Mods to McCartney's bass before mid 1970's USA Tour

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Mon Jun 11, 2001 1:21 pm

The bass was returned to the plant and the following was done to it and why;

The original sand cast bridge was cracked and the saddle assembly was held together with some wire.He wanted it fixed or replaced.

It was replaced with a current model bridge assembly that also had polished saddles .This polishing was not STOCK ...it was done because of who's bass it was .

The nut was replaced with a piece of bone ....either Bill Meyers or Joel Helin came up with it .Joel spoke to me about this around February of 2001

The fret work was fixed ,they were in poor condition .

The pickguard was cracked ...I made the new one and aligned the knobs straight ,not this uneven look that is so common.

The bridge pickup was dead ,the cobalt magnets were lifeless and after several attempts to recharge them (they would not hold a charge ) we grouped together and decided to make a custom version of the stock bridge pickup.That is what you see in his bass as of last year .Rumor has it that he now has a reissue horseshoe pickup in the bridge pickup location.

The bass controls were cleaned and the fur ball that grows inside of so many instruments ,was removed.

The body shape was left alone and so was the bare wood.It had a used odor about it .Kind of "Drip O'sweat " !

It was set up and intoned ,then sent back to the sales office for shipping or delivery.

C._Bourke · Post by **C._Bourke** » Mon Jun 11, 2001 4:33 pm

Mark, here's another question about McCartney's bass. One I'm sure many of us McCartney fans would like to know.
Just how much wood has been shaved away from his 4001? Is it significantly thinner or lighter than say, my overweight 4001v63?

Also for any details freaks out there, when was the last reported sighting of his '64 4001? I know I have 1989 footage of him rehearsing "My brave face" with it. And I might remember seeing it in his home studio around the '93 Lp...but I cant really recall. I never did see him with it on the '89 or '93 tours, though of course I looked for it on stage.

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Mon Jun 11, 2001 4:42 pm

C. Bourke,

Paul did have the 4001S on the 89/90 tour. It was the back up to the Hofner. It was backstage in it's flight case. I don't believe it made the 93 tour. It can be seen on the inner sleeve collage of "Off the Ground". Paul is playing it while wearing headphones. It can also be seen in studio in the 1997 documentary "In the World Tonight". I haven't seen it since then. Hope that helps.

C._Bourke · Post by **C._Bourke** » Tue Jun 12, 2001 4:05 am

Yeah, I went and looked up some early 90's photos and found it in some shots that you mentioned.
Thanks.

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Tue Jun 12, 2001 5:25 am

The thickness is vertually the same ,the sides were scraped heavily and it looks like he used 60 grit or rougher sandpaper to remove the paint .

The scraper marks were quite heavy on the sides ,and it was a rectangular scraper .You could tell that from the corner gouges on the face ..they were about 5 inches apart .
I don't think he used powered tools to do any of this work.

From what I have been told about John's Casino ,there is a similar situation with that guitar .I heard that he may have scraped through the ouside layer of veneer on the back .The face appears ,fine ,but I'm sure that these were a weekend stoner project ....I can imagine the three of them doing this together, smoking/dropping their favorite recreational substance.I'm sure they felt that they were doing a real good job .

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Tue Jun 12, 2001 5:32 am

On the mods that I have done I thought about the scraper marks and all the roughness of their work.

I drew that line with the shape that was made .I felt that if I did the same roughness as Paul did ,your average customer would not be very happy.

Even if ,they saw PM's bass.

So I opted for the shape of it and finish sanded the whole instrument(s).

On one I did have a problem with a metal component clanging against a finished bass ,that was when we had our earthquake in the spring .

It looked like church bells in the Notre Damme cathedrel clanging in the shop.My paint work that was drying/hanging was the worst hit.

I bet that the Rick version will be the same kind of thing .Nicely sanded and some kind of satin finish or the ragged on oil type finish.

TCollins · Post by **TCollins** » Tue Jun 12, 2001 7:38 am

Thank you all!
-for this fascinating piece of Beatle history!!!
"Weekend Stoner Project" made me laugh...

jwilli · Post by **jwilli** » Tue Jun 12, 2001 7:40 am

Hey Mark, what did ya'll do with the "fur ball" found in Paul's bass?

markthemd · Post by **markthemd** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 6:06 am

SEnt it to the tourist trap that has the worlds BIGGEST Fur Ball ...I think it is in Nebraska

They added it to the rest of the fur ball .

I believe this ball was started from Buffalo Fur balls,they have a real problem with that !
The Great Plains Indians took advantage of this info and when hunting the herds, aimed for the animal gagging up a fur ball.

C._Bourke · Post by **C._Bourke** » Thu Jun 14, 2001 7:16 am

No fur balls please...just Full Bars

GT · Post by GT » Wed Jun 27, 2001 1:55 pm

I asked this under a different post and got no responses so I'll try it here. Does anyone have the pick-up arrangement that McCartney had? The toaster neck & button top bridge pick-ups. If so, what do you think?

Rick_Harper · Post by **Rick_Harper** » Wed Jul 04, 2001 4:51 pm

Anybody know the story of the zero fret that was added to that bass? Does anybody know where there might be a COLOR photo of that bass before he painted it? There was one photo in Beatles Monthly taken backstage w/ McCartney tuning it in '66 but it's not a full picture of the instrument. It seems very red compared to the headstock. I've always wondered about this.

Rick Harper