1960s Conqueror (Fujigen) Hollowbody Rubber-Bridge-Mod Electric Bass Guitar

I bought this bass off my buddy Don and it arrived in the state I expected it to be -- not fit for playing, but original and with "good guts." I decided right away that I was going to turn it into a "rubber bridge bass" what with all of the folks asking me for these lovable creatures and the fact that a short-scale hollowbody instrument like this is a perfect candidate for the sound.

I'm pretty sure this is a Fujigen product, judging by the pickup housing. Please correct me if I'm wrong -- my copy of History of Japanese Electric Guitars is out of the house and on loan at the moment! In any case, it's a cool instrument with an almost-16" lower bout, thin body depth, and quite light weight overall at just shy of 6 lbs.

The neck is fast and modern-feeling and action is quick and easy, especially with the 95w-35w strings I have on it. In addition to the "normal repairs" for an instrument of this age, I also added a 1/2" dowel that is hidden inside the body and runs from the neckblock to the endblock and is pinned in place at the endblock. This makes the whole build much more rigid and functional as the major weakness of a lot of Japanese hollowbody, bolt-on designs is that they like to "crumple" under tension and so the setup tends to move around. Once a dowel like this is installed, they become just as stable as your average Fender, for the most part.

The new rubber bridge bit is a thick hunk of foam rubber atop a new rosewood saddle/topper for the original adjustable bridge base. Of course, the original saddle/topper will come with the instrument. I find this foam-style rubber dampens tone in a mellow, fat sort-of way that's nicer than some of the hard rubbers used by other folks doing this job. It's quirkier to work with, though, when initially setting it up.

Repairs included: dowel stiffener install in the body, fret level/dress, rubber bridge mod, rectified grounding in the wiring, setup, etc...

Body wood: ply maple with redburst finish

Bridge: rosewood adjustable

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany-family?

Pickups: 1x single coil w/adjustable poles

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 95w-35w extra light D'Addario roundwounds

Neck shape: slim-medium C

Board radius: 10"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight with slight backbow after the 12th fret (so light it's not even really visible)

Fret style: medium-lower

Scale length: 30 1/2"

Nut width: 1 5/8"

Body width: 15 3/4"

Body depth: 1 3/4" + arching

Weight: 5 lbs 15 oz

Condition notes: while it appears quite clean in the photos, there's an unfilled strap button hole on the back of the neck. The finish also has "water staining" in little dots of affected finish here and there throughout. It's all normal stuff for old instruments. The truss rod works as it should. The saddle is, of course, a replacement. There's minor wear and tear throughout the body (scuffs, scratches).

It comes with: sorry, no case.