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Post subject: Help identifying precision bass body.
Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:53 pm
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I bought this body from some guy online for a frankenbass project. When I got it, it was very badly painted with red car spray paint. I used paintstripper to get the paint off and found that it was originally sunburst (the paint stripper did not touch the original finish, but a lot of it had been sanded away).

The original owner had said he thought it was from a Squier. I have no reason to doubt this, but the body seems quite old and has a few splits in the wood (obviously not that old though, as it seems to have a fairly modern rout pattern).

Also, there is an odd feature.

It appears that apparently originally underneath the sunburst finish on the top horn, there is a large stamp or stencil of the Fender, not Squier logo. This has been uncovered when the finish was removed by whoever sanded the body. I guess it could have been added at a later date, but it looks old. Strange though, I have not seen the logo here before.

So it would be good to know (a) Is it a Squier or a Fender or neither? and (b) If it is a Squier, what era as the name Squier covers a whole load of different quality instruments.

There is a stamp in the neck pocket. It is quite smudged and faded, but to me it seems to read: 000401.

Here are some pics (Straight after I washed the paint stripper off, which is why it's outside in the snow).

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd5 ... a1/032.jpg
http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd5 ... a1/033.jpg
http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd5 ... a1/038.jpg

Oh, yeah and also, it strangely seems to have 7 bridge fixing holes. Thanks for looking!


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Post subject: Re: Help identifying precision bass body.
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 6:06 pm
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Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 3:12 pm
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Location: Albemarle, NC
Observations.

First I have to say that this looks more like a pop art piece than a photo of an actual body:

Image

So does this:

Image

Then there is the neck pocket closeup:

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd5 ... a1/038.jpg

I can not see the numeric stampings clearly enough in this neck pocket photo (which looks like more pop art also) to say whether or not it is Fender but the stamping of the logo on the facing of upper body horn is something I've never ever ever seen before on a real Fender body. If this isn't pop art, it could or should be.

That horn Fender stamping is very bizarre. Very.


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Post subject: Re: Help identifying precision bass body.
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 5:09 am
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Hey maybe I should enter it for the Turner prize and buy a decent bass with the winnings! :D

Thanks for your input though, and from what I have seen, if you don't know what this is, not many people will.

I think I'll have to assume that it's a fake, as I have never seen markings like this before either, and it seems to be trying a bit too hard to be a Fender! It doesn't matter what it is really, it's getting a neck with a blank headstock anyway like my other frankenbasses. I was just interested in its weirdness.


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Post subject: Re: Help identifying precision bass body.
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 2:20 pm
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What's up with all the soap detergent bubbles its sitting in? OH.. it's outside in the snow??? Why on earth would you put it in the snow????? Water and or snow is not real good for guitars. Water can cause splits in wood. I hope you didn't rinse the body under a spigot after you sanded or stripped it. :shock:


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Post subject: Re: Help identifying precision bass body.
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 3:39 am
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Um, yes I kind of used the garden tap with cold, cold water, that's what it said to do in the paintstripper instructions :oops: . It was covered in the black stinking gunk that was melted paint and that would happily take your skin off, also the control cavity was full of it where they had painted over the lovely kitchen-foil shielding....

I chucked it (literally, chucked it like a big wooden frisbee) in the snow because it was wet anyway, and my poor hands were going numb and I wanted to take a picture. And actually I scrubbed it under the cold water with a wet and dry sanding block, while resting it on the bare brick drain cover (it was always going to be "Roadworn") :lol:

You have to understand that when i got this it had been really, really badly handpainted by some kid with car paint and then covered in stickers. I got it for next to nothing and was (possibly still am) under the impression that it was worthless, probably a plywood bottom-of-the range Squier learner bass body that I was going to make a frankenbass with to replicate the very road worn bass that the real bassist of the band my tribute act mimics plays, and I didn't much care what happend to it, chips, cracks and splits are fine, you should see the real one!
Also, my girlfriend was worried I'd get paintstripper on her cat and I was not allowed near the kitchen sink with it.

When a nice bit of alder and a weirdly placed Fender logo appeared, I was a bit surprised so I posted it here for you guys to look at.

And just so you don't think I'm a completely careless idiot, here is my last frankenbass project:

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/164004-e-p- ... -finished/

But you are right and I will be more careful in the future........

BTW, luckily the body is still in good condition, no dents or splits, the wood feels very smooth and dense, and dried kind of bleached-looking like driftwood. I think it looks great like this, so its going to stay like it for now. I have a black scratchplate, some hand-wound Wizard Thumper pickups from Andy Blake in Wales, a brass Wilkinson bridge, some abalone volume/tone knobs and a Mitey Mite rosewood neck to go on it, it's going to drip mojo and sound great!


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Post subject: Re: Help identifying precision bass body.
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:50 pm
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you know .... it's your bass and you can treat it however you like. It doesn't matter if I think it's stupid or not.... I think I'll go throw my Precision in the lake.


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