luckman67

Last year I got a Fender Precision bass from a good friend of mine,who built it from a MIJ PB-57 body that was left battered and beaten in the back yard of a pub. He bought a 2008 MIM neck & an Alnico P pickup & an active Basslines J pickup,wired it together then I got it from him. Anyhow the PJ look was not for me & as the body was in a bad way, I started to think about turning it into my own Road worn 70's rocker. The plan was simple take out the active J pickup and battery holder,fill in these holes just spray where they had been (this didn't have to be perfect) add a b/w/b scratchplate, CTS pots & orange cap and jack socket, and a early 1970's decal and neck plate. My friend Andy who I got the bass from set to work for me and I have the bass back now and it plays great, and as it is beaten I do not have the worry of knocking it or anything happening to it. And Andy has given it a great set up low buzz free action,intonation spot on,and as it's lighter than my Ric 4003 it is being used more often. I am tempted to add the 2 screws either side of the bridge for a more authentic look,and maybe some vintage style tuners down the line. If anyone has an early 70's P and notices that I have missed something please let me know, any how here is some before and after pictures. Before

A few pictures.

How would I go about with using teabags or brown shoe polish, when neither will stick to the clear lacquer on the head stock. I have both items here at home and would love to try them out.

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1330091633' post='1552583'] Some less reputable antique dealers use teabags to age the wood. [/quote] But I don't think that teabags would darken the laquer, it would just drip off I would imagine.

Thanks for the answers Gentlemen, I'll look into the UV lamp I don't want to get it refinished again. I'll post pictures tomorrow so you can see for yourselves.

I have just had some work done on my MIJ / MIM Fender Precision, & one of the jobs was having a 70's logo put on. My friend who did the work for me had to sand the headstock due to a shadow of the previous logo that was still visible. The new logo was put on & clearcoated but now, the face of the headstock is a bit lighter than the back & sides of the MIM neck. Is there any way of darkening the face of the headstock without sanding it & tinting it again, i.e sunlight, sunbed ,etc. I will post pictures this weekend so you will see what I mean, the idea behind it was because the MIJ body was battered I came up with the thought of turning it into an early 1970's Precision Bass, and bought the logo, CTS pots & orange cap,cloth wire, & jack socket and an F logo neck plate. Thanks in advance

Great video & a fantasic bass. Note to self "Must practice more in 2012"

[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1321897540' post='1444201'] I haven't wanted new kit for AGES. It started slowing about 2yrs ago & it probably needed too. It ground to a halt at the start of this year and I've had no interest in new kit all year. I can't see it changing either. [/quote] I think this is me as well. The only things I want or am interested in is getting a Horseshoe pickup for my Ric 4003, & having the J pickup filled in on my Battered Fender Precision.

At least I'm not on my own with this,there were loads of basses I used to lust after & I was always collecting brochures from guitar shops. But as a lot have said here most of the time all you find are either Fenders,Squier or Epiphone or some version of a Precision or Jazz.

I used to love going into guitar shops, the one thing I still enjoy is this Forum though.

For now I'll just get new strings for the 2 basses I use,but there is a few of us who have lost our GAS.

Today went into my local guitar shop,for the first time in months due to work & family.Either way they had some Warwick basses, SX J bass 75 and a host of other brands,but nothing interested me and I have never felt that way when I've gone into a guitar shop there is always something that I think I need. Have any of you felt like this it was weird I didn't want to have a play on any of them either,there was a new brand there called Deacon not Jim Deacon, looked a lot like the SX even the head stock was the same. Of the 4 basses I have the only 2 that get playing time are my Ric 4003 & my MIJ / MIM Fender Precision.

A friend of mine had one of these back in the late 80's not bad at all for a Ric copy.

I own a Ric 4003 & until recently owned a Musicman SUB, sold the SUB to help pay a vets bill and I miss it. I spent years avoiding the Stingray now I may have to spend a couple saving up for another one great bass.

Not sure on the neck but the neck pocket on my Precision does.

The Rickenbacker 4001/4003 basses seem to hold their resale value no matter what sort of condition.

It was a friends 70's Jetglo 4001 back in 1988/89 that started my life long love affair with Rickenbacker.

I have a 1989 Squier Precision (MIK) that I used a couple of times,and my friend who bought it off me for 10 years used it all the time for gigs. My back up bass years ago was an Encore E83 with the ash body remember them. A couple of pics of my '89 Squier..

That does sound good,I wonder what his amp settings are.

I heard it was Ric owners who didn't like the 2 extra screw look of the tailpiece, either way I added the 2 extra screws on my '92 4003 & now it's zero tail lift and Rotosound RS66 strings all the way.

I love my Rickenbacker bass & have been happy with it for the past 13 years. I used to have a serious GAS addiction for a Warwick bass up until I had the chance to play one,but if you do sell your Ric you can always buy another BB14 & have some money in your pocket.

Loved them since I had a go of a friends early 70's 4001 back in 1988/89. I have had my '92 4003 13 years now and it's still my favourite bass. Neck profiles have changed back and forth with them,the neck on mine is great compared to my mates 2001 model. I would love to own either a 4001 V63 or a Jetglo 4001 in the future.

My Rickenbacker GAS lasted from 1987 up to 1998,when my girlfriend bought me mine fantastic bass.

Thank you Gentlemen for your help & advice.

I want to buy a wiring kit for my MIM Precision,from Axesrus I'm new to Fender Basses & there are two choices to make. The first is solid or split 250k pots,I presume I go for the solid shaft. Secondly the orange cap there are 3 to chose from, which one for a vintage / Traditional Precision sound Thank you.