When I decided to rebuild my guitar, I made a list of what I wanted to do and the parts I wanted to buy. I finally got a windfall that would finance the venture, so I ordered my parts from www.basspartsresource.com, your one stop shop for guitar and bass parts. Here's what I ordered:
(1) - Hipshot Type-A 4-string bass bridge (brass, not aluminum)
(1) - Seymour Duncan Basslines SPB-3 Quarter Pound P-Bass Pickup
(1) - Fender OEM Tortoise Pickguard
(2) - Aftermarket metal drum knobs
(1) - Wiring kit (2 pots, a .047 mfd capacitor and cloth-covered vintage wire)
(4) - Chrome string ferrules
(1) - Hipshot string retainer/tree
Here's all my parts laid out in the guitar case before the project began in earnest.
I wanted to do something different and perhaps humorous to the headstock when I recreated the artwork. I was inspired by Alex Lifeson's "Hentor Sportscaster". I also thought that the usage of the heteronym "bass" was rather witty. I used a Fender graphic that I kyped of the Internet, choosing it for its uniqueness (I haven't seen it used on a guitar before). The fish graphic pays homage to my redneck heritage.
As you will see here, I've removed the neck, pickguard and electronics, and the bridge. When I removed the bridge, I put a layer of tape on the body, reattached the bridge, and then marked the position of the bridge and also the position of the saddles. I also marked on the tape the placement of the new screw and through-body holes. The cavity was lined with foil tape, as was the back of the pickguard.
What you see here is the body at the point where the bridge attaches. The new bridge allowed for through-the-body stringing, so I needed to drill the body and install string ferrules. What you see here, from top down is: the hole for the bridge ground wire, the screw holes drilled to attach the new bridge, the old screw holes (filled with putty), and the new holes that go through the body.
Here's the new electronics after I soldered them all up. Awesome new pickups, heavy-duty pots and wire. The long wire travelling horozontally, trailing off to the right is the bridge ground wire.
Here's the string ferrules after installed. This is the only part of the job I'm dissatisfied with. When drilling, I chipped the paint slightly. I'm trying the top two strings through and the bottom two on the bridge to see how that sounds.
Here's the new bridge, installed and strung. This thing is solid brass. I'm totally sold on Hipshot products. This bridge has the look of quality and the feel...Well, I'll just say it was money well spent.
Here's a picture of the completed project. I still like the vintage look of the tortoise and the new look of the bridge and pickups.
The headstock after I reinstalled the tuners and added the Hipshot string retainer. This was an impulse buy. The original Fender button was probably adequately functional, but I liked the new look the Hipshot would give it. That, plus I didn't want the button crowding my new graphics. You see the screw hole from the original retainer above the Fender graphic.
Oh, and a final touch. Not wanting to deceive anyone to this guitar's original heritage, I moved the serial number and location of manufacture to the back, changing it slightly to reflect it's new pedigree.
