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Hi MoonBassAlpha. Interesting thought about the 10nF cap, but if it was there to reduce radio interference I'd expect it to be permanently in-circuit, not after a variable resistor. Not that I really know what I'm talking about lol! Interesting also about the resonant circuit. I believe this acts like a band-pass filter and the bass does actually sound a bit like this. Pic showing wiring of the later 1970s model 185 below which is a much more traditional arrangement. Maybe they eventually realised that the standard wiring was better! I'm tempted to just rewire it along these lines.

Hi Geek99, thanks for replying. The stack knob jazz circuit (below) is actually quite a bit different to the Hofner. Only two lugs of each tone pot are connected - the signal goes to the middle wiper lug, then through the cap to ground via the variable resistor. The third lug (the other end of the variable resistor) is left floating. With this configuration, even with the tone fully rolled off, the pot resistance doesn't impede the main signal path. With the Hofner circuit, when the tone is fully rolled off the full pot resistance is added to the signal path. The Hofner circuit also has 2 additional caps compared to the stack knob circuit and the main tone caps (in this case 100n and 47n) aren't where you'd expect them to be. I've checked the wiring of the bass itself (which is original) against the Hofner circuit diagram and it matches, so that's how they intended it to be. It just doesn't function as you'd expect a regular tone circuit to function. It's all a bit odd!

I'm doing some restoration work on a 1965 Hofner 185 and am a bit baffled by the tone circuit (see pic of schematic below). Each tone pot has a tiny 10n capacitor going to ground. This would bleed off some very high frequencies (much higher frequencies than a standard tone pot). There is also a 'regular' size capacitor (100n or 47n) fixed in the signal path to the vol control and the output jack. As far as I can see this would let through most of the high frequencies but attenuate some of the lower frequencies. In practice, when either tone is turned down the output signal is considerably attenuated. I guess because the 250k resistance of the tone pot has then been put in line with the signal path. Wierd. It's quite different to a standard passive tone circuit and doesn't work as I'd expect it to. Can someone explain to me what's going on here?

I tracked down some of the longer 6/32 x 1.75" intonation screws for my '72 Jazz some time ago and bought a pack of them. PM me your details and I'll drop one in the post to you.

Ah yes, I see what you mean about the poor fit at the headstock end...

According to some chap on TB a Mono electric guitar gig bag will fit a Mustang (I'm not sure what model of bag this is). Unfortunately Mono don't give dimensions in their product details which isn't very helpful.

Can anyone recommend someone who specializes in vintage pickup rewinds? (I have an old Hofner staple pickup with weak output that needs attention) Most of the ones I've found by Googling (Creamery, MOJO and others) aren't taking in rewind work at the moment due to having big backlogs of repair work. Looking at the cost of rewinds (seems to be around £80-90 for two humbucker coils - ouch) it would be cheaper to buy a replacement but I'd prefer to retain the original mojo if possible. Any suggestion appreciated. Cheers

Here's a wiring schematic for the two pickup version (just ignore the neck pickup).

DiMarzio Area-J pickups (not Ultra J) are humcancelling and sound very close to regular J single coils. They have a different construction to most humcancelling Js with Alnico 3 magnets and less windings to retain the characteristics of a vintage single coil (rather than beefing it up). As a result they have lower output but they do sound excellent. http://www.dimarzio.com/node/2198

Here are some pics of another '74 Mustang for ref - http://www.andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=1163 It has a serial number quite close to yours so should have similar build details. Are there any marks on the underside of the neck heel on yours?

https://gluboost.com/products/

Fabulous indeed, a great band!

If white is hot then red should go to ground along with the unshielded wire. The bare wire is probably being used to earth the polepieces or could just be a shield. The red and white wires will be from opposite ends of the coil so one will be hot and the other cold (ground). If you leave either of these unconnnected the pickup will effectively be open-circuit and you won't get a signal.

Or two core with a bare shield wire like this?

Main advantage is the low B makes an excellent thumb rest lol!

Have you tried giving the trussrod a small tweak (say 1/8 turn clockwise) to make sure it's under tension?

Front view shows neck alignment a bit better and looks fine to me.

Depends on how the cab is wired, whether it has a crossover and attenuator for the tweeter etc - https://www.talkbass.com/threads/anybody-remove-the-crossover-disconnect-the-tweeter.391127/

Unfortunately a Tele guitar pup is quite a bit smaller than a 51 P ...

The Music Locker (Ripley, Derbyshire) specialise in vintage brands including Burns and offer to help source hard to find instruments - http://themusiclocker.co.uk/product/vintage-rare-electric-acoustic-guitars-for-sale/?filter_make=burns