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Luthier screwed up my P bass

Tough luck on the accident for both of you. My thought is that if the bass is a good bass, I would be reluctant to replace the body. You don't know what it will be like till it is done. If it were me, I would look into plugging / filling the hole and spot finishing it as good as possible. Resale will be affected, but not really that much. It's not like it is a vintage '61 or anything like that. But having the bass back that you are familiar with is worth much more to me.

If you look at some of the stuff Dan Erlewine(sp) does on his Stew-Mac videos, this seems like it might be a pretty straight forward repair. Might be worth posting the pic in the luthier forum for advice.
 
It's a beautiful looking sunburst ... I would have him turn the hole in the back into a battery box and be done with it. Functionally, it's a WAY better configuration than having to de-install/re-install the pickguard whenever it's time to change the battery. You could probably even go with a two battery/18 volt system if your EMG pickups support it.
 
Two weeks ago I dropped off my bass for modification by a well respected luthier in my area. He has always done a great job for me in the past. He is also a very nice human being, and although I have never seen him outside of doing work for me, I consider him to be a friend. He replaced the stock pickup in my American Standard P bass with an active EMG P bass pickup and I was delighted with the results.

This week, I brought the bass back to him to have an active EMG J pickup installed in the bridge position.

While at my gig this afternoon, I got a text from him saying that he was making good progress on the bass until he drilled through the back of the body. He said if I want to get another bass body, he will pay for it, or if I want him to look for one, he will do that.

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There are many different ways to approach this problem. I will start by having a couple of stiff drinks first.
That's what you get for wanting a PJ Bass. Kidding...
At least he's willing to eat it. Have those drinks and then call Fender for a new American body.
Then, let him finish for FREE if he wants to salvage his reputation.
A few years ago now, I commissioned a luthier for a custom spec Jazz Bass. Well, he managed to have it painted the wrong color and mounted a DEFECTIVE Hipshot bridge on the body. The factory admitted to a run of bridges that had the mounting holes drilled in the wrong place, so all the saddles had to sit at a diagonal in order to line up properly. So, this guy drills the 5 mounting holes in the wrong place. Not only did he not want to do anything about it, like give me a new body, the prick wanted me to pay for a new set of strings as I brought the bass back with strings removed to show him the problem.
Sorry for venting but I've been wanting to tell this story. PM me and I'll tell you who he is.
 
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That's what you get for wanting a PJ Bass. Kidding...
At least he's willing to eat it. Have those drinks and then call Fender for a new American body.
Then, let him finish for FREE if he wants to salvage his reputation.
A few years ago now, I commissioned a luthier for a custom spec Jazz Bass. Well, he managed to have it painted the wrong color and mounted a DEFECTIVE Hipshot bridge on the body. The factory admitted to a run of bridges that had the mounting holes drilled in the wrong place, so all the saddles had to sit at a diagonal in order to line up properly. So, this guy drills the 5 mounting holes in the wrong place. Not only did he not want to do anything about it, like give me a new body, the prick wanted me to pay for a new set of strings as I brought the bass back with strings removed to show him the problem.
Sorry for venting but I've been wanting to tell this story. PM me and I'll tell you who he is.
Man, that's horrible! You don't have to tell me who the guy is, but what became of that bass?
 
I'm thinking a battery box is not likely due to control cavity on the other side. The box is going to take up space out of that cavity, and your luthier's luck will have it that where a pot or jack is located.

Sounds like the old rule of "measure thrice and drill once" was not used. I'd be looking to add more luthier business cards to my rolodex after this.
 
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Man, that's horrible! You don't have to tell me who the guy is, but what became of that bass?
Well, he mounted a vintage threaded saddle which managed to work out as there is so much adjustability with the threaded barrels, so I grudgingly took it but couldn't get the bad taste out of my mouth and didn't want to advertise his product on stage so, after a few months, I sold it for an $800 LOSS. Never again.
 
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