It is a fantastic article, and it discloses more of the story than I thought would be made public. Very interesting!
An article on the 'tear down' of Hofner restore the bass would be equally interesting. It is interesting that luthiers could take such liberties in the '60s. Presumably Jim Burns was just asked to make the bass like new? Hence the heavy poly sunburst, oversized pickup chassis, etc. John Birch was apparently notorious for going well beyond the scope of work required; replacing fretboards and shaving necks, refinishing everything in poly when the guitar was booked in for a fret replacement, etc.