Pickguards.

[haw]

Hi all,

I'm thinking about trying to get a V63 vibe on a budget - let's just say my wife has laid down the law as regards acquiring more basses.

Has anyone ever put a V63 pickguard on a standard 4003? Would there be much hassle involved?

[blueflamerick]

Some of the screw holes won't line up. I had Tony @ Pickguardian make me one of these for my 4003.

http://www.pickguardian.com/pickguardia ... rsion.html

Looks like a V63 style pickguard, but has the same screw hole layout as a 4003 pickguard.

[weemac]

Those "I wish I was a v63" guards work rather well don't they. With the lengthened guard you dont notice the 1" vs 1/2" spacing so much.
It iludes to the vibe without modding your bass.

Eden.

[sloop_john_b]

If you want to go with 1/2" spacing, a bit 'o routing will be required. A few around here have done this before.

[johnallg]

If you want to go with 1/2" spacing, a bit 'o routing will be required. A few around here have done this before.

Yes you have to take a little material out to move it. My 2004 with a C64 guard:

[jps]

Here is another that has been routed and the Pickguardian pickguard is killer. Except for the screw hole near the E string at the HS surround, the rest fit a standard current 4003. Tony can do anything you want.

[aceonbass]

I believe that removing more material from an already weak area of 4003's weakens them more. I'm curious. Could those of you that have removed additional wood to move the pickup closer to the neck check something for me? Assuming you have adjusted the neck dead flat per John Hall's specs, fret the E string at the first fret. Now push down on the E string right in front of the tailpiece until the string touches the 20th fret. Is the string parallel with the top of the bass? I'm guessing it will be closer to the body as it gets closer to the tailpiece after the 20the fret. If so, this will indicate a slight flexing of the neck at the heal where the neck blank is weakest, causing a shallow neck angle.

[Wiker]

Extra routing does not have to be as dramatic as it may sound. It doesn’t have to be full depth, but only deep enough for the edge of the pickup.

[jps]

The neck on my former 4003 has been perfectly stable, route just what is needed and all is good to go.

[aceonbass]

It's not about stability, it's about the neck moving perhaps 3-4mm upward at the headstock and then stopping. This is one of the reasons, I believe, for the 4004's with the pickup against the fretboard having such a shallow neck angle that the stock ABM bridge won't go low enough, prompting the Hipshot A bridge that some people swap in. The new two piece necks should help to lessen this problem.

[rickfan63]

If you want to go with 1/2" spacing, a bit 'o routing will be required. A few around here have done this before.

I did it on my now departed 4003 MB. I thought it helped the sound as well as the looks.

[rickfan63]

Chandler has a black oyster pearl pickguard (Ringo Starr's Beatles drum finish) material that would look so sweet in a vintage pickguard on a Jetglo 4003!

[johnallg]

Extra routing does not have to be as dramatic as it may sound. It doesn’t have to be full depth, but only deep enough for the edge of the pickup.

+1000

[johnallg]

I believe that removing more material from an already weak area of 4003's weakens them more. I'm curious. Could those of you that have removed additional wood to move the pickup closer to the neck check something for me? Assuming you have adjusted the neck dead flat per John Hall's specs, fret the E string at the first fret. Now push down on the E string right in front of the tailpiece until the string touches the 20th fret. Is the string parallel with the top of the bass? I'm guessing it will be closer to the body as it gets closer to the tailpiece after the 20the fret. If so, this will indicate a slight flexing of the neck at the heal where the neck blank is weakest, causing a shallow neck angle.

On the bass pictured, the string is parallel - I checked and even measured with a machinist's rule. No flexing here, no shallow neck angle.

[aceonbass]

That's good John, but I've seen this more than I haven't seen it, particularly on 4004's.