NBD: Memphis (Matsumoku?) Precision copy

I’ve always been a single coil / bright sound kind of guy, tending toward Jazz, Rickenbacker and Danelectro basses. But after scoring someone’s SX PJ project last year, I’ve been thinking about heading into actual Precision territory. (I have a Squier 50s P, but that doesn’t count.) Japanese lawsuit-era gear has become a point of interest lately, so I thought I’d take the plunge into both at once.

I found a 70s natural/maple Memphis-branded Precision copy on eBay complete with pickup covers. I was really attracted to the grain patterns on the body. According to the seller, the body is maple, too. I looked at a few other threads here, but not too much information about these. If my research is right, it was likely made in the famed Matsumoku factory (it has an MIJ-stamped neck plate). If anyone knows more about it, I'm all ears!

It looked to be in good condition, so I went for it. It arrived today! Here are some pics from the auction.

Memphis Precision Bass copy by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Memphis Precision Bass copy by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Memphis Precision Bass copy by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Memphis Precision Bass copy by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

The good

The build quality is great! It feels solid and the body is definitely not plywood. The neck feels about the same thickness as the 50s P, but a hair wider; also very solid. The electronics work, and are surprisingly quiet. I thought I’d need to shield the cavity, but I don’t think I’ll need to. I may anyway, though. Even better, the truss rod seems to be working fine. Which is a good thing, as you’ll see…

The wonky

The action is sky-high.

Memphis Precision Bass copy by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Lots of gunk on the bridge. The threads seem way too tall. Brass saddles, maybe?

Memphis Precision Bass copy by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Frets definitely need cleaning. Yuck!

Memphis Precision Bass copy by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

The pickguard is also lifting around the jack. When I put a cable in, it feels like it’s hitting bottom. Possibly related: the tone knob function is reversed (tone rolls off as you go clockwise).

Memphis Precision Bass copy by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Next steps

1. Straighten out the neck. I have a quarter turn on the truss rod; so far, so good. Another quarter turn later today should get it where it needs to be.
2. Teardown and cleaning. Polish the frets (tape and steel wool, probably) and track down some Ronsonol to rub down the fingerboard; wipe down everything else with Simple Green. I’m also going to take apart the bridge and hit it with some metal polish. Hopefully the local Ace has some shorter threads for the saddles.
3. Investigate what’s happening with the jack and the tone knob. I’m lousy with wiring, so my setup guy will have to take over here.
4. New strings! It came with rounds – Rotosounds, I think. But I’m thinking of a nice set of Chromes here.
5. Change the pickguard. Lots of wood and white is kind of blah, even with the covers to break it up. Tort might work, but then it would look just like my Jazz. Black also seems blah. Any suggestions?

 

Good news - the setup worked. The neck straightened out well, so no problems after dropping the saddles down. No shimming necessary. There are a couple of dead spots at the very top of the neck, but I'm not really concerned as I don't venture up there very often. The set screws are just too long (unless you want to have upright-like action). Compared with an MIM Jazz bridge:

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

I think I'll swap in the set screws from the MIM bridge. I might swap the mounting screws, too. I started the teardown last night and found that the stock bridge screws are pretty small. Would this affect stability or tone?

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

More oddities with screws: the ones in the tuners look like pickguard screws, so they don't make full contact with the backing plate.

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

No wonder they seem a little loose.

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

On top of that, the screws for the bridge cover are massive. I'll need to find some in the same size with a smaller head.

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Cool kanji marks in the neck pocket. My friends in Japan say that 野本 means Nomoto - the inspector's name, I guess.

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Now, the electronics. Turns out the lifting jack was because a wire got wedged between the body and pickguard, so I moved it out of the way. I know nothing about wiring, but exposed leads in the sautering spots doesn't look right. Also possibly something missing from the tone pot, which would explain the wonkiness. Any more eagle-eyed people want to offer pointers?

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Looks like the pickups are mounted to copper plates so I can skip the shielding foil. They sound pretty good through my practice amp (Fender BXR 100) but I won't rule out an upgrade in the future. I'll need to hear how they sound with the Chromes through my main rig (Acoustic 370 + Ampeg 410 HLF).

Memphis Precision Bass tear down by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

After all that, I taped up the neck for cleaning off the crud. It's the Decatur Beer Festival this Saturday, so this sounds like good Zen work for Sunday.

 

Me too! I was really on the hunt for a Tokai Hard Puncher in white, but the pattern in the upper horn going back into the body really put the hooks in me. There's a nice birdseye-like pattern in the lower part of the headstock, too.

 

Most lawsuit instruments of the period are made of Sen, so that makes sense. It weighs just over 8 lbs; I'd expect a maple body to be heavier and the tone to be much brighter than it is.

Thanks for the tip! I'll do that when I get the new pickguard (leaning strongly to brown tort now).

 

Sunday cleaning went well. All the gunk is off of the frets and the bridge.

Memphis Precision Bass polishing by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Memphis Precision Bass polishing by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

Memphis Precision Bass polishing by thaddeusthompson, on Flickr

No hardware stores near me carry the saddle screws. They're 3mm with .5 pitch. Leaving as-is for now; if I run the bass with the bridge cover it really doesn't matter if they're too long.

I replaced the oval-head tuner screws with round-heads, but I messed up a couple and one tuner isn't sitting right. I accidentally semi-stripped them, so I'll pick up some more screws this week and go a little more slowly. The mounting plates may be slightly bent; I'll need to check and possibly straighten.

I also bought some sets of pre-loved flatwound string sets from the Classified section - two Chromes and one Ernie Ball. I'm also intrigued with the idea of a black pearl pickguard if the pearl is very subtle. Getting closer to the finish line!

 

I'm a little concerned about this. I already have the truss rod pretty well cranked; I'm not sure how much more tension it can take. It's kind of surprising given how thick the neck is. I'll see once the flats are on. One of the guys from whom I bought Chromes also has a set of used TI flats. They feel pretty low-tension on my Casady, so I might give those a try as well.

I've never tried removing any truss rod parts. Do you recommend any DIY guides? Or is this something best left to a tech (I'm going to ask him to look at the wiring, anyway).