4003 Montezuma Brown 2004

[geofio]

Picked this beauty up a few weeks ago, i checked the register there are 4 including mine registered in the UK , this bass was for sale 2 mins from my house !!! it even came with the silver deluxe case, unbelievable find, looks awesome and sounds even better. i was always a Jetglo lover but this MB in the flesh is stunning pics don't do it any justice.

[Gilmourisgod]

Nice find! Always liked that finish, never seen one "in the wild".

[bassduke49]

Nice! Some of the MBs are lighter, like the one I have:

[squirebass]

Always been one of my favorite finishes, especially in those Paul Boyer Limited Editions!!!

[geofio]

very nice Paul. that a 2004 ? that one reminds me of the limited edition walnut burst i had in 2012.

[bassduke49]

Yes, 17th week of 2004, so late May, early June(?).

[geofio]

Nice the one i have was made April 2004. so not that far apart yet they look so different.

[cheyenne]

I've always thought MB should be in the standard lineup along side FG.

[turlu]

I have one too !! The finish is absolutely gorgeous!!!

I am thinking of selling her however to finance another purchase....... Mine is in excellent condition and I had a bone nut installed on the beauty ! The sustain is unbelievable with that upgrade!

[AndyM]

To Paul or anyone...BTW I never registered my Monty. I purchased it privately on the 'net..don't recall if it was eBay or not but it was allegedly brand new. Like Paul's photo, mine has a toaster in the neck position. Someone I met recently claims the stock 4003 was fitted with a high gain PUP - the one with 4 poles.I have no desire to change the PUP but now I'm curious to know if mine was modified prior to my purchase. What do you folks think?

[jps]

To Paul or anyone...BTW I never registered my Monty. I purchased it privately on the 'net..don't recall if it was eBay or not but it was allegedly brand new. Like Paul's photo, mine has a toaster in the neck position. Someone I met recently claims the stock 4003 was fitted with a high gain PUP - the one with 4 poles.I have no desire to change the PUP but now I'm curious to know if mine was modified prior to my purchase. What do you folks think?

Whatever the details surrounding it, I, personally, feel you have the right pickup in there.

[bassduke49]

To Paul or anyone...BTW I never registered my Monty. I purchased it privately on the 'net..don't recall if it was eBay or not but it was allegedly brand new. Like Paul's photo, mine has a toaster in the neck position. Someone I met recently claims the stock 4003 was fitted with a high gain PUP - the one with 4 poles.I have no desire to change the PUP but now I'm curious to know if mine was modified prior to my purchase. What do you folks think?

It is likely one that was purchased originally with the "VP" option. "VP" stood for "vintage pickup" and that was only the Toaster-top pickup in the bass (neck) position. That's what I ordered for mine. Otherwise, the stock pickup would have been the four-pole Hi-gain pickup. I suppose it is possible that a previous owner made the swap, but it would make no difference (unless he/she had botched the installation).

[rickyfricky]

I bought one on the 'bay several years ago that had a vintage neck pickup, and gold TRC and pickguard.

I put oven knobs on it, and sold it a few years back here on the RRF to someone in Australia iirc.

Gorgeous instrument -- truly a work of Art.

[AndyM]

When looking to raise the neck PUP (to get volume balance), I removed the pickguard to see the mounting arrangement of the neck PUP. There's no way to raise the pickup but there's no doubt this was a factory installation...guess I always believed it was. Electronics is my profession and the mounting and the soldering have not been altered. I do appreciate the feedback received here, thanks guys.
To achieve pickup balance, I rearranged the bridge pickup such that the PUP goes goes down but the cover does not. At a later date I removed the cover and installed a flush bezel.
It's a wonderful instrument.

[bassduke49]

Actually, if properly assembled, that's the way the treble pickup height adjustment should work. Cover should stay put while the pickup moves up and down. It all depends on where the springs are in the assembly sequence.

There is a way to raise the bass pickup SLIGHTLY more: The rubber grommets under the adjustment screws can be removed and sliced in half (like a bagel). Not as difficult as it sounds as there is a groove around the circumference that will guide your blade. Put half of the grommet back in and tighten carefully. The grommet is there to keep you from tightening (raising) too much and cracking the pick guard. With half a grommet, you don't have much cushion, but it will allow you to raise the pickup another millimeter or so.