1970 Teisco bass restoration

[Rayman]

So, I bought this, for not much money as my next project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m told it’s around 1970, but could be a year either way, no idea of the model, as there were so many.

 

Badly re sprayed over Sunburst I would guess. I could strip it, but it’s plywood (I expect) and I can’t be bothered. I think the red looks ok from a distance.
 

The pickups work, and the replacement string retainer on the headstock, that I ordered in advance, fits perfectly as you can see. I have the bushes for the tuners too.

Some clown has battered the fretboard with varnish, so stripping that out is the first job.

 

This could take a while.

 

Any input from Teisco experts welcomed.

[Rayman]

Nice varnish….

 

[Rayman]

Interesting truss rod alterations 

 

A new “bullet” truss rod nut ordered. Which will mean the neck will have to be removed to alter it, but…. finding the correct one for a sensible price isn’t easy.

 

[SpondonBassed]

1 hour ago, Rayman said:

A new “bullet” truss rod nut ordered. Which will mean the neck will have to be removed to alter it

 

Since the neck is off already I will assume you mean to remove the fretboard.  Those frets look well worn.  Will a fret dressing be enough?

 

Great colour.

 

Never mind... I see what you mean now.  Perhaps best not to remove the fretboard as it has some nice binding and concealed fret ends.

Edited November 1, 2023 by SpondonBassed

[Rayman]

Yes, I’m ok with most things, but getting into removing fretboards is beyond my abilities. The main goal is to get it to function at this point …… although, predictably, once you start, you open a can of worms!! Right now there are worms everywhere!

[Bassassin]

This is interesting! It's early/mid 70s & probably made by Sakai Mokko. Originally one of those Burns-inspired things & would've looked a lot like this:

 

 

These turn up (like loads of old MIJ stuff) with a bewildering number of names & variations, but there are Sakai-branded examples which 99% confirms the manufacturer. I expect (if you do refin it) you'll probably find the screwholes for the top horn scratchplate & quite likely the old finish under the red.

 

Looks like a cool project - for me the worst bit is the fretboard varnish which might take care to remove without damaging the binding. Frets don't look too badly worn & should tidy up OK. Do the pickups work? Not sure about these (never been hands-on with this type) but if they don't, it might be possible to re-use the chrome covers over replacements to keep the look.

 

I'd expect the original bridge (if you have it) will be a pretty crude 2-saddle job, so if you intend to us a more conventional replacement, check the string spacing/neck width. Not too sure about these basses but a lot of the earlier original-ish MIJ stuff has pretty narrow spacing.

 

Anyway, looking forward to seeing how this progresses!

[kodiakblair]

6 minutes ago, Bassassin said:

I'd expect the original bridge (if you have it) will be a pretty crude 2-saddle job, so if you intend to us a more conventional replacement, check the string spacing/neck width. Not too sure about these basses but a lot of the earlier original-ish MIJ stuff has pretty narrow spacing.

I bought a couple of BBOT with 16.5mm spacing on Ali-Ex.

 

That was just last month so still have the seller's details. Went for black and chrome at £9 each.

 

 

@Rayman

 

Just remembered, I've a single pickup version upstairs in need of a bridge. Will be ordering again from Ali-Ex soon, if you'd like one just let me know. 

[Rayman]

1 hour ago, Bassassin said:

This is interesting! It's early/mid 70s & probably made by Sakai Mokko. Originally one of those Burns-inspired things & would've looked a lot like this:

 

 

These turn up (like loads of old MIJ stuff) with a bewildering number of names & variations, but there are Sakai-branded examples which 99% confirms the manufacturer. I expect (if you do refin it) you'll probably find the screwholes for the top horn scratchplate & quite likely the old finish under the red.

 

Looks like a cool project - for me the worst bit is the fretboard varnish which might take care to remove without damaging the binding. Frets don't look too badly worn & should tidy up OK. Do the pickups work? Not sure about these (never been hands-on with this type) but if they don't, it might be possible to re-use the chrome covers over replacements to keep the look.

 

I'd expect the original bridge (if you have it) will be a pretty crude 2-saddle job, so if you intend to us a more conventional replacement, check the string spacing/neck width. Not too sure about these basses but a lot of the earlier original-ish MIJ stuff has pretty narrow spacing.

 

Anyway, looking forward to seeing how this progresses!

Yep, there’s a new (old) two saddle bridge on the way. Which hopefully will fit, although it’s had a couple of bridges on it by the looks of things. It’s also had a bridge cover at one point, and, yes, I can see the covered holes where the upper horn guard used to be.

 

Yep, the pickups work, which is a bonus.

 

Its meant to be a fun thing, not a full restoration back to its original state. It’ll probably end up with flats or tapes on it, for a full on old school vibe.

[hooky_lowdown]

4 hours ago, Rayman said:

So, I bought this, for not much money as my next project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m told it’s around 1970, but could be a year either way, no idea of the model, as there were so many.

 

Badly re sprayed over Sunburst I would guess. I could strip it, but it’s plywood (I expect) and I can’t be bothered. I think the red looks ok from a distance.
 

The pickups work, and the replacement string retainer on the headstock, that I ordered in advance, fits perfectly as you can see. I have the bushes for the tuners too.

Some clown has battered the fretboard with varnish, so stripping that out is the first job.

 

This could take a while.

 

Any input from Teisco experts welcomed.

Pretty sure it's not Teisco, the company went under around late '68 into '69. Looks more like a knock off, loads of them about. Pickups on these are pretty low output, most likely microphonic. But fun little basses.

[TheGreek]

1 hour ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Looks more like a knock off, loads of them about.

 

Companies created knock offs of these? 

Really?

[Rayman]

Could be knockoff , the seller thought it was a Kay, but didn’t know. 
 

But, yeah I don’t mind either way, it’s a bit of fun, if it ends being playable even better!

[Bassassin]

8 hours ago, TheGreek said:

 

Companies created knock offs of these? 

Really?

Not knockoffs as such - probably design licensing considering the apparent relationships between Japanese & Korean manufacturers - this is an MIK version from the mid 70s to (probably) early 80s, different pickups make these easy to spot:

 

 

There's also a variant with a 2x2 headstock, MIJ, seen branded as Dynatone & Zenta, not sure who made these, possibly Guya.

 

Although these do raise the question of ripoffs...

 

 

These weren't anything to do with Teisco (too late) and weren't sold branded Kay. Interestingly they also turn up in a 1975 Aria catalogue, alongside a couple of Sakai-made Kalamazoo KG/KB copies.

 

https://vintagejapanguitars.com/aria-1975-catalogue/

[Richard R]

@Bassassin - have you thought of writing an encyclopedia? Seriously,  your posts are a wealth of obscure and fascinating information. 

[Rayman]

Ok..

 

so I’m going to be honest…. I’ve had a mare.

 

I used a water based stripper on the fretboard to remove the varnish that had been painted over it in its entirety. 
 

The stripper has been way more aggressive than I thought it would be, and has lifted the grain right across the fingerboard. It looks pretty horrendous…. and at this point I’m not sure where to go with it.

 

 I’m not defretting it and sanding it back, that’s way more involvement than I had planned….. although, it could use a refret….. sigh

[Pea Turgh]

Go fretless?

[Rayman]

Definitely a possibility 

[Rayman]

So, I’m pressing on.

 

This bass is a fun project, and if I can get it to play, happy days.

 

No idea what has gone on previously with the bridge, someone has had a couple of goes at moving it around, for whatever reason, but it came to me without one at all.

 

So I found this one in the bay, an old 70s Japanese bridge, which, lined up perfectly with the original holes…..

 

 

Edited November 16, 2023 by Rayman

[Rayman]

So I’ll probably fill the holes left by the previous bridge….. or…… put a cover on it maybe?

[Rayman]

So here’s where we’re up to….

 

The neck is on, a lovely old set of tapes fitted (just) thanks to @eubassix, and as far as playing it, it’s absolutely ace. The action is decent, with a little more wiggle room to adjust if needs be…. really happy with all of that

 

 

 

 

 

However, mixed results from the electrics… 

 

Both pickups kind of work, but the tone control does nothing, and it’s pretty quiet…. also I’m obviously not the first person under there as you can see.

 

More investigation to do

 

[Richard R]

Looks great 

[Rayman]

Thanks, yes, getting there, once the electrics are sorted I’ll be looking for some suitable knobs.

[BigRedX]

If this was my bass I'd re-do the electrics from scratch. I don't think that very taught wire from the bridge pickup is helping either.

[Rayman]

It’s going in to my tech for exactly that later today. We decided between us that for one thing those electrics look sketchy at best, but also this isn’t a faithful restoration, I just want it to work by any means necessary. So new electrics are going in, crossing fingers that there’s no issues with the pickups.

[Rayman]

Ok well, bad news, for me at least.

 

The pickups are not well. The output on the neck pickup is very low, around 2.2, but the bridge pickup with that stretched wire, is unresponsive.

 

My guy says the whole lot needs re wiring including opening up the pickups to see what the craic is under there, something he doesn’t want to tackle, but has suggested Matt @ House of Tone in Chester for the work. Also…. is it worth it, spending considerable money to get it fixed….
 

Back to the drawing board.

[Pea Turgh]

Damn.  Sorry to hear about the pickups.  However, if it plays nicely, it’s worth doing something with it.  Maybe see what off-the-shelf jobbies you can fit in the original covers, or maybe a couple of Artec or Retrovibe mudbuckers?