help:old fender bass restoration

black4string · #1 04-07-2008, 09:30 AM

i just got an old p bass body with a jazz neck.

both still have their serials.

body is from japan 76'
neck is from U.S. 74'

the problems are:

the screws are so badly rusted, how can i remove them?

the past owner has this habit of punching holes on his guitars, so he could easily identify that it's his. They say he even does them on Gibsons...

how am i going to repair those holes on the body?
on the backplate?
and on the headstock?

i'm gonna send it to the guitar tech of my friend for the restoration.

also, because it has a jazz neck, would adding wood to the neck cavity be okay? so that the jazz neck would fit properly.

by the way, i got the bass for $100, i wanna experience the feeling of restoring a bass.. ehehehe

Thanks

62bass · #2 04-07-2008, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by black4string

i just got an old p bass body with a jazz neck.

both still have their serials.

body is from japan 76'
neck is from U.S. 74'

the problems are:

the screws are so badly rusted, how can i remove them?

the past owner has this habit of punching holes on his guitars, so he could easily identify that it's his. They say he even does them on Gibsons...

how am i going to repair those holes on the body?
on the backplate?
and on the headstock?

i'm gonna send it to the guitar tech of my friend for the restoration.

also, because it has a jazz neck, would adding wood to the neck cavity be okay? so that the jazz neck would fit properly.

by the way, i got the bass for $100, i wanna experience the feeling of restoring a bass.. ehehehe

Thanks

If your guitar tech knows what he's doing he should be able to take care of the holes. Probably you'll never hide them completely and it'll be a lot of work.

The jazz neck should fit the neck pocket of a P. The necks are interchangeable. If yours doesn't it is either sloppy factory work or a non standard body. Since the body is from Japan in 1976 it could be slightly non standard. Wood can be added to fill in the gaps. Your tech should know what to do. He should be able to remove the rusted screws too.

fuNKmaster83 · #3 04-07-2008, 02:27 PM

its all doable!!! i have had worst brought to my shop

hey_ugly · #4 04-07-2008, 08:11 PM

pics?

lundborg · #5 04-09-2008, 03:10 AM

Fender didn't start production in Japan until '82 (as I recall they were also branded "Squier"
the first few years), so the body can't be Fender if it's a '76.

Not too surprising then that it doesn't fit.

If it's the neck screws that are rusted, if everything else fails, you can drill the screw
heads off to remove the neck - you'll still have a 1-1/2" or so sticking out of the neck.
Then use a good pair of pliers. Other screws on the bass aren't that high torque and
should come off easily.

Sounds like a fun project anyways.

GiuFango · #6 04-09-2008, 08:49 AM

that japanese body...Could it be from an Ibanez fender-like?

fuNKmaster83 · #7 04-09-2008, 09:19 AM

i have a 70 ibanez jazz... i it is made out of mahogany then it is ibanez!!!

Buskman · #8 04-09-2008, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by black4string

the past owner has this habit of punching holes on his guitars, so he could easily identify that it's his. They say he even does them on Gibsons...

Got any photos of these holes?

Rattman · #9 04-09-2008, 11:18 AM

I'm still trying to get over the shock of "habit of punching HOLES in his guitars ..... even Gibsons.." (Whaaat....?) Thats almost on par with destroying perfectly functional instruments during the course of a show.. I'm so glad I've never had to deal with such people such as that.

I'd love to see your project bass too.. pics please?

black4string · #10 05-01-2008, 12:36 AM

sorry for the late reply guys, been very busy restoring an old genesis bass.

The "fender" is in the works right now.
finally decided to have the body refinished and have the headstock painted.
the holes drilled were too deep.

got the screws removed, wasn't a pretty sight. 2 screws were leveled on the body. After bringing it to around 5 shops, only one shop was able to pull them all out.

about the body, i'll have to check again. There was this website that had a listing of serials for fender, and it all checks out.

The neck cavity had some wood added on it to raise the neck to a better level, because without the additional wood, the fretboard would be level to the body.

pictures i have as of now are the before pictures, they will be posted in a while.

black4string · #11 05-01-2008, 01:15 AM

here are the pictures.
the spots i am talking about are the army of tiny dots on the back. Each hole is around 3 millimeters diameter and around 4 mm deep.

i'm confused about the body, maybe it is an ibanez.
here are pictures of the neckplate, maybe someone can help me identify the body.
by the way, this is my reference for the serials
http://www.guitarnucleus.com/fenderserial.html

Neck pictures

neckplate, notice the similar holes...

I'm starting to have doubts on the neck too. there's no stamp anywhere on the neck and the offset body sticker is missing.

Upon closer look, the decal on the headstock looks like it was written with ink. if you look closely on the writing "serial number", you can see guidelines.

original or not, the bass feels nice so i'll go on restoring it. Ehehehe. The neck feels comfortable and the body is solid.

I'll post an update as soon as the guitar is out of the shop for the refinishing, that'll be around next week.

Thanks for the replies.

pmlow · #12 05-01-2008, 01:39 AM

Hi there
The neckplate looks identical in format and even the font used for stamping the numbers to the plate on my Ibanez '76 telecaster. Ibanez serial numbers were month / year / build number format back then so the plate looks like it is from an Ibanez Bass made in May 1976.

black4string · #13 05-01-2008, 05:13 AM

thanks for clearing things up. =)

BurningSkies · #14 05-01-2008, 06:07 AM

That's not a fender neck either.

Fender didn't do a slab fretboard in the 1970's.

RED5 · #15 05-01-2008, 06:13 AM

Is that Braille?

T-Bird · #16 05-01-2008, 07:34 AM

Hi.

Cool project. I was thinking of 20mm dia holes through the body though

. Now that would've been something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RED5

Is that Braille?

That would actually make sense, too many and too small to serve any other purpose. On the other hand, controlled substances, whether natural or synthetic, often leads people to behave in a rather non-rational manner

.

Regards
Sam

bassist 4 life · #17 05-01-2008, 08:00 AM

maybe owner was blind, i mean, that looks like braille, and if he had similar basses in colour etc, and all of em had those wholes, it would just make them harder to distinguish.

black4string · #18 05-04-2008, 10:04 AM

hahaha. the guy whom i bought it from explained to me that the previous owner was paranoid about someone stealing his guitars cuz all his guitars were for rent.

about the neck, can someone verify the authenticity of the neck?
any help or information would be much appreciated. =)

Thanks

FranF · #19 05-04-2008, 10:33 AM

Definitely NOT a Fender neck, or body. Very likely there are no Fender parts on this bass. All Japanese. Tuners, bridge, everything. Body contours all wrong too.

black4string · #20 05-07-2008, 05:39 AM

almost out of the paint shop. I'll post pics of the other bass i'm currently working on and the "fender". i'll pick up the newly painted parts on sunday.

the other bass' hardware would be sent for chroming. Black Chrome. =)