Fender Pawn Shop Bullet

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ARAMP1
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Fender Pawn Shop Bullet

Post by ARAMP1 » Thu Mar 06, 2014 9:27 am

I figured I'd start a build thread of my next project. I haven't really done anything but draw a few designs. Any input is welcome.

Back in the mid 90s I was in college and had a Fender Bullet. It was the double cut away version made in the USA with a thin tele style neck. The body sort-of resembled a strat with a hard tail bridge though there were no belly or forearm cutouts.

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Not mine, just a pic I found online of one similar.

I sold it about 10 years ago and wish I never would have. Every once in a while I'll cruise evilbay looking at them, but I'll probably never pull the trigger just because nice examples are getting expensive. Anyway, I was thinking about what I should do for my next project and I came across this picture of a strat with a tele neck then it dawned on me, I need to build a bullet!

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Instead of reinventing the wheel, I've decided to start with a Fender Pawn Shop 51. It's what I would call the modern day bullet.

Image.

I've decided that I wanted to change up the pickguard a bit. Here's a quick sketch I did of the pawn shop 51 control plate and how it sits overlayed with a bullet pickguard and a strat pickguard. In the end, I'll probably go with a strat style on the top and a tele style on the bottom.

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Also, in the mid 90s, I was playing a lot of Local H, and always wanted to do a setup like Scott Lucas with a separate bass pickup and control circuit. Here's a sketch that I colored in with the pickguard.

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Give or take the color and I'll probably lose the stripes, I just did it up in the same color as the above strat.

Well, thoughts, suggestions?

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fullerplast
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Re: Fender Pawn Shop Bullet

Post by fullerplast » Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:22 am

No suggestions, but cool idea and a great platform to execute it. I'm interested to see this one develop...
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millarman9111993
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Re: Fender Pawn Shop Bullet

Post by millarman9111993 » Sun Mar 09, 2014 1:04 pm

I love this idea.

Especially the bass pickup :shifty:
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morganp
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Re: Fender Pawn Shop Bullet

Post by morganp » Sun Mar 09, 2014 4:56 pm

I like that the pickguard is straight across on the bottom, sorta tele and sorta strat. Most folks try to incorporate some sort of swoop to meet the control plate, but this is the most direct way, and looks great.

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ARAMP1
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Re: Fender Pawn Shop Bullet

Post by ARAMP1 » Mon Mar 10, 2014 6:52 am

Wow, thanks for the positive comments, guys! I really didn't think this would be well received at all.

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grey8
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Re: Fender Pawn Shop Bullet

Post by grey8 » Thu May 01, 2014 6:11 pm

Not bad at all!

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chadmo1
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Re: Fender Pawn Shop Bullet

Post by chadmo1 » Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:08 am

I had a Bullet back in college too. Mine was the one with the bridge built into the pickguard. I loved it because the body was smaller than a strat. Good luck on the build, it sounds like a good idea to me.

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dsiew
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Re: Fender Pawn Shop Bullet

Post by dsiew » Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:58 pm

You could potentially put one of these on for your bass pickup:

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But then again, half a P-bass pickup is tried and tested:

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