Shaggy

[quote name='Clarky' post='843582' date='May 20 2010, 09:44 PM']It appears to be perfectly sized for a cunningly hidden fold-away ninja death stick. Did the previous owner mention 'Grasshopper' at any point in your negotiations?[/quote] Master is wise in the ways of Bass-Fu........ :ph34r: [quote name='wesfinn' post='843611' date='May 20 2010, 10:20 PM']The routs are all original. Thought the body would of been probably paired with an s9 serial number bass which means the body could be from any time up to 1983 as the s9 serial numbers lasted for about 3 and a hlaf years. There wouldnt off been any additional switches etc. the circular routs are from the CNC machine marks and the little straight rout with the eylet was for the earthing wire to screw to.[/quote] Thanks wesfinn, sound info. I wasn't too hung up on getting it excatly matched to the neck (a '78), just thereabouts, un-messed with, with an original natural or 3TS finish. Was a good price too [quote name='BurritoBass' post='843673' date='May 20 2010, 11:15 PM']Unfortunately Greg it means it's broken & you should allow me to take it off your hands for you Looks great - I've been GASing for a stripped 70s body for a while but I can't find any sellers wishing to trade in magic beans![/quote] You've got quite enough Precisions, matey! Parts seem to be much easier to source from the US for some reason, more of a market for "breaking" old basses. There's a guy in the UK does supplies them that Chris Beedster put me onto, I'll dig out his email for you - not cheap though. [quote name='Ghost_Bass' post='843756' date='May 21 2010, 01:20 AM']That route is to acomodate the screws of a thumbrest, in my opinion. Probably back then the thumbrests screwed to the pickguard and not to the body or had some kind of reinforcement plaque under the pickguard. Don't realy know, just trying to guess what it is but it seems in the right place [/quote] That definitely sounds like the most likely explanation. It can stop bugging me now! Thanks guys, informative and entertaining as ever!

I'll probably sound like Mr Thick from Thicksville being particularly thick here , but anyway - I recently bought an (alleged) -'79 Fender Precision body from the US to form part of a fretless rebuild project ( [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=87357"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=87357[/url] ), a very nice piece of ash with the natural finish largely intact but nicely worn; not too heavy either. What's baffling me is; what's the purpose of the little straight route going off from the main cavity towards the neck? There's a little electrical eyelet just at the origin. Logical reason would seem to be for a switch or a rotary control - any models of that era have switches mid-pickguard then? Is it a ganja / rubber johnny stash? (not v accessible ) Termites making a Tom, Dick & Harry tunnel "Great Escape" style? Here's another one: [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/1978-Fender-Precision-bass-body-w-Kahler-bridge-GREAT-/330433560214?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Guitar&hash=item4cef5ffe96"]http://cgi.ebay.com/1978-Fender-Precision-...=item4cef5ffe96[/url]

"Woodbine" neck shim and 40 years of patina can't beat it

[quote name='Clarky' post='840498' date='May 18 2010, 08:26 AM']McCartney's? Impressive [/quote] Nah, I chucked his out, it was a worn out piece of cr@p..........

[quote name='Clarky' post='840229' date='May 17 2010, 09:38 PM']IIRC McCartney used flats on his 4001. Beedtser tried all manner of strings including flats on his old fretless 4003 so why not drop him a PM?[/quote] I've currently got his old 4003 FL with the Pyramid Gold flats he put on still on; as said above completely changes the character of the bass. A much thicker, thuddy tone compared to rounds, more mids and more cutting still than a P; think late Beatles / early Pink Floyd. I've never been keen on flats but have to say I'm quite hooked; going to try La Bella Deep Talkin' next change.

That's absolutely lush - I love the early models I reckon it must have inspired some the new Fret-King designs too

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='835872' date='May 13 2010, 08:19 AM']I find a pack of 4 is more useful. Maybe I should stop using the G. [/quote] I get lost once I move off the low E anyway.......... :wub:

I use medium DR Hi-Beams (s/steel rounds) on my '65 IV; they can be quite dark-sounding basses so a "bright" string suits and really emphasises the growl. TBH half the time I use whatever's to hand though, recently been using the Hartke Nickel rounds that you can get for £14 for a pack of 3 on ebay, and they're not too bad at all!

Hmmm - also bought a DiMarzio pickup off me........is Etienne cornering the pickup market on BC?????? As last time, an absolute pleasure to do business with - Thanks!

Really classy - love the "flower" MOP fret markers too! What did he use as template / inspiration?

[quote name='steve' post='831734' date='May 8 2010, 08:30 PM']Excellent job Greg, that looks fantastic, definately a big improvement on how far I took it[/quote] Well I took it to full circle really - back to a standard P - although better than its original black incarnation I hope! (wh'd have thought that body was underneath) Yours was far more original, and had that MM vibe going on too. You could definitely be a pro guitar electrician (are you?) - neatest circuit I've ever seen. [quote name='Beedster' post='831774' date='May 8 2010, 09:44 PM']That's great Greg, well done mate. It's exactly the bass you described when we first talked about the deal. That, my friend, is a keeper. Chris[/quote] Wait till you see the proper finished "vintage" one......cheers for all the help Chris . And you of all people should know there's no such beast as a keeper! [quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='831798' date='May 8 2010, 10:23 PM']If brandoni still sell maple/ebony fretless P necks, I'd recommend you look at one. About half the price of an allparts and excellent quality if they're still like mine: After reading this thread I quite fancy putting a piezo bridge in mine.[/quote] That looks just the job, and reckon the piezo body pictured might get a 3TS finish as well looking at that, no point having two natural ones! Really sold on piezo, I'll dig out the US link for where steve sourced it - surprisingly affordable. One drawback is I wanted the full ashtray "bling" and the bridge cover won't quite fit over the piezo bridge.

Wasn't really sure whether to put this in the build or the porn section, but as far as I'm concerned it's an iconic version of [b]the[/b] iconic bass guitar , so in here it goes! I recently acquired a very lovely 1978 Fender Precision maple fretless neck in a trade with our own Chris Beedster - he'd previously had my '71 P/J fretless P in another trade, and I was starting to miss it. Also, I've always had a soft spot for a maple fretless Precision - my very first fretless in the early '80's was a "bitza" copy one that I gradually modded to death. The neck is an absolute stunner; the original finish virtually like new except for the board that was re-dressed and finished by Martin Simms, the finish seamlessly blending into the original. I also had the tuners and string tree off him, that are original to the neck. Anyway, intention was to gradually rebuild a vintage P-bass with authentic late-70's Fender parts; but in the meantime WarPig on BC was selling a bitza fretless P that caught my eye: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=82997&hl=bitza"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=82997&hl=bitza[/url] . In particular; the potential of the very lovely natural ash body, and the fact that it was fitted with a piezo bridge. Seemed to me a cheap way of putting together a nice fretless P quickly, and also of trying out a piezo which I've wanted to do for a long time. One of my "must have" features for fretless is 2 p/ups - the blend between the 2 is where the tone is at. In this respect a dual P/J setup is ideal, but aesthetically I reckon it marrs the classic simple lines of a Precision. So it was a very straightforward project to amalgamate the two, plus a tort pickguard from Cetera - result in the pics. Verdict? Very, very nice - heavier and clubbier than my old '71, but very playable indeed. Tone on the P pickup is what you'd expect from a "vintage" Fender P, the piezo has something of the nasal J p/up bite but with an extra acoustric woodiness. With the tone rolled off it, a very convincing "upright" sound, and it's got me trying jazzy stuff I've never explored before. The original bitza donor body was put together by our own steve, link here; [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=13159"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=13159[/url] -it did seem a damn shame semi-dismantling it but I know from experience that it's generally cheaper buying other people's projects than assembling your own from scratch! Steve made a hell of a good job on the electrics - he made the piezo buffer circuit himself, also of finishing the beautiful body. I've since bought a nice '79 natural Fender P body in good nick on the 'bay, which I'll start loading with vintage parts. From an investment / selling on point of view the neck logically should be on the "vintage" body - and will be - but the current set-up is so nice I'll probably eventually get some Warmoth / Allparts ebony-board neck to go in the piezo body (the original zebrano neck from the bitza is lovely, but needs to be on a darker exotic-wood body I think) So - it's been a fun and relatively cheap way of acquiring a bass I've always coveted, and it's an "all-BC special" - thanks to Chris Beedster, steve, Warpig, and Cetera for the entertaining deals and input!