Westfield P Bass Scratchplate

[steviedee]

Hi I bought a Westfield p bass a while back and I'm just about to upgrade it for a bit for fun, I don't suppose anyone knows if a standard P Bass scratchplate will fit?

Edited February 24, 2017 by steviedee

[anzoid]

Nope, afraid they don't as the control cavity is further over to the left (looking face on at the guitar). This means you end up with a small gap (maybe 50mm long by max 10mm wide - but curved...) down at the bottom right hand edge of the control cavity. The pickup placing is also slightly out compared to a Fender - it's only about 5mm or so but it puts the pickup right at the edge of the cavity... and everything gets a little tight.

I've only tried this on a "modern" i.e. fairly recent Westfield, though had one a couple of years ago where it arrived with a replacement scratchplate and the same lower right hand corner gap which I didn't actually notice at first because it was a black bass and the control cavity was well painted

If you decide to fit typical Fender size replacement pickups you'll also find that the original scratchplate will have gaps as the lugs on Westfield pups are bigger than on Fender ones - I put a SD quater pounder in mine and they fit fine apart from leaving a bit of space round the lugs (and it sounded awesome too...).

Your best bet might be to either make a request in the wanted ads to see if anyone has got a spare (though I don't think the range of official scratchplates is great - black, white or maybe tort...) or get somewhere like Jacks' Instrument Services to make you one from a template...

Edited February 26, 2017 by anzoid

[steviedee]

Thanks Anzoid for the detailed reply!