Fender Bullet Owners Club

[Sutter]

This may have already been answered since I'm new to TDPRI. But I just bought a Fender Bullet S-3 on Ebay. And I was surprised when I first played it, the bridge pickup was so quiet compared to any other position.
But I did what I do with all my new guitars, polished her up, sprayed some cleaner on the electronics, restring, intonation. and "Adjust the Pickup hight".
And Amazingly after all of that she sounded like a brand new 29 year old guitar. I Love it, I think I'll have to get another bullet......:lol


.

Originally Posted by RGW1964

Hello, all.

My name is Ron and I hail from the thriving metropolis of Topeka, KS. I came across this forum and specifically this thread while searching for info on my 1982 Bullet. I have owned it since 1985 (I traded a Mongoose BMX bike for it) and have enjoyed it ever since. I also own a 60th Anniversary Deluxe Powerhouse Strat which sounds incredible when I really wanna rip, but the neck on the Bullet is just so sweet, I keep getting drawn back to it.

There is a wealth of info on this thread and I wish to thank those who provided it. Here's some pics of my Bullet:





I hope one of you can help with a tech question. When the three position switch is placed on the bridge pickup, the the sound is faint. Not completely gone, but not very loud. In the middle and neck position, it works great, but on the bridge, it is much, much quieter. Any ideas as to what is causing it to do that? It has been like this for as long as I have owned it.


Ron

[LarryM]

Is there a big difference between early '80's - later models? ....or Fender - Squier?

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by LarryM

Is there a big difference between early '80's - later models? ....or Fender - Squier?

There is a big difference between the early/mid 80's Bullets - Fender or Squier compared to the Squier Bullet models that were made in China from the 90's onwards, the 80's Bullets are far superior guitars.

The original Fender Bullet introduced in 81 & designed by John Page was & still is a good guitar, although it was meant to be a lower range option to replace the Mustang, the guitar was made with the same parts as the standard Fender guitars of the same era. The build quality is very good & a testament to John Page & his team, it also benefits from the higher craftsmanship & attention to detail of the more experienced workers in the Fullerton factory.

When production of the Bullet was finally moved to Japan in 84, not much really changed, apart from the introduction of cheaper parts, noticeably the bridge, pots & pickups, in my opinion the pickups tend to sound a bit thin & tinny, the neck changed slightly & was machined to a different profile & the headstock is noticeably thinner looking at it side on. After all that, they are still reasonable guitars.

As with all guitars, some will be good & some bad, a lot is dependant on how they were treated during their time, some of the 80's Korean Bullets have amazing necks, but also have cheap parts.

[bddmhopp5]

Hey Y'all,
I'm looking for a Bullet that is exactly like the one pictured above by Ron. My parents bought me one when I was 12 yrs. old in 1982, and I got rid of it a couple of years later. Now 40, I would like to find one. If anyone knows of one for sale, please let me know.

All, if anyone has a '82 creme color std. Bullet with the strat body, for sale, please contact me at greenlandcruiser@gmail.com

[JJettFan]

Jayson, It's Jim in NJ who supplied your Tele headed Bullet neck. I'm back and in the process of buying another Tele shaped HSS Bullet 1 if and when the deal is finalized I'll post pics until then have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year which I'm quite sure will be memorable for the little ones at home.

BTW I've resumed playing after having surgery to repair the damage done to the nerves in my left wrist when struck by the car. I still have two surgeries to go one on the bones of the left wrist which must be broken and reset w/plates & screws and another to repair the right thumb socket which is scheduled for the spring. Until I go under the knife I've been using my John Page designed Fender Lead II and Lead III as well as a newly acquired DeArmond M-65 for physical and neurological therapy. Those Lead Series necks being oft thin profile as are the early Bullets & Squier II's are perfect for my needs at this time and allow me to barre chords relatively easily.

[jays0n]

@[Jersey Jim], Hey Jim, good to hear from ya. I sent a mail a while back (from my Yahoo account) but never heard back. It may have gone to spam. Will use the forum messages from here out. Anyway, good to hear from ya and good to see the Therapy is coming along. You are going to look like the Terminator or some sort of Steampunk creation with all those modifications. You would be a hit with my oldest boy. Those Leads are real nice that you got and a neat way to play till you can play the Bullet's again (I am surprised at how many you and Leeroy have BTW). That neck you sold me (that is on that old 82 body) is really my fav. I wish the other 81/82 I have had the same profile. I guess that older one is a 12" radius (from when Leeroy measured his of the same model) and the Japanese one I got from you is much thinner and maybe 9.5" or even more curved. Anyway, I love that neck and that Bullet is getting the most play these days. Oh, the holidays with the kids will be something else. The little one is now walking and taking toys from the older one. Actually he only wants whatever the older one is holding. So Christmas morn is going to be interesting. I think I will stay out of the way. Planning on making a huge batch of eggnog to get me through all the fighting :) Gonna be fun though. One good thing is that both kids are really into music. The oldest has a little acoustic and he is taking Taiko lessons after pre-school on Mondays. He had a performace at City hall the a week or so ago. He is digin the stage it seems. Then the youngest has inherited all the oldest's small drums (since he is now onto like 50lb drums) and a Yamaha recorder that the oldest never got into (not after I got him the little Git). The little one has pretty good timing, and he is just one.

[jays0n]

@Leeroy, I am still around. For some reason TRPRI does not mail me for posts in this thread so I miss on everyone's replies sometimes. Gonna have to look into why. Maybe in the my settings here. Also gonna have to check in more.

oh yeah!, comon, don't keep us in suspense. If you got more inside info from Mr. Page, get your site going. Shoot, sign up with Wordpress and do it as a blog, then it is just click click click and your live.

[jays0n]

@bddmhopp5, hey wow, I was in the same boat a while back. If you saw my early posts in this thread you know that I also had got one of these as a gift when a youngster and lost it through stupidity later. I'll tell ya that getting the exact model/year/color is important and you will not regret whatever it costs. Hunt it down.

[jays0n]

Question for the group. Has anyone ever found someone making the metal pickguard/bridge combo thing? Seems there was some talk of this before but I cannot remember/find it.

[bddmhopp5]

I hated my pick-guard bridge combo, and all I wanted was a real Telecaster. I run a '78 Tele, black with Rosewood neck now. Yea, I'm looking real hard. Not to many '82's out there with that set-up. Ron's rig is EXACT!. Wish he would sell it, but nothin' doin'. out...

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by jays0n

Question for the group. Has anyone ever found someone making the metal pickguard/bridge combo thing? Seems there was some talk of this before but I cannot remember/find it.

Jay, you need to talk to elams1894, he posted a couple of times here, maybe PM him.

I had some really interesting email conversations with him, his name is Geoff & he is from new Zealand, he has made several of his own guitars & is really into exotic woods & also really knows his woods etc, he also makes carbon pickguards, not sure if it can be manufactured into a Bullet style one piece, but he is on my list for a pickguard for a Bullet project in the future, I am sure he will be able to help.

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by bddmhopp5

I hated my pick-guard bridge combo, and all I wanted was a real Telecaster. I run a '78 Tele, black with Rosewood neck now. Yea, I'm looking real hard. Not to many '82's out there with that set-up. Ron's rig is EXACT!. Wish he would sell it, but nothin' doin'. out...

That geetar of Ron's is in really good condition, they do crop up on ebay now & then, but those 2nd gens with the all in one guard all seem to go for good money or go quickly.

[Matteo79]

Greetings all, brand spankin' new dude here. Stoked on my new Bullet (81?) and was looking around the net for info. I bought it locally for 3 bills, always wanted a Fender but wanted something different from a strat or tele. The Bullet had been stripped and repainted (it was red originally) to a translucent sea blue/green color which was quite nice but the paint was real soft and chipped and dinged easily. Stripped that off and sprayed it gloss black and repainted the one-piece metal guard a satin ivory to blend in with the dingy pup covers. Came out pretty decent if you don't look too closely. The neck is a cream dream. I'll get some photos up soon.http://www.flickr.com/photos/e_simo/5295769658/http://www.flickr.com/photos/e_simo/...n/photostream/

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by Matteo79

Greetings all, brand spankin' new dude here. Stoked on my new Bullet (81?) and was looking around the net for info. I bought it locally for 3 bills, always wanted a Fender but wanted something different from a strat or tele. The Bullet had been stripped and repainted (it was red originally) to a translucent sea blue/green color which was quite nice but the paint was real soft and chipped and dinged easily. Stripped that off and sprayed it gloss black and repainted the one-piece metal guard a satin ivory to blend in with the dingy pup covers. Came out pretty decent if you don't look too closely. The neck is a cream dream. I'll get some photos up soon.http://www.flickr.com/photos/e_simo/5295769658/http://www.flickr.com/photos/e_simo/...n/photostream/

Welcome Matteo79, that looks real nice, I think there is someone here with a sonic blue or surf green Bullet, that also looks real cool with the maple neck.
You don't have to say much about the necks to the people here, we all know they are gems ! Sad thing is , a lot of Fender purists will always diss the humble Bullet & try to tell you that the guitar is made from cheap parts - fact is they are tha same parts as all standard Fenders of that era.

I see you also changed the saddles, any improvements or do they still rattle on the metal guard ?

If you need any info just ask, I am sure we can help.

Leeroy.

[cc9cii]

Does anyone know if strat pickups drop straight into Fender Bullets? I wish to try out some noiseless pickups but don't want to modify the pickguard.

[John Page]

cc9cii,

No problem at all with a direct replacement with a Strat pickup. The covers can be a bit snug, but not a real issue. I just double checked it with a pickguard and pickups I had and it worked fine.

If my memory serves me correctly, the Mustang pickup fibers and covers were the same dimensionally as the Strats. I used them to keep with the whole "student' concept of the Bullet.

Hope that helps. Happy New Year!
Cheers,
John

[cc9cii]

Thanks for that info John. Time to try out some new pickups!

All the best to you in the New Year, too.

[jays0n]

How cool is that, to have John Page himself on this forum and especially talking with us in the Bullet thread. Thanks John, for the guitars and for hanging out.

j

[mojo_max]

Here's my Fender Bullet, finally got around to taking a few pictures. It's just a perfect guitar in my opinion.

[Lacking Talent]

Here's mine, hope to get a better photo up soon:



This unpretentious little axe has grown to be one of my faves; rock solid but not heavy, small and comfy, with good playability and a bridge pickup that'll take your head off if you're not careful!