Bass? We Inwented Bass, Comrade.

[Mind Eroded]

I find the tone of that CL posting kind of unnessarily douchey and insulting. Building electric "modern" string instruments was never a strong point in the USSR- builders had to utilize their own inferior tools and did not have easy access to western markets, where there were much much better designs.
I will say that I own a 1973 classical guitar built in a factory in Leningrad that I still play today and was constructed with very decent quality. To generalize that all craftsmanship coming out of the Soviet Union was trash is simply not true.

 

[LoDownSinner]

Is it wrong that I'm really fighting the desire to purchase that?

I had the pleasure(?) of reverse-engineering and making schematics for some captured Soviet radars back int the 70s. Very over-engineered in some circuits while others looked and worked like they'd been designed during a horrible vodka hangover...

 

[mc900ftj]

In Soviet Union, bass plays YOU!

 

[PortlandBass77]

Holy poopie I want that! And it's not very far from Portland either....

 

[Dominick C.]

In Soviet Union, bass plays YOU!

 

[Double E]

When will we learn? You have to paste Craigslist ads into the thread or, once the listing is removed, the thread loses it's impact.

Vintage Soviet Solo I Bass Guitar - $125 (Lakewood)
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Genuine Soviet "Solo I" Bass guitar. This bass is what happens when the government gets involved in making musical instruments. Those that remember Operation Desert Storm and were perplexed when Soviet-made SCUD missiles kept landing on those that launched them; wonder no more! If you can't build a guitar, missiles might be out of reach. This bass is an epic turd basket. I call it a bass because when I plug it in, I can make sounds like EADG in a loose interpretation. It has four strings a body and a neck like a real bass guitar. Ever heard a great Soviet rock band? Of course not. Now I know why and you can too. This bass is a very art-deco cool wall hanger and even has built in "fuzz"effects. Know what you're getting. Given a new neck you could make it play. This is not for the faint of heart.This is for the seriously curious collector, indy musician with "skillz" or someone that owns a retro Russian restaurant. I have been as brutally honest as possible. It cost me $130 in shipping to import this thing, so I am losing big already. Thanks for reading, and understanding I am selling a truly cool curiosity that looks like a bass, but thanks to socialism, does not work like one.

 

[Hues]

In Soviet Russia,... playing Bass is type of punishment.

 

[Alexis Duntov]

Oh my god.

 

[Spectrum]

In Soviet Russia, bass posts you on craigslist.

 

[Boristhespyder]

In Soviet Union, bass plays YOU!

Glad I read the whole thread before I posted that!

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Life's Rich Pageant.

 

[Ffreddy]

Fantastic description, but lets be real-there are plenty of turd basket basses made in free market economies as well!
I was kind of interested in these kinds of basses a few minutes until someone informed me that maybe some of the materials used in the construction may range from toxic to radioactive.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

" .......a truly cool curiosity that looks like a bass, but thanks to socialism, does not work like one. "

ROFLMAO

Utterly illogical political association. Is the seller Ted Nugent?

 

[cdlynch]

All the worst pickups in all the wrong places?

I'm not going to make claims about pickup quality, but the placement looks pretty good to me. The neck and middle pickup look to be VERY close to Ric 4001/4003, and the bridge is J-ish. On an otherwise well built instrument that'd get you a good range of tones, and happens to be a mod I'm doing to one of my basses. So I have to give the builder a little credit for that!

Back to the humor: It has a 23 fret neck, plus a zero fret! Someone clearly didn't think that through...

 

[Deleted member 165050]

Back to the humor: It has a 23 fret neck, plus a zero fret! Someone clearly didn't think that through...

No, is logical. Count from zero to twenty three is twenty four, like computer. Twenty four fret neck.

 

[rogerbmiller]

Epic.

 

[JIO]

Utterly illogical political association. Is the seller Ted Nugent?

exactly - more to the point is that decadent capitalism afforded a near useless product landing in 'merica out of curiosity … Looks like the "Ted" listing it supports communism after all.

 

[Gaolee]

He must have sold it. I'm devastated. He's not very far from me. It might even be worth the ***! look from my wife to have bought it. Oh, well. Truth in advertising will set you free.

 

[cdlynch]

I hope the buyer is a TB'er so we can get the skinny.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Reminds me of some of the fever dream weird Japanese guitars I used to mess with at Sears. They all featured a lot of extra switches, whammy bars, and unplayably high action, but nobody beats Soviet era Russia for truly bad manufacturing with flair and attitude.