Fender Bullet Owners Club

[IndianScout]

Originally Posted by trailboss

Hey man, whazzup? That one appears to be my brother's old Bullet. Circa 1981, aftermarket pickup, MIA, OHSC, etc. One of the best playing guitars I've ever touched, a real keeper for sure. Good luck with it

ya it sure was, I had to tear it down and rewire it, resolder all the connections

so I got a hair while I had it apart and thought this might look good..

I reliq'd the pickup a bit to make like your hand has been brushing over it for 25 years, but I do have a pickup ordered for it..

then I got out the paint..

http://i49.tinypic.com/231lyt.jpg

[IndianScout]

I liked the way the Bullet looked stock, but I wanted to change it a bit to reflect me and not be yet another stock guitar in the world..

stock

http://i40.tinypic.com/qx07z5.jpg

new changes

http://i50.tinypic.com/wji72p.jpg

http://i47.tinypic.com/rlbxwm.jpg

it's still got the Dimarzio in it, I trimmed the bobbins so that the bullet plastic cover would fit over it, I sprayed it then took some sand paper to it to make it look as tho it's been played some

so how does it look so far??

[trailboss]

Looks good so far. Shouldn't have had to rewire it though- it was re-wired and re-soldered just a few months back and all the solder joints were hella stout. Anyhoo, my brother digs the Les Paul project. As soon as we get the wiring mess all sorted out (total re-do job from scratch) he should be onstage and rockin' it in no time:)

[RevMike]

Bullets are awesome. I don't own one, but I would love to grab one someday. There have been a few cool ones around here on craigs in the last couple days.

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/msg/2964510136.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/fct/msg/2980018468.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/msg/2970209867.html

http://cnj.craigslist.org/msg/2964655360.html

[flatspunout]

Hi everyone, first post. Five or six years ago a friend of mine who was in college at the time had a little trouble with the law, had to move back home to Virginia, and was going to throw this guitar away because it didn't work, wouldn't fit in the U-Haul and some kid at GC told him it "was crap and would give him 25 bucks for it". I had just started playing 3-chord songs on an acoustic at the time (and still am ), was and still am a packrat, and like taking stuff apart so I brought it home. The strings were in bad shape, the screws and hardware had started to corrode slightly, and it wouldn't work when I tried it out (he also hooked me up with a Peavey Blazer 158 Transtube amp since it wouldn't fit in the U-Haul either)...so being a habitual tinkerer and knowing nothing about guitars I promptly began taking it apart with the help of Google.

Turns out all it needed was a new jack, which my roommate at the time (who ironically, is a drummer) happened to have in a box full of old electronics, so I cleaned her up, installed the new jack and some new strings and voila! Freebie guitar! Since I suck at guitar, I spent more time Googling than playing and learned all I could about this model and Bullets in general.

Fast forward five (six? seven? eh..) years to last night as I'm cleaning out a closet and there it is...back to Google we go and that's where I found this forum...what a resource! I gave it a thorough cleaning and inspection and took pictures as I went along...from what I have read everyone here loves eye candy so I thought I would share. The coil taps don't work (not unusual from what I have read) and some previous owner removed the pup covers (which are damn near impossible to find), but overall it is in fantastic shape. A few nicks and scratches here and there, minimal fretwear, and I LOVE the sunburst finish. OK enough words, now pictures!

1984 Squier Bullet H2 MIJ SQ168**

[Gaolee]

That's a really beautiful guitar.

[flatspunout]

Originally Posted by Gaolee

That's a really beautiful guitar.

Thank you I think so too...I'm glad it made it out of the 80's without taking a "beginner beating" lol

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by flatspunout

Thank you I think so too...I'm glad it made it out of the 80's without taking a "beginner beating" lol

Looks to be in really good condition, I'm sure there are loads more out there laying under beds or sitting in cupboards etc .......
Whatever - we still like to see them & love a great story, that makes it even better !

[flatspunout]

Almost forgot there was a happy ending for the friend as well as the guitar...he went on to get his act together and became a youth pastor, and is still an avid musician.

yoreel: Thanks for the tip on fixing stripped screw holes earlier in this thread...three out of the four lower pickguard screws were just spinning in the holes and I used your matchstick trick...snug as a bug in a rug!

[jays0n]

@flatspunout, that is is a keeper for sure. It should not be in a closest much if you can help it.

As for 3 chords, seems to be all we need in most cases (is pretty much my style too), keep it up. Enough for these cats anyway http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1SkEBTL0zxQ

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by flatspunout

Almost forgot there was a happy ending for the friend as well as the guitar...he went on to get his act together and became a youth pastor, and is still an avid musician.

yoreel: Thanks for the tip on fixing stripped screw holes earlier in this thread...three out of the four lower pickguard screws were just spinning in the holes and I used your matchstick trick...snug as a bug in a rug!

A really good end to the story as well ......

The matchsticks always work for me, glad it was of some use.

[Gaolee]

Another way to fix smaller holes is to use a toothpick and a little Elmers glue. It works just like a matchstick, except a toothpick is much smaller. Same idea, though.

[pauare67]

This is my very first electric guitar. I bought this brand-new in 1982 or 1983. I was 15 years old back then. I still have this guitar and still use it from time to time. It has some corroded parts. I replaced the original saddle bridge as they were badly corroded. I did not throw the original saddles away. I also replaced the knobs as they have cracked over the years.

I also have the original Fender hardshell case (not in picture). I am not sure if this is a first generation Fender Bullet. It has the PAF sticker near the bridge. Not sure if that will help with the date. Thank you for viewing.

[yoreel]

pauare67 welcome to the club,
I think you guys that have owned these guitars since new are the real Fender Bullet owners, as opposed to the members like me that discovered the guitars at a later date.

Your guitar is the mark 2 or 2nd generation version, from late 1982 onwards, the guitar was marketed as "The Bullet" the same name as the mark 1 telecaster shaped version with the all in one alloy bridge / tailpiece.
The patent for the all in one guard was not granted until early 1983, so all guitars with that type of guard had the patent sticker applied.
Please look back at the previous pages, there is lots of info about all of the USA Fender Bullets.

[pauare67]

Thank you Yoreel for your reply.

I dug up this photo of me back in 1985 with my Fender Bullet. That's me on the left. :) I was living in the Philippines back then.

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by pauare67

Thank you Yoreel for your reply.

I dug up this photo of me back in 1985 with my Fender Bullet. That's me on the left. :) I was living in the Philippines back then.

What a great pic ! It reminds me of when I started playing, we had a band at school as part of the school rock opera.
The Bullet looks huge, but we forget how small we were back then ... I used to borrow the music directors 1969 les paul gold top for the shows, it seemed like it weighed a ton hanging round my little shoulders - fond memories tho ...... and I'm still small just a bit plumper

[SuitedandBooted]

I have an early 80's usa bullet which has the one piece scratchguard/bridge. It has barrel saddles and i need a replacement set but can't find anywhere that sells them. Anyone have any ideas where i can get them?

[yoreel]

Originally Posted by SuitedandBooted

I have an early 80's usa bullet which has the one piece scratchguard/bridge. It has barrel saddles and i need a replacement set but can't find anywhere that sells them. Anyone have any ideas where i can get them?

SuitedandBooted - Welcome to the club, this problem crops up a lot, it is mentioned in the back pages.

The USA Fender Bullet saddles are unique to the guitar, to avoid any confusion, we are talking about "The Bullet" which is the guitar with the all in one alloy pickguard/tailpiece.
The saddles are larger than telecaster saddles & nobody makes an aftermarket part.
Your only hope is finding one original or a set on ebay, but they are likely to be quite expensive as people are beginning to realise that the saddles are hard to get.
Telecaster saddles will fit, but they are a lot smaller in diameter, an individual saddle would look odd along side the originals, but will work, you could of course replace the whole set & keep the originals.

The thing to remember is the string spacing of the saddles, "The Bullet" spacing is 55mm or 2 5/32 ins, but the standard 56mm or 2 3/16 inch will be ok.

You don't mention why you need to replace the saddles ?

Maybe we can help - There are ways of dealing with corroded or locked up saddle screws, if they have not gone too far.

[yoreel]

This is still on ebay

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1982-FENDE...#ht_500wt_1413

A single USA Fender Bullet saddle with height screws, intonation screw & spring, a tad high at $31.99 (£19 GBP) in my view, but I suppose if you really need one its worth it !

P.S. This will ship internationally in an envelope from the USA to the UK via USPS air mail letter post & cost approx $5-$6 or less.

[willbirchall7]

Hey I'm new here! Here's my '81 bullet. It's my main guitar and I use it pretty much everyday in my band Muto Leo. You can check us out at www.soundcloud.com/muto_leo

Here are some pics of my guitar...