Recent content by SilverFleet

I've never owned an actual Fender, but I do have Squier guitars and basses. For this exercise, I don't think they count. Why haven't I owned one? Well, mainly because I buy my stuff cheap from CL/Marketplace to fix up most of the time, or if new/used in a shop, I try to keep it under $300. The...

One of my favorite basses is this Squier Vintage Modified '77 Jazz Bass that I picked up back in 2018. It screamed "budget Geddy Lee bass" to me, so I went the extra mile and made some changes: Pearl pickguard, a cheap-but-good high mass bridge, and (not pictured) the correct knobs...

Yeah, that's the stuff right there. Incredible bass!

Thanks! I sort of jumped in not knowing what I was doing, so it's been.... interesting. Next time around, I'll likely try a leather dye or a tint instead of stain. I was hoping for a more transparent finish, and although I've come to like what I ended up with, I'd like what I originally intended...

Just stumbled upon this thread while searching for guitar finishing info. Really great info in here! I'm currently building a kit guitar; it's my first run at actually trying to put a finish on something. It's been quite the journey so far. I ended up using a Minwax water based "true black"...

One of my 1st basses was a TR70, the P/J version of this bass. Got it for Christmas around 1997; I think it went for $219 at the local Daddy's Junky Music in Boston, MA. I loved it. It played really nicely for an entry level bass. I ended up giving it to my nephew later on, who still has it.

My 1st bass was a Samick P-Bass copy from the early 90's. It was black with a white pickguard. That bass made its way through two of my friends before I ended up with it, and it was falling apart. The tuners were garbage, the electronics were shot, and the pickup poles got loose and would...

Coming of age in the 90's in the Boston area, all the bass players in my area were into either Ibanez SoundGear basses or Ernie Ball Music Man stuff. Those were THE basses to have, especially the latter, mostly due to Flea playing one at the time. Surprisingly, there were also a significant...

I think the bass I put together earlier this year fits the theme here. It's a 1987ish Martin Stinger SBL-10, which is a Korean copy of a Fender Jazz Bass Special. It was free from my nephew; his buddy found it in a house cleanout in a basement closet. As found, the pots were completely...

Wow, I completely forgot to update this. Turns out, not only were the electronics all trash, but so were the pickups. I bought one of those harnesses that I mentioned above and a set of Guitar Madness Alnico V P/J pickups. When that showed up, I tried wiring it all up, but it sounded terrible...

After about a week of playing it after the switch replacement, I'm starting to have some issues with the electronics. When I got the thing, all of the pots were frozen solid, but I was able to loosen them with some Deoxit. And while they worked, they would get a little crunchy from time to time...

Another update: I wanted to fix the electronics, since things weren't working as they should. Turns out there were two issues: the J pickup was completely nonfunctional, and the 3-position switch was wonky. I opened up the cavity and got to work. This is the original switch. If I am reading...

Months later, and we're back. I was able to finally assemble this thing over the weekend. Really happy with how this turned out. I ended up using the stock bridge; it's much heavier than the Fender-style bridge I had in my parts bin, and I wanted to try this one out before having to...

It's been a while since I updated this. A classic example of "life getting in the way" with other projects/interests taking precedent over fixing this bass. That said, after messing with the original neck for a while, I realized there was no bringing it back. The thing is still a banana, and...

So, I just found this thread: Rescuing a badly-twisted 1964 Jazz Bass neck It may be possible to un-twist this one. I'm not counting on it, but I might have a back heating pad kicking around and some clamps to try it.