Hmmmm. If they machine the routing template on the same properly set up mill, they then can use the template over and over, lowering the cost to manufacture that route. Everybody wins. Just an observation from a multi axis CNC programmer.
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54 Precision Attic Find
- Thread starter Tim Rinkerman
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- precision bass
Hmmmm. If they machine the routing template on the same properly set up mill, they then can use the template over and over, lowering the cost to manufacture that route. Everybody wins. Just an observation from a multi axis CNC programmer.
I think this is great! You're going to end up with a '54 p bass that isn't a museum piece. All those years, that thing was being ignored up in the attic and you're going to get it back to what it was built to do.
Very good question, and I have never asked him. Considering he currently has a very nice Les Paul, probably Gibson.
My guess would be uprights? Probably depended on circles (genre etc).
Just curious, what's in your 68 P now?
Nice restoration of the 54. I agree that opaque finish might work better with mismatched woods. Either way, looking forward to the rest of it!
Can't wait to see every single step how you bring this old lady back to life. Please keep posting all photo.
It gives you clearance for the drill bit when you drill through the body to the control cavity...for the ground wire.
Wow. I have no plans to ever pick up an electric bass again, but yours would turn my head. Congratulations.
Great find. I definitely agree with your decision to restore it to the original color, which should also show off some of the beautiful wood grain (who cares that the rout will be visible, though you could hide that with a replacement PUP cover if it bothers you).
Too bad the owner didn't have the original single coil pick up. Do you have an idea what you will put in it if you can't get a period one?
Good luck on the build, looking forward to seeing it finished. A few years ago I picked up a poorly refinished and beat up '63 bass and had it re-fined in 3 tone sunburst and restored and it's such an amazing instrument. (Fixing up 1963 Precision Bass) I'm sure yours will be the same!
Too bad the owner didn't have the original single coil pick up. Do you have an idea what you will put in it if you can't get a period one?
Good luck on the build, looking forward to seeing it finished. A few years ago I picked up a poorly refinished and beat up '63 bass and had it re-fined in 3 tone sunburst and restored and it's such an amazing instrument. (Fixing up 1963 Precision Bass) I'm sure yours will be the same!
Man! Awesome thread! My favorite subjects.................FENDER SLAB BODIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't have to tell ya how rare this body is, do I? Nobody knows for sure but very likely Fender only made around 1,200 Precision Basses from Oct 1951 to about March of 1954.
In 1951 alone, very likely less than 30 were made.
Sometime in the first 3 or 4 months of 1954, the very last slab bodies were made and then the contouring started, tummy cut and forearm cut.
You have one of the very last slab bodies made! Bragging rights!
Not to distract from your "treasure", Jan. of 2017, I bought a 1953. 100% original in every way, including the original brown vinyl gig bag..................but the original bridge was taken off and lost. Probably because the phenolic saddles fell apart.
Fortunately, right here on TalkBass, member 2saddlesslab gave to me an original bridge plate and my son, made me 2 phenolic saddles. Fixed.
Interestingly, the serial numbers are all mixed up and are not a reliable way to date the old single coil P Basses.
As for a pickup...............an original will be extremely expensive. Duncan's Antiquity I might be a good way to go. Even their SCPB pickup is nice 'cause it has black string.
My 1953 P Bass' pickup is only about 5,600 ohms. Many have this kind of ohm rating.
We'll love to see your final results!
I don't have to tell ya how rare this body is, do I? Nobody knows for sure but very likely Fender only made around 1,200 Precision Basses from Oct 1951 to about March of 1954.
In 1951 alone, very likely less than 30 were made.
Sometime in the first 3 or 4 months of 1954, the very last slab bodies were made and then the contouring started, tummy cut and forearm cut.
You have one of the very last slab bodies made! Bragging rights!
Not to distract from your "treasure", Jan. of 2017, I bought a 1953. 100% original in every way, including the original brown vinyl gig bag..................but the original bridge was taken off and lost. Probably because the phenolic saddles fell apart.
Fortunately, right here on TalkBass, member 2saddlesslab gave to me an original bridge plate and my son, made me 2 phenolic saddles. Fixed.
Interestingly, the serial numbers are all mixed up and are not a reliable way to date the old single coil P Basses.
As for a pickup...............an original will be extremely expensive. Duncan's Antiquity I might be a good way to go. Even their SCPB pickup is nice 'cause it has black string.
My 1953 P Bass' pickup is only about 5,600 ohms. Many have this kind of ohm rating.
We'll love to see your final results!
I have to give kudos here purely for the amount of pics the OP has posted. Great to see the whole process.
Two thoughts, give a picture of the missing pickup to the woman so she knows what to look for if she finds it in the garage/basement etc. Secondly, there is a high likelihood of the finish eventually sinking into the join between the repair and the body. You could ask Bruce Johnson for advice on this. Perhaps shellac or thin cyanoacrylate wicked into the area and allowed to fully cure might work. Good luck.
Smooth_bass88
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