May 3, 2007 at 10:11 pm · Filed under Reader Basses · by Brandon
I’ve got a few hollowbody bass images sitting in my inbox that may be of interest. They’re all basses owned by readers of the blog.
Often I’ll get emails asking for advice or information, and sometimes I’ll get emails asking to identify a particular model. And I also get “hey check out my cool bass” emails, which are always fun. Here are a few recent images:
1974 Rickenbacker 4005WB, with a vol/tone/switch config that he reader claims is original. (All other 4005’s have dual volume & tone controls.)
Johnny sends us this lovely collection of Japanese beauties, complete with a Sekova hollowbody bass:
Next up, Dan (owner of the Thundertron modded Dean Stylist) shows off his Lakland Hollowbody with custom pickguard:
Lastly, Mark Zandveld sent me a link to his site where he proudly displays his custom “Fretted Horizontal” Takamine B10:
That’s it for now. Once my inbox gets a little fuller we’ll have another round. If you’ve got a unique hollowbody bass that you’d like to see on the site, shoot me an email at brandon [a] hollowbodybass.com.
April 22, 2007 at 6:25 am · Filed under Basses That Should Have Been · by Brandon
This recent eBay auction reminded me of another ‘bass that should have been.’ I’ve always liked the Silvertone 1448 guitar (commonly referred to as the ‘amp-in-case model’), because the style is much more agressive than a typical Danelectro or Danelectro-produced Silvertone. But unlike the U-1/2/3 and DC-1/2 guitar models, the Silvertone 1448 never received a bass counterpart.
In my mind, the bass would have the exact same look as the guitar, except with a 30″ scale and slightly larger body. And of course, it would come with the amplifier case!
Here are some pics of the guitar for reference:
image from eBay auction
image from eBay auction
image from eBay auction
image from eBay auction
image from STROMGITARREN
If I wasn’t feeling so lazy right now, I’d photoshop the guitar into a bass. But for now the images above coupled with your imagination will have to suffice.
April 22, 2007 at 5:54 am · Filed under Bass Value Trends · by Brandon
I was really surprised at the final bids on two pieces of vintage Gibson hardware that were auctioned on eBay recently:
Gibson 1960’s original EB2D Bass Pickguard
Final Bid: US $130.27
and
VINTAGE 60’s GIBSON EBO BASS Bridge NR
Final Bid: US $179.50
I honestly expected the pickguard to go for half of what it did, and the bridge to end up in the $100 range.
Crazyness.
April 19, 2007 at 7:29 am · Filed under News · by Brandon
Just got an email from Mike @ Eastwood, and it looks like the Airline Map Bass will be shipping in May. The bass features a chambered mahogany body and 30.5″ scale. Price is $799. Instrument is made in Korea.
April 18, 2007 at 7:44 am · Filed under Brandon's Basses · by Brandon
A while back, our singer (and fellow bass player) told me about an old guitar of his that had suffered damage from a fall. I inquired a little further and found out that the guitar was a 70’s Univox/Electra/Teisco ES-335 copy in greenburst. I immediately offered to buy the carcass from him. Later he brought it to practice and just gave it to me.
Fast forward 6+ months when I finally had the new hardware and access to a drill press:
Before I got the guitar body from Ryan, I had already grabbed a NOS Univox bass neck from eBay. I bought it and was waiting for the right body to come along. The neck pocket for the body is a perfect fit for the neck. I’m pretty certain that the basses and guitars of this type were manufactured at the same time, with the only real difference being the position of the pickup routing.
Widening the tuner holes was the most harrowing part - they were just under 1/2″ (for those crappy old Japanese tuners) and needed to be 9/16″ for the MIK tuners that I had ordered. I tried a drill press, but ended up chipping the edges of the paint on the front of the headstock (luckily the washers for the tuners covered my screw-up). You can’t tell from this picture, but the buttons are white pearloid.
The Allparts Hofner-copy tailpiece required some extra holes to be drilled on the edge of the body, so I’m going to fashion a small plate made of pickguard material to go under the tailpiece mount to cover the original holes (the new tailpiece is a little smaller than the original).
A couple more shots:
The finish on the back is a little more vibrant than the finish on the front:
Now I need to get some pickup surrounds created that match the originals (so I don’t have to bother with more routing and hole-drilling). I’ll be using a set of DeArmond Turbo-Jet single coil pickups. Still haven’t decided on the wiring scheme yet. The bridge is a floating Hofner-style.
I was thinking about all the hardware for this bass the other day, and before it’s all done, this will be a ‘MIAJKG’ model - the pickups are MIA (made in America), the bridge was made in Germany, the tuners in Korea and the body and neck in Japan.
April 5, 2007 at 2:59 pm · Filed under Basses That Should Have Been · by Brandon
Matt from Pharaoh Amplifiers & Pedals just found info on a new hollow body bass, courtesy of Gretsch. Check it out!:
See full specs @ Gretsch’s site: http://www.gretschguitars.com/new07/G6136LSB/
Check out the sparkle gold binding on this sexy beast:
I’m not sure of the price for this thing, but it’s got to be a pretty penny.
This marks the second time a manufacturer has beat me to the punch. First it was Eastwood, now Gretsch.
A while back I got the idea to do a series of posts called “Basses That Should Have Been” - highlighting all the cool guitar models that would have made even cooler semi and full-hollow bodied basses. The Gretsch White Falcon was on the list, but not any longer!
I wonder if they’ll do a single-cut version…..
April 1, 2007 at 2:42 pm · Filed under Random · by Brandon
Was cleaning out my email and figured I’d throw these up. A reader sent me an email a while back with pictures of his seafoam green Dean Stylist bass, upgraded with TV Jones Thundertrons. I think these pickups look way better than the black plastic-cover humbuckers that come stock on the bass. Bet it sounds a lot better, too.
March 24, 2007 at 3:03 pm · Filed under Bass Sightings · by Brandon
A Talkbass‘er pointed out a New York Craigslist posting for a Guild Starfire modified by luthier Doug Irwin. Irwin worked for Alembic and modified/repaired/built guitars for Jerry Garcia. According to the seller, this bass was custom ordered by a Phil Lesh fan:
Listing is for a Guild Starfire Bass that was customised by Doug Irwin, a former Alembic luthier who built some of Jerry Garcia’s most famous Guitars. I bought the bass in 1980 from the original owner, a pro bass player in the bay area. He met Phil Lesh at a SanFran party in the mid ’70’s and told Phil how much he liked his alembicised Guild Starfire. Phil gave him Irwin’s number and after getting Irwin’s OK he went out and bought a mahogany Starfire like Phil’s for the project. Since he played an early ’60’s Fender Precision he had Irwin install a wide, flat, 34 inch scale neck. Bass is in excellent condition and is unchanged from the day it left Irwin’s shop, with Bartolini Hi-A’s, Schaller tuners, a custom made bridge and tailpiece.
I emailed the seller, who provided me with full-size shots of the bass. Check it out:
What’s most interesting about this bass is the 34″ scale, Precision Bass-width neck. If you look at the 2nd image above (of the back of the bass), you can see the extra width because the neck heel is narrower than the rest of the neck.
If you’re interested, the seller can be reached via the original Craigslist ad.
In case you’re not familiar with Phil Lesh’s Alembic-modified Starfire (generally referred to as the “Godfather”, here’s a few pics:
March 21, 2007 at 9:26 pm · Filed under eBay Oddities · by Brandon
This week’s freak is a 60’s Kay 5915, with a few ‘upgrades.’ The original pickup is gone, and in its place is a Precision-style pickup arranged like two separate single coils in the neck and mid positions. Top it all off with a gold sparkle finish and call it a day:
See the auction (with a few hours left): http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=002&viewitem=&item=120098396941
March 16, 2007 at 9:42 pm · Filed under Hollowbodies in the Media · by Brandon
It probably doesn’t surprise you that I subscribe to Vintage Guitar Magazine. I received April’s issue a while back and way surprised at the numerous hollowbodies included in that issue. Here’s a run-down:
Everybody’s favorite SNL band leader and a sexy Kay 5970B (B as in Blonde):
Then a bunch o’ hollowbody basses from the collection of Cheap Trick bassist Tom Petersson:
Above, a large-bodied Framus Star in “Humbug” finish. Below, a ‘59 Hofner 500/5 President, 60’s Klira Twen-Star and small-bodied ‘62 Framus Star, also in “Humbug” finish. (Notice how the Klira is incorrectly labelled as a Hofner. Come on VG! That’s an amateur mistake. 
)
Lastly, a 3/4-size ‘61 Framus Star and another 50’s Kay 5970 (modified with what looks to be a Hofner ‘Staple’ pickup.
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