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DIRTY 75 P...would ya???

#141
jmorbita said:
well, i did see the green on the back on one of the pictures you posted earlier, but I thought that was my computer monitor playing tricks on me...
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Maybe it's the legendary one-of-a-kind Swamp-Master P that J.Torres created and hid in his garage 35 years ago, only to be accidentally sold at a yard sale by his senile mother - bartered for a bag of staples and a Tabby cat.

You, sir...have a piece of history.
 
#143
A-Step-Towards said:
I'd leave the finish and keep playing it hard, if it gets really bad at that point I would do a tear down and restore it with filling in the jazz route, fixing the extra hole in the guard and a repaint in correct color.
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Absolutely.

Don't get me wrong here, a nice worn bass is something I strive for and love. I'm a huge fan of beat, road warrior type basses. The wear isn't bothering me, but it's the leftover sticker residue that I want to see if I can remedy. I certainly want to avoid a refin, if at all possible.

I'm also falling head over heels in love with the added J PUP. The only thing I might do is buy a new PG (this one isn't original anyways) and drill even holes where the pots are. Right now the spacing is UGLY...just looks amature
 
#144
Spinal Tapper said:
I'm also falling head over heels in love with the added J PUP. The only thing I might do is buy a new PG (this one isn't original anyways) and drill even holes where the pots are. Right now the spacing is UGLY...just looks amature
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Gotta agree with you on that, that uneven knob spacing looks really bad. A guy who actually knew what he was doing installed the J on mine, and he went ahead and routed some more out of the top of the cavity, enabling the 3rd pot to have the same spacing as the other two. It's not like it's gonna make any difference on the vintage value of this bass so you might want to go ahead and have that done and then slap a new PG over it all.

Just be prepared, whether you go new or off eBay, a period correct black PG for that bass will not come cheap.
 
#145
jaywa said:
Gotta agree with you on that, that uneven knob spacing looks really bad. A guy who actually knew what he was doing installed the J on mine, and he went ahead and routed some more out of the top of the cavity, enabling the 3rd pot to have the same spacing as the other two. It's not like it's gonna make any difference on the vintage value of this bass so you might want to go ahead and have that done and then slap a new PG over it all.

Just be prepared, whether you go new or off eBay, a period correct black PG for that bass will not some cheap.
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Yeah it's strange. There are things on this bass that don't quite add up as far as the work that was done to it. J PU route is done REALLY good and tight, but the hole for the knob was drilled unevenly. The notation and setup is DEAD ON. Like someone who was a real pro set it up. I tweaked the truss rod a 1/8th turn just to lower it a bit, but it's exactly where I want it now. It's like two different people may have worked on this bass at different times.

As for the pickguard, I'm low on cash now, so that will have to wait. I don't think I'll get a real 70's guard (unless I find a great deal) but probably just another generic Fender guard and hope the holes line up decently enough. I'm thinking tort might look badass too. Kinda hard to justify spending $50 on a reissue black PG when I already have a perfectly good one with a stupid hole in the wrong place...maybe I'll just redrill another hole and be done with it :cool:
 
#146
Spinal Tapper said:
That's what I'm hoping for. What would I use to buff the finish?
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Sorry, no idea there. I have no experience with Fender finishes of that vintage.

If there's a clear coat, I'd wet sand with very fine wet/dry paper and polish with Mequiar's Scratch X (the old formula) or a good, not too harsh, swirl remover.

If there's no clear coat, you may be able to lightly sand and buff, but you risk going through the colour layer, so I'd defer to someone who has experience with that type of finish.

A new 'guard could be made from plexi or Lexan, and backpainted (then clearcoated) if you wanted to go with black or any other solid colour.
It's not as hard as you might think, all you need are basic tools and a LOT of patience.
It would have a nice depth to it when finished.

No matter what you choose to do, I think you got yourself a great deal on a great bass.
Enjoy!
:)
 
#147
kcole4001 said:
Sorry, no idea there. I have no experience with Fender finishes of that vintage.

If there's a clear coat, I'd wet sand with very fine wet/dry paper and polish with Mequiar's Scratch X (the old formula) or a good, not too harsh, swirl remover.

If there's no clear coat, you may be able to lightly sand and buff, but you risk going through the colour layer, so I'd defer to someone who has experience with that type of finish.

A new 'guard could be made from plexi or Lexan, and backpainted (then clearcoated) if you wanted to go with black or any other solid colour.
It's not as hard as you might think, all you need are basic tools and a LOT of patience.
It would have a nice depth to it when finished.

No matter what you choose to do, I think you got yourself a great deal on a great bass.
Enjoy!
:)
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Ah! That sounds scary...I read the 70's Fenders had Poly coat over a nitro base...not as thick of poly as they use now.

I'm picking up some Goo Gone and I'm gonna hope it works where I need it to.
 
#148
By 'very fine sandpaper' I mean 600 grit wet/dry or finer, and using it on the scratched area you mentioned on the upper horn of the body.

Rather the same treatment you would use when trying to restore a scratched CD or DVD, it doesn't remove much material, just enough to get to the bottom of the scratches.

This all depends on how deep the scratches actually are, because you need to go down as far as they do.
It may just be impossible to do if the scratches are too deep.
If they are through the clearcoat, then there's little you could do about them.
 
#157
Yes!

Actually, she's all cleaned up now. The Goo Gone worked like a charm. Still a few ghost lines around the old sticker's, but it's not noticeable. It has 3 knobs now, I took two of the barrels off my 62 RI for now. It's patiently waiting for me at my rehearsal space, all ready for Monday's practice!

I took some pics yesterday, I hope they turned out decent. I used my girlfriend's digi cam, but I want to get my co-worker to do a shoot with her Nikon D60 next week. I'll upload the ones I have tonight for you all! I promise!
 
#159
Meddle said:
You going to change the pickguard or did the uneven spacing grow on you?
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I left the pickguard. I love the black.

The knob spacing is slowly growing on me. I'm not crazy about the 3 large knobs. I'd ideally like to put two small knobs for V/V and the large original 70's knob for Tone, but I couldn't find small knobs that would fit.

I'm just gonna play the sucker! Pics to come!!!
 
#160
You could always use a stock guard, do VVT knobs, and drill a hole in the side of the bass for an input jack.
With my old 75 P/J the pot cavity had to be routed to fit the extra knob with proper spacing. I wouldn't do that now, but it seemed like a good idea in 1981 :D

2494191384_edfbed2582_b.jpg
 

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