Changing some parts on a 78 Fender P bass.

[Alanko]

When I joined the internets some 20 years ago, nobody would care if you did anything to a 1978 Fender. The consensus was that pre-CBS instruments were the gems, to be preserved in as-built condition if possible. Some early CBS-era instruments were also seen as good, but you had to hunt them out. Then the Overton window shifted. Stuff from the late '60s and early '70s suddenly had the potential to be good, on occasion. You had to find the one in ten that played as nicely as a hallowed pre-CBS gear.

 

Interesting that stuff from the peak wilderness years of Fender is now considered valuable enough to cause some pause before modding. Then again, London's Calling, Rocket to Russia, No more Heroes etc is all stock '70s P Basses...

[FugaziBomb]

5 hours ago, Alanko said:

When I joined the internets some 20 years ago, nobody would care if you did anything to a 1978 Fender. The consensus was that pre-CBS instruments were the gems, to be preserved in as-built condition if possible. Some early CBS-era instruments were also seen as good, but you had to hunt them out. Then the Overton window shifted. Stuff from the late '60s and early '70s suddenly had the potential to be good, on occasion. You had to find the one in ten that played as nicely as a hallowed pre-CBS gear.

 

Interesting that stuff from the peak wilderness years of Fender is now considered valuable enough to cause some pause before modding. Then again, London's Calling, Rocket to Russia, No more Heroes etc is all stock '70s P Basses...

The older things get, the more remarkable it becomes when they've managed to stay unspoiled.  I'd agree that 20 years ago, a 78 P Bass wouldn't be held in much regard, but that was 20 years ago.  Now it's nearly 50 years old and still has all it's original parts.  Regardless of if it's a gem or not, it still seems a little sad to start pulling parts off of it now after it's stayed intact for so long.  Changing the pickguard is especially egregious to me.  There are plenty of brand new P Basses that can be done to.

 

Ultimately, it's the OP's bass and he can do whatever he wants, but it'll just be one less instrument that stayed together and that's kinda sad to me.

[Mrbigstuff]

5 hours ago, FugaziBomb said:

The older things get, the more remarkable it becomes when they've managed to stay unspoiled.  I'd agree that 20 years ago, a 78 P Bass wouldn't be held in much regard, but that was 20 years ago.  Now it's nearly 50 years old and still has all it's original parts.  Regardless of if it's a gem or not, it still seems a little sad to start pulling parts off of it now after it's stayed intact for so long.  Changing the pickguard is especially egregious to me.  There are plenty of brand new P Basses that can be done to.

 

Ultimately, it's the OP's bass and he can do whatever he wants, but it'll just be one less instrument that stayed together and that's kinda sad to me.

If it was sold, market expectation is for it to be pulled apart for the pictures anyway? The OP has indicated he would keep all the original parts. Once back together, the prospective new buyer would know no difference.

[lemmywinks]

6 hours ago, FugaziBomb said:

 

 

... but it'll just be one less instrument that stayed together and that's kinda sad to me.

 

 

He's swapping the pickguard not routing for a J pickup, can just put the original parts back on. Looks like the bass is already missing the thumbrest and pickup/bridge covers so isn't 100% original.

[MNY]

24 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

 

 

He's swapping the pickguard not routing for a J pickup, can just put the original parts back on. Looks like the bass is already missing the thumbrest and pickup/bridge covers so isn't 100% original.

I have the thumb rest, in fact I removed it when I got the bass a few weeks ago. I have the bridge and pick up covers as well. I think that one of the earlier posters is spot on about the colour, which has more of a yellow tone to the burst than one of the 60’s basses and therefore the black pickguard seems to match better. I have decided that I will leave the bass as is, it sounded excellent when I played it yesterday. I will just need to have the wiring checked as I think there might be a loose connection somewhere which is causing an earth buzz. 

[LeftyJ]

I love the black pickguard, really adds to the 1970s vibe. You do you, though!

I would recommend screwing the original pickguard to a wooden board to prevent it from shrinking or warping. That way you'll keep it nice and tidy, and you can always put it back on. I thought only old celluloid pickguards were prone to this, but I learned the hard way that even a modern Stingray 5 pickguard will warp and bubble up over time when the tension is off 

 

Edit: ...and then I read the post before mine and saw that you're leaving it as is. I hadn't bothered reading page 2 yet. Oh well!  

Edited April 22 by LeftyJ

[PaulThePlug]

New plate, screws, pots, jack 'n pup, lift the bridge and slide out the earth wire then no solder has been touched and completely reversable

Enjoy!

[Reggaebass]

50 minutes ago, PaulThePlug said:

New plate, screws, pots, jack 'n pup, lift the bridge and slide out the earth wire then no solder has been touched and completely reversable

Enjoy!

Yeah that would work Paul because in 73 they added the rout for the wires, 72 and earlier you would have to de solder as the wires went through the body 

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, LeftyJ said:

I love the black pickguard, really adds to the 1970s vibe. You do you, though!

Likewise. Don’t get me wrong, I like tort, but it can be so variable and getting it to complement that particularly red ‘burst, might be tricky. Black is all business and makes the colours pop. Of course the best thing is, if the OP doesn’t like the tort, it’s an easy reverse. In fact, an alternative black guard with all the new electronics installed is probably better than stripping the old one.

[Doctor J]

The concept of putting up with an instrument you're not happy with, so as not to upset a future owner, is quite an odd one.

 

If you don't like it, change it.

 

If you can't or won't change it, sell it.

 

Buy the instrument you actually want to make music on. In this day and age, there is no reason to compromise.

[Wotcher2]

15 hours ago, Alanko said:

Interesting that stuff from the peak wilderness years of Fender is now considered valuable enough to cause some pause before modding. Then again, London's Calling, Rocket to Russia, No more Heroes etc is all stock '70s P Basses...

Agree with most of this though first two Stranglers albums were with an early 60s (64?) p bass, yours pedantically…

[MNY]

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to respond. It’s great to see the expertise demonstrated by members of this forum. Quite remarkable really. 🙏

[Alanko]

10 hours ago, Wotcher2 said:

Agree with most of this though first two Stranglers albums were with an early 60s (64?) p bass, yours pedantically…

Interesting! I assumed that trebly grind was all maple necked '70s P Bass, but some photos show a '60s white rosewood- necked P Bass with a DIY (?) green oversprayed burst going on? 

[Longwheelbass]

Well, it's a very attractive 78, guards are guards, if you want tort, speak to the Laveguard guy, he does real nice ones that are VERY well priced, compared to many others, and his are really good looking. As far as the noise issues go, might have a lead going into a pot lug somewhere that's loose, but I would first try squirting some contact cleaner into the pots. If that don't work, check under the bridge for contact with the bridge earth wire. I usually sand a patch in the nickel plate where the bridge earth wire contacts the bridge to ensure a good "connection".

If you were mad enough to want to throw money at aftermarket pickups (those factory pickups should sound lovely) you can lift out the whole lot, pickups, pots, jack and bridge earth wire by taking off the guard and  lifting the bridge so the when you pull the bridge earth wire out of the tunnel it stays soldered to the volume pot. And because the rout from pickups to control bay is a trench rather than a drilled tunnel, just pop off the knobs, unbolt the pots and jack and it'll all come out without having to unsolder anything. If you did go down the aftermarket pickup route, you can just send a bit more on new pots, cap and jack. There are a few comparisons of Fender PV 63's and Fender CS 62's on Youtube, check them out, personally I think the 63's sound a little nicer than the 62's  - but in all honesty, your 78's are gonna be so similar it isn't worth the money splashing on aftermarket pickups. And bolting another heavyweight bridge to an old Fender always leaves marks in the paint usually because those things have a much larger footprint than the stock bridge and end up making your bass sound like it's made of solid metal - the OG Fender bridges are light and don't reflect string vibration away from the wood of the body like those massive Badasses and Babicz things do. There's cheaper less invasive and less unsightly ways to get more "sustain" out of a P Bass, like stainless roundwound  vs nickel strings, or simply EQing or turning up the treble knob on your amp! I'm 59, I've owned multiple P and Jazz Basses, and NEVER had a "stability problem" with stock bridges. And I've played 1000 shows between 1984 and now.

By all means, change what you want to but in case you haven't noticed, mid to late 70's P Bass prices have been going through the roof, because pre-1970 P basses are now heading to the damn moon, and if you make irreversible mods to this really good looking bass, you'll live to regret it if you ever need to sell it.

PS attached pic of my 69ish P with a Lavaguard...