72 Musicmaster Fretless Project

[Joe Nation]

15 hours ago, ped said:

do we have a good UK source for transfers?

Try https://www.croxguitars.com/products.html.

 

And yes, bushing is probably a better term than ferrule.

[ped]

Musicmaster arrived today (amazing service from Rich Tone Music, Sheffield).

 

Plugged it in, and it’s a blast! The weird electronics mean I get both pickups only but at least I know they both work. It has a really rich growly sound and it feels great. Neck is straight, possibly one or two high frets but no major issues. I can get the action very low and even the janky bridge allows near enough intonation. 
 

It’s a bit heavier than the Mustang but still light. The finish is really very yellow indeed which is lovely in person, more yellow than I expected but quite faithful to the pictures on the listing. The cream pickups look lovely against the body and I can see why the dimarzios are so well regarded. 
 

The finish seems to be a polyester coat although it must be quite thin as it’s worn away in places. It definitely fees and looks more like poly. Being ‘72 I think that checks out. 
 

It’s clear that the bass has been loved and thoughtfully modified thus far. It’s definitely been played and loved, and even though I’ll be making a few changes I don’t feel like I’m rescuing a basket case. 
 

Looking forward to the next step - fretless neck comes tomorrow, so I’ll put that on and give it a go although without pickup pan it won’t be ideal, but enough to give me an idea of the final sound. I have the new bridge on the way from the USA and still thinking about the wiring. Early Sept I’ll pass it on to my luthier and get cracking. 
 

In short, I’m relieved that the bass is ok. Much better than expected and I’m super excited to see how this ends up!!

Not sure what sort of strap to get for it, as I have a wide RightOn strap for the mustang which matches perfectly. Maybe the same in black with a yellow stripe. I’ll also need a spare clip for the Backbeat. Then another pedalboard. Yellow stage clothes. The list goes on…

 

 

 

[ped]

I’m not 100% sure but I might be right in thinking these dimarzio pickups are hum cancelling? I can’t solo either pickup to check but I think I read somewhere that this is the case - a happy accident if so, particularly as I’ll likely favour the bridge pickup for fretless. Can anyone confirm?

[ped]

Fretless neck is here. Bolted on (first time I’ve done that) and tuned up. It’ll need time to settle but it sounds brilliant! I’ll leave it for a day or two as currently there’s a bit of back bow so once the strings add some force the other way it’ll either be right or need some truss rod adjustment. 
 

The fit and finish of the ebony board replacement is great, I think it’ll come up really nicely with some epoxy. 
 

 

[ped]

The original neck. It sounds like I should leave the truss rod alone when storing this, correct?

 

 

[Andyjr1515]

4 hours ago, ped said:

The original neck. It sounds like I should leave the truss rod alone when storing this, correct?

 

 

The new neck looks the business, @ped .

Ref the old neck, personally, I would take the tension off the trussrod to avoid the possibility of a permanent back bow setting in over storage time...

[Stub Mandrel]

6 hours ago, ped said:

The original neck. It sounds like I should leave the truss rod alone when storing this, correct?

 

 

 

Finally sanded by Xavier Armenta.