I Think I'm Gonna Be Sick...

mjolnir · #1 09-11-2007, 06:23 AM

This is gonna be a long one, ladies and gents, lots o' history here, but forgive me, I have to share this with SOMEBODY, it's so horrible...

So a little while back I posted a thread or two about an old RhythmLine P-Bass copy I had lying around that I was planning on refurbishing. I had originally acquired the thing from my grandfather, a man who was quite the country musician back in the day and has guitar cases literally stacked wall-to-wall and to the ceiling in one of the rooms of his house filled with the likes of a '57 Gibson Les Paul and a '73 Gibson SG.

Before I go on, I'd like to mention the condition in which I received this bass. Its pickup had been replaced with a Fender Telecaster Guitar pickup and wired so horrendously that I'm surprised it even worked at all (whoever it was who rewired it after replacing the pickup had taken the tone pot completely out of the circuit and tried to wire the volume and tone functions into the same pot, least that's what it looks like...), the original finish had been SPRAYPAINTED over in black with I'd say maybe two coats of polyurethane, then covered entirely in sparkle paper.

Not a sparkle finish.

Sparkle paper.

After I got the thing I immediately pulled off all the sparkle paper and cleaned all the goop off. 'Course back then I had no idea what to do with the thing, so I just stuck it in a closet and forgot about it. Ten years later I've pulled the thing out, and I decided to call my gramps and get a little bit of history on it.

That's when he drops a bomb on me. It's not a Rhythmline. This is the real deal, ladies and gents. He got this thing in '51 back when Leo Fender was puttin' out the first P-Basses... Apparently it had some sort of accident and the original neck had cracked. This is why there's a Rhythmline neck on this bass... He also never liked the original pickguard, so he yanked it off and handmade his own. He painted the bass black to cover the holes the original guard had left. The pickup also suffered terminal injury, and he went out and bought the first pickup he saw that would fit: the chrome-covered Tele pup. He actually seemed rather surprised when I told him it wasn't a bass pup he put in.

So now here I sit, one of the ORIGINAL Fender P's lying in pieces on my workbench... I know I can't do any more damage that's already been done to it, in fact I can make it sing again, and I guess that's a good enough tip of the hat towards Ol' Leo, but I still wanna cry knowing the horrors that have been committed on this instrument...

Anybody else been in this situation? Please say yes or I might burst into tears again...

Dragonlord · #2 09-11-2007, 06:44 AM

No, cry

mjolnir · #3 09-11-2007, 06:49 AM

...

bluestarbass · #4 09-11-2007, 07:21 AM

I wouldnt think theres much that can be done to salvage it, at least value wise. Its been repainted, theres a different neck on it, and you dont have the original pickup. It will be a cool players bass, and a good story, but i think its days as a vintage fender are numbered.

mjolnir · #5 09-11-2007, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluestarbass

I wouldnt think theres much that can be done to salvage it, at least value wise. Its been repainted, theres a different neck on it, and you dont have the original pickup. It will be a cool players bass, and a good story, but i think its days as a vintage fender are numbered.

Oh, I know it, mon frere, that's my point... This beautiful bass has been forever violated...

That's why I won't hesitate to mod it to the fullest extent. I must hide my shame and make it the best damn bass it can be... And this is the last time I will tell anyone it USED to be an original '51 P-Bass...

Anybody asks in the future, I'm just gonna say it's a Rhythmline.

...

jive1 · #6 09-11-2007, 07:59 AM

Financially, that sucks.

But musically, you're blessed. Look at it this way, you are probably going to be the only person who owns a '51 P that will actually take it out to gigs. All the other ones are in museums or storage somewhere. You will be rocking out with yours.

mjolnir · #7 09-11-2007, 08:05 AM

You know... That is a GREAT way to look at it...

The one thing I got to thinking about after my gramps dropped this bomb on me was that even though it's worth less than the firewood I take on camping trips, I have a bass that has the potential to sound absolutely MASSIVE...

I still wanna cry, but now I wanna cry less and mod more.

CelinderMotoMan · #8 09-11-2007, 08:08 AM

Go punch your grandpa square in the nose, hide his teeth and don't change his diaper for aboout a week then when you do use sparkle paper.

mjolnir · #9 09-11-2007, 08:10 AM

The thought crossed my mind...

But!

On the bright side, mutilated as it is, the guy still handed me a '51 P-Bass... How many 15 year olds could have said THAT, huh?

Basshole · #10 09-11-2007, 08:14 AM

Aw c'mon guys. Who could have known that something like that would be worth some serious coin one day? At the end of the day, it's still just a slab of wood. I'd put it back together as best as I could, and be proud to play it, simply because it was my grandfather's.

Grampa mojo trumps Leo Fender mojo anyday (unless of course, Leo's your grandpop...).

mjolnir · #11 09-11-2007, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basshole

Aw c'mon guys. Who could have known that something like that would be worth some serious coin one day? At the end of the day, it's still just a slab of wood. I'd put it back together as best as I could, and be proud to play it, simply because it was my grandfather's.

Grampa mojo trumps Leo Fender mojo anyday (unless of course, Leo's your grandpop...).

Well said. You're absolutely right, of course, the old man taught me the joys of music in first place, gave me my first guitar, first bass (the one in question...), taught me how to sing, and gave me my first jam session...

I'ma put the sucker back together, give it a good spitshine, and play the hell out of it.

My gramps is gonna **** a brick when he sees it, though... I have yet to tell him I took off the sparkle paper. He loved it so much, he'll be devastated...

bigfatbass · #12 09-11-2007, 08:40 AM

Sell the body and remaining pot to a vintage dork and buy a CS re-issue that matches it.

Seriously though, in spite of the tragedy, that is a great family story and well worth trying to make her a player again.

CelinderMotoMan · #13 09-11-2007, 08:44 AM

I thought the rule was no pics/no bass, so the real question is "why are we discussing this hypothetical situation anyway?"

mjolnir · #14 09-11-2007, 08:45 AM

CS?...

Eh, I'd rather keep the body. It was my Gramps who gave it to me, after all.

The pots, however (I still have both, it's just one wasn't really wired in)...

If I can get some money out of 'em, I should... and I do have a ridiculously vintage Tele pickup I have no use for...

jive1 · #15 09-11-2007, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjolnir2730

You know... That is a GREAT way to look at it...

The one thing I got to thinking about after my gramps dropped this bomb on me was that even though it's worth less than the firewood I take on camping trips, I have a bass that has the potential to sound absolutely MASSIVE...

I still wanna cry, but now I wanna cry less and mod more.

They say that one of the reasons why the vintage instruments sound the way they do because as the wood ages, it becomes more porous. As a result it's more resonant.

Vintage sound, without the vintage guilt or pricetag.

You, my friend, are blessed.

Mod that thing and rock out!

mjolnir · #16 09-11-2007, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CelinderMotoMan

I thought the rule was no pics/no bass, so the real question is "why are we discussing this hypothetical situation anyway?"

I posted pics in those other threads I mentioned... But, fair is fair.

There 'tis. It sure ain't the beaut it used to be, huh?...

bluestarbass · #17 09-11-2007, 08:52 AM

Depending on the pickup, you may be able to just sell the pickup for enough to get a new neck, new pickup, and clean it up. I would have no idea what a pickup like that would sell for, youd definately need to get the right person lined up to get your max dollar amount. Gibson original PAF's, which are pretty much the most desired pickup ever, sell upwards of a grand a pop.

mjolnir · #18 09-11-2007, 08:57 AM

...You're kidding.

I did not know that.

I already got new electronics, a shiny new volume pot and a Varitone pot from Stan over at HAS-Sound, and I was thinking about grabbing a Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pounder to fill the pup slot. Thoughts?

I need to get a new pickguard, too. One that actually matches the classic P guard... And I'm not sure how I wanna repaint it. Thoughts?

I'll worry about the neck later once I get the body back in working order, but I'm DEFINITELY going to look into the resale value of this tele pup. Thing is, that's a shot in the dark. My Gramps doesn't remember what brand it is, it doesn't say anywhere on the outside, and I don't wanna open it up, so it may very well be as worthless as the neck at this point (shrug).

CelinderMotoMan · #19 09-11-2007, 09:05 AM

That doesn't look like a Fender body to me, so you're saying Grampa didn't like the Fender pickups, electronics, hardware and pickguard and finish so he changed them all out??? Sorry but I think you have an all original Rythymline.

mjolnir · #20 09-11-2007, 09:09 AM

I may or I may not (shrug). I trust my Gramps, and if he says it's a Fender, it's a Fender.

At this point, it really is a semantics argument. I will not tell you you're wrong, I have no idea, but the fact of the matter is I'm tearing the sucker up, stripping the paint, ripping out all the old electronics, losing that crappy pickguard, throwing in a new pup, putting on a pickup cover and maybe a bridge cover, and (possibly) replacing the neck. It won't be Fender or Rhythmline by the time I'm done.