Well, this was NOT a project I had planned on . . . Another Rescue Bass!
I've always liked the looks of the '50s Tele / Precision basses so I started looking for a cheapo. Read a few threads on here with very positive comments about the version sold several years back by Jay Turser. Found one, fully intending to just do a set up, change the strings and play it.
Unfortunately, the one I got was pretty much junk. In hindsight, I should have expected it since it was being sold by a thrift store. The previous owner must have gotten so frustrated that he just gave it away!
The neck had a backbow, which I was able to straighten out since it apparently has a 2 way truss rod. This gave me hope, so I decided not to return it. Did a set up but I just couldn't get the action right.
Turned out several frets were high, so I leveled them. The neck pocket, despite being CNC routed at the factory, was not level. The previous owner had gone at it with a chisel but apparently gave up. I leveled it up. The action improved but still not what I would call comfortable.
The pickup, which got lots of praise in the earlier threads, sounded good but was very noisy. My SX Jazz was even worse out of the box and shielding completely solved the problem. Not so with this one. Minimal, if any, effect.
Previously, while browsing the Rondo site, I noticed they had fretless SX necks (the older "fish hook" shape) and I ordered one on a whim with no real plan in mind. Out of the closet it came.
So, here is the result. Sorry for the poor photo quality. My camera is ancient and should be replaced but I keep finding basses instead!
I reshaped the SX headstock into something reminiscent of a '50s Precision, although it's more of a Jazz width at the nut. Fitted some cheap Chinese eBay tuners, which are actually a huge improvement on the Jay Turser stock tuners. Replaced the pickup with an $11 Dual Rail Humbucker Strat pickup I found on eBay. Sounds as good, or better, than the stock pup with, of course, no noise.
The stock pickguard was white, a color I'm not particularly fond of. I'd been buying a variety of scraps of naugahide from a local recycle store to try as a pickguard cover on another project. So I decided to test out the naugahide idea on this one. The fact that there's no routing underneath made it easier. I'm still not sure if I like the fact that it matches the color of the neck so closely. I may try one that's slightly more brown, just a bit darker.
Oh, and it plays great now!
I've always liked the looks of the '50s Tele / Precision basses so I started looking for a cheapo. Read a few threads on here with very positive comments about the version sold several years back by Jay Turser. Found one, fully intending to just do a set up, change the strings and play it.
Unfortunately, the one I got was pretty much junk. In hindsight, I should have expected it since it was being sold by a thrift store. The previous owner must have gotten so frustrated that he just gave it away!
The neck had a backbow, which I was able to straighten out since it apparently has a 2 way truss rod. This gave me hope, so I decided not to return it. Did a set up but I just couldn't get the action right.
Turned out several frets were high, so I leveled them. The neck pocket, despite being CNC routed at the factory, was not level. The previous owner had gone at it with a chisel but apparently gave up. I leveled it up. The action improved but still not what I would call comfortable.
The pickup, which got lots of praise in the earlier threads, sounded good but was very noisy. My SX Jazz was even worse out of the box and shielding completely solved the problem. Not so with this one. Minimal, if any, effect.
Previously, while browsing the Rondo site, I noticed they had fretless SX necks (the older "fish hook" shape) and I ordered one on a whim with no real plan in mind. Out of the closet it came.
So, here is the result. Sorry for the poor photo quality. My camera is ancient and should be replaced but I keep finding basses instead!
I reshaped the SX headstock into something reminiscent of a '50s Precision, although it's more of a Jazz width at the nut. Fitted some cheap Chinese eBay tuners, which are actually a huge improvement on the Jay Turser stock tuners. Replaced the pickup with an $11 Dual Rail Humbucker Strat pickup I found on eBay. Sounds as good, or better, than the stock pup with, of course, no noise.
The stock pickguard was white, a color I'm not particularly fond of. I'd been buying a variety of scraps of naugahide from a local recycle store to try as a pickguard cover on another project. So I decided to test out the naugahide idea on this one. The fact that there's no routing underneath made it easier. I'm still not sure if I like the fact that it matches the color of the neck so closely. I may try one that's slightly more brown, just a bit darker.
Oh, and it plays great now!
