Any idea what this bass is?

[kronus]

Hello! I'm new! I mainly build and tweak guitars, but have decided to pick up a project bass after half a bottle of wine and an excursion onto eBay.


So, I picked this up for 50 bucks and don't know what it is. It's short-scale (30") and looks like a jazz bass copy, but that's as far as I can guess. Does it look familiar to anyone? The finger rest and two-screw bridge seem fairly distinctive (at least to me...)

Any idea on what sort of pickups this bass would take? It looks like it had a cover on the bridge and a plate over the neck pickup at some point, and the pickups mount with through-screws unlike either p-bass or j-bass pickups.

Cheers!

 

[cdaniel]

No offense, but that looks like a high school woodshop project to me. One of a kind!

 

[Dark Horse]

It's a typical Japanese 70's Jazz Bass copy. You can find them under names like Penco, Pan, etc. As far as pickups, check Ebay - and I know that several members here have these basses....maybe one of them has done a pickup swap and would sell the old ones. You might become a "Supporting Member" and put an ad in the "Wanted" forum.

 

[kronus]

No offense, but that looks like a high school woodshop project to me. One of a kind!

Ha, none taken. I have no grand delusions about it being an undiscovered relic of a golden age. (although that would be nice!)

 

[kronus]

Dark Horse - thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Having a look through the Japanese lawsuit bass thread, this looks similar:

Link Removed

 

[bgartist]

The finish has been removed. I think its Harmony or Silvertone. My 2nd bass was exactly like that, with a sunburst finish, ordered from the Sears catalog in the early 70's.

 

[David Jayne]

..., but have decided to pick up a project bass after half a bottle of wine and an excursion onto eBay.

Almost always a bad idea. ...

 

[GARGOIL]

Looks like it was recovered from an underwater shipwreck!!! Glue some crabs starfish and seahorses to it and mount it on the wall. Sorry i have done the same or worse on a bottle of wine and a mouse click. Do your best to clean her up and paint it. Bet it comes out pretty cool.

 

[kronus]

. Do your best to clean her up and paint it. Bet it comes out pretty cool.

Maybe, but if there's a bass made to be relic'd into oblivion, it's this one!

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

You might become a "Supporting Member" and put an ad in the "Wanted" forum.

Just a reminder that non-supporting members can place ads in the Wanted forums as well

 

[kronus]

Allright, well, the bass is in my hands now. How do you guys feel about project threads?

So far, it seems like the Previous Doofus mounted the nut with JB weld that didn't have enough hardener in it, leading to a bunch of goop. The neck is in good shape, the clear isn't even worn off the back which is surprising. Frets are not grooved in, which is nice. The tuners are crummy and have 3/8" diameter posts, which is awkward because I can't find any parts for tuners in that size and the bass needs two tuner bushings.

The body is predictably plywood, and the pickup cavities are 30mm x 85mm. I can only find a passing reference to old Vox bass pickups that came in that size.

So, I can find everything I'd need besides tuner bushings and pickups, which are the only things this bass needs. Ideas?

 

[bassplayer8953]

You can find all kinds of tuners (not the bushings...tuners) pretty cheaply on ebay. No offense, but the hardware on the bass looks pretty...used. May be better to replace the whole tuner set. As far as pickups, the EMG site lists some humbuckers that look pretty close in size, but EMG's might be overkill on your project . Ebay also has bass pickups in assorted shapes & sizes. The fit might not be perfect (hence the term: "project") but a little massaging of the pickup cavities and something close could be made to work

An example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Wilkinson-Jazz-...emQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item56359e976c

Good luck