Wow....dat bass....I personally would've kept the old wear but hey, to each their own.
Wish I could play my basses to that extent.
Wish I could play my basses to that extent.
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Fixing up 1963 Precision Bass
- Thread starter DavidBassista
- Start date
Today I stopped by Seuf's Guitar Repair to talk to Dave the guy who is restoring my bass. He had the body at the shop and got to see it for the first time.
The sunburst looks really good. The body has lots of ware marks on it showing its history, but I like that. I could have done a solid custom color that would have hidden a lot of this but I kind of like how it tells a story. It's a two piece body that is glued diagonally. It's possible that it was originally a custom color from the factory as a diagonally glued guitar might not have been used for a sunburst. There is some blue colored paint that is stained into the wood grain. Dave said he tried to bleach it out but you can still see some of it showing through the yellow of the sunburst.
Also, I have decided to go ahead and order a Spitfire tort guard. This bass should be coming together within the next week or two. It still needs to be buffed and finished and it needs a new nut as the stock one is pretty worn down.
Holding the body, it was amazing how light the wood was. It seems very resonate when you tap on it.
The sunburst looks really good. The body has lots of ware marks on it showing its history, but I like that. I could have done a solid custom color that would have hidden a lot of this but I kind of like how it tells a story. It's a two piece body that is glued diagonally. It's possible that it was originally a custom color from the factory as a diagonally glued guitar might not have been used for a sunburst. There is some blue colored paint that is stained into the wood grain. Dave said he tried to bleach it out but you can still see some of it showing through the yellow of the sunburst.
Also, I have decided to go ahead and order a Spitfire tort guard. This bass should be coming together within the next week or two. It still needs to be buffed and finished and it needs a new nut as the stock one is pretty worn down.
Holding the body, it was amazing how light the wood was. It seems very resonate when you tap on it.
Last edited:
okcrum
in your chest
Unless you can match the color temps of the camera + lighting and your display, you can't go too far in trying to judge by web pics.
I wasn't referring to the color so much as the pattern and general appearance. Look, I don't want to sound like I'm trying to flame the guy, because I'm not. I just don't think what he has so far is worth $100+. I even said in an earlier post that if he got the price down to around $50 I would buy one for my P bass. I do appreciate that he is trying and has come fairly close to copying the vintage look. It's strange to me that no one seems to be able to reproduce a seemingly simple item that was routinely manufactured in the fifties and sixties.
Without this thread turning into a debate about Spitfire pickguards... I will say that for a quality Repro Tort guard there don't seem to be a lot of options. One of the main options is WD, which cost around $60. I have a Black Abalone WD guard on my Stingray5 that was about $70. It is a nice quality guard. I have never seen a WD Tort guard before in person.
Whether or not $145 is too much for a Spitfire guard, I don't know. I'll find out soon when I see it. That being said, considering what I have invested in my 1963 bass plus the re-fin, $145 is an acceptable price for a guard if it comes very close to the original. It's a very visually prominent part of the guitar and needs to look great. An original guard can cost well over $500 if you can even find decent one. If my bass was all original and it required a $1000 guard to finish it off, maybe I'd entertain that. But my bass will always be a Re-fin bass so I don't mind having a repro guard. If Mark at Spitfire has put the time an energy into making the closes thing out there to a 60s guard than perhaps his price is justified. I for one feel comfortable taking the chance on it.
Whether or not $145 is too much for a Spitfire guard, I don't know. I'll find out soon when I see it. That being said, considering what I have invested in my 1963 bass plus the re-fin, $145 is an acceptable price for a guard if it comes very close to the original. It's a very visually prominent part of the guitar and needs to look great. An original guard can cost well over $500 if you can even find decent one. If my bass was all original and it required a $1000 guard to finish it off, maybe I'd entertain that. But my bass will always be a Re-fin bass so I don't mind having a repro guard. If Mark at Spitfire has put the time an energy into making the closes thing out there to a 60s guard than perhaps his price is justified. I for one feel comfortable taking the chance on it.
I got one for my Epiphone Dot from these guys and was satisfied (and it wasn't expensive):
http://www.terrapinguitars.com/
http://www.terrapinguitars.com/
okcrum
in your chest
Agree. I think part of the problem is just the material differences between then and now. No doubt the dyes they used for the old pickguards were different formulations than are used now. Probably by "law" to protect us.
so far, the majority of vintage fender owners ive seen post have been raving over the appearance of the spitfire guards. the pics ive seen are the first guards that get close to the look, color and depth of the guard on my own 62 jazz. if i needed one id spend the 150 in a hearbeat. a tort guard from chandler,wd,allparts,pickguardian or whoever are 50+ dollars and dont even come close to the color and depth of a vintage guard or the spitfire tort. they all look flat and two dimensional in comparison.
Cool bass. I have a 63 burst that was beat when I bought it in 2002 and now is really beat. It has the same crack as yours that was repaired and is now open again. I will try to take some pictures and post them. If it was the original finish I wouldn't touch it but since it wasn't and it's your bass carry on.
Congratulations on the bass.
Congratulations on the bass.
okcrum
in your chest
Sounds like just pic vs. real. Thought that might be, especially for Spitfire prices.
The chemists have to get creative these days to do accurate color matches to old finishes sometimes. For all we know, their secret dye ingredient is mayonnaise.
The chemists have to get creative these days to do accurate color matches to old finishes sometimes. For all we know, their secret dye ingredient is mayonnaise.
I have a Spitfire guard and it looks really good IMO. I also have a '61 P and while the Spitfire doesn't look exactly like the real one, it is the closest thing to it available. Much closer than the Fender Custom Shop or any of the other aftermarket guards out there.
1961 tort:
Spitfire tort:
I ordered the Spitfire very fiery also, so I wanted it to have a little more yellow in it than average. I think the OP will be happy with it. They have that 3D look to them (that the originals do), like you're looking into hell or lava or something. That's what sold me on one.
Spitfire:
1961 tort:
Spitfire tort:
I ordered the Spitfire very fiery also, so I wanted it to have a little more yellow in it than average. I think the OP will be happy with it. They have that 3D look to them (that the originals do), like you're looking into hell or lava or something. That's what sold me on one.
Spitfire:
Did you order Vintage Burgundy with Crazy 70s style? I decided on Vintage Burgundy with the Speckled 60s. I hope that give it enough yellow. I want something traditional but also vibrant. Thought about asking for something in-between the specked and Crazy.
This post proves my point exactly. While your Spitfire guard does look good, and it is better than anything else I have seen, it still does not look like your original Fender guard. Specifically, there is too much of the bright amber color, which I find is a consistent trait in all of the pictures of Spitfire guards I have seen, with the exception of a couple that got very close to the original. My main issue is that the $150 price tag is more than I paid for my '62 Jazz and almost 1/4 the price of my most expensive Fender bass (I always buy used). Still, I'll repeat that I think they are the best thing going in tort pickguards, as far as appearance goes. I wouldn't blame anyone for buying one if they don't mind spending the money.
Yes, I ordered the vintage burgundy and crazy '70s style. Yours will probably look a bit more like a real one than mine, but I wasn't going for 100% correctness on my particular bass, I was just going for a cool, more unique look.
And that's cool. And I'm not trying to convince anyone to buy one, or that they're worth the money. I just thought I'd share some comparison pics and say why I like them. In my case, I think it makes my ordinary black body "pop" way more than the dull looking '62 RI tort guard I had on it. Would I buy a Spitfire for a $500 bass? No way. But the bass I have it for is a lot more valuable (vintage early '60s slab neck on it), so $150 isn't a huge fraction of the overall value/cost of the bass. IMO Spitfires are mainly for vintage restorations because they are the closest thing out there and they still cost about 1/3-1/4 of what the real vintage guards go for, so I think it;s a very viable option for lots of people. I also ordered mine with the brighter color, but if you go on the website, you can see pics of lots of different shades of colors that he can do..
http://spitfiretortoiseshellpickguards.wordpress.com/order/
Cool, thanks for that info. Yeah I really love the activity going on with the Crazy 70s style but I think I'll stick with the Speckled to get more of an accurate repro. But Like you, if I was getting one for a non-vintage bass I'd probably get something more wild.
I agree with the above statement. I have a black '95 P-bass (the $500 bass) with a '62 RI tort guard, and it, too, looks dull and lifeless. Since I can't find a tort guard that I like, I'm going with black on mine. If I needed a new guard for my '62 Jazz, I would probably settle for one like this (also from Spitfire). I think we've probably hijacked this thread enough. Sorry, OP and others...I'm out.
