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Post subject: P bass 73 restoration....
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2017 6:33 am
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Hi to all in the forum.

I recently dug out my old guitars and came across my old 73/74 precision bass! She's a beaut and I've had some of my best moments with this bass but it was significantly altered or customised when I bought it back in the early 80s and now I suppose I'm interested in restoring it back to its original or as original condition as possible.

It's been painted and I can see underneath that it was an original sunburst. An ebony frettless fingerboard replaced the original fretted neck because I can see two sets of dots where the original fretted dots were.

It has a non-branded brass bridge and brass nut. A jazz bass pickup cut into the bridge position. Both pups are Dimarzio.

Actually used the frettless during the early eighties and it was very nice but it has buzzes on the 3, 5, 7 frets all the way up the board so as much as I'd like to flatten it out I think it would be nice to restore her to a fretted sunburst. A task indeed.

I'm fiddling with a few of my guitars.. as in... changing finishes and modifying parts here and there but with the P bass I'm thinking I should ask for advice.

A few questions.

Getting the horrible blue paint off? I'd like to do so whilst keeping as much of the sunburst original in place?

How to go about having a fretted board put back on? Should I go the route of finding an original board or go with a new one and maybe distress it a little for looks sake? I'm a player so I'm looking for a good playable bass but would have to take into consideration the financial aspect as well. This also applies to the electronics. I'm sure the pots are original but it has been significantly modified to allow for the extra pickup.

Bridge and recommendations?

I realise this is a mammoth task which is one reason why I put it off so long.

Any thoughts from anyone that I should take into consideration appreciated.

Malc.

PS: Sorry if this is posted twice.


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Post subject: Re: P bass 73 restoration....
Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 4:10 pm
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You intend to spend two grand to restore a bass that will never be worth more than $1200 at best?

:shock:

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: P bass 73 restoration....
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 1:58 am
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This is a parts instrument and will always be a player class instrument no matter what you do or how much you spend.

As far as I know removing only the refinish layer is impossible without damaging the original finish underneath the refinish layer. The body has been modified for the Jazz pickup anyway and you would want to fill in the Jazz pickup routing and refinish it again from scratch. The jack may have been moved to the lower bout which will need to be filled and sanded also and if it was not moved then an additional control shaft hole was likely added which ruined the pickguard. A current production vintage style Fender bridge is very affordable and the least of your problems here. Sometimes aftermarket bridges leave indentations you will have to fill and sand, or worse require a recess be cut.

The trouble with buying used necks is you never know if it is a good one or not until you assemble everything.

Maybe the best option is to find a correct and straight 73 P-Bass you like, buy it and sell yours as it sits now, or part it out on eBay. Yours sounds like somewhat of a basket case and unless you do the work yourself it is going to run into more money than buying a correct 73.

I do not know if you have ever tried stripping a post 70 Fender bass but that Fullerplast primer coat is a booger to get off. I will never go through that again.


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Post subject: Re: P bass 73 restoration....
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 2:34 am
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Oh my god! That much....! :roll:

Not!

No, I'm looking to realistically get the bass back into playable condition and if possible get the paint off so the bass is once again Sunburst. I'm not to bothered about a perfect new look, just recognisable as a sunburst. I quite like a distressed look but a wood finish would be a better alternative than what it looks like at the moment, which is awful, like some child thought to himself, I'm gonna paint dat ting blue. Coooooool.

I'd like to retain as much of what is original as alluded to in my previous post but questions like the bridge and the pick ups do interest me. Is it worth getting myself an original bridge or stick with the one I have, same goes with pick ups? Both of which are excellent by the way! I intend on keeping the bass and was thinking of fretting it but after playing it now I'm emotionally attached to the fretless and might just have it shaved for now? still the question is what would be the best route for the longevity of the instrument. I'm not sure an original 1973 p bass was technically that good but there are other factors to think about I'm sure. If it was worth it I'd spent two grand on it, yeah sure. People spend much more on utter garbage every day. The question was more about practicalities regarding the instrument.

If I were to fret it, could I fret the ebony? I see no reason why not. I'm long used to seeing two dots at every fret marker. It just makes it more challenging whist going cross eyed ... I always liked ebony necks. Apart from that, fretting it, original or a new fingerboard from fender? Any thoughts?

The wiring I can probably do myself or have a friend advise me on. It was modded to an active at some point. Still the original pots I think. I can post some piccies maybe if anyone's interested!

Anyways hope someone can advise me bout the right way to go. :wink:

Malc.


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Post subject: Re: P bass 73 restoration....
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 3:02 am
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Thank you brotherdave.

No the idea of owning a minty 73 P bass (although nice I'm sure) is not what I'm going for. Just how to treat this one.

I guess your right then, it is a basket case so it would be just a matter of getting it back to a playable instrument. I love this bass but I don't love the way it looks. Unfortunately the repaint is not a 'poly' which I'm told would have been doable. It's just paint. I'll do some head scratching and take it from there.

I like the jazz bass pup there as well it really makes the bass.

Scratch plate is long gone. Honestly looks like a wreck at the moment. Pots and jack are still in the right place though. I could be wrong of course.

Think I paid about £100 for it back in the early eighties. If it would have been stock it would have been great but then I wouldn't have had the experiance I had with it being a frettless so I'm glad about that. The Dimarzio are absolutely fantastic by the way. I'm wondering how the original precision pups would have stacked up against them.

Anyway all good stuff, thanks for the information.

Malc.


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Post subject: Re: P bass 73 restoration....
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 3:18 am
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'I do not know if you have ever tried stripping a post 70 Fender bass but that Fullerplast primer coat is a booger to get off. I will never go through that again.'

What did it involve?


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Post subject: Re: P bass 73 restoration....
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 6:29 pm
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Fullerplast is a transparent sealer that's intended to completely fill the wood's pores and grains to provide a smooth surface for the application of the color coat. To completely remove it requires vigorous sanding to the extent that you might lose .005" or .006" through every dimension and contour of the body. IOW, a LOT of sanding.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: P bass 73 restoration....
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 1:35 am
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Thank you Retroverbial.

Well it's a VERY heavy bass. My shoulder will be pleased.

In all seriousness though I wouldn't mind giving it a go this summer.

The neck is being shaved and the electrics are being done at the moment. I'll be using her for some recording till then.

Off the record.... I've been watching a few videos on similar projects on you tube which leave me wondering some, but am thinking about taking the job on. I've had a few luthers quotes and they seem reluctant at best . A few have said just leave the paint on. Also that the blue paint may have been straight from the factory for a custom paint job. Regardless, I've never liked it and its time to go!

Any thoughts on how one would begin a job like this. Common sense accounted for of course?

Many thanks.

Malc.


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Post subject: Re: P bass 73 restoration....
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 7:01 am
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buttercream wrote:
Any thoughts on how one would begin a job like this. Common sense accounted for of course?


Break out the block sander and plenty of sandpaper. I'd start with #120 grit. Once you're down to the bare lumber, move up to progressively higher grits and repeat. Your final sanding should be done with #600 grit at a minimum.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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