Fender Bullet Owners Club

[yoreel]

jays0n
sacizob

That number 016730 is the Fender part number, its a stock pickup & was used in the outgoing mustangs & the strats,of the same era, I have an 80's Fender Lead 2 that has the same pickups.

Jay 06:45 .... looking at the world clock, I think that we are 8 hrs apart, I do shift work, so I had only been up 2 hrs at 06:45 San Francisco time (14:45 London UK), I don't always think of the time difference when I am posting tho, cos a lot of the time I am at work & its my early hours of the morning & your late evening I guess.

Glad you are keeping those parts with a bit of rust & stuff, it wouldn't look right with shiny like new parts, I bet you can't wait to put it all together ?

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by sacizob

My USA Fender Bullet Deluxe S-3 S/N E127xxx has the number 016730 on the p/ups also, but no writing. However in the neck pocket someone wrote GOMZA. Anyone know what that is?

Is that written in the neck pocket or stamped ?

I have a Bullet with Gonzales stamped in the neck pocket, which is a typical Fender Quality control measure, you will often find the names of the employees on the parts, especially the necks & bodies.
Herb Gastelum was a long term Fender employee & was responsible for hand finishing Fender necks in the 60's, his name appears on the Bullet necks along with other employees, although the necks were machine finished by the 1980's, so its more likely a quality control stamp, see pics below.

[sacizob]

Originally Posted by yoreel

Is that written in the neck pocket or stamped ?

I have a Bullet with Gonzales stamped in the neck pocket, which is a typical Fender Quality control measure,

Its was awhile ago that I looked at it. Ya its stamped and there is something after the "a" so ya its probably Gonzales.

[Mitch M.]

Originally Posted by giginthesky

here's my mij squier bullet collection. the guitars are great but the bass is out of this world.

I just found this site yesterday, looking to see if anyone else had one similar to mine (My first guitar -- purchased new in '85 along with an early 80's Rivera Super Champ I also still own).

The white one you have on the right is the exact same as mine (except for the color), and I've never seen another one like the one I have. I've always wondered if there were people like me who loved these guitars.

I must admit, I knew next to nothing about this guitar (other than it felt good and I could afford it) when I bought it, but I would love to learn more about it now.

I'd also like to know whether these are worth (or going to be worth) anything as collectibles, even though I don't see myself ever selling mine.

[jays0n]

Hey all, wasn't someone looking for a korean bullet? There is one on the bay ending today, no bids, 100 shipped at the moment (75 n shipping actually) looks nice.

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by Mitch M.

I just found this site yesterday, looking to see if anyone else had one similar to mine (My first guitar -- purchased new in '85 along with an early 80's Rivera Super Champ I also still own).

The white one you have on the right is the exact same as mine (except for the color), and I've never seen another one like the one I have. I've always wondered if there were people like me who loved these guitars.

I must admit, I knew next to nothing about this guitar (other than it felt good and I could afford it) when I bought it, but I would love to learn more about it now.

I'd also like to know whether these are worth (or going to be worth) anything as collectibles, even though I don't see myself ever selling mine.

Welcome Mitch.
There doesn't seem to be much info on the Squier Bullets, there are some threads on this site that may be of interest, I have found a few things out today, just having a nose at them, heres one : http://www.tdpri.com/forum/stratocas...eferences.html
As far as what they are worth & if they are collectible ? I think will always be a grey area & dependent on trends. I don't ever see them being as collectible as the USA Bullet (in my opinion), but there are some rare models & you do not see many of the 2 single coil pickup versions around which you have, the early Squiers will probably steadily increase in price & become more collectible as the years pass.
Let us know if you find out any more info.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by mr newhaven

yogi is that a monteray strat hiding back there in your rack??

Oh Yes I built it myself, currently rebuilding it with better parts and doing a variation in Sonic blue/white/maple neck

[mr newhaven]

I thought I spotted on
on the fender forums a user named alainlafrance has a couple of those and literally 100+ more and he cataloged quite a bunch of them

his pics of his montereys always were my favorite though

[jays0n]

This is a bit rough probably, but before I start to put this old body back together, I traced the pickguard. It is just a quick thing with a pencil and with some ruler marks for reference, but I there it is.

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by mr newhaven

I thought I spotted on
on the fender forums a user named alainlafrance has a couple of those and literally 100+ more and he cataloged quite a bunch of them

his pics of his montereys always were my favorite though

This is the one I'm building right now:

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by yoreel

That is coming along Jay, good to see the electrics are ok.

I haven't seen any Bullet pickups with dates so far, so this is a first, some of my mustangs have dates pencilled in or stamped in ink.

Replying to my own post - I just had a look through my Bullet pics & I have found some of my Bullets have marks in white marker pen on the pickups, the mark 1 red tele shaped Bullet (my avatar) that has an 83 neck & 82 pots has a quite a clear date of 12/5/81 on the neck pickup. These were a stock item & had been used in the mustang, so I think these would have been made & stored in the workshop until used. Some of my other Bullets have illegible squiggles on the pups, some look like initials & some look like numbers - guess I didn't take a good enough look first time round

[jays0n]

Thanks Leeroy, so mine are some attempt at a date it would seem then, though as you all have seen it is pretty cryptic.

BTW, did any of you get one of these with your Bullet:



This came with the red and black one you can see in my photos here at TDPRI. ALso the manual and warranty card is there.

[jays0n]

BTW, my Franken Bullet is coming along. Here is the body all cleaned up and back together. BTW, when I got this, the guard screws were missing, and I had some nicely rusted ones from a tele that match perfect, but putting them in, I found that all but the ones at the tip of the horn and oposite that one are stripped so they eventually spin a bit. Any recommendations as to how to repair the holes for them? Or just get some bigger screws?

Well here is the body, all shiny:

[yoreel]

I have just received the feature I bought on ebay about the USA Bullet from Feb 1988 GUITAR PLAYER by surf guitarist Teisco Del Rey.
It makes very interesting reading & has some info that I did not know from an interview with John Page - See Pics Below, I hope you are able to read it after it was resized by photobucket, I have some closeups if needed.

It appears that the necks & bodies of the early Bullets were made in Korea, but according to John Page only the necks with the walnut skunk stripe & the bodies with Lauan Mahogany plywood, these were sent back to the US for finishing & assembly - which ties in with the rumour about the initial quality control issues in the far east - otherwise why return them ????
I still think some of the statements made here are a bit contradictorary & vague, ie ; Mr Page say's that "in 83, that's when you got into the Bullet Deluxe & the Bullet S3" & goes on to talk about chromed trem bridges etc not being cost efficient. We all know the Bullet Deluxe was around in 81 & 82 & the Bullet S3 never had a trem until Squier took over. Maybe it was media talk or I am interpreting it the wrong way, but some of it doesn't add up. Funny also that there is no mention of the telecaster necks debate, but it did mention using existing tooling , which to me means that the necks were tooled on the same telecaster jigs out of the same wood, ie Telecaster necks no question.
Still more questions to be answered -
The Korean body & neck thing does not explain why my tele shaped mk 1 Bullet I mentioned above, has an 83 neck date, it has the walnut skunk striped neck & ply body, this to me is not an early Bullet.
Also why my 82 mk 1 tele shaped Bullet Deluxe has a ply body, but maple skunk stripe. I know the history of both guitars, so no changes have taken place in their time, but this doesn't tie in with the above statements.
The 2nd generation mark 2 Bullets were completely USA made & John Page say's these are better guitars, I would tend to agree there, but there will always be the odd guitar that has that mojo, like my red mk 1 tele shape (Now Korean) it plays superb & has a great tone, it also sings acoustically, which could be down to the mahogany - albeit cheap mahogany !

With all this in mind, although it doesn't entirely add up, I still love it that we can learn something more about these quirky gems & adds to the mystery surrounding the history of one of the worlds greatest guitar manufacturers.

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by jays0n

Thanks Leeroy, so mine are some attempt at a date it would seem then, though as you all have seen it is pretty cryptic.

BTW, did any of you get one of these with your Bullet:



This came with the red and black one you can see in my photos here at TDPRI. ALso the manual and warranty card is there.

Always good to have the case candy with the guitar ( see that's my anglo American speak - from dealing with US ebayers & shops all these years ) especially a geetar that's in as good nick as yours Jay.

I got this case candy as a surprise when I got this Bullet Deluxe locally, its also an oddity as its got a 14 inch radius neck with chunky fretwire, nice to play too.

[jays0n]

Hmm, so where do you think it puts my Red and Black one. It has no stripe on the back of the neck (which is such a pretty neck, I wish I could show it to you in person) and is a ply wood of some kind but I cannot tell what that would be. Here is some shots of the neck, front and back.

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by jays0n

BTW, my Franken Bullet is coming along. Here is the body all cleaned up and back together. BTW, when I got this, the guard screws were missing, and I had some nicely rusted ones from a tele that match perfect, but putting them in, I found that all but the ones at the tip of the horn and oposite that one are stripped so they eventually spin a bit. Any recommendations as to how to repair the holes for them? Or just get some bigger screws?

Well here is the body, all shiny:

Looking really good now Jay, I love the way the plastic parts age it looks so cool, are the pickup covers original ? Two of my S3's have strat type covers & they look to have been there from day one.

Try this method for the loose screws :-
Pop a match in the hole (preferably the jumbo size to fill the hole) mark it where it is flush with the top of the body, take it out & cut it with some wire cutters or a model knife, put a bit of wood glue on it & put it back in the hole, careful not to use too much glue as it will overflow the hole, let it set & make a pilot hole with a small bradawl & screw the plate back on, it should hold, no need to do a full pilot hole as the match wood is soft & will give.
You can also use a tooth pick but they are usually too thin.
I have found this method successful so far.

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by jays0n

Hmm, so where do you think it puts my Red and Black one. It has no stripe on the back of the neck (which is such a pretty neck, I wish I could show it to you in person) and is a ply wood of some kind but I cannot tell what that would be. Here is some shots of the neck, front and back.

That's exactly what I mean, it does not add up to what John Page said, unless he was miss quoted

[yoreel]

Just a thought - Both of my walnut skunk Bullets have no "made in USA " on the headstock.
But I also have 3 with maple skunk necks that also have no "made in USA" on the headstock ??????????

[jays0n]

So, I got it all put together today, though it is not setup yet. The neck seems to be lower than the original was so the Es are slammed all the way down. There the string height is ok, but I imagine it could go a little lower and still be fine. But I can live with it like that. Other than that, it seems really nice. I am diggin the color scheme, which was totally accidental. I mean I just happened to find this painted body and NJJoanJetFan from this thread just happened to get an extra neck etc etc.

Crappy phone pic, but I was in a hurry.