ped Posted April 5 Posted April 5 On 05/04/2025 at 08:48, Burns-bass said: I’m not so sure. The later 60s and 70s ones aren’t as prone to shrinking as the early ones. Plus if it had shrunk in such an extreme way it would have cracked at the tips like most of the old ones have. Perhaps I’m overly cynical but I don’t like it. Im more inclined to believe it’s a neck swap than anything else. Expand Maybe. But mine shrunk and pulled the screws instead of cracking. When I had it re fitted I had the choice of having the gap either at the control plate or the neck pocket. If you look closely at the pics maybe you can see a slight ghosting where the plate used to be (I think I can but I’m on my phone and perhaps imagining it). No expert on necks though so who knows, although a neck swap wouldn’t explain the pickguard gap anyway. Quote
wateroftyne Posted April 5 Posted April 5 (edited) I think there's too much being read into the headstock colour. Look at the shadows. It's just being hit with a really bright (and probably quite cool) flash. It looks much more 'normal' here: Edited April 5 by wateroftyne 2 Quote
ped Posted April 5 Posted April 5 …and look at the body pics with the scratchplate removed. It’s been repositioned south. Probably because of shrinkage. Quote
Belka Posted April 5 Posted April 5 It's far more likely to be a pickguard swap - the ad states there are two sets of holes drilled for two different pickguards - the original probably went bad and it's been replaced with another that didn't quite fit - hence the extra holes and gap at the neck. I may be wrong, but by 1969 Fender's tort was a bit darker - this one is very vibrant/red, it could be from an earlier instrument. 1 Quote
Burns-bass Posted April 5 Posted April 5 On 05/04/2025 at 09:01, wateroftyne said: I think there's too much being read into the headstock colour. Look at the shadows. It's just being hit with a really bright (and probably quite cool) flash. It looks much more 'normal' here: Expand Yes that would explain it! The gap also looks less extreme. As you were. Quote
ped Posted April 5 Posted April 5 On 05/04/2025 at 09:04, Belka said: It's far more likely to be a pickguard swap - the ad states there are two sets of holes drilled for two different pickguards - the original probably went bad and it's been replaced with another that didn't quite fit - hence the extra holes and gap at the neck. I may be wrong, but by 1969 Fender's tort was a bit darker - this one is very vibrant/red, it could be from an earlier instrument. Expand Ah I didn’t read that. Sounds right! Quote
wateroftyne Posted April 5 Posted April 5 On 05/04/2025 at 09:05, Burns-bass said: Yes that would explain it! The gap also looks less extreme. As you were. Expand Wait.. you thought that massive shadow was a gap??? Crikey. Quote
Reggaebass Posted April 5 Author Posted April 5 On 05/04/2025 at 08:50, Burns-bass said: I don’t know what happened here. Anyway, I think the body, guard etc are all original. To me it looks like a neck swap. Expand I see what you’re saying, It’s a possibility as there are extra screw holes on the back of the neck , unless they were from the factory, hard to say really Quote
sprocketflup Posted April 5 Posted April 5 On 05/04/2025 at 07:48, SurroundedByManatees said: It surprises me that the ski-jump rarely gets mentioned in the dealers ads. Expand Forgive my ignorance what do you mean by the ski jump please? Quote
ossyrocks Posted April 5 Posted April 5 On 05/04/2025 at 09:11, Reggaebass said: I see what you’re saying, It’s a possibility as there are extra screw holes on the back of the neck , unless they were from the factory, hard to say really Expand I saw those extra holes. I've never seen that on any original vintage Fender before. It certainly could be the original neck to that body, but it was swapped onto another body at some time previously and then swapped back, or it's a parts bass. I don't think those extra holes would ever have appeared out of the factory. I bought my '73 Jazz (which looks very similar to this one) from Bass Bros, and they are great to deal with. They are reasonable people trying hard, and they will enter into discussion about aspects of the instruments they are selling if you have any queries. Rob 1 Quote
Burns-bass Posted April 5 Posted April 5 On 05/04/2025 at 09:08, wateroftyne said: Wait.. you thought that massive shadow was a gap??? Crikey. Expand I’m not sure what you mean, but I’m currently cleaning the bathroom so have more pressing matters to attend to. Quote
Reggaebass Posted April 5 Author Posted April 5 On 05/04/2025 at 09:16, sprocketflup said: Forgive my ignorance what do you mean by the ski jump please? Expand Basically when a neck does this 1 Quote
Steve Browning Posted April 5 Posted April 5 On 02/04/2025 at 07:40, Steve Browning said: Just looked and they're distributed in the UK by Rotosound. Happy days!! I sent my newly delivered 1983 '62 Precision reissue back to Fender because the scratchplate looked so awful. I was put off Spitfire by an extraordinary tale of woe on BC a few years ago. Expand The pair I ordered yesterday arrived today and they're excellent. Especially for the price. Very happy chap. 1 Quote
Alanko Posted April 5 Posted April 5 On 05/04/2025 at 19:31, Steve Browning said: The pair I ordered yesterday arrived today and they're excellent. Especially for the price. Very happy chap. Expand Two of the Boston pickguards? Any pics? Quote
ped Posted April 7 Posted April 7 More pickguard chat - what year did Fender start making white pearloid? Quote
SurroundedByManatees Posted April 7 Posted April 7 (edited) On 07/04/2025 at 09:06, ped said: More pickguard chat - what year did Fender start making white pearloid? Expand I guess '66 on the Mustang? Edited April 7 by SurroundedByManatees Quote
ped Posted April 7 Posted April 7 On 07/04/2025 at 09:37, SurroundedByManatees said: I guess '66 on the Mustang? Expand That’s what made me think - was it introduced on the mustang and than made available on the P and J, or was it found on those before 66? Quote
Beedster Posted April 7 Posted April 7 On 07/04/2025 at 09:06, ped said: …. pickguard chat Expand I might just buy that domain 😁 1 Quote
BassAgent Posted April 7 Posted April 7 (edited) On 07/04/2025 at 09:42, ped said: That’s what made me think - was it introduced on the mustang and than made available on the P and J, or was it found on those before 66? Expand I've only seen tort and white (for custom colours) on pre-CBS Fenders. The transition period introduced pearloid on the Mustang bass, and even then only on red Mustangs, from 1967 on they were also available on the Daphne Blue basses (see JMJ's bass for example). The first Jazzes I've seen with pearloid are from '69 (and even then it's only one so might be custom ordered), on Precisions they don't seem to exist at all before 1992. I've only seen Custom Shop and a Longhorn P from that era with pearloid pickguard. Edited April 7 by BassAgent 3 Quote
snorkie635 Posted April 7 Posted April 7 On 07/04/2025 at 09:50, Beedster said: I might just buy that domain 😁 Expand As I recall, we have a member here called John Luke Pickguard? Quote
ped Posted April 7 Posted April 7 On 07/04/2025 at 10:31, BassAgent said: I've only seen tort and white (for custom colours) on pre-CBS Fenders. The transition period introduced pearloid on the Mustang bass, and even then only on red Mustangs, from 1967 on they were also available on the Daphne Blue basses (see JMJ's bass for example). The first Jazzes I've seen with pearloid are from '69 (and even then it's only one so might be custom ordered), on Precisions they don't seem to exist at all before 1992. I've only seen Custom Shop and a Longhorn P from that era with pearloid pickguard. Expand Interesting, thanks. It suddenly occurred to me that the earliest ones I have seen are on 66 mustangs. What did Daphne blue 66 stands have, plain white? Quote
Alanko Posted April 7 Posted April 7 On 07/04/2025 at 10:31, BassAgent said: I've only seen tort and white (for custom colours) on pre-CBS Fenders. The transition period introduced pearloid on the Mustang bass, and even then only on red Mustangs, from 1967 on they were also available on the Daphne Blue basses (see JMJ's bass for example). The first Jazzes I've seen with pearloid are from '69 (and even then it's only one so might be custom ordered), on Precisions they don't seem to exist at all before 1992. I've only seen Custom Shop and a Longhorn P from that era with pearloid pickguard. Expand Couple of weird observations I've made over the years. The tortoiseshell used on Mustang basses is different to that used on P and J basses. It was redder from the get-go and only three ply, with a black bottom layer. I think I've seen this used by other manufacturers, so must have been a cheaper source than the premium four ply stuff. I think pearloid turns up on the rear of '60s Stratocaster pickguards, possibly before it was seen on the front face of Mustang pickguards. There seems to have been a vanishingly rare pink pearloid occasionally used on Competition Mustangs. The slightly later pearloid seen on Comp Mustangs seems to shrink alarmingly. Not unusual to see a Mustang Bass with many additional pickguard screws that appear to be either factory fitted or a dealer mod. This includes in period photos, so wasn't done years after the basses shipped. 1 Quote
BassAgent Posted April 7 Posted April 7 On 07/04/2025 at 16:46, ped said: Interesting, thanks. It suddenly occurred to me that the earliest ones I have seen are on 66 mustangs. What did Daphne blue 66 stands have, plain white? Expand Oh wait I've misjudged. The 1966 Daphne Blue Mustangs also had pearloid. 1 Quote
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