I finally got up to Mike Lull's shop Tuesday (we teachers are off this week! ) with the Bicentennial.
See:
http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=91.0Oh my - imagine going to the doctor expecting a physical, maybe hearing you need to lose some weight, exercise more, etc. But then the doctor starts telling you your limbs are about to fall off, you've got 14 types of cancer, decapitation is the only cure. I thought this baby needed a little restore, but in Mike's words I got "screwed" and picked up a bass that had been "obliterated." (Obliterated - that's a bad word I think).
Apparently the bass had been dropped, or thrown, or run-over - hell, I didn't see this through the refin but the hairline cracks in the finish tell a story. It appears the headstock had snapped off, the neck was broken in 2-3 places, the input jack was smashed in (you can see that in the pics), body was probably cracked. Hence the reason for the re-fin after Dr. Frankenstein did his work in the early 80's. I suppose it could have been run over by a truck and that would explain the missing hardshell that the seller claimed was "stolen." (Yes, I did wonder why someone would steal a case and leave the bass....)
Now after the shock and the realization that my first attempt at the Vintage TB market makes me feel like a complete idiot, I consulted the Fraulein, Bass NW, another bassist in Nashville - the picture became clearer. I paid too much for a parts bass. I could part out the chrome, pickguard, etc, and be out of some dough. OR *drum roll please* I could take it back to Mike and begin a Fenderbird with Maple neck. For those of you that haven't seen Mike's work he's pretty amazing - he could make the Bride of Frankenstein look like Jessica Alba with his skills. (Don't know if she'd get plekked though).
The good news is the chrome hardware and tuners are in good shape. And I like Maple necks. I tried the Fenderbird up at Bass NW yesterday
http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=175.0- it doesn't have the 3-point bridge on it and the neck pocket looks like you could store your car keys in there, but it played pretty well. I'm thinking that Mike + TB body/parts = a plekked neck Fenderbird. I'll try to make the best of this and still have a player even though I'll be selling other stuff to cover my nut. Oh yeah, this bass definitely needs a new nut too.
Any suggestions on a new color? In my initial state of delirium, a vision came to me of playing off the Bicentennial theme and painting it ala Buck Owens Bicent. Acoustic... campy huh? But at least I could still get gigs on the 4th of July and at the local VFW.