on custom colours, so i can do sealer, white primer, colour coat then lacquer in the way it would have been done back in the day! And this is what I am hoping to encourage from anyone with an opinion or knowledge of the subject to share, a sort of co-operative effort if you wouldn’t mind helping out please. Here is an example. Apparently, in mid ‘64 Fender changed the logo from the spaghetti logo to the larger script, as shown on this photo My question is when, before March or afterwards? I already have a couple of the later decals, but would March ‘64 be the spaghetti logo?……..logo geeks I need your help please!

I was born on 17th March 1964 and I’ve always wanted a ‘year of birth’ bass. Sonic blue is my favourite Fender colour. Rosewood board necks are my favourite necks. I can’t imagine how much a decent ‘64 sonic blue precision would be, certainly beyond any price I could justify spending, and to be honest, if i had that sort of money to spare, the thought of spending it on a guitar would scare me! So my attention was drawn to Limelight basses and modern Fender relics, but to be honest, they always looked ‘overdone’ to me. Maybe it’s my northeastern upbringing, but I was taught that you worked hard for your toys and you looked after them, so if I had been lucky enough to acquire a ‘64 p bass when I was starting out, it would look well played but well loved these days, not like I'd dragged it to work every day tied to the back of the car. Also, Limelight basses seem to look generically vintage to me, by that I mean that there are important missing details, (mainly for a ‘64 bass, the lack of a laminate fingerboard), which would put me off buying one, fabulous as they are. So, to get to the point of this build. I am going to have a go at building a ‘day of birth’ bass. That means one built on 17th March 1964, it will be sonic blue, I will attempt to ‘age’ it or lightly relic it, to look like it has been loved and played a lot, but not abused, not my thing I’m afraid. I have collected a certain amount of articles and photos for reference, but I am counting on the expertise of those who have owned a 60’s Fender, and those with the kind of in-depth knowledge who can help me with the small details which will hopefully add up to a convincing finished article. Let me clearly point out however, I am not intending to make some sort of forgery or attempting to pass the end result off in any way as an original ‘64 bass. Firstly, I don’t think it would fool too many people. Secondly, in the style of Limelight basses, it will have an alternative decal on the rear of the headstock with a suitable inscription to avoid any confusion. I think this will be a fairly slow process, but it will be fun (providing things don’t go too wrong) and I hope it will be an opportunity for discussion and learning. Probably my biggest challenge will be making a period correct veneer fingerboard neck such as this rather than use a slab board neck from the likes of Allparts