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Squire bullet

Chris76

Chris76

Jan 9, 2017
300
1,313
49
Virginia Beach, VA
#1
Hello all. I recently recieved this squire bullet in bad shape. The top (if there is a seperate one on these) has cracked in 3 diff places. Not sure if this sort of thing can be fixed or if I'm going to need to get a new body. So far I've pulled all the electronics out and replaced with emg GB passive, replaced the pick guard, and of course FLATS. Not too shabby for free.
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#3
Gaolee said:
That appears to be a 1980s Japanese or Korean Squier Bullet. I bet the neck is fantastic! I don't know why you wouldn't be able to fix the cracks, or if the body is stable and it sounds and feels good, just play as-is.
Click to expand...

It does sound amazing. The neck is super fast and easy to play. This is my first fender so I'm adjusting to the neck width but overall a solid bass.
 
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#7
Looks to me like that body was exposed to excessive moisture and the top expanded and cracked. If you keep it dry, I see no reason to expect it to happen again.

I'd strip it, sand the top as lightly and minimally as possible to eliminate the visible lines, fill the cracks (have to do some research on what materials to use) then use grain filler to get everything nice and smooth, sand lightly, seal the body, prime, and paint a solid color.
 
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#8
Pilgrim said:
Looks to me like that body was exposed to excessive moisture and the top expanded and cracked. If you keep it dry, I see no reason to expect it to happen again.

I'd strip it, sand the top as lightly and minimally as possible to eliminate the visible lines, fill the cracks (have to do some research on what materials to use) then use grain filler to get everything nice and smooth, sand lightly, seal the body, prime, and paint a solid color.
Click to expand...

Word on the street is, it was dropped. Your explanation seems most likely as it being dropped would have resulted in at least a ding. I'm not ready to tackle taking off that finish until I get more power tools. Once I do, I do plan on stripping to the wood to see the extent of the damage. As it sits, I have no issues. It plays nice. The action is lower than my schecter, and I picked the brightest flats I could find as the Bellas I put on my fretless with the same pups sounded surprisingly dull. I went with EB cobalt flats. I may go back to bellas because the EBs are a ton brighter than I'm used to.

One more thing. Since I'm new to fender basses, is it normal for the new pick guards to not line up with the holes for the old one?
 
#10
I suggest not touching that body with power tools. All you can do is remove more wood than intended and/or cause damage. Using stripper (or heat, if it's a poly finish, which it probably is) and a scraper would be the wise approach. After that, hand sanding (no power tools) to cause as little change in the body shape as possible.

BTW, I agree, not dropped or there would be visible damage on the contact point.

There are tons of pickguards available for Fenders and Squiers, and many of them have screw placements that don't match the original PG. That's probably what you have going on. As long as a PG covers the old holes, not a big deal.
 
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#13
Pilgrim said:
PS: I think the chair the bass is on needs a refin a lot more than the bass does.....
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I'm gonna have to agree with you there. Fortunately the fella that sweated all the leather off the chair, resides in that chair no longer. Needless to say he is no longer with the group.

I will look at stripping this properly when I have the funds to do so. I'm very curious what lies beneath. For now, I will play it the way it is. I really wish I removed the neck before I put it all together so I could see what year it is. Still trying to decide her name.
 
#19
mikewalker said:
Nice war-wounds! unless yer planning to refin the body in some super-garish SPARKLE-FLAKE, I would just leave it as is :)
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I do have access to an auto body spray shop. If it is in fact a finish issue, I may take it back to the original black. If not, the possibilities are endless. Either way, right now its going to get played like it owes me money.
**edit**
Super sparkle? Not sure I could play a bass boat. Unless it is a gig for bass boats. lol
 
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