LeftyBassist.com

Hey folks, I'm working on fixing up my 86 Squier Precision Bass. The body is slightly worn and beat up from lots of playing time, and I love it, and my dad is envious of the authentic look it has (he has a sparkling brand new Strat that he's making "look old")

Anyway, I have a list of ideas of how I want to improve the bass, and was curious to pass them by you.

I'm not overflowing with cash, but I do want to:

1) Replace the Pickguard

Yeah, so when I got the bass the pickguard was, well, destroyed. I think the dude who owned it before me was going for a Jaco Pastorius look...yeah its not a Jazz Bass buddy.






I've considered getting a "black pearl" pickguard from Warmoth: Warmoth Bass Pickguard


Problem is that I don't know about all the option I need to select. On the page it asks about a "Neck Pickup." What option should I select for ordering? Should it be: PBass (Split) or None??



2) New Tuners The butterfly/elephant ear tuners on my bass are pretty worn out, the finish is toast...and the Schaller tuners made of gold really catch my eye: click here


The question is: Could I easily make these work for a left handed bass??



3) Custom Inlays Not gonna lie, never been a fan of rosewood necks...so I'm looking to spice it up a little with something more than those little dots. What do you guys think of inlay stickers? Cheap and stupid?


Thanks guys!!

I recently made a cool "FrenkenFender bass" out of different hardware, neck, pickups I had in my closet and the body of a P-Squier. Now, I had all those parts left over after years of experimentation. In your case, this is my advice: between Tuners, Pickguard and Pickups you are looking into spending about as much money as your bass is worth. I agree with your dad, your bass looks cool anyway. Replace only the pickups with an Original Fender 62' P-bass pickup (you can get it on musiciansfriend.com) which goes for about $60. Older Squiers often sound good with better pickups.

I personally like the look of your bass now just as it is.

What are your intentions for wanting to change things on your bass? Purely aesthetic or are the components you mentioned (other than the pickguard) not functioning properly? The reason I ask is you're considering a mix of old bass parts with new, and made no mention of wanting to refinish the worn body, so if you like the aesthetic appeal of your well-played bass then throwing new hardware on there might look inconsistent. Just my opinion, but if your tuners are tarnished but otherwise functioning properly I wouldn't bother replacing them. The gold Schallers are nice, but the rest of your hardware is chrome/silver. Again, just my opinion, but mixed colored hardware always looks like a thrown together parts bass to me.

A new pickguard should be easy enough, as I don't believe an '86 Squire pickguard would be unique to that instrument. You might want to double check that, as well as whether or not a Squire will take standard Precision parts on all components you've mentioned. Your bass has a standard split coil P configuration so just make sure you select "left handed orientation" and split coil.

"3) Custom Inlays Not gonna lie, never been a fan of rosewood necks...so I'm looking to spice it up a little with something more than those little dots. What do you guys think of inlay stickers? Cheap and stupid?"

What did you have in mind? Whatever you come up with would have to cover the inlays already there and be opaque enough to not show through. Stickers won't last long, they'll wear over reasonable time and before you know it will look pretty lousy. and if you're keeping your rosewood neck, then you more or less have to go with a lighter color (i.e. white) so they'll be visible. some people paint inlays (even Fender paints their block inlays these days), so that would be a better option, but you'll still have the original pearloid inlays underneath unless you're looking to go the extent of removing them and filling them in. For that kind of effort on a Squire, you'd be better off just buying a neck made the way you want it. Albeit more expensive, have Warmoth or someone make you a custom neck with inlays of your choice. A maple lefty P neck with black block inlays could run you close to $400, however. But now you're easily exceeding the value of your original bass.

Thanks for the advice guys! I understand about exceeding the value of the bass...I'm one of those folks who likes to keep old cars around and install leather seats, new paint jobs etc...basically I have a love affair with making old things (regardless of value) valuable in itself.

I would recommend you contace Jeannie Pickguards or Pickguardian and let them know you have a '86 Squire lefty P-bass that you'd like a new pickguard for. There's a good possibility that they'll have a template in stock, and this would help to ensure that the screw holes are in the correct location, that the neck pocket will be in the right place, and that the pickup holes are also properly located.

my experience is that W offers great pickguards, but they're not the place to go shopping when looking to replace a pickguard on a production run instrument




you need to remove a tuner an precisely measure how big the hole is. I suspect you're going to need to replace the tuners with a set designed with mounting holes that match what your bass came with. Check out Hipshot as a great source for replacement tuners





stickers would be exactly what I'd recommend - they are inexpensive and you can easily remove them (without having damaged your fretboard) when you no longer want the look

all the best,

R

Really, Rod? What are thinking, some vinyl sticker? I had a basic paper sticker in mind, but immediately dismissed the idea if a sticker on a fretboard thinking about all the crap residue I'm still trying to get off my old guitar case from stickers long gone. (Especially when they're bad dated stickers you don't want anyone to see, like "Erasure". ). Goo Gone and/or Goof Off helps, but some of that residue is there to stay. On a fretboard, I'd think it could be pretty nasty over time.