Aluminum Bass on eBay

mr sprocket · #1 02-23-2007, 07:50 PM

I stumbled across this aluminum bass on eBay and was wondering if anyone else had seen one of these before.

http://cgi.ebay.com/VERY-OLD-ALUMINU...mZ110095866594

mxr255 · #2 02-23-2007, 09:58 PM

i own an old Aluminum Bass. Not a good sound but holds up to the dry winters well (lol). I use it more as a conversation peice. SOrry I don't have any more info.

dchan · #3 02-23-2007, 10:13 PM

I believe it is probably an American made aluminum bass.

The Americans and Germans both made aluminum basses a quite a while ago. The main difference between the two was that the American basses were welded together, while the German basses were riveted. The riveting, of course, allows for luthiers to repair the inside of the bass if necessary.

jazz bass guy · #4 02-24-2007, 12:56 AM

Ray Brown told a story about when he was a kid, they would use the school's aluminum bass for a toboggan. I've never seen one.

fingers · #5 02-24-2007, 02:18 AM

I've played two and they both sounded terrible. A fun novelty but I had to use one at a gig. It as a long night.

Jason Sypher · #6 02-24-2007, 06:55 AM

I know a guy who plays one exclusively. It's loud as hell for one. It's not the worst sound in the world if you are just listening to it as it's own thing and not expecting wood. It's impervious to the elements. But in the end, I always wonder why he doesn't get himself a wood bass as well. I think that it is so powerful that it's almost difficult to play a wood one after that, it just doesn't have as much sound (even though its a much more musical sound). I wouldn't recommend one to anyone.

KentuckyJim · #7 02-24-2007, 01:32 PM

Hey, I just looked at the picture on ebay. This one might be my old one. The peg box looks kinda crooked like my old one.

I bought an all aluminum welded bass with aluminum neck. I had painted mine white with flames. It was solid as a rock. I always played it amplified with a K&K rockabilly set up. It still sounded kinda boxy. These basses can be very loud, but acousticly sound like crap.

So if you are doing a loud rock thing fill the body with foam and slap a pick-up on it. If it's your first and only upright, buy something nice instead.

mr sprocket · #8 02-24-2007, 05:35 PM

If I lived closer I might be tempted. It would look great with so flames. I could use for rockabilly stuff.

dimcc · #9 05-18-2007, 04:52 PM

I play a 1929 Pfretschner aluminum bodied 3/4. I was lucky enough a few years back to correspond with an old gentleman who was the youngest in that family who said that the year 1929 as their rep in NYC was the best year of his life -- a commentary, I suppose, on the war and life in East Germany, if selling musical instruments after the crash was great! He said that they built the aluminum instruments in order to avoid having to re-work every bass that they shipped, as the humidity and temperature changes in shipping wrecked them, as well as in an attempt to get the school market because of durability. These basses have a conventional neck, fingerboard, some wooden internal bracing, and a wooden soundpost and seats. The top is screwed to the sides, which are crimped to the back. Mine is rough looking -- I was once told that it had to have been taken by force, as it could not have been part of a mercantile transaction. The sound is, I think, as good as a cheap plywood bass, but not as good as a carved one. I love it.

dimcc · #10 05-18-2007, 04:59 PM

I play a 1929 Pfretschner aluminum bodied 3/4. I was lucky enough a few years back to correspond with an old gentleman who was the youngest in that family who said that the year 1929 as their rep in NYC was the best year of his life -- a commentary, I suppose, on the war and life in East Germany, if selling musical instruments after the crash was great! He said that they built the aluminum instruments in order to avoid having to re-work every bass that they shipped, as the humidity and temperature changes in shipping wrecked them, as well as in an attempt to get the school market because of durability. These basses have a conventional neck, fingerboard, some wooden internal bracing, and a wooden soundpost and seats. The top is screwed to the sides, which are crimped to the back. Mine is rough looking -- I was once told that it had to have been taken by force, as it could not have been part of a mercantile transaction. The sound is, I think, as good as a cheap plywood bass, but not as good as a carved one. I love it.

The Aluminum Musical Instrument Company of Ann Arbor, Mich., later taken over by G.C. Conn, had some 550 welded aluminum basses produced by Alcoa between 1928 and 1958. These insturments only had wood in the fingerboard and soundpost. These were initially marketed under the name "The Collegian" and later under the name Joseph Maddy, who was, I believe, the gentleman who came up with the design.

I'd love to get my hands on one of the Maddy basses -- anyone who has a line on one please send me a note.

RWP · #11 05-18-2007, 05:06 PM

Wish I could have seen that.

bajocallao · #12 05-18-2007, 05:06 PM

When in High School(early 90's) I went to an after school music program at Harlem School of the Arts
they had one
it was horrible
my choice was either the "tank bass" (which is what us kids at the time nicknamed it) or a 1/2 size plywood that had no endpin
Now I was by no means a tall kid but the tank always won the tose up

TroyK · #13 05-18-2007, 05:07 PM

I saw someone busking with one in Pike Place Market last week. They're a cool piece of history. I wonder how much also had to do with economics. A lot of things were made with aluminum in the late 40s/early 50's because there was surplus from military aircraft assembly lines. My furnace, for example, just missed flying sorties over Germany by a few years.

I don't know about owning a bass that requires a tetanus shot, though.

rick123 · #14 05-18-2007, 05:53 PM

I have one of the ALCOA aluminum basses. It was used in the school system here for years. Then one of the teachers used it in a community dance band; then I acquired it, mostly as a novelty. It was professionally set up in the '80's even including a wedge to increase the neck angle. It had a strange Buck Rogers endpin which I replaced with a modern one, saving the original, of course. The bass sounds awful, kind of like poorly made steel drums, but it's quite a head-turner with the faux-wood finish and all.
Upton has some great info, patents and pic's of these beasts on their website. One of these days I'm going to put this thing on eBay too.

Eric Rene Roy · #15 05-18-2007, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dimcc

These were initially marketed under the name "The Collegian" and later under the name Joseph Maddy, who was, I believe, the gentleman who came up with the design.

The ALCOA Patent sites Burdick.

http://www.uptonbass.com/burdickviolinpat1941595.pdf

Cathead · #16 05-20-2007, 03:07 AM

I did find this picture of an aluminum bass.

fish slapper · #17 05-31-2007, 07:37 PM

I know someone who owns an aluminum bass. It actually has decent acoustic volume. I've heard stories that some of these basses were used in traveling navy bands where sea air, etc. might be rought on wood.

superman · #18 05-31-2007, 09:51 PM

My mentor Joe Zinkan who was one of the Ateam studio players here in Nashville in the 60s and 70s,used a aluminum bass back in the 30s and 40s with Roy Acuff.
He told me back then the bass rode the car top, and solid basses didnt fair too well,his old carved german(which I now own)was in a wreck in 37 which the car flipped 3 times,he had a new neck put in it and it still sounds great,,as for the aluminum bass he said if it got wet you just poured the water out and went on stage.It too was wrecked in the late 40s they forgot to tie it down and it blew off the car and hit the road on its back,,Joe said at the time no one could do much welding or repair on aluminum,,but one bright fellow had a idea how to pop the dent out,He took a bit of gas and poured in the bass and threw a match too it and Joe swears it straightend right back out,I've seen the old bass its in the Grand Ole opry Museum at the Opry house and sure enough you can see the back has been dented up some.
Theres no wonder so many basses are in such bad shape

txstatebass · #19 05-31-2007, 11:17 PM

We have one here at Texas State we let the intro string methods kids use. We call it "the Canoe." It's a hoot. I want to paint it battleship grey and put the call letter's DB101 on the side (being the former Navy man I am)

james condino · #20 02-11-2008, 10:49 AM

I wrote a detailed article on these basses last spring for American Lutherie magazine. It involved about three years research with myself, the Smithsonian, The Heinze Museum, and about eight other sources. I seem to be the "Aluminum bass dork" to contact if you've got questions these days and I see about 4-6 AlCoAs and a few Pfretschners in my shop per year. They all have their pros and cons, but everyone agrees that they are TOUGH!!!!I first got involved with them when I used to run commercial river expeditions and the crew happened to have a nice little band. We got tired of simply having a washtub bass and wanted something tough in the slot canyons at night.

There are a few images on my website and I've got a good database on the AlCoAs. If you've got one, I can give you the real story and help you ID the date, so feel free to give me a call. I regularly also broker sales for other folks. I'm not trying to compromise any site rules, just offering up information on some very obscure instruments that seem to have a closet of misinformation following them around. I wouldn't reccomend one for your primary instrument, but if you've got a quiver of basses, they fill a void that others can't fill.

j.
www.condino.com