Fender bass guitar

Subject: Fender bass guitar
From: Mac Tattie
Date: 01 Jan 02 - 02:05 PM

Anyone know the correct wireing for the tone and volume controls for a Fender bass guitar? It's actualy a coppy by Jim Deacon but controls should be similar. Any web sites or info. cheers

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Mountain Dog
Date: 01 Jan 02 - 03:52 PM

Hi, Mac

Here's a link to a site that may prove useful to you. They appear to have wiring diagrams for just about anything made by Fender. Take a look and good luck!

http://www.mrgearhead.net/faq/diagrams.php

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Mac Tattie
Date: 01 Jan 02 - 08:10 PM

Just the ticket. Got it all rewired still sounds rough but a better kind of rough. cheers

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Tweed
Date: 01 Jan 02 - 09:05 PM

If it's got noise I've found a cheap trick that gets rid of the buzzin'. Take A.C. duct tape (the metallic silver kind) and line the cavity with it. Then run a ground wire from one of the pots and fasten the other end against the tape with a small screw. Be sure and solder the regular ground to the back of the bridge. Lot of 'em just lay under there pressed against it and you'll get some noise from that too. The duct tape works great and sticks very well as long as the cavity's clean and dry before applying it. Use scissors to custom fit it.

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: 53
Date: 01 Jan 02 - 09:06 PM

what kind of fender bass guitar, 4 or 5 string and the model would be nice. BOB

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Mac Tattie
Date: 02 Jan 02 - 03:41 PM

Tweed, I thought about lining with aluminium foil and connecting this to the screen and then covering/insulating the foil with pvc tape. One of these days I'll try it. It's a four string, beat-up, second hand, Fender Precision bass coppy, by Jim Deacon. Worth about twice the cost of the new lead and strap I bought for it before Christmas. cheers

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Tweed
Date: 02 Jan 02 - 06:49 PM

Hey Mac, if you can get your hands on that aluminum duct tape you'll like it better than foil. It's about twice as thick as regular foil and the adhesive on the back is very good. I've got an old Squire Bullet that I rescued from a pawn shop. I put new pickups and guts in it and it buzzed like a population of hornets, so I took everything back out and duct taped everything that I could and the back of the pickguard grounded the works and viola! no more buzz even with the single coils. I did use an ohm meter to make sure I had continuity of tape throughout and had to do some piecing to get it right but it worked good and was next to nothing for materials. Another use of duct tape for the list. What the hell did we ever do without it?

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: 53
Date: 02 Jan 02 - 09:27 PM

If it's made by jim deacon, then why do you call it a fender? BOB

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Mac Tattie
Date: 03 Jan 02 - 03:21 PM

sorry I did'nt meen to o-fender you.cheers

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Ralphie
Date: 03 Jan 02 - 04:51 PM

HNY Y'all!
Slight thread creep, but I have a Fender Telecaster Bass. (Yes, Telecaster!)
Year unknown, and I can't seem to find out anything about it on the various Fender sites....!!
Looks all original to me, possibly 1950/60's
Any clues from our Fender afficionados out there?
Cheers Ralphie

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Tweed
Date: 03 Jan 02 - 07:31 PM

I got a buddy who has a Tele Bass and you're only the second person I ever heard of having one. Don't know a great deal about it other than it plays and sounds real good and is one heavy SOB. I think he traced his down to the late sixties but may be wrong there. fender.com used to have a way to check the serial numbers to date them but they seem to have changed their site around and dumped it. ..... did'nt meen to o-fender you..... Good one Mac Tattie!

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Ralphie
Date: 04 Jan 02 - 03:15 AM

Thanks Tweed
Nice to know it's got a twin out there !!
And it certainly weighs a lot.
Cheers Ralphie

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 04 Jan 02 - 08:55 AM

Mac, I recently got hauled over the coals by a player who took me to task for referring to his instrument as a "bass guitar". "It's an electric bass" he sneered condescendingly.

Pedantic git.

Murray

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Mountain Dog
Date: 04 Jan 02 - 09:32 AM

Hi, Ralphie

By way of a little more info, here's this tidbit from "American Guitars: An Illustrated History", revised edition, Tom Wheeler, Harper/Perennial, 1992, pg. 74:

"The Telecaster bass appeared in 1968, although it missed 1968's catalogue. It had the boxy shape of the earliest Precisions. In February of 1972 a humbucking pickup was added and other changes were made."

There are a couple of black and white photos of Tele basses on page 75 of Wheeler's book, too.

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 05 Jan 02 - 12:39 AM

You are making me cry again over selling my Tele Fretless bass about 15 years ago to pay the rent. I swore I'd never sell another instrument again (lost a Farfisa organ in a flood) - I now have about 47 including a Fender Jazz Bass and an O'Hagen neck thru body bass.

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: 53
Date: 05 Jan 02 - 02:30 AM

what kind of instruments are they? bob

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Ralphie
Date: 05 Jan 02 - 03:00 AM

Thanks Mountain Dog
I'll carry on my research...I wonder what it's worth?
(Not that its up for sale!!)
Cheers Ralphie

Subject: RE: BS: Fender bass guitar
From: Mooh
Date: 05 Jan 02 - 09:11 AM

Absolutely the best bass I ever owned was a Fender Telecaster electric bass guitar. Mine was made about 1977, translucent brown finished body, maple neck and fingerboard, single Fender humbucking pickup next to the neck, and vibe! I had it strung with flatwound strings (I don't remember ever doing otherwise on any bass) because I like that upright-like sound. It was a fast player which my bandmates and I thought sounded better than a Jazz bass I occasionally used.

The '70s weren't Fender's best years, but this bass was incredible. I wish I knew what happened to it, I'd buy it back if I could, having sold it to keep the wolves from my door.

At the time, I also had a matching Telecaster Deluxe electric guitar, not the gem the bass was, but decent anyway.

Thanks for the memories!

Mooh.