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Post subject: 1982 Fender Bullet Bass Deluxe Project?
Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2009 8:31 am
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I just picked up a 1981/82 Bullet Bass Deluxe. It was a freebie. It's in GREAT condition other than having a busted pick guard.

I'm going to replace the pick guard and in the process of thinking about doing that I thought that maybe I could drop some Quarter Pounders in this thing. I know that this bass is routed a bit differant from a P-bass but I'm wondering if anyone has any experience taking on such a project and could give me some insight/direction on where to start to get Quarter Pounders to fit in this beast.

Any info would be GREATLY appreciated.

Here's a pic:
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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 3:58 pm
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i went to the semour duncan web site and found nothin'


i was looking for what i think they called mini precision quarter pounders

and they fit the bullet and mustang and they were QP's by semour duncan

they could of discontinued it and the worst part is i dont remember where i saw them(ouch!)

if u were thinkin to put regular precision QP's ill rather buy that poor little bass than see it mutalated (the poor thing) the pots would be replaced with the pickups and a custom pickg and cutting and sanding the pickup "holes"

dont do it!!!!!!!!! plz dont do it!!!!!!!!!! btw is the bullet u have 30" or 32" and is it fender or squire?

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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 4:29 pm
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I had a red MIA 34" Bullet Bass several years ago with a Seymour Duncan single-coil Quarter Pounder in it.

This one: http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/b ... quarterpo/

You can rout a little bit of wood away under the pickguard to make room for this pickup. It fits in MUCH easier than trying to put the larger modern split-coil P-Bass pickup. Mine was routed above where your D & G string pickup half is now, so the QP pickup went in a horizontal line where your E & A pickup half is currently. You only have to take out a piece of wood that's maybe 1/2" or 3/4" square and the single-coil QP will fit.

Obviously you'll need a new pickguard (which you need anyway) made to fit the new pickup, but it's an easy swap and will turn your Bullet Bass into a real rock monster. Mine sounded great but I sold it because I wanted something else more at the time.

Funny how now I can't remember what that was - it might have been that Hohner B2 copy of a Steinberger I had for a while.

While I agree with tommygunn that it's a shame to carve up a Fender bass, in my opinion a Bullet Bass is as good and cheap as any to do it on. Just don't mess up that wonderful neck. I wish I still had the neck from mine to put on a slab P-Bass body and make a copy of a first generation P-Bass.

Good luck.


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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 5:14 pm
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"good 'n cheap" ????????? they are hard to find and expensave

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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 6:23 am
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tommygunn wrote:
btw is the bullet u have 30" or 32" and is it fender or squire?

It's a Fender "Made in the USA". I BELIEVE it is a 34".
tommygunn wrote:
"good 'n cheap" ????????? they are hard to find and expensave

If you want to save it from the chop shop name a price and it could be yours. :lol:

Other than the busted pick guard this guy is in terrific shape. There are NO dings or scratches and it plays great. Truss rod may need to be tightened a TINY bit but I like the action just fine.


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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 11:58 am
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Yes, that's a 34" scale based on the picture.

You can tell because the pickguard doesn't quite follow the contour of the body around the knobs and jack area.

The 30" Bullet Basses had a slightly smaller body but used the same pickguard and the contour of the body matches the curve of the pickguard perfectly on those short-scale models.

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they are hard to find and expensave


Maybe so. I haven't seen one in a few years so you're probably right.

They used to be pretty cheap ($200 or less) and I saw them often in the '90s when I was a traveling sales rep covering three states and stopping at every guitar store I saw to look around.

Times change and prices go up, but I'd still stick a new pickup in that bass in a heartbeat. Save the original pickups and broken pickguard for future resale value.

Another option is to get a blade-type Jazz Bass pickup and see if you can angle it in without and body routing. I know Carvin used to make (and maybe still does?) Jazz Bass pickups with a blade instead of individual poles. The blade would let you angle the pickup without any concern of having pickup poles not centered under the strings due to the angle of the pickup.

That Seymour Duncan QP I linked in my post above might angle in too, and is certainly shorter than a J-pickup. Maybe you could get someone who owns one to measure the pickup and the poles for you so you could see if you could angle that without routing and have the pole pieces still roughly centered under the strings.


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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:03 pm
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Another option I just thought of:

Contact a pickup manufacturer and see if they'll make you what you want.

There are tons of guys on the internet who wind pickups. I bet even the Seymour Duncan company does custom work.

The pickguard should be easy. There are several good aftermarket pickguard makers who you've probably already found if you've been searching.


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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:11 pm
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I just had an epiphany...would this neck bolt straight on to a P-bass body? If so I could just buy a P-bass body and use this neck.


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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 12:17 pm
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Yes, it will, given the usual disclaimer of manufacturing tolerances, finish thickness, etc.


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Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 2:02 pm
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I have the same model bass with the pickguard cracked in the same place.LOL
I fixed my Bullet pickguard by cutting a piece of plastic and gluing it under the original pickguard at the break. I looks stock from the front and I saved the cost of a new pickguard.

The Bullet is a great bass. The neck on that bass is fantastic and it will mount right up to a Precision or a Jazz bass body. I actually took the neck from my bullet bass and used it on my 1983 Jazz Bass. Its a perfect fit!

The original pickup on a Bullet is pretty good. The pickup pole pieces are twice as long as the pickup is thick. That is so that you have a single magnetic pole running through the pickup coil!

Have fun with it!

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Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 5:01 am
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BCbassman wrote:
I have the same model bass with the pickguard cracked in the same place.LOL
I fixed my Bullet pickguard by cutting a piece of plastic and gluing it under the original pickguard at the break. I looks stock from the front and I saved the cost of a new pickguard.

Yeah...I've just Super Glued mine for now. It's holding VERY well to my surprise.


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Post subject: Re: 1982 Fender Bullet Bass Deluxe Project?
Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 6:27 am
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tenwatt wrote:
I just picked up a 1981/82 Bullet Bass Deluxe. It was a freebie. It's in GREAT condition other than having a busted pick guard.

I'm going to replace the pick guard and in the process of thinking about doing that I thought that maybe I could drop some Quarter Pounders in this thing. I know that this bass is routed a bit differant from a P-bass but I'm wondering if anyone has any experience taking on such a project and could give me some insight/direction on where to start to get Quarter Pounders to fit in this beast.

Any info would be GREATLY appreciated.

Here's a pic:
Image


A freebie? Gotta love that. My first Fender was a Musicmaster that I also got for free, but it was in rough, I mean very rough, shape. $200 and 15 years later it's still going strong as my ultimate workhorse.

I just put a SD basslines in it and it rocks, if you can find one to fit I think you'll be happy with it.

Cool bass


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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 6:54 am
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What would be the cons of just buying a cheap, used Squir P-bass and sticking the Bullet bass neck on it? The body is just as solid as a Fender isn't it?


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Posted: Thu Feb 12, 2009 7:04 am
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tenwatt wrote:
What would be the cons of just buying a cheap, used Squir P-bass and sticking the Bullet bass neck on it? The body is just as solid as a Fender isn't it?


That would probably work with no issues. But personally I'd keep it as is just because it's different. All 3 of my Fenders are disc'd so I like things that are "outside of the norm" so to speak.


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Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 12:08 pm
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If you really want to change the pickup, (which I consider a bad idea because the Bullet bass PU kicks $@! IMHO,) I would contact Seymour Duncan and see what they offer as a replacement Mustang Bass PU.

They are the same size and therefore, you shouldn't have to rout the body.

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