The deeper I wade into the Hondo restoration project the more I realise it is going to need considerable time and energy to complete. If nothing else, using Stanley blades as cabinet scrapers really ruins your hands for a while!
I bought a circa 1995 Gibson Thunderbird pickup as a candidate pickup for the Hondo before settling on the double Dimarzio route. This means that the Thunderbird pickup needs a new home.
I firstly decided to clean it up a little as I don't like those ghostly string marks that black plastic pickups tend to get over time.
I then started thinking about my other basses, and which could be a good candidate for the pickup. The clearest choice, for me, was my Mustang. This bass is a mashup of a Fender Vintera Mustang neck, Squier Classic Vibe body, Hosco pickguard and Nordstrand NM4 pickup, with most of the Vintera hardware retained for the body. I didn't want to chop up this bass, so I started looking for a second candidate.
The best value option for landing a Mustang bass body, bridge and control plate (and knowing they will all fit together) was to buy a complete Squier Mustang bass and parting it out.
Like the first Squier 'Classic Vibe' body in my possession, the finish is a bit rough around the edges. The metalwork, fretwork and neck in general lack a certain finesse. The electronics are also clearly comprised of the cheapest pots, jack and pickups out the parts catalogs as well. I know people hail Squier CV stuff as being secret Fender-killer grade equipment, but I always think the subtle downward shift in quality is pretty apparent. Using tinted lacquer on the neck or the other occasional nod to period accuracy doesn't make up for rough fretwork or garbage-tier electronics. Don't tell Talkbass I said this!
Due to being stuck at home in lockdown I've tried to give myself a proverbial kick up the rear every few months, either by buying a 'breakthrough' tool or piece of equipment or, six months ago, taking up the flute. I finally caved this week and bought a little router. I've modified many bass bodies with chisels, Dremel tools and generally inappropriate methods. I plan to make a template out of 5mm-thick acrylic, use my hand drill and forstner bits to remove the 'meat' and then tidy everything up with the router, using a number of shallow passes.
This is the general proof of concept. Fender Vintera neck mounted on the donor Squier body, with the Thunderbird pickup roughly situated in the right spot.