Brief back-story: I purchased this 1964 RM 1999 back in 2006. When I received it, it had been refin'd, clearly. (Rather: Orangely) and didn't have any of it's original hardware except for the tuners.
Over the course of a couple of years, I was able to track down all the period correct hardware right down to the hand-carved bakelite nut.
One of the first functional issues addressed was the tilted-fwd headstock. The strings often popped out of the nut, and the nameplate would no longer sit flush on the surface. Chip Little at Winfield Vintage corrected the angle nicely.
However, that's about the only part of the job that he did correctly. I was VERY unhappy with most all the other work he did. I know it's not considered good form to publicly criticize someone's work, but F it - I would have appreciated the heads-up on Chip's level of workmanship before sending him my rare bass. But looking at the greater good, I figure with this lip service that the bass I save just might be your own. For the sake of keeping this thread positive and on point, I've posted the details of The Chip Little Experience HERE.
The first order of business upon getting the bass back - getting rid of the Pumpkin-Glo:
Although unique, I really wasn't digging it, and will eventually return the bass to it's original Fireglo glory.
Next, addressing some of the more serious issues. The pickup cavities had excess routing which weakened the neck piece and resulted in the neck pitching forward at the body intersection under standard tuning string tension and caused separation between both body wings and the neck from the heel inward about 3 inches.
I've removed the original neck wood down all the way to the bottom of the horseshoe pickup cavity, and have prepped it for a new replacement block. The top body wing is pretty heavily damaged by excess screw holes and sanding down of the back end above the tailpiece which has compromised it's original size and shape, so it will be replaced by a new piece that also has a bird's eye grain which will better match the bottom wing. Once reassembled, the pickup and tailpiece cavities will be rerouted.
And that's where we're at!
Now where the heck did I put my popcorn??
