Presenting a 'Fenix by Young Chang' P/J in a nice creamy buttercream yellow. Made in Korea, apparently at the same factory that made the late '80s and early '90s Squier range until Samick took over. Found in a slightly sorry state at the 'Rock and Roll Rescue' charity shop in Camden Town for just over £120.
First off, 'as found'. The strings are totally dead and believe it or not, the G is actually a D (0.065"). Somehow the neck hasn't exploded and the truss rod is working fine!:
The nut has been replaced at some point and is a mess - slots are too high and the strings don't fit:
The paint is in pretty good shape and there are no cracks, splits or warps in the pickguard:
...except for a big crack on the bottom which looks like it was dropped:
... because there is a corresponding dent on the underside of the neck:
The bridge is a sort-of high-mass cast affair with chunky slotted saddles and side constraints. Nothing is siezed but the adjustment is clearly way off and there is a 30-year accumulation of nastiness in and around the corners:
Tuners are a little rusty in places and there is a bit of play, but nothing loose, missing or broken and they cleaned up OK:
The neck itself is really nice - full 1.75" nut width, one-piece maple with walnut skunk stripe, thin low frets and a shallow profile. It feels very much like my long-gone JV Squier 57, which bears out the Squier back-story. Fretwork is OK apart from one very low spot on the G# 18th fret D-string - it just goes G - A! This may also be a result of the thing being dropped at some point.
So to the strip and re-build:
The end of the neck is a little interesting - there is a plug where a hole has been filled. My guess is that necks were made for head or heel adjusters and the unused holes just filled as necesssary, but maybe it was used to install the truss-rod anchor:
There is a sticker inside the joint and a small shim, but nothing interesting written or stamped anywhere. The sticker looks like PB-88M but I don't think that is the date. In '88 these had Fender-shaped headstocks that were later changed to the one here under threat of legal action from Fender:
The frets polished up quite nicely and the ends are smooth and 'sprout-free'. But the tops are a little rough and really need the attention of a professional at this stage:
First glimpse of a 30-year sun-tan - for some reason I had expected more, but this is OK:
I have no idea what pickups are lurking under the anonymous covers, but the other electronics are simple passive 250k volume and tone, a 0.047u cap and a 3-way switch for parallel P/J:
The bridge cleaned up quite well:
Once all the gunk was gone it all went back together with a slightly thicker shim (I like some distance between the body and the strings) and a fresh set of Pro-Steels:
I will leave it to settle for a few days then see if I can salvage the nut or if I have to cut a new one. The P pickup sounds like a P, the J pickup sounds like a J and the middle position sounds like what I expect from a P/J. I doubt it will ever be #1 and I may even flip it, but for now it is an interesting addition and has a certain 'kerb-appeal', IMHO.
First off, 'as found'. The strings are totally dead and believe it or not, the G is actually a D (0.065"). Somehow the neck hasn't exploded and the truss rod is working fine!:
The nut has been replaced at some point and is a mess - slots are too high and the strings don't fit:
The paint is in pretty good shape and there are no cracks, splits or warps in the pickguard:
...except for a big crack on the bottom which looks like it was dropped:
... because there is a corresponding dent on the underside of the neck:
The bridge is a sort-of high-mass cast affair with chunky slotted saddles and side constraints. Nothing is siezed but the adjustment is clearly way off and there is a 30-year accumulation of nastiness in and around the corners:
Tuners are a little rusty in places and there is a bit of play, but nothing loose, missing or broken and they cleaned up OK:
The neck itself is really nice - full 1.75" nut width, one-piece maple with walnut skunk stripe, thin low frets and a shallow profile. It feels very much like my long-gone JV Squier 57, which bears out the Squier back-story. Fretwork is OK apart from one very low spot on the G# 18th fret D-string - it just goes G - A! This may also be a result of the thing being dropped at some point.
So to the strip and re-build:
The end of the neck is a little interesting - there is a plug where a hole has been filled. My guess is that necks were made for head or heel adjusters and the unused holes just filled as necesssary, but maybe it was used to install the truss-rod anchor:
There is a sticker inside the joint and a small shim, but nothing interesting written or stamped anywhere. The sticker looks like PB-88M but I don't think that is the date. In '88 these had Fender-shaped headstocks that were later changed to the one here under threat of legal action from Fender:
The frets polished up quite nicely and the ends are smooth and 'sprout-free'. But the tops are a little rough and really need the attention of a professional at this stage:
First glimpse of a 30-year sun-tan - for some reason I had expected more, but this is OK:
I have no idea what pickups are lurking under the anonymous covers, but the other electronics are simple passive 250k volume and tone, a 0.047u cap and a 3-way switch for parallel P/J:
The bridge cleaned up quite well:
Once all the gunk was gone it all went back together with a slightly thicker shim (I like some distance between the body and the strings) and a fresh set of Pro-Steels:
I will leave it to settle for a few days then see if I can salvage the nut or if I have to cut a new one. The P pickup sounds like a P, the J pickup sounds like a J and the middle position sounds like what I expect from a P/J. I doubt it will ever be #1 and I may even flip it, but for now it is an interesting addition and has a certain 'kerb-appeal', IMHO.
