- Jun 30, 2010
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- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
So... as what often happens with me, a vintage part is inspiring me to build a bass around it. The vintage part in question is a NOS '60s Japanese loaded pg & control-plate/pots/knobs. I bought it for a very reasonable price considering it's NOS condition, and that all the parts when & if they appear sell separately for as much or more than it cost me. This specific set-up was originally installed on short-scale Japanese basses with various brand names like Decca, Silvertone - one of 50 different brands under the Kawai Company. The seller had a number of them - must have bought out a factory close-out stash and they were never installed. The pots are rusted and will be replaced but everything works and in good condition.
... as seen on this hard to read (Kay?) ss -
The control plate chrome once cleaned-up looks like new. (see polished area upper right) The chromed knobs are also somewhat rare - I have black and creme versions but was not aware they also chromed them. Pickguard material is semi-translucent/milky white (like Ric pg's) and in like-new condition, as is the pu chrome.
looks brand new!
Even the little vintage pointer rings sell seperately for more than you'd think -
N-pu has a small corroded section and pole-screws needed lubrication.
B-pu is in good shape -
NOS pg - never installed
You can pay as much for these vintage rocker switches as it cost me all together -
For an equally affordable price, I bought this Johnson ('90s? - more recent) 34" scale neck.
I like the Vox-like hs shape and large-post ferrules. Once I get it I'll be able to determine how it will be modified to work with the pu pole spacing. As in, I may need to narrow the neck so the strings are spaced evenly.
Initial sketch of what a 34"-scale body could look like. Not certain what type of wood I'll use but it will be 1-1/4" thick as many of those '60s MIJ basses were. Jazzmaster/Jaguar-like which was the most copied guitar shapes of the '60s by guitar companies all over the world then. It always works for me!
A '60s vintage MIJ tail-piece from my parts-bin. If I incorporate it I'll need a bridge -
...like this one I have used before - all (pu-poles/tail-piece/bridge saddles) are narrow (2") spacing so that's why the neck will need to be narrowed.
... as seen on this hard to read (Kay?) ss -
The control plate chrome once cleaned-up looks like new. (see polished area upper right) The chromed knobs are also somewhat rare - I have black and creme versions but was not aware they also chromed them. Pickguard material is semi-translucent/milky white (like Ric pg's) and in like-new condition, as is the pu chrome.
looks brand new!
Even the little vintage pointer rings sell seperately for more than you'd think -
N-pu has a small corroded section and pole-screws needed lubrication.
B-pu is in good shape -
NOS pg - never installed
You can pay as much for these vintage rocker switches as it cost me all together -
For an equally affordable price, I bought this Johnson ('90s? - more recent) 34" scale neck.
I like the Vox-like hs shape and large-post ferrules. Once I get it I'll be able to determine how it will be modified to work with the pu pole spacing. As in, I may need to narrow the neck so the strings are spaced evenly.
Initial sketch of what a 34"-scale body could look like. Not certain what type of wood I'll use but it will be 1-1/4" thick as many of those '60s MIJ basses were. Jazzmaster/Jaguar-like which was the most copied guitar shapes of the '60s by guitar companies all over the world then. It always works for me!
A '60s vintage MIJ tail-piece from my parts-bin. If I incorporate it I'll need a bridge -
...like this one I have used before - all (pu-poles/tail-piece/bridge saddles) are narrow (2") spacing so that's why the neck will need to be narrowed.
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