1992 Fender U.S. Prodigy II Rebuild - Part One

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Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

This post is the first in a series of four concerning a Fender U.S. Prodigy II guitar that I had the pleasure of working on. The guitar came to me in the form of a beat-up body, neck, disconnected pickups; and assorted hardware (including the stock Kahler Spyder "Double Locking Tremolo System" minus its nut clamping blocks). The neck was crafted by D. Chavez on August 5, 1992. Here are the original specs, kindly provided by Brett Leasure of FMIC Consumer Relations.

Model Name: U.S. Prodigy II Guitar
Model Number: 014-5102
Series: U.S. Prodigy Series (introduced in 1991, discontinued in 1993)
Body: Poplar
Neck: Maple
Fingerboard: Maple
Frets: 22
Scale Length: 25.5" (648mm)
Nut: 1.650" (42mm)
Hardware: Chrome
Machine Heads: Standard Cast/Sealed
Bridge: Floyd Rose Licensed Double Locking Tremolo
Pickguard: 3-Ply Black
Pickups: 1 Standard Humbucking, 2 Standard Single Coil Pickup Switching: 5-Position Blade
Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone
Color: (725) Crimson Metallic

Now, here are some pics concerning the prep and refinish stage of this job. The stock Crimson Metallic finish on the body was scraped off, the bare wood (poplar) sanded down, and then refinished in super glue. 

 

1995 Fender Squier Series Stratocaster Refret

This Made-In-Mexico "Black Decal" Fender Squier Series Stratocaster [Serial Number MN542224] came in for a refret and lots of TLC. For more information on this Strat, please click HERE.

 

2007 Left-Handed American Standard Precision Bass

This blog entry features a left-handed black 2007 American Standard Precision Bass that came in for a string change (DR Dragon Skin) and setup. Besides this, the owner also requested that the stock Custom Shop '60s Split Single-Coil Precision Bass pickup be replaced with a Seymour Duncan SPB-4 Steve Harris. 

Features that caught my eye were the ultra-smooth and precise Fender "F" Light-Weight Vintage-Paddle Keys with Tapered Shafts (tuning machines), the 4-Saddle High-Mass Vintage String-Through-Body Bridge (adjustable string spacing), and solid shaft CTS pots. On the other hand, I was rather disappointed to see that the 0.05uF tone cap was ceramic.

Full front and rear view.

Headstock front and back.

String ferrules for through-body stringing.

Closer view of the "4-Saddle High-Mass Vintage String-Through-Body" bridge. Note that the saddles for the G and D strings have 4 grooves, and those for the A and E, three. This feature enables adjustable string spacing.

Clockwise from top left: pickguard sticker, volume control knob removed to reveal solid pot shaft, truss rod adjustment hex nut at neck heel, and pickguard assembly date sticker.

Underside of pickguard shielded with aluminium foil, and control cavity with shielding paint. Note ground lug to the left of the barcode sticker.

Closer view of the electronics.

Good to go.

Fender Japan Left-Handed '75 Jazz Bass

What we have here is an absolutely gorgeous natural ash JB75/LH minus its stock white pickguard. It came in for a string change, setup, and also a bridge upgrade to a Badass Bass II.

Full front and rear view

Front and back of headstock.

Gorgeous wood grain on the front.

Equally attractive wood grain on the back.

3-bolt neck plate.

Control cavity. Note brass shielding base plate.

Flood Victim #2 - Yamaha RBX775 FSL

My Two Cents
This 2004 Flat Silver (FSL) RBX775 was made "by Kaohsiung Yamaha Co., Ltd. in Taiwan in accordance with specifications of Yahama Corporation." Like the Washburn XB125 featured in an earlier post, this bass suffered quite a lot of damage due to the floods of early 2014. Once again, the main consideration was to resuscitate the instrument at minimal cost.

The 24-fret bolt-on maple neck, tuning machines and rosewood fingerboard were still in great shape despite being submerged for around 24 hours in muddy water. The truss rod, located at the heel end of the neck, functioned adequately after cleaning and a lube job. As such, besides a thorough cleaning, nothing much had to be done to the neck.

The alder body, however, was a totally different story. The finish had cracked, bubbled and was in danger of peeling off in several places. After stripping the body down to bare wood (which had quite an attractive grain), I discovered severe discoloration around the control knobs and switches due to rust and a blackish substance (probably shielding paint). I also found patches of rotten wood and a few cracks, which were repaired using wood splices, glue and clamps. The cavity that housed the DPDT boost switch was also sealed with a wooden dowel. As expected, a fair amount of sanding, leveling and reshaping had to be carried out before the body was ready for refinishing. Unlike the XB125 refinish job, no stain was applied to the wood as the grain pattern stood out nicely on its own. All that was needed was a couple of coats of sanding sealer followed by a few more coats of clear lacquer.

Like the body, the BPZ-8 bridge assembly was in bad shape. I guess that rust never sleeps. All the wood screws had to be replaced (thanks to Mr. Liew of Kuantan Music for having them in stock). The bridge itself was taken apart and all the components de-rusted and lubricated. I'm especially thankful that the tiny saddle height adjustment screws were useable after being treated with a wire brush, contact cleaner and grease.

Now, let's talk about the electronics. Sad to say, the only useable components were the pickups. I suspect that the black epoxy Yamaha used to seal them did a good job of keeping water and other assorted flood gunk from getting in. Nice job, Yamaha! That being the case, I opted for a simple passive wiring setup. This included aluminium foil shielding, a 3-way toggle switch for pickup selection, a pair of Alpha 500K pots plus a 0.047uF cap for master volume and tone, and a new barrel output jack.

I'm pleased to report that this 'naturalized' RBX775 performed admirably through a Hartke 4x10 combo amp during two recent gigs (9th and 11th of June). The tone was nicely balanced with deep and defined lows, growling mids, plus a snappy top end. Not too bad for a passive bass. Now, I just can't wait to find out what the Washburn XB125 will sound like through the same setup. Enough said, then. Let's look at some pictures.

References and Credits
My Cool Guitars
richardwitt74's Flickr Photostream
Yamaha USA
Yamaha RBX774/RBX775 Service Manual