For sale: Jack Read 5 semi-acoustic.

[dirkcalloway]

2003 custom Jack Read 5 string bass. Aesthetically, the bass is in great condition, very minor wear. Sound-wise, it's a killer-sounding bass, thanks to the flexibility of the piezo-magnetic combo and the interior chambering (all hollowed out except for the middle section).
Jack stopped making basses and left the instrument-making field altogether, but a search on Talkbass or on the web will show you how well respected a luthier he was. He also used to build the Read Purity Pre Amp, a fantastic tube preamp now much sought after in the used market.
I recorded several albums and went on a few tours with this bass, but always managed to care very good care of it. I'll be happy to provide sound samples upon request.

Features:
- Mahogany chambered body, figured walnut top (very light-weight thanks to the chambering), thick maple veneer.
- Maple neck, ebony fingerboard, 35' scale
- Bartolini mm pickup and Bartolini preamp
- Individual piezo saddles built by the great Rick Turner (amazing stuff, and a one-off build for Rick, according to Jack Read).
- Wooden bridge and knobs
- Hipshot Light tuners

There's one issue:
- The wooden crown of the bridge (cocobolo) broke in 2004. Jack glued it first and you could not spot the repair. The crown broke again in 2008 and I glued it myself, pretty roughly. So you can see the crack clearly now. Functionally, this does not affect the bridge: Matt from 30th Street Guitars in NYC recently confirmed that functionally the bridge has no issues. The crack can be re-glued by a professional or the whole crown can be redone (I'm guessing that a skilled wood-crafter can do it, not even a luthier necessarily, and it should be a cheap work which would make the instrument look perfect again).

For this bass in 2003 I paid around $3300. There is a very similar 5 string built by Jack in 2002 for sale at Austin Bass Traders (austinbasstraders.com), at $2,395.
My price is much lower, even keeping in mind the potential bridge repair: $1050 900 OBO with a very solid nylon-leather Levy's gig-bag included, plus the shipping.
Please ask me any questions regarding this awesome bass, which I don't play anymore as I got an endorsement and also switched back to 4 string basses only.
Local pick-ups are also an option, the bass is located in Brooklyn NY.
Thanks for reading.

ps= No feedback issue: Yes, I have never sold/traded/bought gear on Talkbass. I have a 100 percent positive feedback on Ebay (ududebun is my name there) and I'll be happy to provide plenty of personal info on myself to anybody interested in the bass.

[dirkcalloway]

More pictures:

[dirkcalloway]

Audio samples 1:

[dirkcalloway]

Audio samples 2:

[gmarcus]

Nice playing! What a cool sounding bass! How much does it weigh? Does it balance well on a strap? I met Jack years ago when I bought some speakers from him. He is the real deal! Ate you interested in a trade for Musicman SR5 in very good condition?

[dirkcalloway]

Hi, the bass balances perfectly and is one of the best basses I've owned, ergonomically speaking. Very light: around 7 pounds (it's all chambered inside except for the center). Thanks for the trade offer, the only trades I'm considering are with hybrid amp heads, though.

[gmarcus]

Hmmmmm I might have to sell something. What are the preamp controls? How is the Truss rod?

[dirkcalloway]

Preamp controls are very simple: Volume, tone, piezo-magnetic blender.
The truss rod works fine: I had it checked by Matt at 30th Street Guitars (NYC) and he said it was a bit stiff at first (hadn't been adjusted for years) but has no issues, works both ways.

[Joe Smithberger]

Interesting looking instrument. I am interested.

Could you show a closeup of the bridge and one of the side of the neck showing the markers and the thickness of the fingerboard?

Is the wooden piece that is broken just cosmetic or does it have some function?

[dirkcalloway]

Joe, I'll write tonight after my gig and will provide all the infos/pics requested. Thanks.

[dirkcalloway]

Here's the bridge crown, where you can see the gluing. It does not affect the functionality of the bridge (also confirmed by the tech I took the bass to). As previously stated, although it's only an aesthetic issue I would fix the crown by either 1) having it redone or even simply 2) reglued by somebody skilled (when jack first glued the same crack it was pretty impossible to detect).
I also took a shot of the side of the neck, as requested.

[dirkcalloway]

Bump. Let me stress the OBO part: price is already low and still negotiable.

[dirkcalloway]

Bump, thanks for reading.

[dirkcalloway]

another bump.

[Bassist01545]

Jack was an amazing builder. I've owned/sold at least 50 basses over the years, always going back to my Read. Sound men and band mates would always ask me to bring "that bass! The asking price is a steal for an instrument of this quality, Jacks skills and attention to detail are second to none

If I had the cash I'd be all over this one

[dirkcalloway]

I have to agree with you man, he stayed way under the radar but as a builder Jack was a heavyweight, every single Read bass I tried sounded excellent. This is my favorite.

[Art Araya]

Jack did great work! Been to his home/workshop several times. Had him create a custom body for me. He even created a custom table for my wife to match my new spalted maple top.

[dirkcalloway]

Nice to see that Jack has some supporters in the bass community, bump to that.

[dirkcalloway]

Pre-game price reduction: 950 OBO.

[dirkcalloway]

Final price reduction: 900 dollars plus shipping.