Double Bass 1683, really?

[CPike]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Antique-1683-Ma...088?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5888f79d50

Comments? On the instrument and/or the description?

cdp

 

[arnoldschnitzer]

More like 1883. And firewood, to boot.

 

[Classickbass]

Wow, it's like that beer commercial for the most interesting man in the world...

"Back home I jammed in a kick a** band before coming over here to shot down some baddies in my fighter plane. Lost in the Burmese jungle for 6 weeks, no problem. I survived on my own good looks. Only to return home and invent the I-Beam suspension system before going off to do a little start up called NASA. No biggie, was just bored that day and wanted to do something different."

 

[Paul Warburton]

Good God, it's a blockless wonderless!
Hey Arnold, at least they say it's "One of a kind".

 

[fleabee]

Would be an interesting conversation piece sitting in the corner of a room, that's about it..

 

[pnut166]

1683 ? I doubt that. He says it was verified by a guy in Florida. Call them.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Einstein played it on the moon? That's gotta be worth something.
Oh, I misunderstood. The bass has been in the Burmese jungle since going down in WWII. Now I get it.

 

[wdnewman]

This is exactly the reason I would NEVER buy anything on Ebay that I did not check out thoroughly beforehand.

Good grief.

 

[bigolbassguy]

It's such a compelling story, though. It was also used as a gurney during King William's war... yeah, that's the ticket.

 

[wdnewman]

Further research shows that the roster of the AVG (American Volunteer Group, aka "Flying Tigers") shows NO Paul Bartlett with them in any capacity during their existence.
Honeywell Corp. was a sub-contractor of NASA, not a founding entity.

I imagine there are more holes in this story than there are in that bass.

 

[CPike]

I had no intention of buying it. A friend brought it to my attention and asked me what I thought, so I thought I'd post it here for a few laughs...

cdp

 

[Jason Sypher]

ignorance comes in 5/8, 3/4, 7/8 and 4/4 sizes...

 

[Rob Thompson]

More like 1883. And firewood, to boot.

Aw, cmon! The wood looks pretty nice; a little flame on the back and ribs. If the instrument was free, it might be worth the effort/price of restoration. I'd buy it if I saw it at a garage sale in the Burmese jungle.

Here and Invalid Link Removed are basses from 1683!

 

[Jack Clark]

No Paul Bartlett in wikipedia. No relevant results from a google search for him. And, as has been said, the official Flying Tigers website never heard of him. Googling "stringwarmers" produced one hit: the eBay item.

 

[ckngumbo]

Kentucky String Warmers was an all female band - Goog'd

 

[forester]

decimal needs moved, two places left.

 

[bigolbassguy]

decimal needs moved, two places left.

I tried that, but fortunately they declined the offer

 

[Need2KnowBasses]

It is nice that the seller at least has the decency to post the questions where people state the description is way off the mark but the price is insane.

 

[tornadobass]

"Also, unusual, the fingerboard is attached with 2 flathead screws. Perhaps this was part of the restoration work that was done back in the 50s."

Umm...glue wasn't yet invented?

 

[pica]

$5,000 seems a little cheap if it truly is from 1683. JMO.