Sourcing a Fender Precision Bass Control Plate

[Peter N]

That makes sense. Im working on a part’s build at the moment, and have decided to go with the fender American Standard pickguard pattern that Armstrongs Music in the UK make. They have a massive variety of fender pickguard patterns they can produce and I figured the ‘modern USA Standard) would give me the best interchangeablity down the line. Im wondering if your P-Base would be a direct fit over the silhouettes of my pickguard screw holes. Like some others have expressed, I’d be more inclined towards a Jazz style fit as ut would be much easier to adapt to an existing pickguard. Hats off to you mate for getting into this-its a great idea. I hadn’t even considered something like this for my build but with it having a solderless loom, being able to pop off a plate instead of the whole pickguard makes it even more modular! Cheers

I think American Standard in their range should be a safe choice (also American Professional should be fine).

I have spoken to Armstrong Music and they confirmed that the differences are not so much in the drill hole pattern but mainly in the material. There are also options which don't have space for truss rod acces at the neck heel (vintage or models with the nut at the headstock). Still, the hole pattern should be the same. They will do some additional checking and get back to me (and they are quite intrigued about my concept & design of a separate P-Bass control plate).

I have based the hole pattern of the PBase control plate on a original Fender P-Bass item and have attached some pictures to illustrate.

Hope this helps!

 

[Loiner91]

I think American Standard in their range should be a safe choice (also American Professional should be fine).

I have spoken to Armstrong Music and they confirmed that the differences are not so much in the drill hole pattern but mainly in the material. There are also options which don't have space for truss rod acces at the neck heel (vintage or models with the nut at the headstock). Still, the hole pattern should be the same. They will do some additional checking and get back to me (and they are quite intrigued about my concept & design of a separate P-Bass control plate).

I have based the hole pattern of the PBase control plate on a original Fender P-Bass item and have attached some pictures to illustrate.

Hope this helps!

I’m glad to hear they’re intrigued, they’ve the biggest variety of patterns I’ve seen from a single shop. Would be brilliant if you ended up with pickguards to match up with your plates!

 

[iiipopes]

Hope this helps...

WD Control Plate for Bass Chrome | eBay

Hello all! Been browsing this site for many years, finally made an account in an attempt to get some help sourcing a part.

I have one of these that I bought for a project a couple of years ago, but won't fit the body on my project bass. Please Paypal me $10 to cover postage and I'll send it to you. Please send a private message with your Paypal details.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Drilling your own screw holes in a P-Base "blank" would be a bit of a project.

I don't see it happening with the necessary precision without a drill press, and some experience drilling countersinks.

I've tried drilling countersinks in aluminum plate with a power drill freehand. Doesn't work. Bit wanders, and you end up with a mess. That's leaving aside how straight the hole is (probably not very).

Some information that may help others is, the exact spacing of the holes on the P-base. I have 2 P-bases I can't use. I'll measure them, then post a diagram of the hole spacing. That way, anyone who's thinking of ordering can be more confident that they aren't wasting their time and money.

 

[turf3]

Drilling your own screw holes in a P-Base "blank" would be a bit of a project.

I don't see it happening with the necessary precision without a drill press, and some experience drilling countersinks.

I've tried drilling countersinks in aluminum plate with a power drill freehand. Doesn't work. Bit wanders, and you end up with a mess. That's leaving aside how straight the hole is (probably not very).

Some information that may help others is, the exact spacing of the holes on the P-base. I have 2 P-bases I can't use. I'll measure them, then post a diagram of the hole spacing. That way, anyone who's thinking of ordering can be more confident that they aren't wasting their time and money.

Use a center punch to locate holes for drilling.

For countersinks use an actual countersink tool. You don't even need to use a power tool for that, just chuck in a brace or eggbeater drill for better control.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Yes, I tried that, but a center punch made no difference. I always use a center punch to locate holes for drilling, but that has no effect on tool chatter (the ultimate problem here).

I did use an "actual countersink tool." It was this type:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-SpeedLoad-1-2-in-High-Speed-Steel-Countersink-A10CS07/202070837

This was worthless on a handheld drill, due to chatter. It wandered badly after drilling only a little ways in.

These are maybe useful on a drill press, or if you only need a very shallow countersink, or are working with very thin plate. I was drilling 4mm aluminum plate. Bit wandering/chatter made a hexagonal mess of the hole, by the time I got to the desired depth & hole size.

I later learned about so-called single-flute countersink bits. One of those may have worked better.

There are also "zero flute" bits like this one:

KEO 53522, 1/2" Body Diameter 90 Degree Zero Flute Cobalt Deburring Tool,: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

KEO 53522, 1/2" Body Diameter 90 Degree Zero Flute Cobalt Deburring Tool,: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

that supposedly give great results & don't chatter or wander. Not cheap though.

I wish I had the room for a drill press. It would be useful for a variety of projects.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Ok, I finally got around to tracing and carefully measuring the spacing of the P-Base screw holes.

The drawing represents the top side of the P-base as installed. Distances between screw holes (smaller holes) are center-to-center in mm, to the 0.5 mm as best I could measure. Hope this helps.

If it would also be helpful to know the spacing of the (larger) holes for jack and knobs, let me know and I'll measure that too. There is generally more flexibility in positioning those items, which can move, vs. screw holes which must line up with those already in your bass body.

 

[Deleted member 409896]

Since this forum won't let you edit anything after 24 hours, even to fix big mistakes, here's an update to the measurements. I mis-measured the line in the middle as 51.5mm - should be 49.5mm:

Triple-checked all others and they're correct, at least as close as I can measure.

Note that drawing is not to scale. It should be possible to make a fit template, by printing it out at various scales until the dimensions match reality (e.g. 60mm on drawing is 60mm).

I added center-to-center distances between the knob and jack holes, since I was having to revise anyway (numbers in parenthesis).

 

[Stranger Danger]

For sale P-Base plate for Fender Precision Basses

P-Base plate for partial replacement of a broken Precision Bass pickguard, or customization.

• Deleted member 409896 (+1 /0 /-0)
• Jun 19, 2025
• Updated Jun 21, 2025
• Views: 311
• Reaction score: 2
• Category: For Sale: Parts, Strings, and Accessories
• p-base

$30.00

5 watching

 

[Loiner91]

Since this forum won't let you edit anything after 24 hours, even to fix big mistakes, here's an update to the measurements. I mis-measured the line in the middle as 51.5mm - should be 49.5mm:

Triple-checked all others and they're correct, at least as close as I can measure.

Note that drawing is not to scale. It should be possible to make a fit template, by printing it out at various scales until the dimensions match reality (e.g. 60mm on drawing is 60mm).

I added center-to-center distances between the knob and jack holes, since I was having to revise anyway (numbers in parenthesis).

I just did some measuring on one of my spare American Series P guards (stock on an ‘05) and the dimensions seem to match. I’ve been chatting to Peter and think I’m gonna get one and ask Armstrongs if I can send it to them for a custom cut guard to marry up. Im looking to get a bakelite guard for this build so would rather it was cut by someone who knows what they’re doing.

 

[Loiner91]

So I went ahead and got my P-Base plate via Peter. I then worked with Armstrong Music here in the UK to get a custom guard cut. Im really happy with the outcome. As pointed out by others, the dimensions dont perfectly match the commonly used USA pickguard pattern but was close enough to work with. Peter was great and I’d also recommend Armstrong Music who I presume can now replicate the pickguard pattern to match the plate!