Not a bass but a cool story:
15 years ago I was on the hunt for a cheap Telecaster. I went to a local shop and saw "Fender" with features that made no sense. A mix of vintage parts along with a neck that read "Fender Broadcaster".
I didn't jump on it intially but it haunted me over night so back to the shop I went. They had it tagged at $399.99
I asked a friend of mine at the shop what the story was. He said it was a "fake" and they had to get rid of it ASAP as they were Fender dealers and didn't want it in the shop for obvious reasons. He said it was a Japanese body with repro parts. Ok. I offered about $200 in gear for trade and it came home with me in a 1970's Fender case worth that.
I took it to another shop where I worked a little and we opened it up... 1960's Fender pots. Now its getting interesting.
I had my buddy at the shop take it to our Lutheir who lived about an hour away but the only guy I trust with my gear as he's a God. Amazing tech.
I get the guitat back a week later and my buddy says "We need to talk about your guitar." uh oh. In the past that sentence has never ended well.
It turns out my Luthier BUILT this guitar in 1976 for Bobby Caldwell while her was recording "What You Won't Do For Love" while he was living in Miami. It was used exclusively on that recording by Bobby and Alfonz Kettner. Its all vintage parts and pickups (1959 tele pickups). The body is flamed eucalyptus over alder built by the luthier. I have dubbed it the Kolacaster. He told me he put the Broadcaster decal on to throw people for a loop. He also told me the knobs were from a broken 1949 Fender lap steel.
No idea how the guitar ended up in a shop in Davie, FL. No idea how many people this guitar has been owned by. But amazing that it came full cirlce back to the guy who built it almost 30 years later. He showed me the original receipt.... he charged $1,700.00 in 1976. NOT BAD!
Its the one instrument that through horrible times in my life I still cannot ever sell. It found me and I will always treasure it.
