When I bought this bass it had a mirror-metal pick guard and a Bad Ass bridge. I played it like that for a while (it was the '80s) but then decided to restore it to stock. I was lucky to find a correct-era pick guard, thumb rest, bridge and pickup covers. Even found some old screws for all those. I was not lucky finding a bridge. I bought what was purported to be the right one for this vintage, only to find out that it is a metric Japanese repro. I've had setups done on it, but no one informed me about this til recently. Steve Soest, a well-known luthier here in Orange County, California has made an assessment of the instrument, which is included here.

This bass has a great-feeling worn-in neck, yet the fingerboard and frets are in excellent shape It plays like a dream and sounds like I like... bright and growly with round wound strings.

I have mostly played active basses for a couple of decades, so this one doesn't have much wear. The body finish has a few worn spots but is mostly still shiny and smooth. And it's a really nice sunburst... more orange and red than yellow.

You could be finicky and claim this is not a Pre-CBS instrument, January '65 marking the acquisition of Fender, but rest assured, built only a few months later, it has all the attributes. I did trade away the original case with another bass, unfortunately.