QUESTION

I am doing a restoration and i see that you sell vintage guitar parts. I am looking to buy a jack plate for my guitar and I see there are many repros out there and I saw a few at a recent guitar show that were aged and look real how can I tell

REPLY

Thank you for e mail and yes that is a real problem these days there are companies making incredible repros and makes all our lives that much harder. I always say this but must repeat it buy from someone who will guarantee and stand behind what they sell you if they say no refunds as is run there is a problem.

Ok the first trick taught to me by the Jedi master uncle lou years ago was hold the jack plate up to the light and if you can see the shadow of your finer through the plastic its fake  real plates are not translucent . I have seen some of the best repros made by a company retrospec and they look to be the best and even they cannot pass this test . The ones from retrospec on a guitar are impossible to tell so be careful!!!!!

Real burst jack plates were stamped out not cut with router. some of the great repros you see today are cut with routers. The reason is because two years ago some original  rolled plastic was found in warehouse that was for making these jack plates out . i assume it was too brittle to stamp out so what they did was cut jack plates out with a router and did an excellent job i will say and so these were flooded onto the market and are really hard to tell because the plastic used was now old stock!!!!

The argument of thin verses thick is a useless one as far as i am concerned. the earlier ones were thinner yes   and the 1958 1959 were a hair thicker and i mean barley thicker. But i have seen mint 1958 goldtops with thinner jack plates let m tell you Gibson never threw anything out and once and  a while i am sure old stock was found and used. First worry about if it is real or not then if you cant sleep at night look for the thicker or thinner one you need.

I will be glad to look at an evalutate any you have for free or can give you a number of someone who swill for you if you are not sure. Just by following the few things i mentioned you shoudl be fairly safe. If you need more help contact me at  the parts drawer and i will answer all e mails within 48 hours

JIM PASCH

ji pasch

Due to the massive inquiries lately on a  black light I re ran this from our other website so all can read this popular post.

QUESTION

What do they mean when they say does it black lite ?? I just bought a vintage guitar and want to check my parts out to see if they are real.

REPLY

Thank you for the e mail. Great question not a simple answer. Vintage guitar plastic should glow a certain color when exposed to a black lite in the dark. This is very obviously if you have new and old parts side by side to see the difference it is like night and day. But if you have only the vintage parts to test basically here is what it will  look like.

Again color is subjective to each person so i think it looks like a fluorescent yellowish color with a bit of green to it. But i have seen parts black lite more whitish and more unique tones than i can describe . basically they should jump out!! at you under a black light and really stand out. The newer parts change color but do not jump out at you. If you are still not sure borrow a knob from your friends new guitar and put the new and vintage parts side by side you will see right away.

Now another note ! all parts do not black lite the same color or at the same intensity. knobs and such black lite strong as do guitar tuner tips. pickguards are not as strong but they will react under black light. Do not panic if you see your knobs black light different from you knobs this is normal!! the same goes for finish but that is a real complicated story we will touch on at a later time.

There are fakes out there and people as we speak are trying to develop new parts that are aged that black lite so this is for now a fairly safe test but it will not be long until some idiot will figure it out and ruin it for everyone.

If you are still unsure you can send us parts and we Will evaluate them for free no charge you just pay shipping both ways.

Thank you again for your question

Jim pasch

The Parts Drawer

QUESTION

I am considering buying a vintage Fender Jazz Bass for my collection and I have been told the holy grail is the 1960-1961 Fender Stack knob Jazz Bass. Is this true and would you recommend this one. Also Is there anything I should look for when buying a Fender Stack knob Jazz Bass. Thank you in advance for your help.

REPLY

I wwould say without reservation this is the one to get. There is such a low production of these basses and they are so desirable even when the vintage guitar market goes down these are always a stable item and retains its value better than most. I have been selling Vintage guitars for over twenty years and if i get one of these a year for sale it is a good year. These are super hard to find and harder to find unmolested.

First I must warn you many have been converted from regular jazz basses of that year and this makes it that much tougher to find and identify. The only difference is the pots and knobs  so you can imagine it is not a tough modification and it is one that Can easily be done to look original.

I really cannot explain how to spot a converted bass if it was done by a professional forger because it Will look good. Many were just done by players who never intended to fool anyone and these are easy to spot. Look under the control plate and see how the solder looks a player could have just redone the solder and you can identify it easily . fender soldering was usually clean and by this time it should have an naturally aged patina on it making it look dull. use common sense if you are not sure look online you an see many pictures of fender bass controls and the soldering as a reference.

The expert forger has figured out how to age solder and use old wire from other original fender basses to make it look perfect. only a pro can tell and many cannot even tell who are not familiar with the original basses. If you are buying form a individual again use common sense judge character etc and ask questions about bass. look for any paperwork or receipts. If it is a vintage dealer go by his reputation and ask if he will guarantee it and put it in writing . An honest dealer will do this . Again these put together basses are so well done it is very very hard to tell.

That said if you find one just make sure al parts are original . in this changing vintage market and the volatile climate only all original guitars and basses hold some value. do not buy a modified stack pot bass unless it is real cheap they are hard to sell for any real money and hold no real value. As always with old basses check the neck many pre cbs basses were used with flat sound strings and the added tension bowed the neck.

I hope this helps and if you have any further questions please e mail me at THE PARTS DRAWER

JIm Pasch