I'm thinking of replacing the stock tuners for the Res-o-lite reverse wound tuners to reduce the weight. Anyone know if these are appropriate replacements for the Fullerton Reissues, or are these not the droids I'm looking for?
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Fender Fullerton Reissue club
- Thread starter mrpackerguy
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This is what you need. Gotoh GBR640-N-4L which is the Nickel in-line version for a right-handed bass. They are direct drop-in replacements. I would recommend using the screws that are currently on your Fullerton Reissue but you'll be able to tell once you're installing them. I haven't put these on my '83 Fullerton Reissue P since it already weighs a light 8.2 lbs, but I have installed them on my Fender CS P and a few other Fender basses. The screws that come with the Gotoh Res-o-Lites are a touch bigger. If you're going to use the new screws, you might have to enlarge the screw holes a bit so you don't break a screw when installing them.
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Awesome. Thanks!
Do you notice a difference when they are on? My reissue p is light, but has some neck dive because the body and neck is so light. Hence, trying to lighten the headstock up a bit.
Yes, it definitely brings the weight down. I had previously calculated the exact difference, but I can't remember. From what you're describing, this will do the trick to help with the neck dive. Make sure you get the Nickel version. They will match the stock tuners and age/weather nicely over time with the Nickel. The GBR640N tuners on my Fender CS P bass look awesome!
if one assumes the vintage tuners are 110 grams each, and if the new gotohs are actually 62 grams each, that would make a net weight savings of 192 grams or almost 7 ounces.
That sounds about right. I remember it being .4-.5 lbs.
Pardon me if this question has been brought up before, but is there anything special about the pickups found in the Fullerton reissues? Were they just good vintage sounding pickups? We're they reverse engineered to be on spec with the pickup era they were designed for? Were these pickups put in any other models at the time or after? Also, what pickup currently made by any manufacturer would be the closest match for these basses?
Thanks!
Thanks!
I am pretty sure that the earliest basses just had standard Precision pickups in them. They were improving build quality and matching the specs of the original but I don't remember anyone selling the magic of the original pickups. At that point those pickups were only 20 years old. To us it would be like meticulously trying to match a pickup from 2001. That may have changed at some point when they were still building in Fullerton, I can't remember right now. But I do remember that the early ones had the same pickups that all late 70's early 80's Precisions had.
As far as a close replacement I would probably think the old 62 Reissue Precision pickup from Fender would be a good place to start. They don't make them anymore but they aren't tough to find and they don't sell for much. They are great pickups.
As far as a close replacement I would probably think the old 62 Reissue Precision pickup from Fender would be a good place to start. They don't make them anymore but they aren't tough to find and they don't sell for much. They are great pickups.
legend has it that abby was in charge of the pickups for the fullerton reissues
"Queen of Tone" Abigail Ybarra Talks Fender History and 57 Years of Pickup Winding
"Queen of Tone" Abigail Ybarra Talks Fender History and 57 Years of Pickup Winding
Echoing Yodedude, I’ve read in several places where Bill Schultz and Dan Smith specifically assigned Abigail to the American Vintage models.
I’ve also read on several sites and in a number of articles that up until Fender relocated to their new factory, the pickups for the AV Teles, Strats, and basses were hand wound to accurately replicate the originals.
With the internet being what it is, I don’t know if that last “fact” is an actual fact, though.
I have a friend who worked in the factory back then. He cut and routed the bodies so I’m not sure if he’d know anything about the pickups. With the holidays coming up this would be a good time to drop by and pay him a visit.
As for a similar replacement pickup being offered these days… I am sorry but I can’t help you other than to say, it stands to reason there must be a few boutique winders who make pickups based on the actual specs of the original basses. Whether those specs equate to the Fullerton specs is something I hope to find out from my friend.
I’ve also read on several sites and in a number of articles that up until Fender relocated to their new factory, the pickups for the AV Teles, Strats, and basses were hand wound to accurately replicate the originals.
With the internet being what it is, I don’t know if that last “fact” is an actual fact, though.
I have a friend who worked in the factory back then. He cut and routed the bodies so I’m not sure if he’d know anything about the pickups. With the holidays coming up this would be a good time to drop by and pay him a visit.
As for a similar replacement pickup being offered these days… I am sorry but I can’t help you other than to say, it stands to reason there must be a few boutique winders who make pickups based on the actual specs of the original basses. Whether those specs equate to the Fullerton specs is something I hope to find out from my friend.
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I dropped by my friend who once worked at the Fullerton factory. He is in a health care facility a mile or so away. I wished him happy holidays and we chatted about his time with Fender. I recorded the entire conversation. Some of his recollections are unique and some are rather mundane. If you’d like a transcript, I can write it all down.
But as for the pickups on the reissues, here’s what he said…
Everything on the pre CBS instruments was removed, measured, tested and weighed. My friend cannot remember clearly, but he seems to recall the wire was not exactly the same as in the original basses. Some sort of debate occurred regarding the pickup wire and a great deal of testing happened as a result. This is all he knows about the design of the pickups.
By the final days at Fullerton the number of employees had been cut to bare bones. At this time Abby was making all of the pickups for all instruments. The pickups were placed in boxes. Tape was affixed to tell the specific type of the instrument for each type of pickup. My friend remembers this because he had to help clean up that area.
He remembers many other aspects of his time there, but nothing more about the pickups themselves. Sorry.
But as for the pickups on the reissues, here’s what he said…
Everything on the pre CBS instruments was removed, measured, tested and weighed. My friend cannot remember clearly, but he seems to recall the wire was not exactly the same as in the original basses. Some sort of debate occurred regarding the pickup wire and a great deal of testing happened as a result. This is all he knows about the design of the pickups.
By the final days at Fullerton the number of employees had been cut to bare bones. At this time Abby was making all of the pickups for all instruments. The pickups were placed in boxes. Tape was affixed to tell the specific type of the instrument for each type of pickup. My friend remembers this because he had to help clean up that area.
He remembers many other aspects of his time there, but nothing more about the pickups themselves. Sorry.
I thought it might be interesting to add a few other tidbits of info that was shared with me...
Supposedly, the pre-CBS instruments that the reissues were based on were found, measured and/or purchased in Chicago and New York. Several were brought to LA in the trunk of a car. After having been taken apart so many times by Fender (for measurements and such) they looked pretty beaten up. Most of those instruments were later destroyed in a fire. Only a few survived.
The majority of Fender employees were released prior to and following the sale by CBS... and many were then rehired by the employee-owned version of Fender.
In my friend's opinion, one of the main reasons that quality dipped so dramatically during the 70's was the way employees could advance and become supervisors. It seems the union at Fender created a system where longevity was rewarded. This allowed individuals in one area to transition into managerial or supervisory roles in another area even though they may have little to no experience for that specific aspect of production.
There was a story (rumors, really) going around at Fender that the reissues were actually planned three or four years earlier (around 1979/1980). The story goes that a number of examples were built by Mr. Tavares and John Page (who later started the Custom Shop). Management knew that they were losing sales and were equally aware of the reasons why, but it took a while before they were willing to act.
There was another story going around that the CBS company was pulling large amounts of money/profits from Fender (10 million dollars or more a year), but refused to invest any money towards new tooling, new models, or new infrastructure. This caused a bad situation to become worse to where CBS Fender lost money during it's last three or four years.
There was a ton of push-back by certain supervisors and employees regarding changes to the way instruments were being made. It was a very volatile period with many explosive arguments that could be heard throughout the Fullerton factory. According to my friend, there were instances where some of the arguments became physical.
It took a few years of hard work to get the Corona factory running smoothly. Some of the managers felt that it was a good thing that Fender moved out of the Fullerton location. It gave everyone the chance to start over anew and change many of the bad habits that had taken root.
*** I want to add that the items above were shared with me by my friend.. who is elderly. I don't want to discount his memories, but neither do I have any way of validating his accounts of Fender.
Supposedly, the pre-CBS instruments that the reissues were based on were found, measured and/or purchased in Chicago and New York. Several were brought to LA in the trunk of a car. After having been taken apart so many times by Fender (for measurements and such) they looked pretty beaten up. Most of those instruments were later destroyed in a fire. Only a few survived.
The majority of Fender employees were released prior to and following the sale by CBS... and many were then rehired by the employee-owned version of Fender.
In my friend's opinion, one of the main reasons that quality dipped so dramatically during the 70's was the way employees could advance and become supervisors. It seems the union at Fender created a system where longevity was rewarded. This allowed individuals in one area to transition into managerial or supervisory roles in another area even though they may have little to no experience for that specific aspect of production.
There was a story (rumors, really) going around at Fender that the reissues were actually planned three or four years earlier (around 1979/1980). The story goes that a number of examples were built by Mr. Tavares and John Page (who later started the Custom Shop). Management knew that they were losing sales and were equally aware of the reasons why, but it took a while before they were willing to act.
There was another story going around that the CBS company was pulling large amounts of money/profits from Fender (10 million dollars or more a year), but refused to invest any money towards new tooling, new models, or new infrastructure. This caused a bad situation to become worse to where CBS Fender lost money during it's last three or four years.
There was a ton of push-back by certain supervisors and employees regarding changes to the way instruments were being made. It was a very volatile period with many explosive arguments that could be heard throughout the Fullerton factory. According to my friend, there were instances where some of the arguments became physical.
It took a few years of hard work to get the Corona factory running smoothly. Some of the managers felt that it was a good thing that Fender moved out of the Fullerton location. It gave everyone the chance to start over anew and change many of the bad habits that had taken root.
*** I want to add that the items above were shared with me by my friend.. who is elderly. I don't want to discount his memories, but neither do I have any way of validating his accounts of Fender.
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I have an ‘83 P-bass Elite II that I bought new in ‘85 from my local music store. It’s very well made and plays and sounds really good, the only knock on it is the weight—12.5 lbs. But everything else about it is as good as anything I’ve played from Fender from any era.
Welcoming myself to the party with a recently acquired ‘62 reissue made in ‘82. 4-digit serial number and all.
Is it typical for these original Olympic white basses to go so yellow like this?
Is it typical for these original Olympic white basses to go so yellow like this?
Oh my!! That is a beautiful bass!!!
Tell us what you think of it. How does it compare to other Precisions that you own or have played?
Tell us what you think of it. How does it compare to other Precisions that you own or have played?
That White is called Vintage White (841). It was already a bit yellow colored brandnew compared to Olympic White (805) which appeared in 1998 for the Reissues.
Howdy folks! I just bought a bass and I'm looking for info. Another TB member pointed me to this thread. I just got the bass today. The previous owner bought it new but he can't remember the exact date. He believes it was during the 70's but he's not exactly sure. He told me it was a made in U.S.A. bass but I can't find any info on the headstock about where it was produced. There are also holes in the body which makes me believe there once were ashtray covers and a thumbrest on the bass but the previous owner says there never were ashtrays as he bought the bass new in a store. Confusing. It needs a cleanup and some new strings and this baby is ready to go. All info is much appreciated. Thanks!
Looks like a '57 reissue, and judging from the serial it's an '83, but I'm happy to be wrong. Take the neck off and you'll see a date and a name stamped on it. That'll tell you music more info.
