Reviving a 1952 Fender Precision Bass

[Stefan4001]

Does anyone else suspect this bass had stickers on it at one point? The wear above the control panel looks like a pair of fingers in a "V for victory" shape, or a couple of rabbit ears.

I’ve been assuming a sticker of a hand giving the peace sign, given the 70s vibe of the round of modifications.

 

[GreaserMatt]

Great job brother; this is what it's all about; shame on Fender for not helping you out. It seems weird that they wouldn't sell you some parts???

 

[icefly]

Congrats.
And you got a funny face

 

[Stefan4001]

Great job brother; this is what it's all about; shame on Fender for not helping you out. It seems weird that they wouldn't sell you some parts???

It was actually infuriating. I talked to three different people - two from the custom shop. AND I reached out to master builders who turned me away too. I have no idea why they wouldn’t sell me stuff they clearly still make.

 

[lowphatbass]

Well done…I would endeavor to do the exact same thing with that bass. Also, you may have done better without the Fender CS parts…I’m not convinced it’s any better than what you get there, although I’m sure it would’ve been nice to open a single box and assemble.

if I ever meet you in person I’d like to give you a hug.

 

[JIO]

Good on you - bringing these manipulated icons back to life is a noble endeavor. I've done it a few times myself and it's always worth it. Personally I wouldn't touch its present state. (post your work) No-one sees what's under the pg, I mean... unless you want to support your luthier, which I can't argue with!

 

[marchone]

Does anyone else suspect this bass had stickers on it at one point? The wear above the control panel looks like a pair of fingers in a "V for victory" shape, or a couple of rabbit ears.

It looks like Playboy Bunny sticker outline.

 

[mikehalloran]

I can’t imagine a better outcome for this old beauty. Play it and enjoy!

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

Spectacular, just spectacular!

 

[Mark Twain]

I was curious about the solid block p-bass looking pickup also. Curious what it was.

 

[Mark Ellis]

Very good work. It is a very subjective question on where you draw the line between restoration and remanufacturing the bass. I think your judgement has been very good in this respect.

 

[jnottoli]

I think you curated it well and brought it back just the right amount.

You are its present guardian - hopefully for a long time to come.

 

[tvbop]

Thats the way to do it. Never, ever "restore" an old bird like that one....Its history and patina is the charm and appeal. Nice work.

 

[jimi55lp]

A few months ago I found a '52ish P bass and I was lucky enough to get some help from the general TB community when considering the guitar and then privately got a ton of help from the user "bflat" who lent his considerable expertise in investigating and authenticating the guitar.

Anyways, clearly this bass had quite a life. You can tell just looking at the fretboard, it's seen a lot of stages. On top of that, it's been refinished seemingly twice in its life, during one of which the sharp edges were lost one the body and contoured a bit in places. At some point in the '70s the original pick up was thrown out, some heavy handed routing was done and a humbucker was tossed in.

Somewhere further down the line, the owner I bought the guitar from tried to bring it back to original with a repop pickup, and a pickguard that covered the routing. That's how I received it. As a little aside, the guy I bought the bass from had bought it from a friend who had bought it from another one of their friends years earlier. Interestingly though, the first of those friends was a bassist named Albert Blaine who played in a band called Jenson Interceptor that had a couple Canadian hits in the late '70s and early '80s. Unfortunately he's passed away now, so I can't reach out to find out more of this instrument's story and if it was used on any of those songs, etc.. But it's still pretty nice to know some of the history as it is.

Probably worth talking dating for a minute too, because it's not absolutely clear on this bass. The neck is signed TG 9-52. Any markings on the body are lost to time, but there were a few tell tale signs that support its date and authenticity. First, it had the original one hole for the tugbar. The jackcup is the slightly later style that corresponds to late '52. The ferrules on the back are the large kind that were only around for the early 50s basses. The decal is the early style. Interstingly, one of the pots was dated '56 - likely an early repair - and the other was from the '70s, likely when all the modifications were done.

Fast forward to today: I finally got the bass back from my luthier. I spent a couple months sourcing parts. Unfortunately they're all reproductions - I think the hunt for originals will likely be a lifelong pursuit. Fender refused to sell me any of the parts they use on their Custom Shop '51, which was incredibly annoying. Instead I amassed a hodgepodge from people and companies around the world: a relic'd one-screw tugbar and ashtrays from Holland, a repop pickguard modelled after a '52 from the US, Bakelite (!!) saddles from a dude who makes them by hand, and an Antquity 1 from Seymour Duncan.

From there, my luthier started bringing the bass back to its former glory. We filled the routing around the pickup with a piece of wood with almost perfectly matching grain. That was the big task. From there we could easily add all the original-spec parts, including replacement pots and new cloth wiring (kept the ones that came with it, of course), a new bone nut (the original nut and frets had been replaced ages ago). He then set it up - and it plays better than I could've ever expected. I had been worried about that ancient trussrod and neck, but it really came out great.

And that's it! Just wanted to take a moment and share the story and an update for anyone that may have read that original threat.

Now for the pics:

Spoiler alert: this is the final result of my honest "revival" of the bass:

View attachment 4732135

How I found it:
View attachment 4732150

The sins of the '70s:
View attachment 4732144

Tadeo! Also, the bridge and neck pocket:
View attachment 4732139

View attachment 4732136

View attachment 4732142

Filling the route (maybe one day I'll refinish it and match the patch, but for now I'm happy for this bass to wear its history honestly):
View attachment 4732143

View attachment 4732140

Bakelite saddles:
View attachment 4732137

New bone nut and GHS Precision Flats:
View attachment 4732154

Cheers!

VERY NICE! The owner must have wanted a Tele bass with that pup? I used to have a red white and blue "star spangled" peace sign sticker like the ghost image on the body.

 

[jimi55lp]

It was actually infuriating. I talked to three different people - two from the custom shop. AND I reached out to master builders who turned me away too. I have no idea why they wouldn’t sell me stuff they clearly still make.

Gibson Custom Shop is same with repro parts? Do you still have the original harness (CTS pot & capacitor)? I'm wanting to find what was Fender using for capacitor in 1951/52 Precisions. Did you purchase the Bakelite saddles, or did you make them to simulate the wood saddles? I just can't find any specs/info to identify the original harness?

 

[jimi55lp]

Ha! To be fair, I didn’t do any of the work. Just found parts and made sure to find a great luthier.

I saw a luthier that filled the route from a Kahler tremolo removed from a 1958 LP JR. He touched up the route with a cnc machine and made the mahogany filler plus with same machine, and the seam around the edges was hairline tight!