help please; just bought a "vintage" fender p

[doktorfeelgood]

if the non fender guard's mounting screws don't line up exactly, i wouldn't recommened drilling any new ones in the body to make it fit. just an FYI, a fender RI will fit without any modifications.

THIS.....

 

[Ronbassman]

The Bass has chosen you!
The only bad thing now is that you'll have a co-worker named Lancelot who will screw your woman.
But hey, it's part of being the new owner of the Excalibur.

 

[JoePlaysDaBass]

So... My original diagnosis in regards to the electronics being clean and crackle free was only partially correct. When adjusting the volume or tone while the strings are still, no problem. But if I try and adjust them while any of the strings are vibrating and producing a signal, it's crackle city.

My impulse is to give the pots a quick blast of parts cleaner. Would this be wrong of me? I don't want to go and mess up the original electronics. Someone who knows better please tell me if it's safe

 

[mamushi]

Awesome find looks sweet sure it's gonna be a keeper for ya

 

[Backstreets]

It's finds like this that still make me hold on to my faith in craigslist, even though it's been a long time since my local craigslist has delivered for me. Congratulations on the sweet find, and enjoy!

 

[JoePlaysDaBass]

Thanks very much! I'm still overwhelmed with excitement about this; the bass I found is exactly what I've always dreamed of (an early model Fender P). The way this one came into my possession has me feeling all kinds of great about life in general. Playing bass guitar has never been so fun for me as the last week has been.

Keep stalking the Craigslist. If you watch it, she (the deal) will come!

 

[Rosebud]

Nice!!! I think Karma wise you just made me feel better about selling a 70's Fender parts p bass for cheap, way back when. I'm glad for you. Fred

 

[Luckie]

If you clean the electronics, be sure to use deOxit. I used a lesser cleaner in a '62 P and the pots locked up. I managed to free it up later with deOxit though.

 

[JoePlaysDaBass]

Thanks very much for that advice, I ordered some and it should be in early next week.

I also ordered a proper pickguard replacement

 

[JoePlaysDaBass]

Update for those interested...

I have been having so much fun with this instrument. It has motivated me to practice more than I was, and I can easily tell that my playing has improved as a result.

The tort pickguard I purchased and have installed is period correct, and this one is now all stock except for the finish.

Thoughts of a refin have pretty much stopped for now. It looks so right with the pickguard installed (to me). It will be getting fretwork done still, hopefully after tax returns come through.

Thanks again to all of you that chimed in and were so helpful when I picked this up, especially John K.

More pictures are on the Flickr album linked in the first page. Take care!

-Joe

 

[PJRL]

What a cool bass !

The replacement P-guard looks great, where did you get that if you don't mind me asking ?

 

[JoePlaysDaBass]

EBay, somewhere around $170. It has some nice checking on the surface, and there is some shrinking, especially around the lower horn. I'll try to capture the surface checking and post it now...

 

[JoePlaysDaBass]

Didn't work.

 

[johnk_10]

i hope that you didn't really pay $170 for that pickguard, since it's not an original 70's fender one. the 70's fenders had a very thin black lamination in the multi-ply and the swirl pattern and color is quite a bit different.

here's a pic of your guard:

here's an original early 70's one:

and here's a pic of the original one on my '73:

check out the tort's swirl pattern, color and the thickness of the black lamination on your's compared to the original ones.

IMO, your's is a '62 AVRI guard (possibly a few years old), and those are available for about $50.

i hope that this info doesn't rain on your parade, since you have a really great bass there, and you got it for a steal of a price.

 

[cchorney]

Nice get on the bass. It looks really nice just as you bought it. Hopefully it has The Sound.

Also... Power Range sheets? Kidding, you rock out on what ever makes you happy!

 

[JoePlaysDaBass]

Well that's too bad, isn't it?

Oh well. I like the look of the pickguard a lot, and don't feel so bad about the price, considering how much I paid for it initially.

I'll be sending the seller an email of discontentment.

 

[johnk_10]

Well that's too bad, isn't it?

Oh well. I like the look of the pickguard a lot, and don't feel so bad about the price, considering how much I paid for it initially.

I'll be sending the seller an email of discontentment.

yeah, you still got a great deal, but the seller should give you a refund of $130 if he was fair about it, since a late model used tort fender AVRI doesn't sell for more than $30-$40.

 

[mikeswals]

That's an 80's reissue "fullerton" pepperoni guard. No, not worth $170 in any market.
I do like the look of those guards too, but not at the price of an original