FEND3R Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 (edited) I know there is not much of the building process shown, but apologize in advance. To start with – I have always loved precisions and have owned quite a few, but have never been entirely satisfied with them due to some little details. Finally decided that visually the 1957 is my favorite, but I have always liked alder body and other personal touches to it. So my luthier began a quest for the perfect materials and he came up with a brilliant piece of maple – no blemishes, straight lines, medium heavy and sturdy, and an old alder plank – light and resonant. After that the neck was shaped as fat as a baseball bat but with 42.8mm width at nut, 7.25 radius, steel truss rod, vintage frets, rolled fretboard edges. The body: a period correct outline - just a little bit slimmer than present precisions, two piece, 42mm thick. After that they were sprayed in thin-thin-thin nitro. I wanted a vintage tint on the neck, but not very heavily tinted, and two tone sunburst but with pale yellow (not the Fender RI reddish/orange one): The hardware includes Gotoh Ultra light vintage tuners, Fender vintage style bridge, Fender anodized guard (spayed over with lacquer because I don’t like the feel of it when natural), bone nut, vintage Fender barrel knobs, Fender thumbrest, etc. The pickup is my favorite Seymour Duncan SPB-1, vintage wiring with paper-in-oil capacitators. Strung with Fender light flatwounds. I have added the correct decal, because it just looks right this way. And this is how it looks finished: , It came out amazing – relatively light (8.75 lbs), resonant, great thumpy tone but with just enough mids, with the tightest possible neck pocket. It sounds amazing now, I can not wait to see what it will sound like in a couple of years, but only time will show and a pitty no one can speed the process. Primarily I was thinking of relicing it - just some light touches, not heavy relic, but now I am in a bit of doubt- it just looks beautiful the way it is. I guess that now my G.A.S. (this is like my 55[sup]th[/sup] bass and probably 20[sup]th[/sup] precision) is cured for a long long time. Cheers P.S. Now with better pics that are finally doing the bass justice. Edited July 29, 2013 by FEND3R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Carter Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 That sir is a beauty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FEND3R Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 [quote name='Lee Carter' timestamp='1366293697' post='2050636'] That sir is a beauty. [/quote] Thank You, sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umcoo Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Very nice, love the sunburst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimBobTTD Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Oooh...very nice indeed. Classy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiOgon Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Delightful & delicious, good job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jono Bolton Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 Gorgeous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myke Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Amazing! Absolutely love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick's Fine '52 Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Nice job! Congrats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Really nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Love it. Don't think I would be able to set about relicing it, if it were mine. I would just play it, practice with it, rehearse with it, gig it and let it just age and wear in its own time and way. Good job though, looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrene Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Amazing. You ought to be very proud of yourself. Stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkG3 Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Very nice! Maybe play it firstly for a bit to see where it would wear then help it along gently and that could look really cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tredders Posted May 20, 2013 Share Posted May 20, 2013 That looks lovely - really good job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FEND3R Posted May 22, 2013 Author Share Posted May 22, 2013 Thanks, fellows. After playing it for a month it has started to get some minor blemishes and the glossy nitro is already starting to get buffed at certain places, so I think that I will pass on the relic job - pretty sure that next year it will be a natural closet classic and in a couple of years probably a natural light relic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 And all the better for it being genuine wear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Horton Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 What a beauty of a bass ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Steve Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 If you attempt to relic that beauty you deserve a little light 'relicing' yourself. Beautiful looking bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiltyG565 Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I'm not a P fan, but that is an absolute stunner! Good job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblueplanet Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 (edited) Lovely job. Here's my 57 RI CIJ lefty for comparison. I added the gold anodised pickguard,chrome covers and it has a Kent Armstrong pickup. Edited June 3, 2013 by sblueplanet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FEND3R Posted July 28, 2013 Author Share Posted July 28, 2013 [quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1370296582' post='2098920'] Lovely job. Here's my 57 RI CIJ lefty for comparison. I added the gold anodised pickguard,chrome covers and it has a Kent Armstrong pickup. [/quote] Looks terribly nice next to the Ampeq. And sblueplanet, You got me into thinking again for a couple of ashtrays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblueplanet Posted July 28, 2013 Share Posted July 28, 2013 I have P bass chrome covers for sale on here and ebay at moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FEND3R Posted July 29, 2013 Author Share Posted July 29, 2013 Thank You the offer, but I am based in Bulgaria and find it a lot easier shopping from Thomann, so would probably get them from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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