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Andertons didn't show much interest in taking it as a stock item which shows how far down short scale bass users come on their list of priorities. It wouldn't surprise me if Fender do the same and stop at the cheap version. I hope to be proven wrong!

I picked up one of these yesterday from Andertons (had to order it, not a stock item) and it is indeed at the very bottom end of the scale in terms of protection. Adequate for my immediate needs but the next model up, or higher, would definitely be preferable.

If it's already baffled the experts then I'm not sure that my input will help - but here it is anyway! Sounds to me like a combination of earthing and shielding. Earthing because you can kill the noise by touching the knob (which presumably connects to earth via the pot/shaft), and shielding because the noise varies depending on the environment (proximity of lights, other electrical appliances, mains wiring/earthing variations etc). The noise gets less when you turn the blend to the bridge humbucker which suggests that the main component of the noise is down to single coil hum. This is 'normal' but might be improved by shielding the single coil pickup cavity (make sure that the shielding is also connected to ground). There was a 'click' when you touched the polepieces which suggests that the poles aren't grounded. Grounding the poles can help to reduce noise (and unwanted clicks and clunks). If the poles of the single coil are visible on the underside of the pickup you can ground them by running a strip of conductive adhesive foil across them and connecting this to ground. I noticed that when your finger briefly touched the bridge earth wire (and when you placed the bridge in the cavity) the noise didn't stop dead in the same way as when you touched the knob. If the bridge earth wire was properly connected to the earth of the output jack then touching it should have exactly the same effect as touching the knob. So it would be worth double checking the continuity of the bridge earth to the earth connection of the output jack. When playing the bass another thing to check is whether the noise varies depending on your position. If you turn round does the noise diminish or get louder? If it does then that suggests the noise is due to local sources of interference and poor shielding.

I've done the same as gary mac with good results. Make sure the surface you sand on is perfectly flat (I did it on a glass table top). The first thing to check is whether you have enough 'headroom' on the saddle to be able to remove enough to achieve the action you want. The saddle of the stock AEB10 in the pic below looks pretty low already, even though the action is quite high.

Just swap the red and yellow wires to the middle lugs over

Thomann have it listed as 'in stock within 4-5 weeks' - https://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_fbss_610_short_scale_bass_bag.htm

I contacted Fender UK and looks like the new short scale FBSS-610 gig bag is available imminently. See reply below: Cecilie (Fender Musical Instruments) Sep 28, 10:26 BST Hi Ian, The details are: # 0991521206 FBSS-610 SHRT SCL BASS GIG BAG It is currently out of stock, but it will hopefully be back by next week! Kind Regards, Cecilie - Customer Sales & Support Advisor

Thanks for that. I eventually had mine rewound by Alex Exley at projectguitarparts.co.uk (good job and very reasonable rates) but it's always useful to know of people with specialist knowledge of these things. Cheers

If you can't find one maybe you could scale up the pic of Fender Pure Vintage '58 pickguard below and make your own? The pickup cover screw holes are on the pickup centreline so they should be pretty straightforward. Tug bar is a little tricker but the lower screw hole is pretty much in line with the adjacent left pickguard screw which at least gives you a reference point.

Just measured mine which is 41.4mm or 1.63 inches (including the finish). Fender measurements would have been imperial so I think the nominal body thickness spec is probably 1 5/8" (1.625). There will likely be slight variations on this due to the hand work required in those days but 1 5/8" would be my starting point.

Not in the south-east, but Clive Brown in Ripon is a renowned master of sympathetic pre-CBS restoration. The body of my '57 Precision below was done by Clive (neck left untouched). I don't think he has a website but drop me a PM me if you'd like his contact details.

Surrey Amps specialise in Ampeg repairs if that's any help - http://www.surreyamps.co.uk/amplifier-repairs/guitar-amp-repairs/ampeg-repairs

Not exactly the same but these look quite similar - https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Rocker-Switch-240v-Mains-Red-on-off-Double-Pole-4-Pin-DPST/1460306375?iid=152578178551

Bought an old Hofner 185 from Niels. Bass arrived from Berlin very well packed and padded. Everything exactly as described. Over 50 years old, loads of mojo, super lightweight and plays exceptionally well. Makes me smile every time I pick it up! Many thanks Niels!

Great news that they're bringing out a new short scale bag, but it looks like it might be a bit of a sloppy fit. Very wide at the body end and why the diagonal chop at the top left when that's where the tuners stick out? Maybe the short scale version will be a bit more slimline and a snugger fit. More like the Urban bag lol!

I had a good hunt around for old stock (including Europe) but couldn't find any. A couple of websites are rather optimistically listing them as 'on order' but I think they're just a bit behind the times.

Ta for reply. Interesting idea about getting some made, I'll keep an eye on this post for updates. In the meantime the search continues, even though it's defeated us all so far! Cheers, Ian

Hi Si, did you have any luck finding a gig bag for your Mustang? I need one for my old Hofner 185 which is the same length as a Mustang and can't find anything. The Fender Urban Short Scale Gig Bag was my fall back but I just went to order one only to discover that it's been discontinued! Grrr

I've had an ACG fretless 5 string for 8 years and the flat board felt quite natural from day one. I regularly chop and change between basses with different radius boards with no problem. Don't really notice it to be honest. My playing doesn't involve much in the way of double stops or chord work (way above my pay grade) but I can see that might be a bit trickier on a flat board. If I was speccing a custom ACG again the only change I'd make is to have a slightly less pronounced asymmetric profile on the neck which is a bit chunky on the bass side.

Yes, it's a player not a collectors item so I think you're right! I'd still like to know what the thinking was behind the original wiring though. Hofner have always been a bit 'individual' on the wiring front but this is a curious one.

Yes, big drop in volume, which is due to the wiring of the tone pot. Very wierd. Mine is exactly the same. I'm debating whether to leave the wiring in its original state and just not use the tone pots, or rewire it in a more conventional way.

H Grangur, re item #3, regular passive tone wiring leaves the third lug of the pot disconnected (see the schematics in posts 3 or 5 above). The resistance of the pot is only used to control how much signal is passed through the tone cap to earth, it doesn't impede the signal path. The Hofner circuit is different - when the tone is fully rolled off, the full resistance of the pot is directly in the signal path which significantly attenuates the output level (in addition to losing the high frequencies). The caps BTW aren't electrolytic, just regular ceramic disc tone caps. You can clearly hear the drop in output level when the tone is rolled off in this demo (from about 3.55 to 4.25)

Hi Grangur, thanks for that. Can you please clarify a few things: 1. Are the 100n and 47n caps before the two vol controls the coupling caps? It just seems a bit odd that they're different values and that the values are the same as regular tone caps. 2. The two 10n caps are positioned where you'd expect to find the tone caps (ie. bleeding high freq to ground), but why are they such tiny values? I'd expect the cap values to be the other way round, with the tone caps being 100n and 47n and the coupling caps being 10n. 3. The way the tone pot is wired, when the tone is fully rolled off, the full 250k resistance of the pot is in series with the signal path which significantly attenuates the output signal. Why would they do this?! Thanks, Ian

Yes, I'm a bit dubious about the lack of a bridge earth! The bass is in bits at the moment so I don't know if this is a problem but none of the old Hofner solid bodies seem to have a bridge earth so I'm hoping not...