American Standard Bass site (King too)

[kipmartin]

Hey all

My American Standard and White basses website has grown by leaps and bounds. It has a database for tracking both AS and King basses, as well as serial numbers matched to dates based on the best and latest research.

Check it out--I have been communicating with Ike Harris, Brent Norton, Gary Upton (THE luthier for rehabbing AS basses), Chris Charvat (HN White archivist), Roger Stowers, and Kent 'Superman' Blanton and now have what i feel is the best, most complete and accurate information available for these great basses.

www.americanstandardbass.com

If you see your bass on the site and want to add or correct any info, contact me either by posting here, PMing me, or emailing me at onefourfive@hotmail.com.

And tell your friends! Please!

kip

[Jazzman]

Nice site. You have my bass listed with the wrong year. #410 shows as being made in 1939. Mr. Schnitzer says it was made in the 50's.

He states "Chris, yours is the improved 2nd generation model. I think mid-1950s."

Fourth post on this thread: American Standard label question

[basstef]

Hey Kip,

you did a fantastic job, man! Thanks. My bass is the first on the list, #40.

[Eric Rene Roy]

Originally Posted by Jazzman

Nice site. You have my bass listed with the wrong year. #410 shows as being made in 1939. Mr. Schnitzer says it was made in the 50's.

He states "Chris, yours is the improved 2nd generation model. I think mid-1950s."

Fourth post on this thread: American Standard label question

Looks like the 50's didn't start until the serial numbers were in the 2000 range. Perhaps they were making improvements earlier?

[kipmartin]

hi

i believe Mr. Schnitzer made his assessment with less information than I have. I have never heard of the so-called 2nd generation American Standard...unless hes talking about the basses made with the bell-shaped shoulders as being 1st generation and the sloped shoulders as being 2nd generation? the sloped shoulders definitely were found in the 1930s and sloped shoulders began to appear around #400, which was built in approximately 1940. Your bass has sloped shoulders, correct? look at the description for #410--pretty definitive.

in any event, i BELIEVE my research represents information based on larger sampling of known basses with verified dates than Mr. Schnitzer's. Although he is a recognized expert on one facet of the AS bass, his assessment doesnt jibe with mine, and my information been reviewed by Chris Charvat, historian and archivist for H.N. White and others including Ike Harris, Kent Blanton, Roger Stowers, etc.

I'll call Mr. Schnitzer to discuss his dating techniques and offer him a chance to supply proof or supportable conjecture about dating that conflicts with my research. i have no ego about this stuff and would rather be corrected than to pass on faulty information. as an AS owner, i have a vested interest in the project and as a historian, accuracy beats authority every time.

kip martin
www.americanstandardbass.com
onefourfive@hotmail.com

[Ike Harris]

I'm thinking that if Arnold is referring to the neck block improvement that was done post-war, perhaps the bass was sent back to the factory to have a repair done on that part, replacing the part with the new design. Or maybe the change occurred when the shape of the shoulders changed?

Ike

[arnoldschnitzer]

Originally Posted by kipmartin

hi

i believe Mr. Schnitzer made his assessment with less information than I have. I have never heard of the so-called 2nd generation American Standard...unless hes talking about the basses made with the bell-shaped shoulders as being 1st generation and the sloped shoulders as being 2nd generation? the sloped shoulders definitely were found in the 1930s and sloped shoulders began to appear around #400, which was built in approximately 1940. Your bass has sloped shoulders, correct? look at the description for #410--pretty definitive.

in any event, i BELIEVE my research represents information based on larger sampling of known basses with verified dates than Mr. Schnitzer's. Although he is a recognized expert on one facet of the AS bass, his assessment doesnt jibe with mine, and my information been reviewed by Chris Charvat, historian and archivist for H.N. White and others including Ike Harris, Kent Blanton, Roger Stowers, etc.

I'll call Mr. Schnitzer to discuss his dating techniques and offer him a chance to supply proof or supportable conjecture about dating that conflicts with my research. i have no ego about this stuff and would rather be corrected than to pass on faulty information. as an AS owner, i have a vested interest in the project and as a historian, accuracy beats authority every time.

Thanks for the slapdown
My information on American Standards was accumulated strictly by conjecture. I am not a historian. I look at basses and try to estimate their age based on wear patterns and repair work done, as well as the oxidation of interior surfaces. By "first generation" I refer to the model built with humped shoulders and no neck block. I have always assumed they were built this way at first, then modified for better durability. Is this incorrect?

By the way, nice work on the research and website.