Cheap headless basses.

[GoesThump]

Another vote for the Cort. I've had mine (bought new) since 1985 or 86. Very reliable, and sounds good. I used it for experimenting w/pickups for ages so the original pickups are long gone, but they were OK.

GT

 

[yodedude2]

first decision...do you want one with a more traditional body, or one that looks like a plank?

 

[Stinsok]

Don't forget the Hondo Alien!

 

[Hevy T]

the Westone Rail

 

[Basta-bass]

Loved the rail!
Genius design!
Unfortunately the pickup was crap!

 

[Engle]

Steiny Spirit is probably as cheap as you can go, though they can still be had new (and IMO the new ones aren't great, especially in the electronics department). The only thing cheaper is one of the DIY bass kits:

Solo SBBK-1 DIY Headless Bass Guitar Kit | Solo Guitars | Reverb

These would make for a fun project.

I wonder how well-made the bridge is on those? There are some cheap headless bridges out there and I wouldn’t want to be dealing with stripped threads.

 

[LowEndLobster]

I wonder how well-made the bridge is on those? There are some cheap headless bridges out there and I wouldn’t want to be dealing with stripped threads.

Probably not the best, but you could probably mod in a better bridge if you really wanted.

 

[MojoPenguin]

A used Kiesel would be my 1st choice.

 

[Engle]

Probably not the best, but you could probably mod in a better bridge if you really wanted.

I would just be looking for functional without threads stripping from normal use.

 

[monkeyland]

the Westone RailView attachment 3783842

I’ve always wanted one of those!

 

[mongo2]

Steiny Spirit is probably as cheap as you can go, though they can still be had new (and IMO the new ones aren't great, especially in the electronics department). The only thing cheaper is one of the DIY bass kits:

Solo SBBK-1 DIY Headless Bass Guitar Kit | Solo Guitars | Reverb

These would make for a fun project.

Mine should arrive at the end of April.

 

[two fingers]

first decision...do you want one with a more traditional body, or one that looks like a plank?

Open to either, honestly.

 

[yodedude2]

then...hohner jack! that's my vote.

 

[two fingers]

then...hohner jack! that's my vote.

I can't find a description of what the controls do. Can you shed some light on that?

 

[HeavyDuty]

A used Kiesel would be my 1st choice.

Are any of the headless Kiesels old enough to be both well used and cheap? But I agree - their headless basses are great, I really like my AW5... however it wasn’t inexpensive.

 

[Bass Man Dan]

Just saw this Westone Quantum on my local CL, looks alot like the Cort except it has a pickguard and a little sharpness to the body:

 

[Basta-bass]

This ugly pickguard isn't genuine in anyway!
The quantum was strange but beautiful...
And wore no pickguard at all.
This thing is hiding the holes of the two original humbuckers that were replaced by single coils.....

 

[two fingers]

This ugly pickguard isn't genuine in anyway!
The quantum was strange but beautiful...
And wore no pickguard at all.
This thing is hiding the holes of the two original humbuckers that were replaced by single coils.....

I was wondering about that guard...

 

[UNICORN BASS]

There's also the...Riverhead? From Japan? Someone here has it as their avatar.

That would be me. If you could find one of these i would strongly recommend buying it. Not only are they super rare but the body shape and balance makes them less problematic to play than a traditional headless bass (Steinberger anyone?). As a bonus they sound great, with high quality electronics and hardware, happy hunting!

 

[two fingers]

That would be me. If you could find one of these i would strongly recommend buying it. Not only are they super rare but the body shape and balance makes them less problematic to play than a traditional headless bass (Steinberger anyone?). As a bonus they sound great, with high quality electronics and hardware, happy hunting!

Are those three stacked pots and a switch? What do they do? Cool bass!