Fender Bullet Ivory 1981
Fender Bullet, ivory finish, made in USA 1981. The early 80s was a turbulent time for Fender, with a whole stack of changes happening at once: an in-process employee lead buy-back from CBS corp, a reinvention of the Fullerton factory, negotiations to start making guitars in Japan, the first ever reissue models, the discontinuation of models like the Jaguar and Jazzmaster, and... the launch of John Page's newly designed student model, the Bullet. The Bullet and Bullet Deluxe were meant to replace the Mustang and Duo Sonic as Fender's USA made entry level offering. The design had some classic Fender features: Tele style headstock, slim quick maple neck, two single coil pickups and a bolt on construction. It also had some new ideas: a slimmed-down version of the Tele body shape and a metal pickguard that doubled as a top loader bridge. This one dates to 1981 and is in pretty tidy shape, despite a few years of play and a few little changes here and there. The neck is super comfy: slim, but intuitive, and with fairly wide frets that are in great shape and feel great to play. The sound is immediate and snappy, with heaps of attack and rasp, an open midrange and an understated but tuneful low end. It's great for punk, surf or indie stuff and will carry well when combined with effects. Sometimes, some folks just need a Bullet, you know?
Model: Fender Bullet
Made: USA, 1981, Fullerton factory
Serial: E102002
Finish: ivory, gloss poly
Body: solid luan
Neck: maple, rosewood fretboard, 25.5" scale, 7.25" radius. slim C shape
Weight: 3.965kg
Mods: bridge pickup replaced and then reinstalled, tuners replaced, string tree removed
Pickups: Fender flat pole alnico single coil x2
Accessories: Fender hard case
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has scuffs and dimples on the end and both edges, some peeling around the decals, a hole from a removed string tree and some scuffs and discolouration on the front and some minor scuffs on the back. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, dimples and rub wear on the back only. The back has dimples on the horns, along the top edge and in the middle of the body as well as widespread scuffs, rub wear and discolouration around the whole body. The sides have a chip and some checking and scuffs on the top horn, dimples and scuffs in th elbow area, some scuffs and four or five small chips and one large filled chip on the back edge, checking and dimples near the jack, a chip near the tone knob and a chip and some scuffs on the bottom horn. The front has scuffs and rub wear in the elbow area, scuffs around the bridge and jack, three extra holes around the bridge pickup and some pitting on the guard, play wear on the guard and horns and some rub wear and discolouration around the whole body.
Overall: good condition (7/10)
Playing condition notes: action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.
Fret life: 7/10, minor wear only
Description
Fender Bullet, ivory finish, made in USA 1981. The early 80s was a turbulent time for Fender, with a whole stack of changes happening at once: an in-process employee lead buy-back from CBS corp, a reinvention of the Fullerton factory, negotiations to start making guitars in Japan, the first ever reissue models, the discontinuation of models like the Jaguar and Jazzmaster, and... the launch of John Page's newly designed student model, the Bullet. The Bullet and Bullet Deluxe were meant to replace the Mustang and Duo Sonic as Fender's USA made entry level offering. The design had some classic Fender features: Tele style headstock, slim quick maple neck, two single coil pickups and a bolt on construction. It also had some new ideas: a slimmed-down version of the Tele body shape and a metal pickguard that doubled as a top loader bridge. This one dates to 1981 and is in pretty tidy shape, despite a few years of play and a few little changes here and there. The neck is super comfy: slim, but intuitive, and with fairly wide frets that are in great shape and feel great to play. The sound is immediate and snappy, with heaps of attack and rasp, an open midrange and an understated but tuneful low end. It's great for punk, surf or indie stuff and will carry well when combined with effects. Sometimes, some folks just need a Bullet, you know?
Model: Fender Bullet
Made: USA, 1981, Fullerton factory
Serial: E102002
Finish: ivory, gloss poly
Body: solid luan
Neck: maple, rosewood fretboard, 25.5" scale, 7.25" radius. slim C shape
Weight: 3.965kg
Mods: bridge pickup replaced and then reinstalled, tuners replaced, string tree removed
Pickups: Fender flat pole alnico single coil x2
Accessories: Fender hard case
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has scuffs and dimples on the end and both edges, some peeling around the decals, a hole from a removed string tree and some scuffs and discolouration on the front and some minor scuffs on the back. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, dimples and rub wear on the back only. The back has dimples on the horns, along the top edge and in the middle of the body as well as widespread scuffs, rub wear and discolouration around the whole body. The sides have a chip and some checking and scuffs on the top horn, dimples and scuffs in th elbow area, some scuffs and four or five small chips and one large filled chip on the back edge, checking and dimples near the jack, a chip near the tone knob and a chip and some scuffs on the bottom horn. The front has scuffs and rub wear in the elbow area, scuffs around the bridge and jack, three extra holes around the bridge pickup and some pitting on the guard, play wear on the guard and horns and some rub wear and discolouration around the whole body.
Overall: good condition (7/10)
Playing condition notes: action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.
Fret life: 7/10, minor wear only
