Sorry for not replying sooner. After the holidays I got busy again with work. I've been meaning to post an update.
After I got the bass, I immediately took it to my local vintage shop to dig in and get an appraisal. I'll start with the bad news -- it turns out there are a lot of changed and modified components! Some of the things included a huge body route beneath the pickguard, a replaced pickup, non-original cheap Japanese pots, a WD replaced pickguard, replaced knobs, a replaced saddle piece on the bridge that practically makes the bass unplayable, and two gouges in the fretboard (one filled by the first fret and one still present at the 10th fret, although the bass is playable in both places). I was a bit disappointed. As you know, I paid $2650 for the bass. That's a @~&*@@*& lot of money! I consulted with my vintage shop about its value and restoration costs and I decided to ask the seller for a $1000 refund. Guess what? They agreed!
So I ended up paying $1650 for the bass. I'm happy with that! The one thing that must be fixed now is the incorrect saddle piece on the bridge--it doesn't prop the string up correctly--it even looks like a guitar saddle that someone threw on there to sell it (any actual player would never tolerate it on there). I'm going to put in better pots too. Those are easy fixes. The other stuff can wait.
The neck rosewood is in great shape except for the damage mentioned above, although again, the neck is playable in both places--you don't feel it while playing. The frets are in great shape. The non-original pickup is from 1977 so I'm not going to worry about that. The Olympic White aged beautifully--it's a gorgeous, well-played instrument with lots of character.
It sounds and feels great to play, so--after the refund--I'm very happy with the bass! Here are some pictures, including the original pictures from the auction…
http://1drv.ms/1FTDCQb
