New addition!

[waldemar]

Hi all.

Having umm'ed and ahh'ed about buying a Fender Jazz for some time, I came across this Fernandes early '80's PB bass yesterday and bought it today. Having read a couple of interesting and complementary things about 'The Revival' model (also known as 'The Lawsuit') and at a £100 I thought it was worth a punt. I've attached some hastily taken snaps of my own down below, but there's a bit more info [url="http://hank75.blogspot.com/2009/07/fernandes-revival-pbass.html"]here[/url] if anyone's interested. Apparently it's an RPB which came in '57 and '59 flavours, I don't know which one mine is, so if you can enlighten me I'd be most grateful! (Had a root around, and by the colour of the fretboard I'm guessing it's a '57...)

Of course, it's far from perfect - the non-standard body colour's great, but the shifty finish lets it down the most - needs a good set-up, heavier gauge strings and new pups too, but the untouched and good condition neck feels great and I reckon with a bit of time and money put its way it could very easily become my 'main' bass.

So here are my questions:

I'd like to fit some genuine Fender hardware eventually - you know, machine heads, maybe a better (Badass) bridge etc. and since the Japanese were masters of imitation (subjectively, some might say improvement ) are these parts that will fit into place easily, or will the wood require re-drilling?

Pup wise, I'm thinking of the [url="http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LGP&Product_Code=207&Category_Code=pbass-pickups"]Lollar Split-coils.[/url] Of course, I've heard great things about the Lollar brand and fancy treating myself - any opinions?

As far as the order in which I do things goes, I reckon first thing will be heavier strings and a proper set-up just to make sure it plays well enough to justify spending any more beans on it. Next come the new bits of hardware (or a couple of evenings with a toothbrush/cloth and polish) and finally some new pups - does this order seem alright to you guys? It may sound like a pretty dumb question, but this is the first time I'm doing something like this, so any tips greatly appreciated. Finally a new paint job.

By now some of you are probably thinking that I should've just bought a J or a P fresh outta the shop, but for an outlay of £100 and putting on the bits I want I guess I'll have a piece of kit which is truly my own. That's the dream, anyways...

Thanks for any/all advice.

Edited February 6, 2010 by waldemar

[skankdelvar]

That's very pretty. Other BC-er's will know more about these, but I reckon £100 for a lawsuit Fernandes is a good price. Upgrade order sounds right. Personally, unless they're knackered, I'd leave the machineheads on - they look appropriate and nicely aged. You'll need to take a head out to measure the hole diameter before purchasing a new set. Get the right diameter and they should drop straight in.

BadAss is not necessarily [i]better[/i] - more a matter of personal sonic taste - best check attachment screwhole spacing before purchase as you may not wish to get into re-drilling. And see the badass sticky elsewhere here. Assuming the Fernandes bridge is identical to a Fender, then a Badass or a Gotoh should drop straight in.

P/Up's, yes. Nice set of Lollars / seymours / wizard. Straight re-fit. And maybe a new wiring harness - pots, caps, jack socket, if the old one's knackered. (Though if it's anything like the one on the blogspot, I'd try some TLC first).

Set of chrome knobs (check shaft diameter / type) and maybe a new scratchplate. New p'ups + new scratchplate may require a bit of filing to get them to fit. Or not.

If you change your mind about doing this upgrade or the costs add up to non-viable levels, PM me and I'll take it off your mitts for somewhat more than you paid for it!

Edited December 11, 2009 by skankdelvar

[waldemar]

Hi skankdelvar,

Thanks for your post - and the offer of taking The Revival off my hands, but I reckon I'll hold on to it and try and do something special if I can. There's still a fair bit of info I need to get my head around regarding this era of Fernandes, but the more I think about what I bought, the more chuffed I am. My current 'main' bass is an early '90s Fernandes which I bought for around £450 (a fair chunk back then...) and I've always got on really well with it, so to have an older model to sit next to it is pretty cool...

Point taken regarding the machine heads - you're right - they do look lovely, but the G peg resonates with just about any note played - the rivet which holds the leaf in the split shaft isn't as tight as it used to be (pic below), so unless anyone has any ideas on fixing this in a tidy way I'll just have to go for a new set, or some weathered re-issues (if available - any known vendors?).

Electronics wise, I'll have a closer look at what's under the scratch-plate sometime soon. The current EMG Selects are VERY badly fitted so I'm not expecting anything pretty under there... Will take some pics and post them in this thread.

Can see myself walking around with pockets of paper full of measurements for the next couple of months... S'pose I should learn 'em by heart.

Ta.

Edited December 11, 2009 by waldemar

[hillbilly deluxe]

Machine head..................if you have access to a vice,compress to try tightening the rivet that way.If you do'nt,lay the machinehead on a hammer,or at least something metal and sturdy,i.e,the flat of a spanner or large screwdriver,and strike the rivet with another hammer.

[neilb]

Im really liking that mate. Agree, leave those lovely reverse tuners on.

Get a nice aged white or mint green plate and some proper fender knobs. Stick in a set of Thumpers and you have a great bass in a cool colour.

Nice one.

[waldemar]

Ah. It's finished!

Well, it started out as a £100 punt on a pretty looking and reasonably well looked after '83 Japanese copy of a '57 Fender, and several weeks (and several hundred pounds) later 'The Revival' project has finally come to fruition... Here's what I did, and how much it cost... (eek):

Saw it, loved it (the neck and decals in particular) and bought it off a guy at work: £100
Decided the DIY finish on the body was too poor to live with, bought a swamp ash Warmoth vintage white instead (+ an eventually unused white pick-guard): £310 (inc P&P+DUTY)
Lollar pickups: £120 (inc P&P+DUTY)
Nexus strings: £26
Knobs & Pots (genuine Fender): £31 (inc P&P)
Assembly & set-up by the very personable [url="http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/"]Steve Robinson[/url]: £60

All hardware (down do the pick-guard screws) remains original.

If you count the tram fare it cost me to pick her up earlier today, you may as well call it £650.

Worth it? Aesthetically, without a doubt. Playability wise - yep, but only just. It didn't drop my jaw like the road-worn '09 Mexican re-issue of a '57 they've got hanging on the wall over at PMT for an extra £250, but I think some of that is down to me bottling it and opting for the lighter strings, I should've trusted my gut instinct and gone for a heavier gauge, I forgot how 'clattery' the lightweights can sound coming down on frets, but I'll live with that for now - played gently and positively it's not really an issue.

Being only the first time I've done this, I don't want to wax lyrical about how great 'building yer own' is, but I've had some fun, learned a couple of new things along the way and come out the other side with a great 'new' bass. If you're thinking about it then I'd say give it a go. Just watch out for P&P+DUTY (it added the best part of £150 to the total cost of my build!)

Anyway, here's how it looks now:

(Oh, BTW - I have the original Fernandes body sitting around, along with the EMG Selects it came with and an unused plain white pick-guard if anyone wants to make me an offer on any of it...)

Edited January 28, 2010 by waldemar

[Huw Foster]

Lovely stuff. I'm normally not keen on black strings, but on that it somehow just works!

[hillbilly deluxe]

Thanks for the PM,looking good.

[neilb]

Likewise, thnks for the PM telling me about your project.

Nice.

neil