81 fender bullet ?? made in usa?

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:09 pm

How's that bridge plate white, Doog? Anodised, painted, plastic

?

benecol · Post by **benecol** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:28 pm

That's what I had, but resprayed black.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:41 pm

i used a strat-type one as my main guitar for about a year and a half. the combined scratchplate/bridge is a bit of a pain if anything goes wrong with it (like grub screws randomly falling out) but it does mean people are less tempted to butcher them. sound-wise it's fairly similar to my '76 mustang, if a bit quieter and with less body on the bridge pickup. it does, however, sound really good recorded. i've used it for two seperate sessions and it can either be quite glassy and cutting, or warm and grungy (depending which pickup you use obviously). you can generally pick one up for about Â£200 in the uk which is an absolute bargain for such a nice guitar.

dawnofzion · Post by **dawnofzion** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:04 pm

This one looks a tad different than the one Doog posted.

Here is one like Doogs.....I guess they made different versions of it

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:02 pm

stewart wrote:i used a strat-type one as my main guitar for about a year and a half. the combined scratchplate/bridge is a bit of a pain if anything goes wrong with it (like grub screws randomly falling out) but it does mean people are less tempted to butcher them.

Is the whole scratchplate/bridge metal?

Justin J · Post by **Justin J** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:33 pm

Tex-czech · Post by **Tex-czech** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:10 am

The fender bullet came out the first 2 years in a tele style body 7/8 the size. The bullet 1 (original 1981-1982) had a full steel pickguard and bridge as one. The Bullet deluxe (1981-1982 With the tele 7/8 body only) had a strat hard tail type bridge. The bridge saddles were a mustang type with only center screws in to a duosonic type bridge plate/pickguard as one.

In those two year bodies in plywood and solid wood probly left over from musicmaters and broncos, mustangs were used as the pickups and covers were left overs too. The neck as said to be the same a late CBS tele neck but with the bullet I had I think thats untrue. The pots and electronics are CTS 250k and switchcraft parts. Kluson repos like I had but they used what ever was around the shop I liked the schaller f-tuners better. Fender F neck plates used 1981-1982 only with no serial number common to all late 70's Fenders.

All post 1982 original bullets are cool, but these have a really special mojo to them and I think they're price will sustain if not rise fast.

All in all I sold it though it was a great guitar, the neck was far to thin for me, and the body was a rare solid wood, no ply. I payed a far amount but sold for 500 bucks via bay.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:38 pm

Tex-czech wrote:mustangs were used as the pickups and covers were left overs too. The neck as said to be the same a late CBS tele neck but with the bullet I had I think thats untrue. The pots and electronics are CTS 250k and switchcraft parts. Kluson repos like I had but they used what ever was around the shop I liked the schaller f-tuners better.

i'd read somewhere else that bullets used leftover mustang pickups, they certainly do sound very similar. the differences between my bullet and mustang could be largely down to the body materials (the mustang is ash) and electronics (i'm guessing!)- the bullet pickups are spaced quite far apart which (i suppose) adds something to the tonal range. there's recordings on my myspace which use both guitars and i'd defy anyone to be able to tell which one's which!

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:43 pm

since you are new, you probably haven't seen my modern take on the classic form. the fender duo-caster.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:53 pm

That guitar is so fit.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:55 pm

mike, ive been playing it so much its got the robroe black pickscrapes between the neck and neck pickup already. it took me like half a year to do it to the esquier pickguard

Post by **Mike** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:58 pm

Fucking ace. You know I love the robroe scrapes.

My Dad and I made a Red tort scratchplate for my DuoSonic/Mustang robert(original) project the other day, it looks immaculate now. It won't for long.

robroe · Post by **robroe** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 3:06 pm

tort hides that shit though.

the pickguard on pizzastangmasterII is all fucked up but you cant tell unless you are an inch away from it

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 6:46 pm

robroe wrote:since you are new, you probably haven't seen my modern take on the classic form. the fender duo-caster

it looks like you've made a much better job of it than the fool who butchered my musicmaster (or am i the fool for buying it and trying to fix it?) it was practically a hollow-body by the time he'd finished with it, although it's coming on leaps and bounds now. i'll post some pictures if you're sure you can withstand the horror...

but needless to say the body was too thin for the strat vibrato he put in, and you could hear the springs reverberating through the pickup. utter shite.

yours looks top notch though.

theseglossyeyes · Post by **theseglossyeyes** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:36 am

i understand why everyones calling em robroes now. holy guitars with pup covers!! i dig it.

fullerplast · Post by **fullerplast** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:55 am

In those two year bodies in plywood and solid wood probly left over from musicmaters and broncos, mustangs were used as the pickups and covers were left overs too. The neck as said to be the same a late CBS tele neck but with the bullet I had I think thats untrue. The pots and electronics are CTS 250k and switchcraft parts. Kluson repos like I had but they used what ever was around the shop I liked the schaller f-tuners better. Fender F neck plates used 1981-1982 only with no serial number common to all late 70's Fenders.

The very first ones had rosewood slab necks with the truss adj at the heel, and used real Kluson double-lines, which is strange as the F-tuners had been out for 12-13 years at that point. That was Klusons last stand, as they went out of business shortly thereafter.

I've read that John Page sourced those rosewood necks from Korea and was unhappy with the product, so they soon switched to the maple Tele neck and F-tuners. Those are very nice necks! Later in the run, the maple necks used maple skunk stripes and plugs, which suggests that they are NOT actual Tele necks. But the first ones with the walnut stripe/plug look identical to me.

Mustang pickups, Strat switch/CTS pots, Klusons/F-tuners, F-plate, maple Tele neck... and you could buy these for +/- $250 five years ago. So many have been parted out...

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:56 pm

fullerplast wrote:Later in the run, the maple necks used maple skunk stripes and plugs, which suggests that they are NOT actual Tele necks. But the first ones with the walnut stripe/plug look identical to me.

Mustang pickups, Strat switch/CTS pots, Klusons/F-tuners, F-plate, maple Tele neck... and you could buy these for +/- $250 five years ago. So many have been parted out...

my one has that kind of neck, with the maple plug. it's definitely not a tele neck, unless they made them extremely thin in the early 80s.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:03 pm

damnit rob, that guitar looks so much better in your pics then it did when it was here.
it almost looks like a modle that fender would have done in the early-mid 70's and its aged in all the right spot.
i.e. amber brown neck, a creamy guard.
pure sex my friend.