Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

(READ IF YOU HAVE A) Fender '61 Flea Bass (Woes)


hiram.k.hackenbacker

Recommended Posts

1 or 3 

if you do 3 the main things I guess is working out what you want before you spend anything. You could have another jazz... the same or would 70s PU positioning be nice? What pickups? Active/passive? Heck stick a P pup in, or MM ... 

the problem with building something is that cost wise it can all add up, and bitsas almost never make the cost of even the secondhand parts back if sold as a bites. If you do your sums, and depending how much work you do yourself vs paying someone... but it might be as cheap to sell then neck and buy a secondhand bass you want. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

1 or 3 

if you do 3 the main things I guess is working out what you want before you spend anything. You could have another jazz... the same or would 70s PU positioning be nice? What pickups? Active/passive? Heck stick a P pup in, or MM ... 

the problem with building something is that cost wise it can all add up, and bitsas almost never make the cost of even the secondhand parts back if sold as a bites. If you do your sums, and depending how much work you do yourself vs paying someone... but it might be as cheap to sell then neck and buy a secondhand bass you want. 

Yes, you’re right. I guess the value of the end product (bitsa) matters less if you’re guaranteed to end up with something that really floats your boat. Since I’ve not done this before, there’s no real guarantee of that. What struck me when I opened the box was that how wonderfully well finished this neck is. Obviously, I don’t have the old neck to compare it directly to, but it does seem to be very nice indeed. Again, I might be imagining it, but I’m sure the frets on the old neck were larger. The frets on the new neck seem very thin, almost like the banjo frets on my Dingwall (Lee Sklar).

I’ll post a picture later. Can anyone confirm what the fret wire looks like on their ‘61?

Edited by hiram.k.hackenbacker
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, miles'tone said:

Yes looks a bit thinner to me too. I prefer those to be honest!

Yes, me too. Shame I can’t play it at the moment 😂

Another thing I noticed was that the edges of the frets are finished ten times better than the original.

It really is a nice looking neck.

16BB5ACE-2888-4956-898D-43375367CDEF.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Build something. When I sent the defective neck back to Fender, it was stripped of hardware (it's now on the Status neck). The new Fender neck came loaded with relic'd tuners and string tree, so all I really need is a decent four bolt body.

I've never put a bass together from parts before, so this is what I'm leaning towards at the moment. What are the potential pitfalls of doing this?

Buy a Squier Jazz, swap necks and put the Squier neck on the bay (or send it to me as a reward for such a good idea).

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I've never put a bass together from parts before, so this is what I'm leaning towards at the moment. What are the potential pitfalls of doing this?

The main one is that you will not stop at doing just one.  You will be planning the next one as you are building the first.

Go for it.  It's hugely satisfying.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SpondonBassed said:

Will it fit a tenor ukulele?

🙂

My brother keeps on encouraging me to buy a cheap 3/4 classical guitar and a 'ukelele bass conversion kit'.

I saw the ideal guitar today in a charity shop for £15.

Unfortunately I'd just dropped my car off for its post-MOT work and I just didn't have the balls to walk through town carrying a bright pink 'Barbie-style' guitar...

Edited by Stub Mandrel
  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

🙂

My brother keeps on encouraging me to buy a cheap 3/4 classical guitar and a 'ukelele bass conversion kit'.

I saw the ideal guitar today in a charity shop for £15.

Unfortunately I'd just dropped my car off for its post-MOT work and I just didn't have the balls to walk through town carrying a bright pink 'Barbie-style' guitar...

Probably for the best; if you haven't the balls to carry a pink guitar through the town centre then you've got no business playing a ukulele. ;)

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

🙂

My brother keeps on encouraging me to buy a cheap 3/4 classical guitar and a 'ukelele bass conversion kit'.

I saw the ideal guitar today in a charity shop for £15.

Unfortunately I'd just dropped my car off for its post-MOT work and I just didn't have the balls to walk through town carrying a bright pink 'Barbie-style' guitar...

I understand completely.  If it helps, for true street cred, either a Hello Kitty TM or Peppa Pig TM product would have been satisfactory.

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...

Just wanted to say that I had the exact same thing happen to mine. One morning I picked it up and the neck was so bent that it was unplayable. It was stored in the same conditions as all my other basses and the necks on all of those remained perfect. Found this thread searching to see if others had the same problem.

  • Sad 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, MrSilentX said:

Just wanted to say that I had the exact same thing happen to mine. One morning I picked it up and the neck was so bent that it was unplayable. It was stored in the same conditions as all my other basses and the necks on all of those remained perfect. Found this thread searching to see if others had the same problem.

In one way I’m pleased I’m not the only one as Fender were a bit arsey about it and I couldn’t believe it was a one-off.

I’m also sad that you’ve had to go through it.

Fender eventually sent me a new neck and it’s been fine since.

‘Hope you get it sorted. How long had you owned it before it went?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
25 minutes ago, Chewie said:

Hey man,

You can adjust the truss rod by removing the pickguard, I reckon.

APOLOGIES if this has been said and/or sounds like a numpty comment.

The issue @MrSilentX and I had was beyond truss rod adjustment I'm afraid. The neck on mine was completely f***ed.

Unhelpfully, this Flea model is also a 'neck off' job to adjust the truss rod.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...