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(OMFG - it worked!!) Fender Custom Shop - worth the tag?


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[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' timestamp='1400754486' post='2456617']
I'm certain I have read that in the early days of Fender this was a recommended technique for fixing such issues and the company sent instructions to their dealers in how to carry it out.
[/quote]

This was the fix for the 3-bolt Micro-Tilt necks. It was needed because the Micro-Tilt adjustment would tend to push the neck out of alignment unless the disk on the neck heel that it acted against was perfectly flat - something which rarely occurred. Unfortunately because of the mechanics of this neck joint design the fix seldom worked for long.

Edited by BigRedX
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[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1400686819' post='2456114']
Go with your gut. With the money they are asking for CS basses, everything should be perfect IMO and the dealer should insure that is the case before it gets into the hands of the customer IMO.
[/quote]
In the dealers defence, the box came straight off the boat to their warehouse and then straight to me. It never saw the light of day in the UK until I opened it. Personally I'm quite happy with it that way. At least I know it hadn't been handled since it left Fender.

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[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1400761196' post='2456713']
Here's a couple of quickies....

[center][/center]
[/quote]


Wow, that bass looks even better in real life than in the pictures I had seen on the internet up to now. :o

I love blocks and binding on a Jazz Bass, and that is why my dream Jazz Bass has always been a '66-73 era model, right from when I first started playing. This CS Geddy Lee bass is ticking all the right boxes for me so far, and I can't wait to hear about how it sounds and the overall feel of the bass.

Above all though, I'm absolutely delighted that it looks to have been a relatively easy fix and that you can now get down to enjoying this beautiful bass.( I can now see that the bridge is in fact properly aligned from the way the strings pass over the pickup pole pieces , so all is well in that respect at least.) Result! :)

Edited by Dingus
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Oh sh*t, see what happens when I get mine :-0

Got to say that the set up on 2 Mexico fenders I've got was far superior to my American Standard P. Going to take that on for a professional set up soon. Never been able to get the correct intonation on all frets on the E

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[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1400767266' post='2456799']
Why doesn't the Badass look as "aged" as the rest of it? Have you added that?
[/quote]

Geddy Lee added the Badass at a later date ( around 1980) , so it isn't as old as the rest of the bits. Also, maybe the materials that bridge is made out of doesn't age like some other metal parts do . I've never seen a "distressed" Badass. ( Or even one that was mildly upset , for that matter :lol: ).

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If this is such a know phenomenon its a shame the custom shop don't add a little bit of info about possible anomalies - these guys and gals are working with wood all the time and know the stress and tolerances shipping and temperature changes can have on the humble plank. Or maybe it's the luithers version of "Have you switched it off and turned it on again" which they expect us all to commonly know :)

A wee bit of info shipped in the case with your £,£££ bass might be useful.

Glad to hear its all sorted though. I sold a Lakland (skyline) a few years ago due to the neck pocket not being as snug as I thought it should but in reality and looking back it probabaly wasn't really an issue!

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1400768493' post='2456812']
Geddy Lee added the Badass at a later date ( around 1980) , so it isn't as old as the rest of the bits. Also, maybe the materials that bridge is made out of doesn't age like some other metal parts do . I've never seen a "distressed" Badass. ( Or even one that was mildly upset , for that matter :lol: ).
[/quote]

Fair enough. (Out of interest what year was the Jazz bass that this is based on originally made? and was it that beat up by the time Geddy added the Badass to it?) Just looks a bit strange compared to the rest of the bass. My OCD can't really cope with the relic'ing let alone the contrast of shiny new bridge. But then it's not my bass so what does it matter?

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[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1400759753' post='2456689']

In the dealers defence, the box came straight off the boat to their warehouse and then straight to me. It never saw the light of day in the UK until I opened it. Personally I'm quite happy with it that way. At least I know it hadn't been handled since it left Fender.
[/quote]

Did it not go through Holland then?

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[quote name='bengreen49' timestamp='1400771770' post='2456853']
How do you know that a highly skilled luthier wouldn't just stick it over his knee and give it quick crack?
[/quote]

Who knows what that might actually cause. Quick fix, yes, good idea, well. I'm not even close to being a luthier, but I wouldn't do that even if I was. Paint could flake off near the neck pocket.

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[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1400770228' post='2456831']
Fair enough. (Out of interest what year was the Jazz bass that this is based on originally made? and was it that beat up by the time Geddy added the Badass to it?) Just looks a bit strange compared to the rest of the bass. My OCD can't really cope with the relic'ing let alone the contrast of shiny new bridge. But then it's not my bass so what does it matter?
[/quote]

I can totally relate to your need for consistency, my friend, but I think in this instance the Fender Custom Shop have been consistent in their inconsistency , if you see what I mean. The Badass is made a high- density zinc alloy and so may well be tarnish-resistant to a great extent.

The original bass that this CS one is inspired by is a 1972 Jazz Bass that Geddy Lee bought for $200 from a pawn shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1979/80. He then had his tech fix it up and add a Badass, which he was already using on his Rickenbacker basses at that time. The neck on the original was replaced with a new on made by the Fender Custom Shop due to it being knackered, and this replica recreates the replacement neck rather than the original. Geddy's actual bass features a medium weight alder body and has had the original pickups rewound.

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[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1400769707' post='2456822']
How much £ did it set you back?
[/quote]

I've no idea what the O.P paid, none of my business, but they have just got one in Guitar, Guitar and it's up for £3500.

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1400768493' post='2456812']
I've never seen a "distressed" Badass. ( Or even one that was mildly upset , for that matter :lol: ).
[/quote]

I have one! Picked up a job lot of parts a while ago which included an original gold BA1 that someone had tried to remove the finish from, it's kinda half gold half metal now.

Dunno what to do with it really, is there a market for relic'd Badass bridges? :D

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[quote name='lemmywinks' timestamp='1400773421' post='2456875']
I have one! Picked up a job lot of parts a while ago which included an original gold BA1 that someone had tried to remove the finish from, it's kinda half gold half metal now.

Dunno what to do with it really, is there a market for relic'd Badass bridges? :D
[/quote]

There will be. Try and find someone in an indie band with a beard and sell it to them for twice the price of a new one. Tell then it's got plenty of mojo and it helps your bass get that Pete Docherty sound like they used to have on records in the 1960's when music was good and everybody was cool and looked like Brian Jones and Twiggy .

Technically speaking though, that bridge isn't distressed, it vandalized.

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1400773918' post='2456885']
There will be. Try and find someone in an indie band with a beard and sell it to them for twice the price of a new one. Tell then it's got plenty of mojo and it helps your bass get that Pete Docherty sound like they used to have on records in the 1960's when music was good and everybody was cool and looked like Brian Jones and Twiggy .

Technically speaking though, that bridge isn't distressed, it vandalized.
[/quote]

Ah, indie band and beards, got it!

And yeah it isn't in the best of shape, I think whoever had it used the same technique to cut the slots as they did to remove the finish - namely bashing it with a screwdriver.

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1400773381' post='2456874']
I've no idea what the O.P paid, none of my business, but they have just got one in Guitar, Guitar and it's up for £3500.
[/quote]

??? Wow. I think they always have their prices way above most other stores, IME.

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