Baja owners club

[PJ]

Astro....I like the streaks. Gives it a unique character. Much nicer looking than the majority of examples that have very little grain definition.

[mechaman327]

I want into this club bad....

[Broken Light]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

Nice.

Look how high you number (278949) is. That would be late production, probably. If you have occasion to pull the neck, check the dates. Neck or body or both may be 2007; I've got late MZ6 guitars without the 60th button, and I have late MZ5 guitars that do have the 60th button. Numbers get assigned to items before it becomes evident when they'll be finished units. I believe.

I think you're right, it's a early '07. I've checked the neck and body, but I've found no clear markings on the neck and the markings on the body are nearly impossible to see. I thought maybe I saw a very faint red FEB at the time so it fits.

[Tdot]

Mine is an 06 with the medallion.

[boris bubbanov]

The cream or white pickguards are looking more and more correct on these Desert Sand Bajas. The guitar is not natural, nor yellow blonde, and so Fender Fashion suggests, not black. I guess I'm just sore they're not white blonde, a very favorite color of mine.

Here's the high count point for black pickguards on mine; never will be this many again:

[J-man]

[telechucker]

Hey, I joined the club a couple of hours ago ! MZ7124396. I've got a black bakelite pickguard I'm gonna install, then get some gig time in on the gal. Too bad I have to wait till next w/e for a show. Oh well, a couple of rehearsals to show her off this week. Will post a photo when I'm done. I really like the other sounds too ! Wish the neck was a little wider. Body weight good, not too heavy. Regards.

[telechucker]

Hey team - here she is - sorry for the crappy photo. Put a set of .11's on her and tuned her up. Ready to pick ... 3.58 kg (Sorry,metric weight-a little over 7 lbs. ?) Regards.

[degsycaster]

Originally Posted by Astro1176

Loving mine - MZ8043358 blonde blackguard. The neck had quite a bow on, but it played great with a highish action. The truss nut was already fully tight, so I have added a shim washer and straightened the neck some, but left a bit of relief cos I liked how it plays. Also I have shielded the cavities and pickguard with aluminium tape and foil, which has reduced the hum.

I've had it for maybe 3 months, and it is inspiring me to practice much more and improve my technique - I just love the sound that comes out of it! Played clean and unacompnied, I am mainly using the neck or neck+bridge. I sometimes use the S1 phase switch (I also discovered in my various tinkerings that the relative pickup heights makes (to my ears) a MASSIVE difference to the S1 sound - so if you hate it now, try adjusting your pickup heights to see if there is a sweet spot for you there)



I almost didn't get it because of the green/blue tinge in a couple of the wood-grain veins - but I phoned around and the other shops said their bajas also had the green tinge - so it must have been a batch. Will that tinge fade?

Astro, I love the grain on yours. Very straight and the 'tinge' gives it bucket-loads of character

[degsycaster]

Originally Posted by telechucker

Hey team - here she is - sorry for the crappy photo. Put a set of .11's on her and tuned her up. Ready to pick ... 3.58 kg (Sorry,metric weight-a little over 7 lbs. ?) Regards.

Telechucker - welcome to the fold.

[degsycaster]

Originally Posted by JDA

For those who have Baja's that intonate perfectly with the non-compensated stock saddles what brand and gauge strings are you using? I'm using DR Tite-Fit 10-46 strings on mine and it doesn't intonate perfectly. I'm checking it with my ST-200 Turbo Strobe Tuner.

I do like my Baja and the neck size and profile feels great in my hands.

Thanks, JD...

I'm using Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys 10-46, use 'em on all my guitars and never get tuning issues. They last well and you very rarely get a 'bad' string. I guess a few of us are lucky to get Bajas that intonate, most traditionally bridged Teles I've had have had intonation issues to varying degrees. I guess on yours compensated saddles may be the way forward.

[degsycaster]

I remember when the Baja was first on the scene, there was talk of a 'thin skin' poly finish. I don't think mine is any thinner than a regular poly finish. Have any of you guys got such a Baja?? Was the Baja ever actually released with a 'thin skin' finish??

[Astro1176]

Thanks PJ and Degsycaster on the positive comments to the greenish streaks (I was told that this was a common reaction of the grain to the poly finish - but it seems pretty rare!). At the moment I have been loving my Tele despite the streaks (and my arm covers the main one when I am playing!) - but maybe I need to embrace the green!

[degsycaster]

You're welcome Astro. Mine also has a reasonably straight grain but the green on mine occasionally has a purple hue to it in certain lights. Mine is also beginning to darken quite a bit as the finish gets exposed to the elements.Here's an early picture showing the grain a bit better

[von spets]

Mine is MZ 7197917 Desert Sand. It had too high saddle which I replaced with a reindeer bone saddle of my own making. The neck has a small bump at the 20th fret, some lacquer is chipped off. This I covered partly with super glue. I also filled in 6 or 7 holes in the neck pocket and removed all unnecessary stickers from the neck. This coupled the parts better and improved sustain and acoustic sound. Twisted pickup wires.
I tested 500k carbon rings for the pots and I like them.
My Baja had a lousy setup when it arrived, but it's ok now. I got to try heavier strings if they make the guitar more alive..

It's a good Tele!!!!

[degsycaster]

Originally Posted by MuzaK57

Mine is MZ 7197917 Desert Sand. It had too high saddle which I replaced with a reindeer bone saddle of my own making. The neck has a small bump at the 20th fret, some lacquer is chipped off. This I covered partly with super glue. I also filled in 6 or 7 holes in the neck pocket and removed all unnecessary stickers from the neck. This coupled the parts better and improved sustain and acoustic sound. Twisted pickup wires.
I tested 500k carbon rings for the pots and I like them.
My Baja had a lousy setup when it arrived, but it's ok now. I got to try heavier strings if they make the guitar more alive..

It's a good Tele!!!!

Shame you had to do so much to get yours 'good' Muza. I was poised to get a set of compensated saddles when I got mine but it was so good out of the box that I never bothered, and I havn't touched the setup since (except the pickup heights). I'd love to see a pic of that reindeer bone saddle

[degsycaster]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

The cream or white pickguards are looking more and more correct on these Desert Sand Bajas. The guitar is not natural, nor yellow blonde, and so Fender Fashion suggests, not black. I guess I'm just sore they're not white blonde, a very favorite color of mine.

Here's the high count point for black pickguards on mine; never will be this many again:

Boris four desert sand Bajas! You must really like that colour

[Glenn D.]

I hated the two available colors, and the weight on the one I bought was over nine pounds. One ebay auction later from Reliablefender I ended up with:





Glenn D.

[boris bubbanov]

Originally Posted by degsycaster

Boris four desert sand Bajas! You must really like that colour

I actually have seven (7).



When I was searching hard for them, I only found a very few blonde ones. But I only bought the better playing/better priced ones I found (out of 75-100). So I learned to like the Desert Sand color.

No, the blonde is nicer, trans white blonde would be better still.

I always imagined I'd rebody most of them. Maybe one I will, the one I call "Pensacola" that cost me new $ 469 + FL tax.

What? Should I have bought Lehmann Brothers or GM stock, instead?

[von spets]

Originally Posted by degsycaster

Shame you had to do so much to get yours 'good' Muza. I was poised to get a set of compensated saddles when I got mine but it was so good out of the box that I never bothered, and I havn't touched the setup since (except the pickup heights). I'd love to see a pic of that reindeer bone saddle

Actually I enjoy tinkering with my instruments, that's how they get my mojo

Here's the saddle, nothing fancy about it except the bone is from a reindeer antler from Lapland. I didn't hear any difference with the original plastic saddle, but I expect my acoustic guitar will benefit from a bone saddle and bridge.