- Fretless
- Y
- Ships to:
- United States
Price lowered to $1500. Would much rather sell this on TB than reverb and it is ready to ship. Thank you!
For sale is a late 1970s Kramer 650B fretless bass. This one belonged to my late dad (known here on Talkbass as Dr. Riddim) who passed in 2019, and is the last bass of his that I'm not keeping that needs to be sold - I've held onto it for too long. As I've been told, he special ordered this one as an unlined fretless from Neptune, NJ (I'm guessing a factory option but a very uncommon one). This was his main bass in the 1980s into the 90s, playing gigs around Asbury Park and NJ in general. I couldn't get much info from the serial number, but it is listed as one of a few 650Bs on the Kramer Registry which I thought was neat.
The bass has very little evidence of wear. There is a 1/4th inch indent on the middle of the back, likely from a buckle, and a 1/16th inch nick on the upper bout. I've tried to capture these in the photos as best as I could. The neck plate is missing a screw, but I can't get the aluminum neck to shift and it feels solid. It is currently strung with LaBella black nylon tapewounds.
The bass has EMGs installed, he was really getting into active electronics in the 90s but the bass will include the original Schaller pickups, wood pickup rings, KRAMER embossed pickup covers, and original pots and wiring mounted on a plate if the new owner intends to revert it to it's original configuration. It also has straplocks installed, Dunlop I believe, which were his preference. Weight is about 10.5 pounds.
Included is the original case which is a little worse for wear especially when compared to the bass itself. One of the latch locks is broken, and the carry handle is also no longer attached (but included if that matters to anyone). Original hang tag and warranty registration/owners record are included and not filled out.
This was the bass the good Dr. was playing when he met mom, and I'd love to keep it but I do not play fretless (or right-handed), and mom believes the instruments I'm not going to play myself should go to people that will enjoy them - and I have to agree with her. Price includes shipping, and it is packed up and ready to go. I also have photos of the packing process if you want to see, just ask. The extra hardware, pickups, pickup rings and covers will be shipped in a separate box since I couldn't get them to fit in the main box. If you are in central Texas/Austin-area, I'd be happy to meet even if it means completely undoing the packing job.
Not interested in trades at this time. Thank you for looking!
Edit: Just going through some of dad's posts, he mentions this bass here which I also thought was neat: Feeler: Kramer 450B
"these basses are AWESOME, especially with the EMG's and active tone circuits in 'em. i've got a '76 650B fretless with nylon tapewounds that was my go-to bass for almost 20 years. probably still would be if i hadn't had to go to 5ers..."
