Cool 60's basses (OTHER than main-stream brands)

[JIO]

So, there may be various threads that bump up against this one but here's what I'd like to more specifically do here.

What I'd like to do is start the ball rolling to create a reference library of sorts that covers non-mainstream brands . So not Fender, Gibson, Ric, Gretsch, Guild, Vox, etc. They can be from various parts of the globe like Japan, Germany, the US, Russia, England or Italy with an emphasis on the electric guitar/bass boom that went into high gear once the Ventures and Beatles inspired young people to learn to play electric guitar. ('62-'64) Basses that were created in the late 50's can be posted but I want to avoid the 70's as many non-mainstream brands started becoming mainstream then and started making direct copies of Fenders etc moving away from more unique designs, which is what I'm hoping for here.

Here's a few examples to set the visual tone for this thread - please feel free to post basses that fit within the overview I've laid out. Pics can be of basses from your own collection or culled from an on-line/book source.

St George - Japan

Silvertone - Japan

Egmond - Canada

Coral - (Dano) US

Framus - Germany

Meazzi - Italy

Teisco - Japan

Guyatone - Japan

Teisco (Baritone) - Japan

 

[JIO]

Another cool 60's Framus - posting the eBay auction because there are so many nice pics on the link. (no affiliation and not wanting to dwell on the asking price - this is only to show the basses in question)

Framus Strato Star Bass 5/156 1960's Creame White | eBay

 

[Thornton Davis]

Here's my contribution to this thread.

Canora mid 60's (Japan)

Kent 743 late 60's (Japan)

Kent 833 late 60's (Japan)

Kawai T2B and Raven ETPB302 both late 60's (Japan)

Klira Twen Stars (162 & 356) mid 60's (West Germany)

TD

 

[winterburn69]

Eko 995.

Somewhat famously played by Les Claypool and Justin Meldal-Johnsen.

 

[GretschWretch]

Definitely an import-bass skew here. Let's add a few domestic brews.

Standel 400S

Multivox Marvel and Magnatone Mark VI (late 50s)

Kapa Continental

Supro violin bass(es)

Probably the first Precision bass copy ever
(Teisco, mid-sixties, although the earliest iterations
can be traced back to 1960 (i.e., very late 50s)

 

[SwitchGear]

Very first bass guitar I bought new, in 1973. A 1960s Norma short scale bass. Cool? I don't really think so but it is what it is, a Japanese Teisco.

 

[garp]

I almost bought a Yamaha SB several years ago, but chickened out at the eleventh hour.

 

[GretschWretch]

National N850

Custom Kraft Bone-Buzzer

 

[Lowbrow]

I had a Kay 5925 like this for several years and gigged it a lot. Not simply a weirdo, a good sounding and playing short scale. Lots of ‘character’ yet compared favorably to my P bass.

 

[JIO]

Here's my contribution to this thread.

Canora mid 60's (Japan)
View attachment 3043120

Kent 743 late 60's (Japan)
View attachment 3043121

Kent 833 late 60's (Japan)
View attachment 3043122

Kawai T2B and Raven ETPB302 both late 60's (Japan)
View attachment 3043123

Klira Twen Stars (162 & 356) mid 60's (West Germany)
View attachment 3043124

TD

That's what I'm talking' bout! Thanks for posting!

 

[JIO]

Definitely an import-bass skew here. Let's add a few domestic brews.

View attachment 3043366
Standel 400S

View attachment 3043362
Multivox Marvel and Magnatone Mark VI (late 50s)

View attachment 3043367
Kapa Continental

View attachment 3043368

View attachment 3043369
Supro violin bass(es)

View attachment 3043370
Probably the first Precision bass copy ever
(Teisco, mid-sixties, although the earliest iterations
can be traced back to 1960 (i.e., very late 50s)

Yes! It's true the numbers of mostly Japanese examples far outnumber all others produced then but there were examples like the ones you posted that definitely fit-the-bill.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

This is where I go to research old weird guitars:
Guitars

 

[JIO]

Very first bass guitar I bought new, in 1973. A 1960s Norma short scale bass. Cool? I don't really think so but it is what it is, a Japanese Teisco.View attachment 3043385

Definitely a 60's vibe carryover - I do think these basses are cool, some more than others but cool none-the-less. By cool I mean different, sometimes a bit quirky and fun. As they were mostly geared to a new, young player - the 'fun' aspect was explored more than the 'professional' instruments they were riffing off of design-wise. The "Norma" hs lettering alone says "fun" with it's musical note references, compared to "Fender" or "Gibson" which were more conservative in their character. The body and pickguard shapes were also more cartoon-like/exaggerated. Back then whenever a guitar appeared in a cartoon (a lot) it looked like these guitars.

 

[JIO]

View attachment 3043391
National N850

View attachment 3043392
Custom Kraft Bone-Buzzer

Love the "Bone Buzzer" !

 

[JIO]

I had a Kay 5925 like this for several years and gigged it a lot. Not simply a weirdo, a good sounding and playing short scale. Lots of ‘character’ yet compared favorably to my P bass.

View attachment 3043396

Such a cool bass! Interesting that the seperate "K" part of the badge is upside down.

 

[GretschWretch]

Love the "Bone Buzzer" !

Based on a stand-up side by side comparison, that Bone Buzzer is longer than a Gretsch 6070. But much more trim.

 

[JIO]

This is where I go to research old weird guitars:
Guitars

Wow! That's an amazing collection of coolness! Really nice pics and vids - what a treasure-trove Thanks for posting this link!

 

[JIO]

Based on a stand-up side by side comparison, that Bone Buzzer is longer than a Gretsch 6070. But much more trim.

It's definitely one that has been on my radar

 

[Lowbrow]

Such a cool bass! Interesting that the seperate "K" part of the badge is upside down.

That's just an imperfection on this bass, I'm sure. Mine (white with cool black binding around the body) didn't have that inverted "K."

 

[JIO]

That's just an imperfection on this bass, I'm sure. Mine (white with cool black binding around the body) didn't have that inverted "K."

Oh I figured it dis-attached at one point and was re-applied that way for whatever reason Any pics of yours? Sounds cool! The green w/cream binding and black pg is pretty nice!