1966/67 Precision - Refurb

[vintage_ben]

I recently purchased this 1966/67 P Bass. I've owned (and played) a lot of basses over the years, but I must say this is one, if not the best I've ever come across. It feels great to play, sounds great, is nice and light and looks cool too. Now I realise if your want is for ultra modern gear, this might not be your dream bass. But as far as stock P basses go, you'd struggle to find better.

But there's always a catch....

Cosmetically the bass is in a bit of state. Now there's nothing wrong with some honest playing wear, and this has certainly had some, but combine this with some dodgy repairs and bad attempts to cover up previous misdoings and we've got a bass that would benefit from some serious TLC.

Other than a refinish most of the bass is original. It's got a September 1966 neck (C width), a 1966/67 serial number and '67 pots.

So it's a matter of a bit of sympathetic restoration, whilst keeping that well played vibe.

So here's the plan

[b]Refinish[/b] - The bass has had a pretty awful refinish some time ago. Although at a distance it looks pretty cool, up close it's a funny shade of off-white (not a nice creamy aged white, but something closer to my 7 month old daughter's vomit). It's also clear the body wasn't prepared correctly before the paint job, making things look even worse. This will have to go. I'm undecided on the new colour, but Sonic Blue, Seafoam Green, Olympic White, or Black are in the frame.

[b]Neck[/b]- The worn neck has had clear overspray at some point. Not only does it look naff in my view, but there's nothing like the feel of a neck worn down to the wood. So i'll be buffing that away.

[b]Replace missing parts[/b] - Some pickguard screws are missing, as are all but one of the strap buttons. So these will need replacing with some aged parts to match those already there.

[b]Pickguard[/b] - Unfortunately the pick guard has cracked around the jack socket. These celluloid guards shrink over time and these things happen, so I don't really mind. The real bummer, is that someone has tried a bodge repair by drilling new screw holes to secure the area, but unfortunately have missed the body and drilled through to the control cavity. All this leaves the area in a rather delicate state. So I'm minded to put a repro pickguard on this. I haven't decided on the colour yet, but it would need to go with the colour I choose and also leave scope for the original guard to go back on if I wanted to do that. I've found some nice aged 'mint' guards for sale and although they're not correct for the period (Fender stopped using these in '65 I think), I'm not too bothered as I have the original.

So here are some photos of where we're at now. I'll be posting more as I progress. Wish me luck!

[Mykesbass]

Good luck with the restoration - will be a lovely player's bass when it's all done. As for the colour, just be glad your daughter isn't on solids yet

[vintage_ben]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1444511626' post='2883825']
As for the colour, just be glad your daughter isn't on solids yet
[/quote] Unfortunately (or not depending on your perspective) she is.

[Mykesbass]

All the more reason to change that colour fast!!

Look forward to seeing your updates.

[sblueplanet]

Black nitro body keeping on the original guard will look awsome!

[vintage_ben]

So the body has now been stripped and sealed ready for painting.

[b]Here's the body prior to starting[/b]




[b]Ready to get the old finish off with the cellulose thinners[/b]



[u][b]A good chunk of the finish gone. A pretty horrible job![/b][/u]

[u][b][/b][/u]


Stripping back the refinish revealed the original yellow stain in the pickup, control and neck cavities.



The body has then sanded back, dings and scratches filled, sanded again and given a couple of coats of sanding sealer ready for painting..... so far so good.

[Andyjr1515]

Good progress .

I find the trouble with using cellulose thinners is all the pink animals that dart and crawl around the shed . Presume you use a respirator?

[vintage_ben]

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1445668539' post='2893194']
Good progress .

I find the trouble with using cellulose thinners is all the pink animals that dart and crawl around the shed . Presume you use a respirator?
[/quote]

Yes, got one for stripping and spraying. The sealer is also pretty pungent!

[Rick's Fine '52]

Nice project, don't lose the guard, that fort is fab, glue it together while it's off the body with strong bonding adhesive, will be fine, just don't over tighten the jack nut. What's the colour to be? Aged oly white? Good work fella.

[vintage_ben]

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1445673191' post='2893216']
Nice project, don't lose the guard, that fort is fab, glue it together while it's off the body with strong bonding adhesive, will be fine, just don't over tighten the jack nut. What's the colour to be? Aged oly white? Good work fella.
[/quote]

I'm going to keep guard if I can. The combined cracks, drilled holes and missing bits means the area around the jack socket area is in a pretty poor state. Even with a good adhesive I'm concerned a tug on the jack plug will see it disintegrating. It's a dilemma.

Still undecided colour wise. Although my other (Sadwosky) P bass is burgundy mist which probably reveals something about my taste in Febder custom colours.

Edited October 24, 2015 by vintage_ben

[kevin_lindsay]

Looking forward to seeing this take shape.

[BassBod]

For the scratch plate, I've had good results with thin brass sheet. Cut out a section to sit under the end of the plate, then glue all the bits in place on top. Pretty much invisible on its put back together, but the brass takes all the strain.

[Grangur]

This is an interesting build, that's for sure. Good luck.

It's a bit late now, as you've done the filler, but for future reference, you normally get dings out by "sweating" the wood. What you is lay a damp cloth on top of the ding so water soaks into the grain and heat the water with clothes iron, or soldering iron. The wood swells up and takes the original shape.

Have you thought about how to clean the bridge? Seeing all the rust I think I'd try Coca-Cola or "Daddies Sauce"' if you can still get it. That would eat the rust.

Edited October 24, 2015 by Grangur

[discreet]

For what it's worth, I would opt for Olympic White (surprise!), but a little aged. [edit: beaten to it by Rick!] Vintage White could be a possible. Keeping the guard would be a good idea and I like the notion of gluing the bits together, but a 'new' relic guard from Spitfire would look amazing. He can do them with the early thin black pinstripe too, so very authentic... but best to keep the original item if at all possible.

Edited October 24, 2015 by discreet

[vintage_ben]

[quote name='BassBod' timestamp='1445694410' post='2893493']
Cut out a section to sit under the end of the plate, then glue all the bits in place on top.
[/quote]
I currently have it glued down to the shielding plate which is found under the guards from this period. It's ok, but there's no much structural integrity there with he holes and bits missing. Note the holes drilled by a previous over to try and address the problem, which unfortunately have only made things worse by going straight into the cavity.



[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1445699922' post='2893565']
a 'new' relic guard from Spitfire would look amazing. He can do them with the early thin black pinstripe too, so very authentic... but best to keep the original item if at all possible.
[/quote]
Yes it would. Original is always desirable, but given the refin I'm a little less precious about this bass than others I own

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1445694999' post='2893508']
This is an interesting build, that's for sure. Good luck.

It's a bit late now, as you've done the filler, but for future reference, you normally get dings out by "sweating" the wood.

Have you thought about how to clean the bridge? Seeing all the rust I think I'd try Coca-Cola or "Daddies Sauce"' if you can still get it. That would eat the rust.
[/quote]

Yes you're absolutely right. Instead of ding I should have said deep gouges. No amount of swelling wood was going to hide those! I'm going to stick with a relic look, so I'm going to keep the rusty bridge (and all the other rusty parts).

Edited October 24, 2015 by vintage_ben

[JPJ]

[quote name='BassBod' timestamp='1445694410' post='2893493']
For the scratch plate, I've had good results with thin brass sheet. Cut out a section to sit under the end of the plate, then glue all the bits in place on top. Pretty much invisible on its put back together, but the brass takes all the strain.
[/quote]

I've done the same with a piece of really thin aluminium (so thin you can cut it with scissors). Glued the original pick guard to the aluminium and bobs your mothers sisters husband, pick guard repaired and shielded to boot.

[cameltoe]

Amazing. I'd love a project like this. Good luck.

[vintage_ben]

Well progress is being made, albeit rather more slowly than anticipated. In the mass of ordering bits and piece for this project I forgot to buy any primer. Anyway, an order was placed and we're back on track.

The body is now primed. The first coat revealed a few imperfections which had been camouflaged by the grain of the wood. A spot of filler, a bit of gentle sanding and a some more primer to blend it in and the job was done.

Next step... colour. Which one I hear you ask (well maybe not)? My next post will reveal all.

[DarkHeart]

Wow the date stramp in the neck makes it 4 days older than me!

[vintage_ben]

[quote name='DarkHeart' timestamp='1447021757' post='2904269']
Wow the date stramp in the neck makes it 4 days older than me!
[/quote]

Unfortunately the 5 is not the day, but the code for a P Bass. But think of it this way, it could have been made on your birthday!

[DarkHeart]

Bugger ☺

[vintage_ben]

So it's all done. In the end I decided to go for Seafoam Green. I've always original loved instruments I've seen in this colour. I've also worked on some quite heavy ageing. Now I know this isn't to everyone's taste, and I've seen some pretty strong exchange of feeling on this online - the hilarious futility of arguing that someone's taste is somehow 'wrong'. But the fact is the rest of the bass is heavily worn, making a new finish look a bit odd and inconsistent with the playing wear it exhibits. But more importantly, I like the look, and as it's my bass, that's what really matters. I know some of you will think I'm nuts for doing it.

A bit on the process. After the white undercoat I finished it using coats of Seafoam Green, working to the instructions and examples on www.reranch.com and www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk which is where I also go the paint. I really took my time and thankfully avoided any major disasters. I then over-sprayed with a light tint lacquer to which I then sanded back a bit to mimic the uneven discolouring you often find on well used Fender blues and greens.

For the 'relic' job I spent several weeks trawling the net for examples and instructions. This page was good start http://www.tdpri.com/resources/how-to-relic-your-guitar/ . I also examined large number of photos of worn basses, including my own, to try and get a feel for what looked 'right'. Managed to get some nice lacquer crazing using the air duster method (which you can get pick up in pound land for a £1 - surprise - much cheaper than elsewhere) after the finish had hardened over 3-4 weeks. It'll continue to harden over months, so I might try again for a more extreme effect in 6 months or so.

I managed to create some matching pickguard screws to replace those that were missing using to some regular nickel ones left for a few weeks in salt water. They look pretty convincing. Fortunately I had some original 60s strap buttons from to go on as when I got it there were none. The frets have had a bit of a polish, the fingerboard de-grimed and the overspray on the back of the neck lightly sanded back.

Assembly is a pretty straightforward with Fenders of course, but I I've tidied up the careless soldering from the previous refinish just for completeness. I wanted to put flats on it but was a little worried about stringing it up too heavily as the truss rod was screwed quite far in. I got hold of some La Bella's low tension 'flexible' flats after reading some good things. They are great, lighter than typical flats, but none of that floppiness you get with light guage regular flats.

The bass now looks awesome (in my view) plays great and sound the part. It fills what was a real gap in my 'Fender' arsenal of a more traditional sounding p-bass (see below). I'm super chuffed with it.

Now what next.....



The 'Fenders' L-R 1966 P Bass (refinised), 1990 Jazz Bass (EMGs, Badass bridge, East J-retro electronics) , 1967 Jazz Bass (original), Sadowsky NYC Super Vintage P Bass (ok not strictly a Fender, but it's my go to for a 'modern' P Bass)




Bass plus 10 months old daughter's sock.



The sprayed body

[discreet]

[quote name='vintage_ben' timestamp='1450711561' post='2935085']
...I've also worked on some quite heavy ageing. Now I know this isn't to everyone's taste, and I've seen some pretty strong exchange of feeling on this online - the hilarious futility of arguing that someone's taste is somehow 'wrong'. But the fact is the rest of the bass is heavily worn, making a new finish look a bit odd and inconsistent with the playing wear it exhibits. But more importantly, I like the look, and as it's my bass, that's what really matters. I know some of you will think I'm nuts for doing it.
[/quote]

Not at all... but I do think you're nuts for choosing seafoam green with tort.
But hey, no-one's taste is 'wrong', you like it, it's your bass and that's what really matters. Oh wait, you said that.

Seriously though, great job.

Edited December 21, 2015 by discreet

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1450716564' post='2935168']
I do think you're nuts for choosing seafoam green with tort.
[/quote]

+1. Beautiful bass, tho!

[vintage_ben]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1450716564' post='2935168']
I do think you're nuts for choosing seafoam green with tort.

[/quote]

Yeah, it was a dilemma. I didn't want to go with sunburst, white or black for various reasons, so thought if the tort guard looked odd with green (and given the damage) I could swap it out with a repro white one. I must admit I wasn't that keen on gree/tort combination on instruments I'd seen online, but when I got it on, it looks a a real belter in the flesh. Don't think it comes across so well in photos for some reason.