DrippyReverbTremolo
Joined: Mar 11, 2023
Posts: 156
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Posted on Jan 27 2025 11:59 PM
New Old Guitar Day!
This came up for sale locally/online. The photos weren't too clear but the seller stated he bought it second hand in 1998, didn't modify it and barely played it since. A quick-scan online told me that E + 6 digits serial number MIJ Fenders (1984-1987) are somewhat collectable. So I arranged to meet.
The guitar looked cool. The back shows the most playwear, including finish chips (that I want to fix). It was filthy. Really filthy. It was missing the wiggle stick and has two white strat knobs.
Judging by the fret wear it had been played to death before the seller got it. It needs a refret. I bought it because it plays well despite that, because it sounds well, it's resonant and not too heavy (7.8 lbs). And because it looks cool and wanted a Jag for a while - but Fender isn't making traditional ones right now.
So here it is (after a thorough cleaning). I had a spare Staytrem bridge that dropped right in, and a spare Staytrem arm & collet. The collet has Imperial threads (UK and UsA) but screws into the MIJ vibrato. I was quite surprised at that because I expected it to have metric threads, being a MIJ guitar.
Last edited: Feb 08, 2025 07:29:01
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DrippyReverbTremolo
Joined: Mar 11, 2023
Posts: 156
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Posted on Jan 28 2025 12:09 AM
Did I mention it was filthy? I spent 2 hours cleaning it with naphtha and power towels. Wearing rubber gloves every minute of it (the case was also filthy - scrubbed it outside with kitchen cleaner and a garden hose). The fretboard took first price... so much finger cheese, dust, sweat, nicote, boogers etc. Worse than the pictures show. It was dried and hard. Had to scrub with a toothbrush, using naptha. Black chunks fell off. Yuk. I kept at it as long as the paper towels were getting yellow (the naphtha was drawing the filth out of the pores).
But it revealed a nice rosewood board, that then needed to then be oiled. Not sure if you can tell, but the frets are filed flat a the G and B-string, all the way up to the 11th fret.
More yukiness. The original bridge was setup stupidly high, with a flat radius and taped-up posts. It goes in the case, along with the original collet.
Last edited: Jan 28, 2025 01:55:20
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DrippyReverbTremolo
Joined: Mar 11, 2023
Posts: 156
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Posted on Feb 06 2025 02:55 AM
So it's been 2 weeks and I must say this is a lovely instrument. The neck feels good. The poly finish is thin, smooth and hard. Not sticky. It plays better than I thought it would because of the worn frets, both with a light and ham-fisted touch. But I'm having it refretted this February with vintage tall frets.
All electrics work, no crackles etc. It sounds like a Jag. Or rather: it sounds like a Jag sounds in my head. It does the surf thing I hear in the surf songs I listen to and practice. Neck and bridge pickups have the same output (6,3 Ohms) and string spacing. So they're the same pickup. Brass shielding plates in the body cavities, all interconnected with ground wires. I'm pretty sure the aluminum shielding tape on the pickguard isn't original (because there's already a big brass plate underneath it).
I've seen many comments in old threads about upgrading all electrics. But I see no need to do so. Moreover, it's a 40 year old guitar & almost all original. Offsets are made to be modded but not in this case.
But I do dislike the volume pot. The treble and most of the volume rolls off, from 10 to 8. So I keep it at 10. Which isn't really practical. Can anyone tell from the photo below if changes were made to original wiring design? I think I see signs of that: the piece of solder on the volume pot without a connection on it. Perhaps adding a treble bleed is possible?
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edwardsand
Joined: Jun 29, 2018
Posts: 781
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Posted on Feb 06 2025 08:53 AM
Looks like it's wired right, though someone may have relocated a grounding wire. Seems like a 1MA volume pot shouldn't behave like that, so if you don't like the drastic volume shift, you might try replacing that pot. And then you can see if it still makes a big difference in tone when you turn it down - if so, then you could add the treble bleed.
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DrippyReverbTremolo
Joined: Mar 11, 2023
Posts: 156
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Posted on Feb 08 2025 07:26 AM
edwardsand wrote:
Looks like it's wired right, though someone may have relocated a grounding wire. Seems like a 1MA volume pot shouldn't behave like that, so if you don't like the drastic volume shift, you might try replacing that pot. And then you can see if it still makes a big difference in tone when you turn it down - if so, then you could add the treble bleed.
Thanks. I did a bit more reading. I suspect the volume pot has a lineair taper. An audio taper pot should provide what I'm looking for in terms of the volume roll off.
Last edited: Feb 08, 2025 07:27:23
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