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Bass ID

N

nooesarnak

Sep 10, 2025
7
6
#1
I found a really nice 6 string fretless but I cannot for the life of me get an ID, any of yall recognize it?

Guy says its a Runic 6 string made by Joe Dillon
 

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#2
Cool looking bass, not sure quite who he was copying, looks well done. Any reason to suspect it's not what he claims? Contact the luthier, maybe?
 
#7
My Google-Fu is coming up largely fruitless as well. It looks like that instrument is being sold in Colorado, and there does appear to be a guy named Joe Dillon from Colorado posting in a few Luthier groups on Facebook. I cannot see his profile as I am not on Facebook. This is as far as I got.

Candidly, given that the bass is an unknown quantity from an unknown builder, I would not buy it for the price being asked unless I absolutely loved how it played, sound, and felt.
 
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#13
Can't seem to find anything online more that already mentioned above.
Asking price seems high at first glance, possibly that was roughly the price new, and seller thinks he should get that back with resale. Custom used basses IME have lower resale value than factory produced basses (unless it's a well-known and sought after luthier, which this is not).
If I liked that bass well enough and price is not firm, I would go to try it in person and judge it, then price it for what it is.
 
#18
VERY nice wood... but I would certainly pass on this for many reasons. At the very least the price would have to be MUCH lower AND you would have to fully inspect it in person.
  • Unknown luthier means next to no resale value unless he gets decently known, BIG risk there.
  • Unknown also means no track record, now way to know how these hold up, does he know what he is doing? Warping issues due to poor drying of wood or poor choice of wood (knots, etc.)
  • The bass side horn worries me. Looks kind of thin.
  • The bridge is a HUGE issue. If it was done correctly, then you must always use the EXACT strings it was made for. Anything else will pose intonation issues. If not done well, then nothing can be done without major mods.
  • No easy replacement of that bridge either. Looks like the body curves away where the string go into the body. Bridge pu looks to be too close to the bridge. So that means many traditional bridges can't fit. Les Claypool's famous 6 string has a single saddle, but with piles of room around it and it would be adjustable like an acoustic saddle is. Not hard to make a new one and stick it in there (pic below).
  • I personally don't like how low the bridge pu is and how they angle towards the bridge. That will make the treble strings even thinner sounding. You'll get more m-wah sounds but at too great of a sacrifice I think.
  • The higher pickup is probably fine... but it all makes for a big mess if you don't love it the way it is. If you don't LOVE it when you play it, walk away.
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#20
Unless you could steal it at a price that would bother your conscience, that's a pass.

There's nothing I can add to Worthy's post above mine.

A six string, specialist builder bass is an instrument with an extremely small market, aggravated by what could easily be intonation or wearability problems, so reselling this down the road would be very difficult, and that would be more than enough for me.

It may very well be a wonderfully built, expressive instrument, but in a resale environment, the guy that bought it originally and maybe you could easily be 50-60% of the market for this piece.
 

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