Right then, folks. Here's what we've discovered so far about this vintage MIJ bass. For starters, both the volume and tone pots, as well as the bridge ground, are working fine. Meanwhile, the generic output jack, despite some careful bending of the "hot" flange, still feels loose. We will not be retaining it. Now, some welcome news. The broken mute pad mounting post has been welded back onto the base plate. A fine job indeed, for the repair is virtually invisible. The not-so-good news is that one of the three base plate mounting screws has broken off, leaving half of it embedded in the body. Sure looks like a drill, dig, plug, and redrill job. Then there's the mangled nut, the slots of which have been crudely gouged out to accommodate the wider girth of nylon tapewound strings. Perhaps the saddest discovery is that the truss rod adjustment socket is frozen. This means that we can't straighten the neck yet, which also means that there's no way to check if the frets are level right now. Let's keep our fingers crossed, and look forward to better news in the next update.
In this post, we begin by dealing with the fret sprout (sharp fret ends) issue. This involves flush filing the fret ends, beveling, and fret end dressing. Next, having straightened the neck, checks reveal seven high frets (5, 6, 13, 15, 16, 18 and 19). This might very well be the cause of the fret buzz the owner complained about earlier. We're glad to report that after fret dressing, all the frets are now level and much smoother to the touch. Oh yes, we've also cleaned and conditioned the fretboard. Stay tuned for future updates.
This semi-hollowbody suffered a fall recently, as one can tell from the cracks on both sides of the neck. These cracks extend from below the nut to about the second fret. Then there's the fractured lacquer all along the neck-and-body joint seam, indicating that the neck has shifted. Exactly how stable the neck is can only be determined after further examination.
And, as expected, the owner is currently battling tuning stability issues, made all the more serious as he's a gigging musician. In any case, he needs this guitar for an upcoming retro-themed show, and there isn't enough time to fix it before then. So, we've advised him to have a backup guitar onstage in case things go south. Recorded at 22:14 on October 29, 2026. CA Guitar Repair. Taman Impian Ku, 25200 Kuantan.
Glad to report that the belly bulge has finally flattened out, and we've been able to pry the bridge off the top. What's to come will be the usual scraping, leveling, roughening, regluing and clamping, plus some touch-ups where the original lacquer has peeled off. As for the GE-5T onboard preamp, it's been safely disassembled for evaluation, save for the endpin jack assembly. For some reason, even after removing the three external mounting screws, it won't budge an inch. Peering inside the body reveals what could be a nut securing the jack in place. Or it could just be these old eyes seeing something which isn't there. Recorded at 16:11 on October 23, 2026. CA Guitar Repair. Taman Impian Ku, 25200 Kuantan.
This gloss black four-string bass came in as nekkid as the day it was born, with not so much as a flimsy gig bag to shield it from the elements. Yes, I have asked the owner to get one pronto, and even told him where to buy one on the cheap. Now, I won't rehash the obvious, as you can clearly see the corrosion and grime encrusting this once fine instrument. Just watch the video till the end, and you'll understand what needs to be done. One thing we'd like to talk about is the issue of inexpensive string brands, most notably "Alice." Fresh out of the package, "Alice" sounds fine to these ears. Admittedly, these strings lose their tone and go "dead" much faster than the more prestigious brands. You get what you pay for, right? So, just change them regularly, and you'll have no problems. Recorded at 19:04 on October 20, 2026. CA Guitar Repair. Taman Impian Ku, 25200 Kuantan.
