Well, this bass now resides with me!
I was pleasantly surprised by how nice the bass is in person. The pictures don't do it justice! The front of the peghead and body are the original finish. The "gouge" in the peghead is actually a cigarette burn and looks kind of cool in person. The pinkish hue shown in one of the pictures above must have been a lighting issue. The neck/fretboard fix is very sturdy. The back of the peghead / neck / body are oversprayed. It looks better in person but would be much better with a Paul / Dale partial finish restore. The body wood grain has a subtle 3-D effect when you hold it right and looks great with the original Fireglo! The action is a little high, but the strings are heavier and higher tension than I would use. Once I get some light Boomers on I'll see if a truss rod tweak is needed. I may ask someone at "RIO" to do that for me.
I'm not sure what's up with the case. It looks vintage, but Gene didn't think it was the original case. It is form fitted for a 4000 series, but looks nothing like the case for the '69 4000 inside. The interior is blue and very padded.
I hope to plug 'er in tonight!
I'll take pictures of both "new" basses soon!
PS. Gene was great to work with and I'd do it again.
