New, and looking for I.D. help...

[TDYooper]

As per usual, here comes another newbie with lots of weird questions...

I'm sure all will get answered, but just to get things going let me start by letting you know where I stand.

I have a 4 string something or other (late 60's bass guitar) that looks like a Fender knock off, of the Fender Bass VI, but it is a four stringer. (Please bear with me, I'm still learning the technowords ) The head stock looks like a Fender Bass VI, but the tuning machines are two on each side, not all four on the same side. The pick up switches are rockers, not sliders (two pick ups). The Tone and Volume controls are rotary type. There is no whammy bar. The neck has narrow block makers at the sides of the neck, like a 1967 Gretsch Chet Akins Nashville, not in the center of the finger board. The body is a dead copy of the Bass VI body.

Now to the I.D. problem. When I got this instrument, it had been hand brushed with several coats of gray and blue enamel house paint !!! The frets had all been removed, and all the extra trim and names had been removed. I removed the paint, and stained the body and neck, then polyurethane coated the whole thing. It doesn’t looks too bad, and I just play it as a fretless.

I am an engine building machinist by trade, and a couple of years back, got a Cummins block dropped on my left hand. I still have every thing, but playing has been put on a back burner... Lately, I have wanted to get the old beasty out, and start cleaning it up. Why not do a ground up rebuild??? This would be a goo time to make some much needed up dates along the way. I would just like to have an idea who made it, and what did it look like, before some idiot painted it.

I know it is NOT a Fender, and I have no want to prove it some priceless work of art. This IS a trusted old friend I would like to put a name to. So, if anyone has any ideas, I sure would like to hear them.
I will post some pictures in the next day or so.

Thanks all for putting up with this gray haired old man

More later...
TDY

[TDYooper]

It took a lot of looking, but I found the answear. This is a Teisco NB-4, from 1965.

I will try to post an online pic from Teisco.

As I said before, all the I.D. date is gone, but I would still like to find some one who knows something of this old ax.

Thanks all, for the help...

TDY

[Tommy-P]

Know nothing about that. Sorry. But wow, sure does look great. I'm a fan of fenderesque stuff (at least thats my excuse for playing the cheapest bass I could find) but thats somethng cool. A bit like the look of those cowpoke P-bass's people have been posting about. What does it sound like?

The only thing I found when looking for the pictures was a lot of japanese writing

[TDYooper]

Tom, that was the same problem I kept running into... Found out it is a de-freted Teisco NB-4. It went through a lot of trashing before I got my hands on it, back in '75... What does it sound like??? Well, I play with plastic coated flat wound strings, on a Fender Pro Reverb (Silver Face) amp. I can't do the sound chip thing, but for my type of play, and sound of this setup, goto You Tube, and search for The Stand, by Stephen King. The tune is by Crowded House, and is called Don't Dream it's over. The vid is a tribute to the move. But it's very close to my style...

Thanks for responding...

TDY