Back before BC Rich cornered the guitars-so-pointy-you-might-hurt-yourself market, there was a Japanese guitar company by the name of “Idol.” Unfortunately, I know absolutely nothing about these instruments. But I do have this catalog scan that I found on http://guitar.webinjp.com/:
Check out the hollow body bass! Don’t put yer eye out……..
I’ve gotta confess. I purposefully didn’t list this auction while it was live. I planned to bid on the bass because it was a sleeper. But, I was out of work all last month, so the rational side of me won out, and I put the checkbook away.
What you have below is the only example I’ve ever seen of a Firstman “Baron” hollow body bass. Until now, I’ve only seen or heard of the Firstman brand name in reference to the “Liverpool” guitar model. Furthermore, I’d only seen this body style with a Greco badge on a Rickenbacker-esque headstock (and usually finished in greenburst or redburst). (The Greco model was called the “Shrike.” This Firstman version sports a transparent red finish and a Mosrite-esque headstock. Check her out:
Since this bass was listed as a “Firstman,” it sold for half of what I would have expected a Greco version to go for. So congrats to bidder “cdn92140e36″ for his win. You can see the full auction here.
For example of a Greco Shrike, click to see this insanely over-priced listing for a greenburst Shrike.
Lastly, here’s the Firstman Liverpool guitar I mentioned above:
I stumbled upon the strangest Craigslist ad this morning:
I am looking for a sweet bass guitar, something that Flea would totally slapfight, and matching bass amp. I pay in a delivery service through which, every Wednesday night for a year, you will receive a dozen assorted Krispy Kreme donuts- or just the glazed if you like to keep it old school. Negotiable, but serious inquiries only.
And just in case you were having trouble comprehending the deal, here’s a little visualization that was included with the listing:
See the listing: http://raleigh.craigslist.org/msg/274281728.html
Pennydreadful from TalkBass tipped me off to these upcoming Italia hollowbody basses:
Rimini 4
-Agathis chamber body
-Maple set-in neck
-Italia bass mini humbucker
The Rimini 4 is based on the Italia Rimini Guitar, which comes in a bunch of pearloid colors, so maybe the color choices for the bass will be similar. Check out the guitar in white pearloid:
Mondial Woody Bass
-Soft Maple top w/wood binder
-Mahogany body back
-Mahogany set-in neck
-ABR bass humbucker
-Piezo with 3band slide EQ
-Handbuilt wooden bridge
This model is pretty similar to previous Mondial Bass, but without the res-o-glass inspired top.
Got the monthly newletter from Eastwood today, and Michael wrote his follow-up to Eastwood’s first NAMM appearance. Included are a few pics featuring the newest addition to the Eastwood bass series - the Airline Map Bass:
I had the idea to start a “Basses That Should Have Been” series of posts a while back, but never got around to it. With this little catalyst from Michael @ Eastwood, I’ll have to get cracking on the series. This Airline Map Bass is an prime example of a cool guitar design that, for one reason or another, was never manufactured as a bass guitar. The Map bass may very well be my first Eastwood purchase…….
On a side note, in the above pic you can see a Classic 4 bass with a black finish. Currently the site only lists it as available in orange or brown. I think it looks pretty snazzy in black. You can also see it (along with Danny Amis of Los Straitjackets) in the pic below:
Read Mike’s NAMM wrap-up here: http://www.myrareguitars.com/namm2007followup.html
This week’s freak comes to use courtesy of Unorthodox Guitar, who I’m familiar with because of their version of the Ampeg Hollowbody that can be regularly on eBay.
Here’s the description from the auction:
NECK - “D” Shape Set Neck made of Curly Maple and cherry. Features valute proper and offset tuners on unique shape Cherry Clad Headstock. Fretless Fingerboard made of Hickory with Maple Binding. 33″ Scale. 12″ Radius, 23 Dot Inlay Face Markers made of Brazilian Cherry. Oxblood Corian Nut. 2-Way adjustable Trussrod with Tortoise on white on black Trussrod Cover.
BODY - Viola Shape Mono Frame Hollow Chambered Construction with solid wood blocking at the Neck Pocket and the Bridge thru Tailpin areas. The face is made of bookmatched Brazilian Cherry with Bentwood subtle arch shape. Features two large Traditional F Holes. The left side upper bout has flat shape to accomodate side mount controls.
The middle mono frame wood is made of Curly Maple and Alder.
The back is made of 3 piece Curly Cherry. Features bevel arch carved perimeter.
ELECTRONICS - Artec Piezo Pickup with 4 Band Preamp. Features 9-Volt Battery Box, Master Volume, Bass, Middle, Treble and Presence Slide Controls. 1/4″ Side Mount Input Jack with oval shape chrome plate.
The finish is a hand rubbed Satin Oil polished out with Carnuba Wax. This is a beautiful finish that lets the wood breath and allows for natural resonation and sustain of the selected mixture of tone woods. It is more resistant to scratches and dents than tradtional lacquer or polyeurethane finishes. It is easily maintained with lemon oil polish.
This one is definately unique. Not sure that I’m a big fan of it, but I can appreciate the concept. The auction has already ended, but if you really want one, it should be easy enough to contact the builder. Just don’t let them inlay “UG” on the headstock.
HollowbodyBass reader Sean just sent me an email with a two new Ibanez models that he found on a German retailer’s site:
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IBANEZ AGB200-TBR
IBANEZ AGB200-TBR, Semi-Acoustic-Bass, Maple Top, Back and Sides, 3-pcs set in Mahogany Neck, Rosewood Fretboard, 22 Frets, 30″ Scale, Pearl Dot Inlays, Gibralter IIIB Bridge with Quik-Change IIIB Tailpiece, Pickups: ACHB-2 Neck and ACHB-2B Bridge, Color: Transparent Brown, incl. Gigbag and StrapPrice: 425 EUR See product listing: http://www.thomann.de/ie/ibanez_agb200_tbr.htm |
and:
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IBANEZ AFB200-BS
IBANEZ AFB200-BS, Acoustic-Bass, Maple Top, Back and Sides, 3-pcs set in Mahogany Neck, Rosewood Fretboard, 22 Frets, 30″ Scale, Pearl Dot Inlays, Gibralter IIIB Bridge with Quik-Change IIIB Tailpiece, Pickups: ACHB-2 Neck and ACHB-2B Bridge, Color: Brown Sunburst, incl. Gigbag and StrapPrice: 444 EUR See the product listing: http://www.thomann.de/ie/ibanez_afb200_bs.htm |
I’m wondering if these basses were present at NAMM, or if they’re Europe-only models. Sean was unable to find any other information, nor was I. If anyone out there has seen these basses first-hand or has any further info, shoot me an email @ brandon [[a]] hollowbodybass.com. Thanks Sean!
01/22/07 Update: A fellow TalkBasser clued me in that these models have actually been listed on the US site for a week or so - but they’re not linked from the Basses page, you’ve got to go to the Hollowbody GUITARS section to find them (smooth move on Ibanez’s web designer’s part). So anyways, check it out: http://ibanez.com/hollow/featured/basses.aspx.
Unfortunately, I was not able to attend NAMM this year (nor any year prior), so I have to rely on the reports of others about the tons o’ cool crap that is on display. But the news from this show seems pretty sparse. So far, these images are the only ones that have surfaced featuring hollow/semi/chambered basses (courtesy of west*coast*bass from TalkBass):
First up are a few basses from Jerry Drozd:
On the left is a Drozd Sequel, on the right a Barcelona.
And check out this 12-string Legend:
Below are some pics of Ken Lawrence and one of his single-cut chambered creations:
I’ll be on the lookout for any more hollowbody bass related NAMM news. In the meanwhile you can check out the rest of west*coast*bass’s NAMM pics here.
This week’s freak is the elusive Sekova ‘Vulcan’ model, made in the mid to late sixties. Since ‘99 or so I’ve only seen a handful of these. Two in white, and one in a very red sunburst color. All had tortoise shell pickguards that spanned across the treble and bass cutaways and covered the tops of the f-holes.
This is the cleanest example I’ve seen, and the seller, ‘colmanara’ was kind enough to email me a higher-res picture of the bass:
The most unique feature is obviously the pickguard. The tailpiece, bridge, body shape, headstock shape and control plate can all be found on various Japanese hollowbody guitar and basses. Another unique feature is the white finish, not often found on Japanese hollowbodies.
Check out the auction here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280070309882
Harmony-Central has posted a pre-NAMM announcement from Reverend that they will have 11 new set-neck models on display. Of the three that they sent promo images for, the Manta Ray model caught my eye:
I like the new headstock design and the symmetry of the dual-pointy-cutaway body. Very Kessel-ish.
You may be asking why I’m covering guitar news here on the Hollowbody BASS Archive. Well, Reverend at one time did make basses. From what I hear, they were very nice basses. (Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to try one out.) So keep your fingers crossed - maybe Reverend will bring their bass line back, and debut a Manta Ray hollowbody or semi-hollow bass. One can dream, right?
Original press release here.
