getting a reissue MIJ Bass VI up & running - finally

[hieronymous]

About a year and a half ago I finally came across a Bass VI at a very reasonable price. I'd been jonesing for one since around 2002, with my desire only partially sated by a Fender Japan Bottom Master (similar to the Jaguar Baritone but with built in fuzz!). But when I got it, there were a couple of things that made me less than thrilled with the bass. On the cosmetic front, the tortoiseshell pickguard stinks! It looks like a really bad photographic reproduction. I've owned Fender Japan tort pickguards from the '80s, and they didn't look like this. Here's an attempt at photographing it:


But worse than that, the low E-string saddle appeared to be too long, interfering with the motion of the string with audible buzzing:


I am getting a different bass (an early-'70s Telecaster Bass) refinished Mocha by someone I know, and I thought maybe I would get this one refinned too, but the guy said he thought the sunburst on it was really nice:


I was partly swayed by many people complaining that sunburst was the only finish available for the recent reissues, and partly my mocha-mania, but I realized that he was right. Then I thought, maybe if I got a black pickguard for it it would look really cool. And I think the Dressing Room confirms my decision:


So I've ordered a pickguard from Chandler, a tremolo arm, and a G & G blonde tolex case! (When I bought it, it was caseless and trem-arm-less.) Well, today the case came, which my cat proceeded to inspect:






She appears to approve of the bass too:




Now I'm just waiting on the pickguard to get this thing going!

One thing I realized is that I may not have to cut the screw or turn around the saddles - I think I need to set the trem unit up correctly and it will be fine. I found the page about adjusting Jag & Jazzmaster trems, and I think that if I can adjust the tension screw and get the bridge so that it's not tilting so far back, that it should make those mods unnecessary. Wish me luck!

[RumorsOFsurF]

That's HOT.

[JazzBlaster]

Nice one!, I am an MIJ fan 

[hieronymous]

Nice one!, I am an MIJ fan 

Thanks - I've been using Fender Japan stuff since the mid-'80s when I lived in Tokyo. They were my bread & butter for many years! So it's nice to have a couple of more recent ones.

[StevenO]

The grain on that body seems rather nice. It would make a nice white blonde...

[hieronymous]

The grain on that body seems rather nice. It would make a nice white blonde...

Here's what my refin guy said when I asked him if he could refinish it mocha:

"The feasibility of a mocha refin will depend on if the wood was stained yellow for the sunburst, and if so, how much of that comes off and whether or not it screws up the mocha color.  The mocha may simply overwhelm and yellow undertone anyway."

What do you think? I would expect that it would be even more noticeable with a white blonde finish, which is a great idea by the way!

[Regan]

Wow! Very nice! I am partial to sunburst myself.....and I think it looks great with the tort guard! However, black looks sweet too! It's a no loose situation for my tastes! I love that case nearly as much as the guitar!

[jetset]

1.  You should set the action and intonation before you do anything to modify the screws.  It could be that the saddles need to be moved to be properly intonated, which might fix the issue with the screw interference.  Set the action, then each string fretted at the 12th fret should be in tune (perfect octave) with the same string open.  If its sharp, move the saddle towards the trem.

2.  Nice burst, I'd keep it as is. 

-j

[JazzBlaster]

Nice burst, I'd keep it as is. 

+1

change the guard and you're good to go! 

[hieronymous]

Wow! Very nice! I am partial to sunburst myself.....and I think it looks great with the tort guard! However, black looks sweet too! It's a no loose situation for my tastes! I love that case nearly as much as the guitar!

The tort guard looks OK from a distance, but I can't tolerate it because I know what it looks like up close. I love the case though too - just like the one with the George Fullerton Bass VI!

1.  You should set the action and intonation before you do anything to modify the screws.  It could be that the saddles need to be moved to be properly intonated, which might fix the issue with the screw interference.  Set the action, then each string fretted at the 12th fret should be in tune (perfect octave) with the same string open.  If its sharp, move the saddle towards the trem.

Yeah, I'm still waiting on the black pickguard! Got a fresh set of strings all ready to go, gonna set the intonation, then try and set the trem, and hopefully that's all I'll have to do. I don't know how old the strings were that came with it, so it's a good point to set action and intonation first. Now if only that guard would come, hopefully before the weekend...

[RumorsOFsurF]

NO REFIN. 


I  Sunburst too...

[hieronymous]

NO REFIN. 

Don't worry!    It's gonna stay sunburst.

I'm kind of bummed, been waiting over a week for the pickguard. Now it looks like I'll have to wait until next week, would've been nice to be able to work on the guitar over the long weekend...

[hieronymous]

No pickguard today either.    So since I don't have anything new to report, I added a few more pics that I took when the case came to my original post in this thread.

Actually, I guess I can report that another project is underway - sent my early-'70s Telecaster Bass (I know, I know, it's not an offset) to Boston Guitar Repair to be rifinished mocha and to have some Alembic Activator pickups added. Don't worry - the previous owner already did irreversible mods - mine will merely be improvements!

[hieronymous]

Darn, I got in touch with Chandler, and they said it's generally a 2 1/2 week wait. I feel better knowing that - I guess I didn't dig around enough on the website.

[hieronymous]

And one other thing - I ordered a set of LaBella roundwounds! I really like LaBella strings - mainly short-scale flats and rounds so far, we'll see if the love continues with the Bass VI strings. I have an unopened set of Fender Bass VI strings that I was planning on using, now I have a choice.

SO - I have a few choices:

1. Wait until the pickguard arrives, then do everything at once

2. Put on the Fenders now, get it kind of set up, then take them off and put on the LaBellas when the pickguard arrives (which will waste the Fender strings)

3. Put on the LaBellas now, and then when the pickguard comes, try and loosen the strings enough that I can remove the bridge so that I can get the pickguard on (which has the potential of damaging the strings and/or being really frustrating)

Not sure yet what I'm going to do. I'll probably just wait. Waiting is hard, but I'm pretty busy as it is, plus I have a few other musical projects that I can be working on, including restringing one of my other basses, and programming my drum machine for a song that I have in mind...