I am selling my Series lV Johnson Scroll Bass with a JV softcase asking $3450 shipped in the CONUS. Before you ask, while Bruce's website has these listed for $1900, the site is extremely outdated and he was charging $3900 for this series. I am the second owner. It is very good condition, the electronics are fine and cosmetically there are a couple of dings and scuffs but only on close inspection. The Series lV is a run he did about 5 years ago with the magnetic pickup and the old Ampeg style pickup built into the actual bridge. Here is a reasonably in-depth description Bruce himself posted on a FS listing for SN#66, part of the same run about 2 years ago:
Just to clarify some things about the pickup system:
There are two pickups in this bass. They are all my own design, and completely hand made by me. I call them the "M-pickup" and the "P-pickup". My P-pickup has no relationship at all to a P-Bass pickup of any type.
The M-pickup is the group of four units in the middle of the body. There is a separate coil for each string, each surrounding three 1/4" Alnico V magnets and independently adjustable. The four coils are wired in series, with alternating wind directions and magnet polarities. The group is fully humbucking and fully shielded. It's designed for a warm, thick sound with the flatwound strings, very much like the original Ampeg AMB-1.
The P-pickup under the bridge is quite unusual. It's like a 3-D version of Ampeg's old "Mystery" pickup, as in the old AEB-1 basses. Essentially, the bridge is mounted on a suspension system of spring rods. When you pluck the strings, the bridge physically bounces and rolls side to side in a controlled motion. Underneath, a pair of special coils pick up that movement. The sound is a percussive pop and warble on the beginning of each note that can be controlled with your plucking style, and blended in with the M-pickup's tone. The output from the P-pickup by itself is very close to the sound of an Ampeg Baby Bass.
There are three output jacks. One is the Normal output, with Volume, Tone, and Blend. The other two are direct outputs from the two pickups, which isolate each pickup from the rest of the circuit. In the studio, you can plug in two cords to record the two pickups into separate channels in the board, fully isolated from each other. That way, you can record the track once, and during mixdown, decide how much of the P-pickup effect to blend in. It's all passive; no preamps or batteries.
Other notes: This is a 35" scale bass. The fingerboard is 4" radius, much rounder than most basses. This allows you to dig in harder with the right hand. This bass is designed to be plucked hard with lots of right hand technique. It's not for everyone. The strings are special length D'Addario Chromes flatwounds, which typically last about 10 years.
These are truly singular, beautiful and amazing instruments! Sadly, circumstances dictate that I must thin out my collection.
I am hoping to keep this transaction within the CONUS. If I do ship internationally, it will only be fully declared and insured via FEDEX or UPS.
Just to clarify some things about the pickup system:
There are two pickups in this bass. They are all my own design, and completely hand made by me. I call them the "M-pickup" and the "P-pickup". My P-pickup has no relationship at all to a P-Bass pickup of any type.
The M-pickup is the group of four units in the middle of the body. There is a separate coil for each string, each surrounding three 1/4" Alnico V magnets and independently adjustable. The four coils are wired in series, with alternating wind directions and magnet polarities. The group is fully humbucking and fully shielded. It's designed for a warm, thick sound with the flatwound strings, very much like the original Ampeg AMB-1.
The P-pickup under the bridge is quite unusual. It's like a 3-D version of Ampeg's old "Mystery" pickup, as in the old AEB-1 basses. Essentially, the bridge is mounted on a suspension system of spring rods. When you pluck the strings, the bridge physically bounces and rolls side to side in a controlled motion. Underneath, a pair of special coils pick up that movement. The sound is a percussive pop and warble on the beginning of each note that can be controlled with your plucking style, and blended in with the M-pickup's tone. The output from the P-pickup by itself is very close to the sound of an Ampeg Baby Bass.
There are three output jacks. One is the Normal output, with Volume, Tone, and Blend. The other two are direct outputs from the two pickups, which isolate each pickup from the rest of the circuit. In the studio, you can plug in two cords to record the two pickups into separate channels in the board, fully isolated from each other. That way, you can record the track once, and during mixdown, decide how much of the P-pickup effect to blend in. It's all passive; no preamps or batteries.
Other notes: This is a 35" scale bass. The fingerboard is 4" radius, much rounder than most basses. This allows you to dig in harder with the right hand. This bass is designed to be plucked hard with lots of right hand technique. It's not for everyone. The strings are special length D'Addario Chromes flatwounds, which typically last about 10 years.
These are truly singular, beautiful and amazing instruments! Sadly, circumstances dictate that I must thin out my collection.
I am hoping to keep this transaction within the CONUS. If I do ship internationally, it will only be fully declared and insured via FEDEX or UPS.
