Dismantling an old Fender

[Stag]

Hi guys,

I have finally found someone to refinish my Musicmaster. Thing is, he just needs the body and not the neck or hardware to do the job. Is there anything I should particularly know, or be wary of, when taking the neck, bridge, strap fittings and pickguard off my little baby before it gets sent for a new dress? Ive never had to disassemble any of my guitars before y'see.

Cheers,

Stag

[s_u_y_*]

I only thing I would recommend is getting a really nice screwdriver, especially one with the magnetic tips. Helps not wear away the thread of the screw heads.

And obvious slacken the strings before you take off the neck. But I'm sure you would have done that anyway.

[Stag]

Ok - cheers... the strings are pretty slack as it is, they dont look like theyve been changed for about 20 years! lol

[The Burpster]

FWIW I (having marked it first so I knwo where ot was tightend to) slacken off the truss rod once its off and de- strung. This is to prevent it putting re curve (negative relief) in the neck whilst its off. It may be some time before you get the body back.

Big +1 for good tools.

Other tips. 1. take pics before you do anyting if you are unsure about locations etc. (if you dont take 'em to bits regularly)

2. TAKE YOUR TIME. Try and rush and you'll damage something.

3. Make sure you have a safe and comfy area free from distractions when you take her to bits, dropping the neck is not something that will fill you with glee!

[BOD2]

All good advice above.

For screwdrivers make sure you have several different cross-head sizes and choose one that fits the screws best without slipping. If it's an old Fender then it will not have "Pozidriv" screws as these are a more modern invention. The older "Philips" screwdriver size will probably fit better. As long as the driver doesn't slip and damage the screws it doesn't really matter.

Make sure you have a small box to keep all screws so that you don't lose any.

Put a nice soft towel or something on the work surface first to protect the finish. If you're worried about the finish then protect it with cloth/towel/cardboard or anything around the screws as you work.

[Stag]

All great advice guys, bought myself some nice new philips screwdrivers and took some pics of the bass itself to remind me when i fix it back together where things ago.

Cheers once again - its off to get done this weekend! Whoohoo

[neepheid]

Also I find having a few small plastic bags handy for keeping related items and their screws together (eg. bridge + screws, tuners + screws etc.). The closeable ones are ideal, but even food/sandwich bags would do.

[Stag]

Ive put the whole lot in one of those segmented toolboxes so they are all in one place. Dunno where to put the neck though! Looks a bit odd on its own.

The body of said bass has now been delivered to be refinshed. The chap who is doing it is also going to do some before/middle/after pics so that should be fun to see as well. Ill most likely post them on here.... ETA January for the finished article!

[The Burpster]

^ The neck.

Take of the tuners 1 by 1, clean them and the wood underneath. Polish the neck(back) and clean the fretboard. Slacken off the truss rod as above and put the neck into the Hard shell case under your bed so it doesnt get too cold or damp.

Then wait for that pretty body to return.

[Stag]

Got some nice new La Bella short scales from Stringbusters to put on it when it arrives... cant wait!!!

I must say - Stringbusters - A1 service there. Uber-fast delivery and very good prices. Two thumbs fresh

Edited December 7, 2007 by Stag

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

[quote name='Stag' post='100852' date='Dec 7 2007, 12:55 PM']Got some nice new La Bella short scales from Stringbusters to put on it when it arrives... cant wait!!!

I must say - Stringbusters - A1 service there. Uber-fast delivery and very good prices. Two thumbs fresh [/quote]

[b]Check the G is long enough[/b]

I've had two sets of LaBella shortscale flatwounds and couldn't use the Gs as they were too short for the musicmasters. Used one set on a daisyrock & the other on a musicmaster with a G from a set of old (but not too old) similar but long scale LaBellas.

Edited December 7, 2007 by Jean-Luc Pickguard

[Stag]

ill check. Dont really want to get them out of the packet atm as the body isnt even going to back for a while yet but it does seem a little stoopid to advertise them as short scale strings and then make them TOO short???

La Bella - Doh!

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

[quote name='Stag' post='100975' date='Dec 7 2007, 03:54 PM']...but it does seem a little stoopid to advertise them as short scale strings and then make them TOO short???[/quote]
That's what I though, but it was the same for both sets I had. I may have had a couple of rouge sets or they may have been from a Friday afternoon batch, but they were two different guages. On the other hand maybe they forgot that fender made mustangs, musicmasters and broncos and designed the strings for 2x2 headstocks like hofners & danelectros.

I suspect that the 32" TI jazz flats may fit - I've just put a set on a daisyrock, bit forgot to measure them up against the musicmaster. The Rotos short scale flats definitely fit,but the last few sets I bought had a very inconsistant feel across the strings where two were smooth one was a bit rough and one was very rough. They sound nice on my '71 music master though.

Have you thought about what pickup you're going to use in the musicmaster when you put it back together? I can recommend a plain black covered cool rails strat humbucker from brandoni - It was £30 when I got mine. When fitted it looks 100% identical to the original pickup. Wire the coils in series and it sounds massive. Also of course there's none of the hum like the original single coil pickup and the bass doesn't sound weak & wooly at all which was a problem particularly on the E string with the original.

[WarPig]

Youve probably dismantled it all by now, but i find it helps to list everything you've removed, down to the last washer, just so you know its all there when you put it back together.

[Stag]

thanks for the help guys - results can now be seen @

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=14065&pid=145638&st=0&#entry145638"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;#entry145638[/url]

Mr Pic-Guard - the G was very short but did go on. Will bear it in mind for the next string change! And yeah, ive noticed the open E isnt as responsive as the other strings... where would I get a Brandoni pickup form... AllParts seem to be good for most stuff...

Cheers - Stag

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

[quote name='Stag' post='145641' date='Feb 23 2008, 04:10 PM']where would I get a Brandoni pickup from...[/quote]
Brandoni is the supplier. I'm not sure who makes their pickups, but I think they *may* be Korean-made Kent Armstrongs. The cool rails (enclosed black) strat-sized humbucker fitted straight into my '71 musicmaster bass and makes it sound massive.

Brandoni are in Wembley
[url="http://www.brandoniguitars.co.uk/"]http://www.brandoniguitars.co.uk[/url]
I think my pickup is the SHCL - its still listed as £30 which is what I paid several years ago. Check that this still comes with a black cover before ordering if you do go for one and ask for a diagram to fit it with the coils in series.

[Stag]

Ill probably go for that then. I intend to use the bass at gigs (its too pretty not to now!!!) so some extra "oomph" is required.

In an unrelated issue, the A string seems to slip out of the nut quite a bit if playin it open. After a chat with Dood it appears either cutting into the nut myself or getting a replacement nut is in order. I dont particularly think ill be able to get the right cuts into the nut so an thinking of a new nut. Will the standard Fender P-Bass replacement nut do - here it is at allparts...

[url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/string-nuts-precision-bass-p-4654.html?p=product"]http://www.allparts.uk.com/string-nuts-pre....html?p=product[/url]

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

If its pre-slotted it'll be too wide. My 71 Musicmaster's nut is wider than the one on my jazz, but narrower than the ones on my precisions. A non-preslotted precision one should be OK though.

[Stag]

if its not preslotted does that mean ive got to hack the grooves out myself? I wouldnt bet on me doing it right!

[Kirky]

Sorry to reactivate an old thread (or is that the correct thing to do?). I'm also keen on upgrading the pickup on my Musicmaster, and have a couple of questions. The pickup suggested above appears to be a guitar pickup - is that correct? And is that ok to use on a bass? And did you guys simply replace the pickup and use the pots that were already there, or can they be improved upon too? Any other suggestions before I embark would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Martin.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

[quote name='Kirky' post='222195' date='Jun 19 2008, 02:48 PM']Sorry to reactivate an old thread (or is that the correct thing to do?). I'm also keen on upgrading the pickup on my Musicmaster, and have a couple of questions. The pickup suggested above appears to be a guitar pickup - is that correct? And is that ok to use on a bass? And did you guys simply replace the pickup and use the pots that were already there, or can they be improved upon too? Any other suggestions before I embark would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Martin.[/quote]
the musicmaster has a strat pickup as standard, so you need one the same size if you want it to slot right it, so a strat replacement is best.

The cool rails I used in mine is a guitar pickup, but works perfectly in a musicmaster with the stock pots. I think its 4 conductor to give more options to our six stringed friends, but you'll probably want to wire it so that the coils are in series.

[Kirky]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='223691' date='Jun 21 2008, 05:13 PM']the musicmaster has a strat pickup as standard, so you need one the same size if you want it to slot right it, so a strat replacement is best.

The cool rails I used in mine is a guitar pickup, but works perfectly in a musicmaster with the stock pots. I think its 4 conductor to give more options to our six stringed friends, but you'll probably want to wire it so that the coils are in series.[/quote]

Thanks Jean-Luc. I'm pretty sure I'll get one of these and give it a try. Any other modifications you can recommend?

Edited June 21, 2008 by Kirky