Okay, I have the Bass. Asking Price: $250. Price paid: $200. And to be honest, it's ROUGH at best! I almost passed. But the kid Selling it is a College Student, and I overheard his roomates giving him Crap about getting his share of the rent up, or Else! He was straight up with me about the instrument, and it's condition. And he was Excited when I told him I wanted to restore it/keep it original instead of use it for parts, or "CUSTOMIZE" it. (Plus I drove over an hour each way to see it. I wasn't going home Empty Handed!)
This bass has been to Hell & back. And, believe it or not, it still PLAYS and SOUNDS Great! So, let's do a The Good, The Bad & The Ugly on this Project.
The Good:
It's kinda Rare, which makes this a cool bass. It looks like our Old Friend, the
Epiphone Newport/Embassy from the Glory Made in the USA Days of
Epiphone. But this version is Neck Through & Through. And I think that's the only reason it's in as good of shape as it is. It does play well! Considering it's Simple 51 P-Bass bridge the intonation is Pretty Close. The Tone is INCREDABLE! It's strung with HEAVY Gauge Flats. But it STILL Booms nice Clean Clear Highs. The Lower notes are Deep, but not muddy. And this BEAST weighs in at just over 7.5 Lbs!!! Everything is original on this bass as far as I can tell. It's missing a pickup, but the controls are still in place.
The Bad:
The input jack needs to be replaced, and the tuners have about an 1/8th turn of Play in them. This bass ALMOST had it's headstock broken off in a fall, and the body has a Crack, or maybe 2, through it's lower wing of the body. The action is HIGH, and there's not too much that can be done about it. It's 1/4" at the 12th fret. With Heavys it is still playable. I've put a set of .105 - .045 Half Rounds on for the time being. It helped a little, and gave it a Hint of Brightness to the tone. The neck is like a Ball Bat! You often hear about the Ovangkol necks on the newer Warwicks being compared to a Ball Bat. I've got a Y2K Corvette FNA. It's got a Meaty Neck, no doubt. But it is Quite Petite in comparison to this Beauty! (I list it as Bad, but I LIKE a Meaty Gibson neck!) On the other hand, the Body is Ultra Thin and light. Feeling the neck you expect a 13+ Lbs bass! The Body & neck just don't seem like they belong together. (Ever see a Monster Truck with Street Tires?) The Truss Rod Cover is missing. But the Truss Rod turns freely. Oh, did I mention she's Neck Heavy? (What Gibson/Epiphone isn't?)
The Ugly:
The body has had most of it's finish taken off. The neck pickup is missing, and the cavity filled with wood. The previous owner made a piece of plastic that slides in and out over the cavity. It's ugly, but functional. This is an Ugly Bass!!!
Here's some pics:
Full Frontal...
What a Body!
Custom Cavity Cover!
We filled the Hole with Tootsie Roll!
Neck...
More Neck...
More Neck?
The Mighty Headstock!
It's a Wonder the Headastock is still on!!!
Original Tuners!
More Neck?
Is that Butt Crack?
Closer look
More cracking
Lean against the wall, arch your back, and look over your shoulder at me!
Here's the Action. 1/4" isn't So Bad!
Overall I think this is going to be a Nice Player when I'm done. Will it be Restored to Original Perfection? Obviously not. Will it ever be worth a Fortune? I'm guessing not. But it has a Certain Something that only an old, loved/abused/played instrument can have. Some Call it "Mojo". This bass is LOADED with it! This bass is a JOY to Play!
I hope to replace the missing pickup, find a suitable, if not original truss rod cover, stablize/repair/hide the cracks in the neck & body, and refinish her! A Solid Color is a possibility, but my first choice will be original.
Any Thoughts/Comments?
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